Thursday, July 15, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: Non-English Language Films

 

For the 28th week of 2021 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We go into the recurring subject of non-English language films as it’s something that English-speaking audiences don’t go into often as it’s easy forget (if you’re living in a rock) that there’s other places in the world. Especially as films would say something that someone in America might relate to even though it’s in a different language. Here are my three picks as they’re all directed by women:

1. Wings
Larisa Sheptiko’s debut film is an evocative story about a former World War II pilot who becomes a flight school headmistress as she deals with her past that revolved around her glory days as a heroic pilot. It’s a unique character study that explores a woman who is dealing with a life that doesn’t have much excitement as well as being estranged to her daughter. It is a film that explore generational differences as it all play into a woman dealing with the past and the lack of future she has.

2. Love and Anarchy
From Lina Wertmuller is a film about an anarchist who stays at a brothel in a plan to kill Benito Mussolini in 1930s Fascist Italy. It is a film that doesn’t just explore social and sexual politics but also a man who finds himself in a world that he knows little about as he’s from the country and he’s in the city. Starring Giancarlo Giannini in one of his quintessential collaborations with Wertmuller, the film is this study of a man trying to serve a cause for a friend only to fall in love with a prostitute as he deals with the many inequalities around him including how women are treated during the time of Fascism.

3. Raw
Julia Ducournau’s feature film debut is certainly one for the ages as it explores a young veterinary student entering school as she is a vegan who is forced to eat meat for the first time. It is a body-horror film of sorts yet one that plays into a young woman enduring this week-long hazing ritual that her older sister went through as she participates in hazing her sister as it also has some revelations about their own identities and why they’ve become attracted towards human flesh. It is an insane film but one that is definitely original as fans of body horror should see this.

© thevoid99 2021

6 comments:

Sonia Cerca said...

I definitely need to watch your first two picks as they sound interesting. I liked Raw but was a bit disappointed as it wasn't as bloody and violent as people said. Or maybe I'm just used to worse than that.

Cinematic Delights said...

Wow, these all sound very dramatic! I've heard of Raw but I think I'm going to continue giving it a wide berth... I appreciate how bold and original it is but it's not one for me.

Brittani Burnham said...

I loved Raw. That was a great movie, but I haven't seen your other two picks. I like your theme within a theme though!

ThePunkTheory said...

I haven't seen any of your picks but I do remember the trailer for Raw. That ones goes straight to my to-watch-list!

Ruth said...

Julia Ducournau just won Palme d'Or at Cannes! RAW doesn't look like something I have the nerves to see, not sure about TITANE either.

The first two films sounds intriguing, esp. Wings!

Birgit said...

I think I will skip Raw...not for me. The other 2 films I would like to see. The Wertmuller films are, so often, layered with many meanings.