Foreign Language

City of God

December 20, 2013

It’s easy to compare “City of God” to “GoodFellas” — they both have a frenetic filmmaking style, they both revolve around youth growing up in a world of violence, and they both take that violence to awful places. Plus, they’re both brilliant films. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — this week on The Next Reel as we finish our Foreign Language series with a true highlight — Fernando Mereilles’ and Katia Lund’s 2002 film “City of God.”

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Yi Yi: A One and a Two…

December 14, 2013

Even though Edward Yang’s final film, “Yi Yi, A One and a Two,” was critically acclaimed, it is a long film and requires patience, the right frame of mind when watching, or something similar to really connect with the film. At just shy of three hours and exploring pretty much every aspect of life in one Taipei family over the course of a year, it’s certainly something that can tax some viewers, but for those who click with it, it’s a masterful, powerful, poignant film. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Foreign Language film series with this Taiwanese entry from 2000.

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Run Lola Run

December 6, 2013

“Run Lola Run” came out during a period when lots of unique and truly fantastic films were opening up in theaters. Luckily for Lola, it was equally unique and fantastic, ensuring that it didn’t get buried. Tom Tykwer’s wild film, so thoroughly infused with energy and style, took a simple tale of a woman trying to (quickly) raise money for her boyfriend to ensure he doesn’t get killed by the gangsters for which he works, and gave it a philosophical bent when he decided to write it in almost a video game style where we see the same situation play out three times. It’s an absolutely fascinating film to watch and a very easy film to enjoy. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Foreign Language Film series with this thrill of a film.

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

November 29, 2013

Rarely does a film truly take you into somebody’s head for almost the entire film. Sure, you get POVs here and there in films, but it’s a tricky tool to use, especially for longer periods of time. When Ronald Harwood hit on this in-the-head technique for his adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby’s biography, it was exactly what the story needed to be told as a film. Enter Julian Schnabel, an artist/filmmaker who brought his own intuitive magic to the directing of it, and you end up with 2007’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” a stunningly gorgeous film that’s as powerful a story of human resilience and beauty as it is a difficult film to watch because of the subject — a man living with locked-in syndrome. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our foreign language series with this brilliant film.

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Intacto

November 22, 2013

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo broke onto the international scene with “28 Weeks Later,” the sequel to Danny Boyle’s film, and has been tied to a number of high-profile Hollywood projects since, including the just-announced “Pet Sematary” remake. But it’s his feature film debut, 2002’s “Intacto,” that one only need look at to understand why this writer/director is in such hot demand. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we begin our Foreign Language series with a show about this fascinating movie from Spain about people who gamble not to win money, but to win luck.

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