Most mornings I walk on an elliptical walker in the basement and watch movies (or TV shows) from DVD’s from my over Netflix queue (now over 400 DVD’s long).
Many of the films I watch are foreign films. I find them interesting both because I feel I gain a bit of knowledge about the country the film is from and indirect knowledge through thinking about how the film maker/director/writer told their story, often having to sort of sneak the messaging through local censors.
One major difference between many of these films and modern American ‘big’ films is the relative simplicity of their storylines, meant in a positive sense. American films seem to have lots of stuff going on, with the films cutting back and forth between multiple, complicated plot lines. In many of the foreign films, or at least the ones I most enjoy, there often is really just one story, with much more lingering shots even when there is less frenetic action.
I just finished a film like that, Treeless Mountain, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/treeless_mountain/. This is the story of two young sisters, Jin, who is six, and Bin, who is perhaps three or four. The two actresses, each only a year or so older than their part, were found by the writer and director, So Yong Kim, the first in a school and the second in a foster care facility. Their single mother leaves them to seemingly try and work out something with their departed father and they areleft with their Big Aunt. The mother tells them to put coins in their piggy bank and when it is full she will return.
The story is a simple one, slow moving as I mentioned by American standards. The director is able to bring out really wonderful performances by the two girls and leaves us with an emotional tale of having to grow up and deal with the sometimes difficult aspects of life while still young. I very much enjoyed it, for those interested in a wonderful story, and one not based on a DC or Marvel comic book (though I like those also), I would highly recommend it.
