And over the years I’ve discovered that foreign movies are largely overlooked by American audiences. Why? From what people have told me, what I’ve overheard people say, and what I’ve read in reviews the main reason is people don’t like to read subtitles. My film-loving heart breaks when I hear or read that: those people have no idea what they’re missing out on.

Therefore, I felt compelled to share a small sampling of my favorite foreign movies. I’ve included their English title, their original title and their original language as well as the genre and a very brief recap so you know why I love these films and why you should definitely get over the whole “I don’t want to read; I just want to watch a movie” thing.

Antibodies (Antikörper, 2005) German
IMDb | Netflix | Amazon

Written and directed by Christian Alvart, Antikörper is listed first for a very good reason: It’s awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed this film and rank it up there right after The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. The acting was excellent and the last 15 minutes or so I was in complete nail-biting agony, nearly in tears, hoping for…well I don’t want to give anything away. Simply put, this is one of the best thrillers – American or Foreign – that I’ve seen in a long time.

NOTE: There is animal and child violence, a couple scenes are pretty graphic, too. However it is not gratuitous – it’s not violence for shock’s sake – and it keeps the tension and suspense at an almost unbearable level.

[Netflix Watch Instantly on 8/9/2008]

Voice (Yeogo gwae-dam 4: Moksori, 2005) Korean
IMDb | Netflix | Amazon

VOICE is an uber creepy film written by Ik-hwan Choe and Joon-Seok Sol, and directed by Ik-hwan Choe. I had such bad heebies jeebies after watching this one that I left my bedroom light on all night. My one piece of advice to you is to just enjoy the ride; don’t try to take pit stops along the way to figure out what this means or why that’s there and so on. It’s really not that hard of a movie to get if you’re patient and wait for everything to reveal itself. There’s a lot of jumping around in time, but again, just be patient.

NOTE: There is actually very little gore or onscreen violence. However, the one slightly gory scene did make me cringe but not for the reason you might expect.

[Netflix DVD rental on 7/25/2008]

House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu, 2004) Mandarin
IMDb | Netflix | Amazon

Written by Feng Li, Bin Wang, and Yimou Zhang, and directed by Yimou Zhang this film may be a little out there for some moviegoers but I thought it was amazing. Visually stunning, imaginative plot, terrific acting — just a great story. There’s action (martial arts), adventure, fantasy, romance and mystery so I cannot really label it for you.

[Netflix DVD rental on 1/19/2006]

Evil (Ondskan, 2003) Swedish
IMDb | Netflix | Amazon

Based on the novel by Jan Guillou – screenplay written by Hans Gunnarsson Mikael Håfström and Klas Östergren – and directed by Mikael Håfström, this film will grip you from its opening scenes. Erik (Andreas Wilson) is a great character and he represents so many people, so many underdogs, fighting to survive in the world today that it’s nearly impossible not to empathize with him and hope for his future. Powerful themes are addressed and the violence really hammered home the story’s points. I loved this movie!

NOTE: The violence mentioned is not gory or gratuitous. It’s just realistic, brutal fighting.

[Netflix Watch Instantly on 1/31/2010]

The Devil’s Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo, 2001) Spanish
IMDb | Netflix | Amazon

This is a superb film, written by Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras and David Muñoz, and directed by Guillermo del Toro, who – in my opinion – is one of the best directors in the world. His films, including this one, never feel like only one genre. There’s horror, fantasy, and mystery elements that work seamlessly together to create a film that will scare the bejeezus outta you but also touch you deeply. I’m embarrassed it took me seven years to finally watch this movie.

[Netflix DVD rental on 7/30/2008]

What’s your favorite foreign film? (any genre)

Here’s the blurb from the back cover:

“WHO WERE THEY? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
WHY DID THEY DO IT? WHO WERE THEIR VICTIMS?

Four drug-crazed young sadists–a world of damage. Driven by random, violent lusts they could barely articulate and understand, they embarked on a cross-country terror spree that left a trail of victims in its wake. The line between mischief and madness is a thin one–a trap that waits for innocent and helpless strangers…”

From the perspective of a reader who loves true crime, crime thrillers, and even a few mysteries, The End of the Night not only satisfied my hunger but whet my appetite for more. The first five pages told me the end of the story but knowing the outcome only made me want the whole story. I had tons of questions so I turned the page to uncover the answers.

What MacDonald did so skillfully with this book was dig deeper than any crime thriller I’ve read to date. He brought up issues and questions and dilemmas I think about all the time. How many have not questioned the seeming randomness of tragic events? Asked why those events happened? Or asked how someone became a “monster” capable of such acts of pure “evil”? I daresay very few because humans by nature want everything to make sense. For there to be an easily explained motive. Eww! Lots to mull over.

Excuse me while I gush a bit and share a few passages that really made my wheels kick into overdrive. The first two are from the defense attorney’s memorandum in reference to Kirby Stassen’s parents who are unable to accept their son’s involvement in the terrible crimes of which he’s accused.

All their lives, they have been conscious of a great gulf between the mass of decent folk and that sick, savage, dangerous minority known as criminals. Thus they cannot comprehend that their son…has leaped the unbridgeable gulf (p. 9).

Their error lies in their inability to see how easy it is to step across that gulf. Perhaps, in maturity, when ethical patterns are firmly established, one cannot cross that gulf. But in youth, in the traditional years of rebellion, it is not a gulf. It is an imperceptible scratch in the dust. To the youth it is arbitrary and meaningless. To society it is a life and death division (p. 9).

How right on are those? I mean, when we’re young, how many of us truly comprehend the big picture? The long arm of consequences? Don’t many teenagers operate within the parameters of a “Nothing’s gonna happen to me!” mentality? Hmm, something to think about.

This next quote is from Kirby Stassen’s diary in which he contemplates his immortality.

Isn’t three hundred years a vast span of time? It is one ten millionth of the estimated life span of the planet to date. Or it is the same ratio as is three seconds to one full year. And on the same scale, my life span has been one quarter of one second (p. 135).

That is one of the best examinations of time I’ve come across in fiction. To me, it really spotlights how little we have on Earth and how much is often spent on menial or trivial tasks. Reading Kirby’s thoughts on time and mortality also reminded me how insignificant our lives can be if we do nothing substantial with our time.

Now, from an ever-evolving and constantly learning writer’s perspective – I wanna do what he did. I loved, loved, loved the way he used multiple points-of-view and even a letter, which is the first five pages of the book, to tell the story in reverse chronological order. However, the last chapter did move forward in time to give me a bit more closure. MacDonald’s descriptions and characters were so vivid…they seduced me into turning the page and the next and the next until I’d finished the book in one sitting. No info dumps in sight, yay! And even knowing how the story ended didn’t keep me from hoping things might turn out differently.

Honestly, I can’t wait to read this book again and dissect it for all its tools of the trade from a master storyteller.

Psst! MacDonald also wrote The Executioners upon which the 1962 and 1991 Cape Fear movies were based.

One of the book’s themes centered around mind-altering drugs. Do you believe criminals who commit felonious acts under the influence are any less responsible for those crimes?

WEB RESOURCES

The John D. MacDonald Homepage | Big Bill’s John D. MacDonald Stuff