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Wadjda (2012)
Wadjda
In my opinion, Wadjda was one of the best foreign films I've seen thus far. I really appreciate films, especially those from other countries, that have a really strong female protagonist, and this film was no exception. It was even entertaining to see the establishing shots of her battered-up sneakers as opposed to every other girl's simple black shoes, to show how she was different from those who conformed. The story revolved around the titular character, Wadjda, a young girl that questioned the roles imposed upon her by society. Although it was against sharia law, her one main goal was to buy a bike in order to race her friend. She loses hope when she is unable to save enough money on her own, but she soon hears about a Qaran recitation competition at her school, where the winner is able to win a cash prize. In the hopes of obtaining her bike, she enters the competition. She ends up winning, but the headmaster donates the money to Palestine instead as she discovers that Wadjda was simply trying to buy a bike. The movie ends on a sweet note, with Wadjda finding out her mom has bought the bike for her anyway, and she is able to race her friend. I'd give this film a solid 5 stars.
Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand (2004)
Turtles Can Fly
Turtles Can Fly, despite its lack of flying turtles, was a great film that I really enjoyed. Similarly to the film Innocent Voices, which I saw earlier in the year, the protagonists were all children, making the film really easy to relate to. It also made me more interested in the film, as usually I can empathize more with kids and teenagers rather than adults. I especially liked Satellite, who was rather clever and acted as a leader for the rest of the kids, and Agrid, who seemed very serious and reserved, but was actually hiding a lot under the surface. However, the situation that the kids were in was incredibly dangerous— they were removing landmines from a field daily for work, which just goes to show how war-stricken and terrible their lives were. The ending of the film also made me feel so badly for Satellite. I really didn't see the explosion coming, as I thought it would be Agrid's child who set it off and not Satellite. I also didn't understand the entire plot point with Agrid's brother. If he was intended to be psychic, or at least have premonitions, why didn't the film elaborate more on exactly what sort of powers he had? It obviously wasn't a supernatural movie, so they could've at least had more explanation as to what exactly his character arc was. That small detail didn't really bother me, though. I have to say, I really enjoyed this movie and would definitely recommend it to people who are not well- immersed in foreign films.
Tuya de hun shi (2006)
Tuya's Marriage
Tuya's Marriage was, compared to most of the Asian films I've seen, kind of a letdown. I enjoyed it, but although the movie had a good premise, it didn't have high enough stakes or interesting moments to really catch my attention. The plot followed the title character, a shepherd named Tuya, who is married to her husband Batoer. Batoer, who is disabled, is unable to work as a shepherd, and when an injury also leaves Tuya unable to work, she is forced to divorce Batoer and remarry someone who can provide for him. After numerous men refuse to look after him, Tuya is torn between Baolier, a wealthy, recently-divorced man who works for an oil company, and Shenge, her neighbor whose wife has recently left him. Baolier proves to not be as good of a man as he seems, as Batoer tries to commit suicide and Baolier doesn't tell Tuya about it. Shenge also seems to not be who he seems at first, but turns out to have been digging the well as a source of income for Tuya, even if it meant hurting himself in the process. However, the relationship between Shenge and Tuya, instead of easily coming together, was made difficult by Tuya rejecting him, then accepting his advances, then rejecting him again. I feel like it would've had a bit more closure if the audience knew who she decided to marry, but it was never made clear. I'd only give this movie 3 out of 5 stars—it was okay, but it wasn't amazing by any means.
Metro Manila (2013)
Metro Manila
Metro Manila was, out of the foreign films that I've watched, a solid favorite of mine. The plot is rather interesting, as it follows the story of Oscar, a rice farmer; Mai, his wife; and their two daughters who move from Banaue Province to Metro Manila in search of a better life. However, upon moving, they realize that the city, which is crawling with crime and corruption, is much worse than they thought. Oscar is offered a job, and the family is offered shelter in a low-income apartment building; however, his job is incredibly dangerous and requires him to put his life on the line, and they find out they were swindled as the police evict the family for swatting. This situation and many others contributed to a feeling of always being on the edge of your seat, and normally, I don't really enjoy action movies, but I loved this movie. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
Confusion Na Wa (2013)
Confusion Na Wa
I was really excited to see this movie, as it is labeled as a black comedy and it sounded absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, after the first third of the movie, the plot began to solidify itself and most of the humor was lost. That being said, the lack of sinister humor in no way affected my opinion of this movie—in fact, I enjoyed this movie. Somewhat. The plot revolved around a group of strangers whose fates become intertwined over the course of a day. It's not all that simple, though. The main reason for these people all becoming linked together is a cell phone belonging to a man by the name of Emeka Nwosu. Charles and Chichi steal the phone from Emeka's car after a fight breaks out in the road, and the rest goes downhill from there. They find that Emeka is cheating on his wife Irene with another woman, Isabelle, who is married to a civil servant named Bello. Before this happens, they also steal a car stereo from Babajide, the head publisher of a newspaper company. His son, Kola, is confided in by his daughter Doyin to make sure he doesn't tell their father that she is going to a party. At this party, her friend Fola is raped by Charles, and Chichi gives his number to Doyin, introducing himself as Emeka. The day after the party, Charles and Chichi call Emeka and they threaten to blackmail him until he buys back his phone from them, etc. And then they all confront each other, and then Chichi dies under the presumption that he was Charles, and...well, if this plot doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, it doesn't make sense to me either.
The entire movie is told in this weird sort of narrative to make sure that it covers all the bases and links everyone together in some way or another. It made it pretty difficult to understand what was happening a majority of the time, especially during the middle of the film, when the climax of the movie was starting to occur. I had a few moments where I had forgotten the name of a specific character and it totally ruined my thought process of what was happening, since I had forgotten how they were linked.
So the title of the film itself is pretty self-explanatory to my opinion of it: "confusion" is right. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this movie. I'd give it 7/10 stars.
Rebelle (2012)
War Witch
Of all the foreign films that we have watched, Rebelle is without a doubt my favorite film so far. The story outlines a young teenage girl from the ages of 12 to 14 who is abducted by the rebel army. When her hallucinations protect her from war with the government soldiers, they pronounce her as a witch and she is highly regarded, especially by the Great Tiger himself. During the film, she develops a close relationship with a fellow child soldier known as the Magician, who through great lengths to find a white rooster to propose marriage to her. After he dies, she gets abducted again by a war commander, and after having conceived his child, she manages to avoid getting raped and kill him by shoving a razor blade inside of her body—which, in my opinion, is really cool. It's rare to find such a strong female protagonist in film nowadays, especially in foreign films, so that made it all the more refreshing. Overall, I enjoyed this movie immensely and would rate it five stars.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
Cidade de Deus
City of God struck a chord with me negatively for a few different reasons. My first reason is that the cinematography was shot in a way that, although brilliant, definitely gave me a headache. The beginning and end scene with the chicken are notable examples of this. It was really hard to focus on what was happening because of the sudden jump cuts, and this coupled with the loud, fast-paced music in the scenes were pretty off-putting. The other reason is that the violence in the movie was a bit much, but considering the fact that its plot literally revolved around gangs, I can't really complain. That being said, I really enjoyed this movie. I thought that the way the story was told from multiple angles was incredibly well-executed, and it was really fascinating to see the same scenes be shot and perceived in an entirely different angle than they had appeared just moments before. I have to give the team behind this movie credit where it is due, as I can't recall ever seeing any American movies that were filmed in this manner. The way that the two main characters Li'l Zé and Rocket are linked is quite interesting as well. Rocket is the younger brother of Goose, a gang member that Li'l Zé killed. Despite this, Rocket uses his photography skills as a source of income and to unknowingly promote Li'l Zé and his gang, who make their income off drug money. The method in which these two different stories are linked is really well coordinated, and give the movie more substance.
So, in summary, despite the fact that my retinas were in pain for a solid ten minutes of the movie, I still really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.
Hermano (2010)
Hermano
Hermano, as implied in the title, was a story of brothers, and that theme was prevalent throughout much of the movie. The two brothers, Julio and Daniel—or Gato, as he has been affectionately nicknamed from birth—serve an interesting perspective on the film's plot. Although both boys love soccer, Daniel's dedication to the sport is more integral to the story than Julio's. Even after their mom is accidentally killed, Daniel still wishes to try out for the pro leagues while Julio is at his wit's end trying to discover his mother's killer. In addition to this, Gato's more easy-going and sensitive nature conflicts with his brother's headstrong tendencies, making the tension of the film all the more heightened. However, Daniel eventually convinces his brother to try out for the professional soccer league with him, and it seems that their conflict is settled when their team wins the game—that is, until the ending, when Daniel goes over to Max, Julio's friend (and his mother's killer) and beats him to a pulp, killing both him and getting himself killed in the process.
As much as I enjoyed the movie, the ending seemed incredibly hazy to me. Doesn't the fact that Daniel got killed nullify the entire plot? If his goal was to become a professional soccer player, and he qualifies but also dies, wouldn't that mean that the whole hour and a half of the story proved to be worthless? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie, but the ending definitely affected it negatively for me.