ROMANCE (13)

(13) ZHOU YU'S TRAIN



Moody, intense, kind of ethereal 2002 Chinese film, starring the wonderful Gong Li. Told mainly in flashbacks, this tells the story of a ceramic artist who is in love with a poet. They live far apart, so she has to travel by train often to see him. Along the way she meets a local veterinarian, and a friendship develops there. Hard to really describe more about the story, it's just a slow, meandering exploration of how these three people interact and affect each other.


(12) Cyrano de Bergerac



I'm a huge fan of the Rostand novel, and have loved several of the film adaptations. This is a great, sweeping, blockbuster French version, released in 1990, and starring Gerard Depardieu. The Jose Ferrer version was wonderful, but Depardieu seems more age appropriate to the story. And, despite his knack and history for playing the hardman roles, he carries off the romance and poetry in this version beautifully. It's long, almost 3 hours, but a good romantic swashbuckler to settle in and enjoy.

(11) CARMEN



Intense 1983 Spanish film directed and choreographed by the famous Carlos Saura. It follows a dance troupe putting together a flamenco version of Bizet's Carmen. The relationship of the lead dancer and choreographer mirrors that of the couple in the opera. Incredible dancing. I loved it, but, unless he can't miss an episode of "Dancing with the Stars", most males will probably flee from this film.


(10) STRICTLY BALLROOM



Love blossoms amongst the drama and intrigue of competitive ballroom dancing in this 1992 Australian movie. Our "Dancing with the Stars" has nothing on this film when it comes to sequins, glitter and spandex. Sweet and entertaining, with of course, lots of great dancing.


(9) MY BRILLIANT CAREER



This 1979 Australian film may be the first foreign film I really paid attention to. Showcasing a young Judy Davis and Sam Neill, it's the story of Sybylla. Young, poor, and brilliant, in 19th century rural Australia, she faces few choices. The movie follows her struggle to decide between marriage and conventional life, or the lonelier existence of a "career woman". Beautiful soundtrack that firmly embedded "kinderszenen" in my brain.


(8) THE SCENT OF GREEN PAPAYA



This 1993 Vietnamese movie tells the sweet story of Mui, a young peasant girl who comes to work in a wealthy household in the late 1950's. It follows her as she grows up, weathers the changing luck of her employers, and falls in love with a handsome pianist. Quiet, gentle and lyrical.


(7) ONCE



A 2007 Irish film that is as much musical as romance. Neither of the lead actors had acting experience before filming this story (for awhile they were a couple in real life). An Irish street musician meets a Czech immigrant who also has musical talent. He is pining for his lost girlfriend, she has a husband back in Czechoslovakia and a troubled marriage. They share their musical talents and friendship while working out what to do with their respective problems. The music in this film is great, and the story is sweet, and quietly endearing. You'll probably recognize parts of the soundtrack.


(6) PASSIONADA



A 2002 romance set in the Portuguese fishing community of New Bedford, New Hampshire, this movie is enjoyable to watch, but is not technically a foreign film. It's a film about a Portuguese-American community, so I'll slip it in. Celia, a fisherman's widow, lives with Emmy, her teenage daughter who is determined that her beautiful mother should move on with her love life while she is still young. this proves a difficult goal since Celia refuses to date and is, as a friend comments, "the most married person around." enter Charlie Beck, charming, down on his luck gambler, and immediately smitten with Celia after hearing her sing Fado at a local restaurant. Charlie and Emmy each have something the other wants - he can teach her how to card count, and she holds the secrets to wooing her mother, so they strike a deal to help each other. the movie's an interesting peek into the colorful and tradition bound community. Charlie and Celia are each attractive and intriguing characters in their own ways. you end up wishing more time was given to their interaction and less to needless and unexplained subplots....why DOES Emmy want to become a gambler? one of the most interesting things on the dvd is the chance to watch the original, but eventually abandoned ending, while listening to the director and cast commenting on it. not perfect, but a cozy evening's worth of a film.

* Jason Isaacs
* Sofia Milos
* Emmy Rossum
* Theresa Russell
* Seymour Cassel


(5) BRIDE AND PREJUDICE



This is a fun, colorful, and musical, Bollywood treatment of Pride and Prejudice. There's a little something for everyone...colorful locales and costumes, music and big dance numbers, comedy, romance, etc. It's great... kind of corny lines, improbably situations, and some wooden acting here and there... but it's just so cheerful and colorful that its endearing. And probably the only movie where you'll see an musical number including mariachi singers, a gospel choir and baywatch lifeguards all mixed together on the beach...lol.


(4) A WEDDING FOR BELLA



Ok, not really a foreign film, this 2001 movie is not Italian, it's Italian-American. But, it got such little distribution that it's as obscure and a foreign flick. Who'd have thought Scott Baio would grow up to be kind of hunky. I was never impressed during his teeny bopper days, but he's aged pretty well. This film, original titled "The Bread my Sweet", is surprisingly touching. He plays a fierce, rather cold hearted corporate raider, paid lots of money to fire people as new companies are acquired. He has two brothers, one a fun loving ladies man, the other a gentle giant, a pie baking genius with the mental age of a five year old. At night they bake all sorts of wonderful breads and sweets for their bakery. They also keep an eye on their elderly landlords, the grouchy Massimo and his saintly wife Bella. Her biggest wish is that Dominic (Baio) marry her absent daughter, Bella. It becomes her dying wish when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Dominic sets out to fulfill that wish so that she can die happy. It's been compared to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", but I don't think that's an accurate or fair comparison. This is grittier
and a bit less calculated.


(3) DEAR FRANKIE



I'll say right up front that I love this 2004 British film! A lonely single mother, raising her son along the Scottish coast, has let a lie get away from her. Not wanting her son to know the real truth about his father, she has created a fictional, seafaring fantasy dad, one who sends regular letters from exotic ports of call. When the fictional ship turns out to be a real one that is due in port, she's faced with finding someone to play the role of the father. Sweet, gritty, warm and affectionate, I wish there were more films like this. And, can I just say that I prefer this pre-Hollywood Gerard Butler, to the tabloid fodder current version. And, Emily Mortimer is a favorite actress of mine, I loved her in "Lars and the Real Girl." I've found that out of all the foreign films I watch, I have the hardest time with Scottish accents, so feel no shame in using subtitles even though it's "English", lol.

* Emily Mortimer ..... Lizzie
* Gerard Butler ..... The Stranger


(2) MOSTLY MARTHA



A 2001 German film that tells the story of an uptight, control-freak, but, very talented chef. (Catherine Zeta-Jones starred in the Hollywood remake, called "No Reservations". Have I mentioned that I hate Hollywood retreads?) Her controlled, lonely, life is turned upside down by two events. Her young niece coming to live with her, and the hiring of an Italian chef at her restaurant. The story follows the sparks that result from the combination of cold ice princess and hot latin personalities. I have to admit that for much of this movie I was only charmed by half of the duo, but, then, that may have been the response the film makers intended, lol. Stick with this original, not the Wonder Bread Hollywood remake!


(1) ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS



A gem of a little Danish film, released in 2000, called "Italian for Beginners". I bought the DVD without any clue about what the movie was about, guessing from the cover art that it might be a slapstick comedy. It's actually a sweet, gentle, poignant little movie, filmed in the Danish Dogma style. I really loved it. Sparse on dialog, but, what is there is thoughtfully written. The characters will slowly win your heart.No big names in the cast, but, that makes the story all the more "real". [Ignore the Japanese subtitles in the trailer, I couldn't find a trailer with them in English, but, it gives you a feel for the cast.]