'The Salesman' Leaves Me (Further) Sold That Iran's Asghar Farhadi is the World's Best Movie Director -- An Appreciation (with an assist from Brad Strauss, co-host of The Director's Club podcast)

Yesterday, I saw The Salesman, an Iranian film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi.

This is just the first week it is playing at Chicago area cinemas, and just a pair at that--Century Evanston (where I saw it) and Regal Webster Place--but it is officially a 2016 release, nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar to be awarded on February 26.

If I had seen it in 2016, I would have named it--on this year-end blog post--my second favorite film of the year, behind just Manchester by the Sea. When I make my list of the Best New Movies I Saw in 2017, I'm pretty sure it will rank high.

Farhadi's A Separation was my #1 new movie seen in 2012, though it was officially a 2011 release and won the Foreign Language Academy Award for that year. It's likely among my 10 favorite films produced in this century.

The Past, officially a 2013 release, was third on my list of the Best New Movies I Saw in 2014. (His films tend not to hit U.S., or at least Chicago, screens until the following year.)

Within the past week, I've also watched for the first time, Farhadi's 2009 About Elly, which I found terrific, and 2006's Fireworks Wednesday, which is also very good if not quite to the level of the writer/director's four films that would follow.

According to IMDB, Farhadi also directed two earlier feature-length films, 2003's Dancing in the Dust and 2004's Beautiful City; these are hard to find, and I have not seen either.

But based on what I have seen, including The Salesman--which chronicles a high school literature teacher acting in a local (presumably in Tehran) production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman along with his wife, whose privacy is violated within their new apartment, setting off a slow-boil whodunit--I would confidently call Asghar Farhadi the world's best movie director working today, at least per work that I have witnessed.

This needn't be a contest, nor my opinion meant to override the legacies of still-working legends like Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Michael Haneke, the Dardenne brothers, etc., nor disrespect brilliant younger directors such as Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan, the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson or anyone else.

And to be clear, this article is meant as an artistic appreciation, not a political screed, but at a time when the U.S. President is trying to ban immigrants from seven Muslim countries--including Iran--I find it interesting that perhaps the finest practitioner of the world's most universal art form is indeed Iranian (and presumably Muslim).

(Just to note it, one of my other favorite film directors of the past dozen years or so is an Iranian-American, Ramin Bahrani.)

Though Farhadi could supposedly receive dispensation to attend the Academy Awards amid the Muslim ban--regardless of stays and other court decisions--the latest I've read is that he won't attend the ceremony.

This is a shame, especially as his movies have greatly abetted my insights into life in Iran and provide far more humane depictions of real people than most Hollywood movies. 

My friend, Brad Strauss, who has long run the monthly Sunday lunch gatherings of the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Group, of which I am a member, concurs that "I can think of no contemporary director who is currently making films as consistently great as Farhadi," while capsulizing his mastery as such:

"He is wonderfully perceptive and humanistic in his development of characters. While not an overtly flashy filmmaker, the technical skill required to develop narratives with this level of complexity is considerable, as is his ability to constantly surprise in a medium that is so often predictable."

Strauss has recently begun co-hosting The Director's Club podcast--you can listen to episodes here (the latest being about Danny Boyle, with an exploration of Jacques Tati upcoming) and/or find it on iTunes--with another of my film Meetup group friends, so it seemed natural to glean his insights about Farhadi.

In fact, I believe Brad was my entrée into A Separation--which he calls "Farhadi's masterpiece, my favorite film of this decade [and] one of the most compelling dramas ever made"--and a champion of The Salesman since seeing it at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.

His praise of About Elly and Fireworks Wednesday over a recent dinner was what prompted me to seek them out, and in noting similarities across the five Farhadi films we've both seen--a focus on middle class Iranians, the unhurried depiction of universally identifiable domesticity, explorations of discord, struggle, strife and often a rather chilling twist--I asked him if he considered Farhadi an "auteur":

"Without diving into the weeds and controversies of the auteur theory, I have no doubt he is one," Strauss opined. "Thematically, Farhadi is constantly building empathy and refuses to judge his characters. This allows us to see conflicts from multiple points of view. He is also, like [Stanley] Kubrick and [Robert] Altman, a genre jumper, but he does so subtly, never relinquishing his own style."

Although Brad, I and film lovers worldwide can find enjoyment in any well-made movie, including big budget Hollywood extravaganzas, we've come to rue the relative sparsity--or at least non-prominence--of character-driven cinema.

For simple-yet-compelling storytelling beyond the ubiquitous superhero movies, franchise films, sequels and "event movies" that even gifted directors like  Iñárritu (The Revenant), Villeneuve (Arrival), Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Knight series) and others seem obliged to make, one must often look to independent films and those originating from countries other than the United States.

Current Best Picture nominees like Manchester by the Sea (written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan) and Moonlight (Barry Jenkins) provide exemplary arguments against the notion that America can't produce quality, intimate films devoid of spaceships and explosions. But neither has yet grossed more than $45 million at the U.S. Box Office, with the latter below $20 million.

Even Spotlight (directed by Tom McCarthy), which won the 2015 Best Picture Oscar, made only $45 million in domestic theaters, and Jim Jaramusch's current Paterson--which stars Adam Driver of Star Wars: The Force Awakens fame and has a 96% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes--has spent the past month playing on exactly one Chicago area screen (at the Century on Clark St., which isn't very convenient for me).

Personally, I think the world--and especially the U.S.--would be a better, more empathetic place if more people saw a wider swath of movies.

I love Farhadi's focus on human stories, familial dilemmas, inner conflict, turmoil, illness, heartbreak, insecurity and other matters that are common to pretty much everyone, no matter where they live, who they pray to or how much money they have.

"World cinema is a wonderful way to explore different cultures, but they are always from the filmmaker's point of view. The takeaway with Farhadi is a universalism that allows us to completely relate, regardless of cultural differences," Strauss expanded, while adding:

"We also have to recognize the place that Iranian censorship plays in his and all Iranian filmmakers' work. Aside from The Past, which was filmed in France and able to deal with more frank subject matters, all his films had to be (sometimes reluctantly) state-approved. Farhadi gets around this by implying what he can't show and "smuggling" subversive messages in ways that great old time Hollywood directors used to get past the Hays code."

In The Salesman, the director of Death of a Salesman tells the cast that edits likely need to made at three points in Miller's legendary script in order to satisfy Iranian cultural norms and those who enforce them. Without wanting to give away any key plot points of the movie, I can't help but interpret this as Farhadi's way of telling his audience that aspects of his film may have been softened or excised due to possible censorship concerns.

With this perception likely heightened due to the theatrical production central to The Salesman, I also see Asghar Farhadi's films--especially in contrast to most mainstream cinema--as being more akin to great, contemplative theatrical dramas, such as those written by American masters like Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O'Neill. (The 44-year-old Farhadi was a Theater major with a Master's in Stage Direction, and got his professional start writing and directing Iranian theater. )

To this point, Brad notes, "Yes, one can draw connections to theater works that focus on familial or small group conflicts, but Farhadi adds cinematic elements missing from an otherwise great adaptation like Fences [an acclaimed play by August Wilson, and recently a movie directed by and starring Denzel Washington]."

Obviously, people choose to see certain films for any number of reasons, and miss out on most due to obliviousness, disinterest, lack of availability and/or a limited amount of time.

If you've taken the time to read this blog post, you're probably already aware of Asghar Farhadi and may well have seen at least A Separation. If so, The Salesman is similarly not to be missed, even if you must wait for it to hit Netflix, On-Demand or your local library. (About Elly is currently streaming on Netflix and you should be able to find The Past, A Separation and probably Fireworks Wednesday at any library worth its salt.)

But if you've opted to avoid Farhadi's excellent films, intentionally or not, due to a perceived aversion to the Persian language or Iranian subject matter--and I'm not condemning you, as I must admit to once having similar thoughts--I think it's even more important that you seek out his oeuvre, or at least a few of his movies.

Not only will you enjoy sensitive, insightful storytelling not readily found at your local cineplex--and will likely be surprised at how largely non-religious and modern Farhadi's work is--you'll undoubtedly encounter people, places, scenarios and feelings that are far more familiar than they are foreign.

In a recent interview with Elise Nakhnikian for Slant Magazine, Asghar Farhadi observed:

"The situations that characters are put into in these films are situations that could happen anywhere in the world. The look that I have onto the characters is a look of empathy—even the characters who are at fault. Perhaps this is something that people around the world like, when you can put yourself into the shoes of others. This is the most important thing to me."

Whatever one's political or social beliefs, a good movie is a great thing, no matter who made it. And if an enjoyable couple hours of entertainment can further our cultural understanding, that's even better.

Not everyone needs to agree, and we never will, but greater commonality can only enhance our conversations.

As Farhadi astutely notes in the Slant piece:

"I think my audience has realized now that it has to leave some time to think about the film after they see it. That people talk to each other, that it creates conversation and debate among people, even those that don't agree with the film."

So you well may contradict my premise that Asghar Farhadi is the best movie director working today. You may not even love, or even much like, his films. (Those  versed only in blockbusters may find them slow to unfold.)

But especially in this combative, polarized age, I believe it inarguably valuable to be aware of him and the work he is doing.

In Iran, where as he told Nakhnikian, "despite all the difficulties, I still prefer making films."

Ours Go to 11: Volume 12, Less Heralded Foreign Films I Highly Recommend

I realize "less heralded" is rather vague and imprecise, and that some films quite foreign--pun intended--to causal movie fans may be very familiar to world cinema buffs (and vice-versa).

Many of the films below are far from secrets, including Oscar winners and nominees.

My intent is to highlight some foreign films I've greatly enjoyed beyond what I perceive as fairly well-known masterpieces like La Dolce Vita, The Seven Samurai, Bicycle Thieves, Rules of the Game, Cinema Paradiso, City of God, A Separation, etc. 

Of various vintages, I've purposely chosen just one movie per country of origin. These are all foreign language films and thus the list does not include quality movies from England, Ireland, Australia, etc.


This is not intended as a ranking, nor a comprehensive list of worthwhile films.

1. Blancanieves (Spain, 2012) 
2. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (France, 1964) 
3. The Son (Belgium, 2002) 
4. Ballad of a Soldier (Russia, 1959) 
5. Wadjda (Saudi Arabia, 2012) 
6. The Burmese Harp (Japan, 1956)
7. Ida (Poland, 2013) 
8. Yesterday (South Africa, 2004) 
9. Wild Tales (Argentina, 2014) 
10. Mother (South Korea, 2009) 
11. Sin Nombre (Mexico, 2009)

And a few more

Phoenix (Germany, 2014)
The Matchmaker (Israel, 2010) 
Central Station (Brazil, 1998)
Smiles of a Summer Night (Sweden, 1955)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada, 2011)
The Song of Sparrows (Iran, 2008)
Peepli Live (India, 2010)
Malèna (Italy, 2000)

As always, I would love to hear some of your picks.

Relative Brilliance: With Six Straight Gems, Belgium's Dardenne Brothers Stand Among the World's Best Movie Directors

Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Quite a number of movies in recent years--including some of the most successful and/or acclaimed-- have been created by brothers working in tandem, as writer & director and/or co-directors.

Joel and Ethan Coen are responsible for No Country for Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou, Fargo, A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski and a number of other notable films.

Many likely know that Christopher Nolan directed The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Memento and the forthcoming The Dark Knight Rises, but were you aware that that his brother Jonathan co-wrote them?

The Wachowski Brothers, Andy and Larry, made the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta and other films, though seem to no longer technically be brothers as Larry has become Lana. Their upcoming film, Cloud Atlas, is based on a novel my friend Dave really loves.

Check IMDB and you may be surprised by how many familiar movies have been made by the brothers Hughes, Farelly, Weitz, Zucker and Duplass. The Maysles have long been master documentarians and though Ridley and Tony Scott have only directed individually, they have produced films and TV shows in tandem. I was also referenced to the Polish brothers and Taviani brothers, and should mention the Ephron sisters, who have collaborated on You've Got Mail, Michael, Bewitched and more.

Over the last few years--thanks largely to recommendations from Dave, an even more fervid film buff--I've come to know the wonderful work of the Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc.

The Dardennes are Belgian and make their films in French. According to IMDB, they have been making documentaries, shorts and narrative movies, together, dating back to 1978. But common consensus seems to cite 1996's La Promesse as their first feature film to garner international attention and acclaim.

Their latest movie is The Kid With A Bike, which is still playing at select theaters in the U.S. 

I saw it recently and very much enjoyed it, as I have all six of their films since La Promesse. Though I only caught wind of the Dardennes' long stellar work in recent years, I've had no trouble seeing all their movies thanks to the excellent World Cinema collection of the Skokie Public Library. Hopefully your local library is comparable, but I've noticed that The Son--my favorite Dardenne Bros. film to date--is on Netflix instant streaming, with Lorna's Silence available as a DVD selection. 

There are certainly similarities that run through the Dardennes' string of six superlative pictures--most revolve around troubled kids and/or low-grade criminals on society's outskirts; some of the same actors have roles in several films--but each stands entirely on its own, so don't feel you need to see them in order of release.

With the possible exception of Ramin Bahrani, no one in recent times has made such richly insightful films about basic humanity; thus the Dardennes' films should be readily understandable--on the surface and  considerably deeper--to any viewers who aren't afraid of subtitles (or are fluent in French).

These are not overly obtuse or abstract "foreign" films. In fact, the look of the movies--and often their storylines--can appear deceptively simple, akin to something a gifted film student might make with a handheld camera. But there is usually no soundtrack music and even a sparsity of sound other than dialogue, which itself is frequently taciturn in favor of unspoken expressiveness. Adding to the naturalism of their films, the Dardennes--who co-produce, write and direct each picture--frequently use only available light.

So if the movies you enjoy must be loud and flashy, with tons of special effects and big explosions, the films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne will likely be off-putting, perhaps even boring. You actually have to pay attention for 90 minutes or so without much in the way of diversionary commotion. And don't expect typical Hollywood endings or formulaic feel-good narrative choices transparently determined by test screenings.

But if you can appreciate intimate stories of personal discovery that suggest universal truths about the human condition--not so unlike those found within great novels and plays--you're likely to walk out of the theater (or eject the DVD, close the browser, etc.) with more to think about than many films leave you with.

Yet while these aren't stuffy films by any means, because they're so different from what Hollywood or even independent American directors typically feed us, they might initially be a bit challenging to ingest. But that's OK; some of the best things in life--and art--can take a little time and effort to appreciate, especially if much of their merit comes from unconventionality.

While I would rate all six of these Dardenne movies at least @@@@ on the Seth Saith @@@@@ scale, The Son is the only one that I'd give a perfect score. Yet almost all of them have earned international plaudits and awards that go well beyond my estimable regard. Although I have watched or re-watched each of these movies within the past two weeks, it's not improbable that I would see even greater eloquence upon further exploration and perhaps better acclimation.

But if, like me, you value learning about (often lesser-known) artists who are doing great things in their field of endeavor, you'll be richer for having Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne on your radar. And other screens.

In production order, below are the six très bien films the Dardenne brothers have made since 1996--which have made them among the finest movie directors in the world. Especially as I prefer to let almost all plot points come as a surprise, I won't say much about the stories themselves, which often serve to address larger themes. The awards I cite aren't meant to be comprehensive, so consider this just a basic overview.

• La Promesse (1996, English: The Promise, but seemingly never officially titled as such) - A teenage boy trapped in his father's criminal world involving the transporting of immigrants is faced with significant decisions of loyalty and integrity after a troubling incident. Among other accolades, La Promesse was named the Best Foreign Language Film by the National Society of Film Critics in the U.S. My rating: @@@@


• Rosetta (1999) - The title character is a 17-year-old girl living in a trailer park with her alcoholic mother. She battles internal and external turbulence as she tries to find and keep a job she hopes can lift her above her circumstances. Rosetta won the Palme d'Or (the highest prize) at the Cannes Film Festival, where first-time actress Émilie Dequenne was named Best Actress. My rating: @@@@


• The Son (2002, French: Le Fils) - A man named Olivier (played by Olivier Gourmet, who's in several of these films and won Best Actor at Cannes for his role in this one) teaches woodworking at a training center. His newest student is a teenage boy recently released from prison for having killed Olivier's son. Roger Ebert ranked The Son #7 on his list of Best Films of the Decade. My rating: @@@@@


• The Child (2005, French: L'Enfant) - A young street thief and his girlfriend have a baby; he sees the child as a moneymaking opportunity and makes some decisions that aren't mutually agreed upon. The Child was the second Dardenne brothers film to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes. My rating: @@@@1/2


• Lorna's Silence (2008, French: Le silence de Lorna) - Lorna is a young Albanian living in Belgium. Having arranged a fake marriage for Lorna so that she may obtain her citizenship, a local thug named Fabio is intent on bringing the marriage--to a hardcore drug addict--to a quick end so that he can marry Lorna off to another client. But things get complicated when Lorna comes to care for her husband more than she is supposed to. Lorna's Silence won Best Screenplay at Cannes. My rating: @@@@1/2


• The Kid with a Bike (2011, now in U.S. theaters, French: Le gamin au vélo) - A young boy resists living in a foster care facility after being abandoned by his father, but encounters a woman who may be willing to care for him if he can avoid getting in his own way. The Kid with a Bike won the Grand Prix (the second most prestigious award) at Cannes. My rating: @@@@1/2

The Best Foreign Films of 2010 (from the small world of those Seth Seeith)

As I wrote about at length back in September, 2010 has been a watershed year in terms of my exploration and enjoyment of world cinema.

While I have long appreciated films made in other lands and languages, this year--stimulated and supported by a variety of factors and 'Facets,' including the Chicago Film Discussion Meetup group, Netflix and the Skokie Public Library,--I developed not only a passion for foreign films, but a vociferous appetite.

With a few days still remaining in 2010, I have watched over 100 films made in 28 countries outside the U.S., including approximately 25 "new ones" (films, not countries; more on this in a moment).

Although I have a great fondness for the unique, non-Hollywood sensibility of many films made in England, Ireland, Australia and Canada, for list-making purposes, any movie without subtitles will be lumped in with my still-to-come "Best Movies of 2010" list, which will focus on English-language feature films from any country of origin.

Also beyond those listed below, I saw two excellent and one good foreign language documentaries; those were cited in my Best Documentaries of 2010 piece. (My favorite foreign language doc, Budrus, from Israel, will play a return engagement at Facets in Chicago this coming week; the other "excellent" one is Last Train Home, from China.)

Finally, while such minutia might not matter to the few people kind enough to read this, I tried to keep "eligibility" to those movies that were first released (to theaters and/or DVD) in the United States in 2010. This isn't an exact science, as I saw two films at the Chicago International Film Festival and considered them eligible even though they might not get wider (or Netflix) release here until next year. Hence, some of my picks were already Oscar-nominees for Best Foreign Language Film while others might be next year.

So in addition to my official list below, I'll also mention these five 2009-eligible films that I watched in 2010 and found to be excellent, in order of preference (with links to IMDB): Sin Nombre (Mexico), The Stoning of Soraya M. (U.S.-made but in Persian), Broken Embraces (Spain), Lorna's Silence (Belgium), Summer Hours (France).

But now, if we've got all the disclaimers and preambles straight, here are my picks for:

The Best Foreign Language Films of 2010

1. The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina; IMDB) - This won the Oscar and may be the best newly released film of any origin I saw in 2010.

2. Mother (South Korea; IMDB) - An amazing piece of filmmaking from Joon-ho Bong, who also directed The Host.

3. The Matchmaker (Israel; IMDB) - A beautiful coming-of-age story enhanced by remarkable secondary characters, including a family of dwarfs who run a cinema.

4. Lebanon (Israel; IMDB) - Follows Israeli soldiers exclusively within a single tank without ever being less-than-compelling.

5. Welcome (France; IMDB) - About an Iraqi teenager who wants to meet up with his girlfriend in England, but must learn to swim the English Channel to avoid deportation back from France.

6. A Prophet (France; IMDB) - Along with Animal Kingdom and Mesrine (parts I & II), one of three new French gangster films that my cinephile friends Dave and Al highly recommend; I haven't seen the other two yet.

7. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Sweden; IMDB) - The first of the trilogy; I'm curious to see how David Fincher Americanizes it. The Girl Who Played With Fire was also an excellent adaptation; haven't seen #3.

8. The Concert (France; IMDB) - Combining French & Russian characters, this one gets a bit ragged but redeems itself; Melanie Laurent (from Inglorious Basterds) is transfixing.

9. Peepli Live (India; IMDB) - Avoids over-the-top Bollywood staples in telling a universal story about the media age.

10. Erratum (Poland; IMDB) - A man heads to his hometown for an errand and gets stuck there for multiple reasons.

Others Seen

All of these were worthwhile, but other than The Girl Who Played With Fire, I can't really bestow "Honorable Mention" on any. After being lukewarm about the much-lauded The White Ribbon the first-time I saw it, I watched it again last night and didn't like it any better. A fine piece of moviemaking, I guess, but it bored me. Ajami also didn't quite meet expectations.

35 Shots of Rum (France; IMDB)
Sandcastle (Singapore; IMDB)
Guzaarish (India; IMDB)
Ajami (Israel; IMDB)
Jaffa (Israel; IMDB)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (Sweden; IMDB)
The White Ribbon (Germany/Austria; IMDB)

Exploring the World Through Moving Pictures (Subtitled: My Great Foreign Film Adventure)

Seven Samurai movie poster

My Own Private International Film Festival

Last week, I went to a local movie theater and saw a highly enjoyable, newly released film. An intelligent, humorous and poignant political & media satire, it is called Peepli Live. If it doesn't sound familiar, that's probably because it's a Hindi film made in India, one that shows not all Bollywood movies need be 3+ hours long nor have people in overly colorful costumes singing and dancing, although I enjoy some of those too. (Peepli Live is currently at BIG Cinemas in Niles, IL and elsewhere.)

Through Netflix, I recently watched--one streaming, one on DVD--two quite compelling, beautiful and unique "war movies" that gave interesting insights on the life of a soldier. One was a Japanese film from 1956 called The Burmese Harp, directed by Kon Ichikawa; the other was Ballad of a Soldier, made in the Soviet Union in 1959 by Grigori Chukhrai.

And yesterday I viewed a powerful crime/gangster/prison drama called A Prophet, a French film that was among this year's nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Though I think the trailer that referenced accolades calling it "as epic as the Godfather" was a bit extreme, it was a very good piece of moviemaking by director Jacques Audiard.

All told, in the month of August, I watched 24 movies. Of these, 19 were films in a language other than English. I'm pretty certain this exceeds the total number of foreign language films I had seen in my lifetime prior to 2009. Since last December I've explored 78 foreign films from 25 different countries in 17 primary languages (none of which I speak or understand). So in addition to plenty of watching, I've also done quite a good bit of on-screen reading.

Although I've never been acutely adverse to watching films with subtitles, and had seen & loved high-profile foreign-language films like City of God, Cinema Paradiso and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, it wasn't until late last year that I really began to actively seek out movies from different countries (other than "foreign films" from England, Ireland and Australia).

A Slow-Boat Voyage Into World Cinema

While there are a number of definable reasons for this newfound transition to a much more multi-cultural cinematic existence, which I'll explain shortly, I don't beat myself up too much for my previous myopia.

Developing, and then broadening, one's interests and passions is an evolutionary process and not everyone can, or even should, instantly love everything. As much as I think cultural literacy, and a requisite curiosity, is vital on a variety of levels for people of almost all ages, the truth is that at age 21--half my life ago--my musical tastes were pretty strictly limited to mainstream rock, my appreciation for art extended only to impressionism, reading rarely extended beyond what was on the syllabus and I knew next to nothing about theater, jazz, blues, opera, classical music, architecture or anything else except for the traditional American spectator sports. My horizons weren't all that greatly expanded by age 30 and some of aforementioned art forms I still don't know or love as much as others--and likely never will. And to be honest, given the deliberate pacing of many foreign films and even older & better Hollywood ones, "world cinema" is still to a large degree a taste in the acquiring process.

Now, like almost everyone, I have loved movies--in a general sense--for as long as I can remember. Except for television and perhaps music across all its various forms, I think film is our most unifying medium; I don't know, or even know of, anyone over the age of five who doesn't have some affinity for movies. Sure there are some people who don't like actually going to movie theaters and there are others who don't care much for modern movies and there are many who only like movies of certain genres, but everyone or so it seems likes movies and smiles at the recollection of certain favorites.

Undeniably, at any point in time, there are new movies of vastly differing quality. But I feel fortunate that many of the highly popular movies of my adolescence were actually pretty good films;  Rocky (even II & III), the Star Wars trilogy, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. and even sophomoric humor movies such as Animal House, Stripes, the Blues Brothers, Airplane and Fast Times at Ridgemont High seem to hold up pretty well all these years later.

But beyond the movies that all my friends saw, at a relatively young age I was turned on--primarily by my father--to more classic fare such as Bridge Over the River Kwai, Marty, Casablanca, On the Waterfront, The Hustler, Singin' in the Rain and even substantive then-current/recent films like Network, Annie Hall, Breaking Away, The Marathon Man, The Sting and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. At a young age, I also fell in love with the Kinks' Celluloid Heroes and wanted to know everyone Ray Davies was singing about.

I had a cinema class in high school and Film Studies were part of my college major--I still remember acing a term-paper on the auteur theory as it pertained to Sidney Lumet--and thus was also indoctrinated to movies like A Face in the Crowd, Cool Hand Luke, Citizen Kane (about which and Casablanca I wrote this lengthy post in April) and foreign masterpieces such as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (which I revisited this month) and Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game.

Although my screenwriting and movie directing ambitions--which prompted a move to Los Angeles after college--pretty much died on the vine, I have always considered myself a low-grade film aficionado.

Initially on VHS and then DVD, I have amassed a pretty large and wide-ranging film collection and have always seen what seemed like a solid array of new & old, popular & acclaimed movies in theaters and at home. While these included selected foreign works like Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, Hero, Wings of Desire, Talk to Her, Saraband, Tsotsi and many favorites coming out of Britain & Ireland--among them In the Name of the Father, The Boxer, Brassed Off, The Full Monty, Bend It Like Beckham, Billy Elliot and The Last King of Scotland--until late last year, my cinematic worldview was largely limited to what Hollywood chose to distribute and promote. Although they've existed for years, I was rarely inclined to venture to the Music Box Theatre, Facets Multimedia, Siskel Film Center (all in Chicago), the Chicago International Film Festival (held in October) or even the World Cinema shelves of my local library.

How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Foreign Films

Aishwarya Rai

Again, I've never had an active disdain for non-English films, having loved City of God when I saw it back in  2003 (and naming it My Favorite Movie of the '00s last December), seeing La Vie En Rose soon after Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar in 2008, enjoying the French take on one of my favorite American mystery novels, Tell No One, and going to Facets to see a fine Israeli film called The Secrets prior to a trip to Israel in March 2009. After taking note when Roger Ebert called Indian actress Aishwarya Rai "the world's most beautiful woman" back in 2004, I made a point of seeing some of her films, and some time in the last couple years, I finally got around to watching and enjoying Life Is Beautiful.

But it wasn't until mid-December 2009, and much more avidly in 2010, that I began to truly delve into the foreign film canon. The reasons are split between the motivational and the logistical, but include:

- Time to explore (at least in a reel sense). Due to a lack of full-time employment, which unfortunately (at least financially) remains my situation today, I have had more time to watch movies and pursue new interests. But consequently, I have not had the means to travel abroad, which led me to seek...

- An alternate way of exploring global culture. I was fortunate to travel beyond U.S. borders in 8 of the past 10 years, to places as disparate as Italy, Australia, Spain, Paris, London, Prague, Amsterdam, Cairo and Israel. This has given me an appreciation for how "other people" live, about which films from various locales further my familiarity and, at present, serve as an important and enlightening substitute for real adventures.

- The Chicago Film Discussion Meetup Group - I have been a fan of Meetup.com and participant in several Meetup groups (including a BritPop group I used to host) for several years. At the suggestion of my friend Dave, I started going to the Film Discussion Brunch in December, quickly realized how relatively constrained my film focus had been and within a week watched the Italian classic The Bicycle Thief, the German escapist flick Run Lola Run and, at the Music Box, a Romanian film called Police, Adjective. Although I rarely make it to movie screenings at which Meetups are also organized, I love the monthly (sometimes twice-monthly) discussions over brunch at the Holiday Club, at which we have focused on topics like films of Tarantino, Kubrick and Altman, as well as Italian and Japanese cinema.

- Friends With Broader Film Tastes - In addition to benefiting from and contributing to the film meetups, my interest in world cinema has given me more to discuss with friends who were already well-acclimated. From people like Dave, Paolo, Bob and Jordan, I have been pointed to many rewarding films, including Rififi, Rashomon, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Touchez Pas au Grisbi, Munyurangabo, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and several I have yet to see.

- Skokie Public Library - Although when I lived in Glen Ellyn (which itself has a fine library) I was chagrined that SPL policy excludes lending materials to anyone without a card from within the North Suburban Library, once again being a resident of my hometown has reminded me what a great resource I have available. In addition to a vast collection of World Cinema films--befitting a highly diverse community--the library screens a foreign-language film on the first Monday of each month (open to everyone). This month, a week delayed because of Labor Day, the SPL is showing Coco Before Chanel (starring Amelie's Audrey Tautou and on Roger Ebert's list of Best Foreign Films of 2009) at 7pm on September 13. Although my borrowing of foreign films (which I can have put on the Bookmobile to pick up a block from my home) has slowed inversely to my use of Netflix, just today, I took out Pan's Labyrinth, Central Station, Two Women and Lagaan (along with A Fistful of Dollars and The Fountain; the next Film Discussion will focus on the latter's director Darren Aronofsky along with David Fincher, two of my favorite American filmmakers). While not all libraries may not have a foreign film section as vast as Skokie's, probably every library has more than enough good ones to choose from, often for free.

- Netflix - Although Netflix has long been championed by several friends, I resisted becoming a member until this past January. My reasoning was that between the movies I already owned, the library, HBO & other cable movie channels with plenty of On-Demand selections and Redbox, which charges only $1.00 for nightly rentals (no wonder Blockbuster is going bankrupt), plus seeing a fair number of films in theaters, I couldn't really justify spending $8.99 per month to get one movie at a time by mail. And as I don't enjoy watching movies or TV shows on my computer, instant streaming  capabilities (i.e. movies that run online) were no lure. But in January, I got a Blu-Ray player (this one from Sony, which I recommend once the price comes back down to $138 on Amazon after they get more in stock) that enables me to stream Netflix' selection of instantly streaming movies--more vast than I imagined and ever growing--I decided to get my feet wet with a 2-week Netflix trial. Soon I took the plunge, but in paying $10.99/mo. (including a $2 surcharge to receive Blu Ray discs), I've canceled all my movie channels, stopped renting from Redbox, haven't bought more than two movies all year and can watch films at home not all that long after they play cinemas. In 8-1/2 months, I've watched 28 streaming movies and 27 discs that have arrived in my mailbox about a day after shipping--including 21 foreign films that HBO, et al, don't provide. In turn, Netflix' complex algorithms (which an acquaintance named Meta Brown explains in this insightful video) are constantly recommending more global choices that it thinks I should like.

- Roger Ebert - Long my favorite film critic, even when Gene Siskel was alive and battling him At The Movies and writing for the Chicago Tribune, Roger has always championed great films from all ends of the earth. You can access all his reviews and many other writings through the excellent RogerEbert.com and his Great Movies book series--III was just released--would make a wonderful holiday gift for any film buff. In April, Dave and I went to Champaign, IL, for the Roger Ebert (nee Overlooked) Film Festival. One of the two movies we saw was from England called I Capture the Castle. I've also seen 6 of 15 films on Ebert's Best Foreign Films of 2009 list and intend to see several more.

- IMDB, AllMovie.com, Wikipedia, Yahoo Movies and Fandango - From filmographies of most worldwide directors to plot summaries of a gazillion movies to composite user ratings to local showtimes, a ton of information to help you better discover, learn more about and appreciate foreign films is at your fingertips. There also myriad other great online and published resources, some more explicitly focusing on world cinema, but these should provide a great starting point. Those interested can see all of my IMDB ratings here, as although I rate all movies seen through Netflix on their site and have them fed to my Facebook page, you need to be a member of those websites to see them.

Where to Possibly Begin (or How To Continue)
Your Exploration of World Cinema

As should be fairly apparent, I am by no means an expert on movies in general and foreign ones in particular. Although I have watched a good assortment over the past 9 months, the important films I don't know vastly outnumber the ones I have (and who's to say what's "important" anyway?).

In no particular order, I will provide a list of foreign films that I have found to be excellent, but please don't mistake this for a comprehensive list of the best films of world cinema. For more in-depth guidance, refer to Ebert, IMDB, AllMovie.com, Empire magazine's recent 100 Best Films of World Cinema list (easier to see in full here), Academy Award winners and nominees for Best Foreign Language Film, Paste Magazine's opinion on the Most Essential Foreign Films of the '00s and a ranking of the decade's top grossing foreign language films.

Hopefully, some of my movie buff friends and readers will add some more great choices in the Comments and you likely have friends and relatives happy to share opinions of their own. These are just a smattering (not all) of the globally-produced movies that I have seen since December 2009 that I would give at least @@@@ (and many a full @@@@@), broken down by country of origin. I won't list the languages but all are available on DVD or through Netflix instant streaming with English subtitles. (I also cited some famed directors from the various regions; not all are represented in the lists that follow, nor should inclusions be viewed as comprehensive.)

France - The big directors are Truffaut, Godard and Rohmer
Breathless
The 400 Blows
Rififi
Shoot the Piano Player
Amelie
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
A Prophet
The Concert - This one should still be in selected U.S. theaters. Not perfect, but quite worthwhile.

Italy - Fellini, De Sica, Antonioni, Leone
La Dolce Vita - My favorite Fellini movie of the four so far seen, but La Strada, Nights of Cabiria and 8-1/2 also belong here.
The Bicycle Thief (aka Bicycle Thieves)
Cinema Paradiso
Il Postino

Japan - Kurosawa, Ozu, Ichikawa, Kobayashi
The Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Rashomon
The Burmese Harp

China/Taiwan - Yimou Zhang, Ang Lee
Raise the Red Lantern
To Live

Germany - Herzog, Fassbinder, Wenders
The Counterfeiters
Run Lola Run
(The White Ribbon) - I didn't love it, but many did and I should watch it again

Belgium - The Dardenne brothers
The Son
Lorna's Silence

Sweden - Bergman
The Seventh Seal
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - I thought these were very good interpretations of the books
The Girl Who Played With Fire

Mexico
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Sin Nombre

Other
Ballad of a Soldier - Russia
The Chaser - Korea
Munyurangabo - Rwanda
Broken Embraces - Spain (Director: Almodovar)
Peepli Live - India
Maria Full of Grace - Columbia
The Barbarian Invasions - Canada (French)
Song for Sparrows - Iran
The Damned United - England
The Wind That Shakes The Barley - England/Ireland
The Secret in Their Eyes - Argentina - The best new movie from anywhere I've seen in 2010