There are very few times I would rather watch a Hollywood film over an Independent or Foreign film.  Since some of our members and subscribers love to read I felt like this was the best list I could come up with to satisfy everyone at Oscar time.  Often times film from other countries challenge us in ways that are very similar to books.  You need to read past what is printed and find the subtleties in the characters and situations.  It’s like comparing Dan Brown’s ”The DaVinci Code” to John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden;” the books not the movies.  The former is all laid out for you but while you are reading the latter you feel there is something much more to it.  You just need to figure out what it is. 

I feel that is the case with these films.  They require further discussion afterwards and perhaps some time to take it all in.  Many of them are staples of Foreign Film buffs, as they should be.  These would be the 10 films I would start watching. 

#1)  The Bicycle Thief (Italy) 

This is Vittorio DeSica’s great contribution to world cinema.  For me this is Foreign Film 101.  It is post-WWII Italy, shot in post-WWII Italy.  The wreckage is real and the actors are real people.  That is one of the staples of the neo-realism that was going on at that time - minimal additional lighting, no trained actors and real environments.  This film has a simple naive message that still holds up to this day. 

#2)  All About My Mother (Spain) 

Pedro Almodovar is easily my favorite living director.  He also ranks in my Top 4 All-time along with Chaplin, Truffaut (we’ll get to him in a bit) and Hitchcock.  Almodovar in some circles is written off as an avant-garde film maker who makes gay/lesbian cinema which is partially true but hardly gives him the credit he deserves.  This film won the Oscar in 1999 for Best Foreign Language Film.  All About My Mother is a very tragic yet heartwarming movie that has strong ties to Streetcar Named Desire and All About Eve.  You don’t need to have seen them to appreciate this movie, but it wouldn’t hurt.  

#3)  Jules and Jim (France) 

This may not be the only Francois Truffaut film on this list but it is arguably his best work and most well known (aside of maybe a very good adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 which he made within the Hollywood Studio System in the 80s.)  This story follows two friends (I’ll let you guess their names) through their lives together.  They meet this woman Catherine who comes between them but not in the way you’d think.  Truffaut weaves together metaphors in what has got to be one of the greatest film accomplishments of all time. 

#4)  The Color of Paradise (Iran) 

What?!  Someone alert the Homeland Security.  A film from the Middle East?!  Director Majid Majidi is a well respected auteur.  His films are touching and reach out to you as a viewer and invite you into their world.  I am not as cultured as many people.  I saw this film and it was a complete culture shock.  Iran isn’t the dustbowl I imagined it was.  The place is lush.  They don’t all share the same beliefs even if they supposedly do.  This film is subversive in all the right ways.  It deals with a young boy named Mohammed who is blind.  The family doesn’t really know what to do with him when he isn’t off at school so they send him to learn a trade.  They find a blind carpenter (very Jesus-like) that helps him bridge the gap between his world and the world around him.  Interesting Facts:  The original name of the movie was “The Color of God” but the Iranian Education Department wouldn’t allow that, so it was changed.  Also because the Department of Education puts up funding for all Iranian made films they all must feature children as the main characters. 

#5)  Seven Samurai (Japan) 

It could be argued that Ran or Yojimbo or Rashoman are superior films but when it all is said and done there is just something I really like about Akira Kurosawa’s flagship movie Seven Samurai.  This film was released a few years later in the States as The Magnificent Seven which was also written by Akira Kurosawa.  The two are similar in the way that a small village needs protection from bandits and that seven people come to help but beyond that they have stark cultural differences.  This makes it a great piece to use to study.  Seven Samurai is a bit long but it is worth the watch. 

#6)  The 400 Blows (France) 

No.  It is not what you are thinking.  The term “400 Blows” is a French expression that means “to raise hell.”  It is obviously lost in translation but this film is what put Francois Truffaut on the map.  Jean-Pierre Leaud, hand picked by Truffaut to play Truffaut as a young boy, reprises his role as Antoine Doinel in five other Truffaut films all about his life growing up.  Leaud would also pop up in other Truffaut films and in films by many other directors who saw him as the living representation of Francois (who died at the age of 52.)  This film is most famous for its ending where Antoine runs for what seems to be 2-3 miles to the ocean and stares at the camera.  It is telling about Truffaut’s own life experience as a man who had only a mother, who eventually cast him out for some guy, and his decision to turn to film as a way out. 

#7)  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (France) 

Jacque Demy is a founding member of “The French New Wave” a group of French filmmakers (led by Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Eric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol and others) who were inspired by Italian Neo-realism and changed world cinema for ever.  Demy was the only member of the New Wave to be fascinated by Musicals.  In turn almost all of his films are musicals.  I considered adding The Young Girls of Rochefort to this list but left it off in favor of this film.  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is the only movie to be 100% sung.  Yeah, it sounds kind of gimmicky but really the story is all there and it is well deserving of a spot on this list.  

#8)  The Vanishing (Netherlands) 

I have been promoting this film since the first day I saw it.  It is a thriller that was (poorly) remade with Keifer Sutherland in the 90s and they tacked on another 30 minutes to it.  No thanks.  The original ends perfectly.  A man and a woman are on a road trip.  They stop for gas or a map or something and all of a sudden she has vanished.  No clues.  The man spends the next five years obsessed with finding her.  He gets contacted by the person who abducted her and that is when it begins to get eerie.  This isn’t like Ringu or some kind of Japanese slasher/thriller, this is a cerebral thriller if there ever was one. 

#9)  In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong) 

Wong Kar-Wai is still a relative unknown director in the States but he is known by all “cinephiles” (I know it sounds dirty.)  In the Mood for Love is a story about two neighbors (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, monster of International Cinema, in fact they were both nominated for Independent Spirit Awards for the same film this year - Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution.  Although I haven’t seen it sounds a lot like this film) who find out that their husband and wife are cheating on them.  Instead of giving into their urges and becoming what they hate in their spouses they create a strong work relationship (graphic novelists) that both of them want to take further.  The great thing about this film is you are never told exactly what happens in the room they share as a business office (Room 2046) but for many it is clear what happened.  What I love about Wong Kar-Wai is that he then took it to a new level and created a film called 2046 starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung that takes place in the year 2046 and is very futuristic like the Manga they were creating.  

#10)  La Strada (Italy) 

This was a tough call.  I had many other films that could have gone here, maybe in the future I will break it down by geographical regions for Top 10, but I cannot see how you have a Top 10 and not include at least one film by Frederico Fellini.  Anyone who has seen a Fellini film has probably seen 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vida which are both great films but what gets me about La Strada (translated means “The Road”) is his most coherent and it also is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin.  It is a film about abuse, laughter, love and life.  Yeah, those are general statements, but it really is one of the best films I have ever seen.  

This list is meant to show that there are certainly great films outside our normal realms of entertainment.  Of course this list could have featured other notable films; Spirited Away (Japan), Run Lola Run (Germany), Germany Year Zero (Germany), Stromboli (Italy), Underground (Yugoslavia), Rome Open City (France), Children of Heaven (Iran) or perhaps the least well known but a personal favorite from 2006 Ten Canoes (Australia).  Ten Canoes is the only film ever shot completely in the Aboriginal language of the people of the Outback.  

I would love to talk about any one of these films if any of you have seen one or can recommend one that should be on the list.  There are probably countless I forgot when compiling this list.  I will certainly revisit this in the future.

I decided to post my Top 10 movies before Oscar week as a way of showing support for the writer’s strike. Those donuts eating, latte drinking, weed smokers are all right. What’s that? You say writers don’t partake in illegal drugs. I can prove it: ALF, Hogans Heros, and Homeboys in Outerspace. Need I say more.

Here are my move picks, in no particular order, along with a brief justification.

Batman (1998)
Rebirth of a classic. Great story, acting, and cast. Best of all, its still fun to watch.

Silence of the Lambs
5 Oscars and the creation of perhaps one of the best villains ever. “Hello Clarice.”

Dr. Strangelove
Funny and scary because of the plausibility.

Forest Gump
A great story and cultural phenomenon. You just have to get past the over-exposure.

The Usual Suspects
The best movie you’ve never seen. Clever and engaging.

Pulp Fiction
I’m not much of a Quentin Tarantino fun. But this movie had too many great tag lines.
“Which wallet is yours?”
“The one that says bad Motherf@#$.”

Raiders of the Lost Art
Just fun to watch. The type of movie you catch flipping through channels on a Saturday afternoon and end up watching until the end.

Rocky - 1979
If after watching this 1976 Best Picture winner and inspiration piece you don’t feel like hitting a heavy bag, check your pulse. But feel free to skip the six sequels.

Goodfellas
Classic gangster. Note I picked this one over the Godfather.

The Shawshank Redemption
If you can get past Tim Robin’s personal politics, its a good watch.

Terminator 2 - Judgment Day
Budget busting smash hit. Granted, the acting isn’t great. But liquid metal and a follow up on the status of Sara Conner makes for a hit in 1991. If only they hadn’t decided to do a television series.

Well that’s it. I look forward to everyone’s input, insight, and insults.

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Those were my initial thoughts when I heard of a website which called itself Free Rice. Later, I found out that Free Rice is a website that can help the poor and enhance your vocabulary at the same time — as odd of a combination as that is.

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When the website loads, you see a savannah-esque format that drags your attention to the center. In the center is one word, followed by four potential synonyms. The ‘player’ has to pick the correct synonym. If the player gets a word correct, the website donates 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. Gradually, the words get harder. Free Rice is a non-profit organization — the money is generated from the advertisements you see at the bottom of the screen while you are playing.

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As a writer, I love this site. It’s the only vocabulary enhancer (that I know of) that helps people other than yourself. I donated over 10,000 grains about 2 months ago. Can you beat my record?