Time for a mini-list

Brodie Fanns!

In conjunction with my 7-part mini-series unveiling my top 100 Favourite Films of All Time, I'm also releasing mini-lists. My top five of a selected genre. And the first thing I noticed when poring over my top 100 list, is that there weren't any non-English films. This isn't to say I don't like non-English films. In fact I own several. And as for Foreign films, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead are all British, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is technically Italian, and The 5th Element and Leon: The Professional are both technically French. And they all appear on the list.

Anyway, I decided to make a special list, just for my favourite foreign, non-English films. And here they are... five through one. These films all prove that there is nothing to fear in subtitles.

5) Lola Rennt - Germany

Director Tom Tkywer creates a visual masterpiece in 1998's modern classic. The Bourne Identity's Franke Potente stars as the titular Lola, in a piece that isn't so much about the action, but about how much of a chain reaction each decision we make is. A true representation of the string theory at it's heart, it's as much a scientific film as it is a philosophical film.



4) El Laberinto del Fauno- Spain

Guillermo del Toro is a visual maestro. You can't help but watch one his films and be stunned by the imagery he puts on screen. It's fantastical, yet oddly realistic. Even his comic book films (Blade and Hellboy) have this engrossing visual aspect to them, but his coup de gras was 2006's El Laberinto del Fauno. It's a beautiful historical epic set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War of 1944.



3) Yojimbo- Japan

Some damn fine films in their own right (A Fistful of Dollars and Last Man Standing) are different adaptations of one film, you know you've got one of the best films ever made on your hands. Such is the case with Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Overshadowed by Seven Samurai and Roshomon, Yojimbo features more restraint, both in Kurosawa's directing and Toshiro Mifune's acting. I find it to be the best of the pair's illustrious collaborations.



2) Kanal- Poland

Basically, Adrzej Wajda was Eastern Europe's Hitchcock. Only he was better. As opposed to finding the horror in real life situations, he found the life in horrible situations. It's the most apparent in his seminal 1957 film Kanal. Written by an actual soldier who survived the ordeal, Kanal is about the struggle of Warsaw resistance soldiers struggling to escape Nazi's in Warasaw's sewer system. Wajda builds a sense of despair throughout the film, culminating in one damn fine ending, going where most directors, both then and now, would be afraid to go.



1) Umberto D - Italy

One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen, it will bring you to tears. Vittorio de Sica cast non-professional actors to tell the story of Umberto Domenico Ferrari, a retired government worker who can no longer afford to live on his tiny pension. It's a story about isolation and redemption, in a way. Truly one not to be missed, go rent or buy it now.