Category Archives: Foreign

My Father My Lord

Posted on February 4, 2014 by tom

  I didn’t realize how perfect a title “My Father My Lord” was until I started this review. Menahem Eidelman is a young boy—nine or ten—and he’s filled with curiosity about the world. His mother, Esther, is a young woman, … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming of Age Film, Films, Films Watched in 2014, Foreign, Spirituality/Religion | Leave a comment

Eight Miles High (Das Wilde Leben) (2007)

Posted on August 28, 2013 by tom

(note: I chose to watch “Eight Miles High,” because it dawned on me that I’d watched movies with the number Eight in their title two consecutive nights. Could I make it a third? You betcha. The good thing is that … Continue reading →

Posted in Based on a True Story, Films, Foreign | Leave a comment

Young and Wild (Joven y Alocada) (2012)

Posted on June 4, 2013 by tom

Seventeen-year-old Daniela is in a slightly delicate situation. On one hand, she’s a member of a fervent Evangelical family, the kinds of people who go to church several times a week and speak in tongues at home. On the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming of Age Film, Films, Foreign, LGBT Issues | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Wedding Song (Le chant des mariées) (2008); After Fall, Winter (2011)

Posted on May 24, 2013 by tom

Yeah, like you’ve never enjoyed a Lizzie Brocheré double-feature before. I kid. As it happens, I did last night… “The Wedding Song” (Le chant des mariées) tells the story of a friendship imperiled when the Nazis occupied Tunisia during World … Continue reading →

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Requiem (2006) and The Raven (2012)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by tom

There was just something odd about Michaela Klingler. She was pretty enough, in a plain way, but something had set her apart from her high school classmates. First off, she was an extremely pious Catholic girl in the 1970’s, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Foreign, Horror, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Downfall (2004) Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

Posted on May 9, 2013 by tom

So my doctor gave me some new meds, and whenever I sit up, I get dizzy. So how better to treat this than lying in bed with a double-feature of intense, German WW2 dramas. It turns out, while this was … Continue reading →

Posted in Academy Award Nominees, Films, Foreign, Period Picture ("Costume Drama") | Leave a comment

Aimee & Jaguar (1999)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by tom

“Aimee & Jaguar” is a beautiful love story told against an unimaginably bad backdrop: World War 2 Berlin. It’s also a true story, based on a memoir by “Aimee.” Felice (Maria Schrader) is an adventurous sort with a honed survival … Continue reading →

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The Nasty Girl (Das schreckliche Mädchen) (1990)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by tom

“The Nasty Girl” is kind of an unfortunate translation of “Das schreckliche Mädchen,” simply because it makes it sound like a porno, or something from the “Porky’s” ilk. “Schreckliche” usually translates as “terrible,” which would make more sense for this … Continue reading →

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@Suicide Room (2011)

Posted on March 20, 2013 by tom

To say the Polish film “@Suicide Room” is like nothing I’ve ever seen is truly an understatement. It is depressing, scary, and so compelling, I couldn’t look away. Dominik Santorski (Jakub Gierszal) is an 18 year-old student at an exclusive … Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Foreign, LGBT Issues | 2 Comments

Wonderland…sorta: Malice in Wonderland (2009), and Alice (1988)

Posted on February 26, 2013 by tom

Because it’s my night off–and because I’m on cold meds–I found two retellings of “Alice in Wonderland,” and figured they’d be perfect. “Malice in Wonderland” was first. A young American woman is hit by a taxi, and finds herself with … Continue reading →

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