A trip around the world: Argentina, Japan, Africa, - three foreign films for your review, including Ran

Sometimes I let a certain entropy take over the movie selections for the weekend, and other times, I like to think I'm planning and organized, maybe with a theme, an actor or director or something like that. This past weekend, I thought, hmm, perhaps Best Foreign Language Film would be a great category to tackle, and it was, except only one of the three films I watched actually won for Best Foreign Language Film. But, never fear, your intrepid movie review will explain all in a moment.

9/28/13 The Secret in Their Eyes, Best Foreign Language Film, 2009

The Secret in their Eyes was Argentina's winning entry from 2009. It tells the story of a brutal attack and murder of a young woman in 1974 and the investigation of her murder by Benjamin Esposito, a federal agent and his interest in writing a book on the case 25 years later. The movie goes back and forth between the two time periods. Esposito reconnects with Irene Menendez-Hastings, who is now a judge, but 25 years earlier, she was Esposito's department chief, and they discuss the case, take trips down memory lane, and ignite romantic feelings that seemed to be one-sided for Esposito in 1979. Esposito is spurred on in his pursuit of the killer by the love and single-minded dedication of the young girl's widower, Ricardo Morales. Morales cannot give up on finding the suspected killer and bringing him to justice, and his focus, perhaps myopia, rubs off on Esposito and his assistant, Sandoval. Providing any more information risks spoiling the fun of watching the story unravel and then come together, so I will leave you with a strong recommendation to get this movie from Netflix or the library. The storytelling, direction and acting are superb, it's suspenseful, and a great detective story. The movie was based on a novel, by Eduardo Sacheri called The Question in Their Eyes. The one thing that was a little confusing was the way the legal system works in Argentina and who is responsible for what; but don't let that detract from the story.

10/2/13 Ran, Best Costume Design, 1985

This is where my great plan started to go a little askew, I was under the assumption when I saw Ran on my Oscars list (it only lists the number of awards and nominations) that it won for Best Picture, I mean, come on, we're talking Akira Kurosawa and a film that is routinely recognized as one of the best ever. But from what I read on Wikipedia (also check out the article for much more detail and analysis) Kurosawa upset people in the Japanese film industry so it was not nominated as Japan's entry for Best Foreign Film, but it was nominated in several other categories, including Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, which it did win. There is no way I am going to try to analyze and recap everything that happens in this movie, I think that is better left to longer forms like books and essays, but I'll try to give you a flavor (think of it like getting a little sample at the mall food court and then going back for the whole menu). Ran is a variation on the story of King Lear, substituting three sons for Lear's three daughters. Hidetora is a powerful warlord who is ready to pass on his lands and power to his three sons, but goes about it in a way that pretty much alienates everyone. As Hidetora moves from one disgruntled son to another, his enemies begin to make their moves on his family's territory. If you're familiar with the story of King Lear and his foibles, penchant for angry outbursts and brushes with hubris, you probably have some idea how this ends. And knowing (or suspecting) the ending, does not lessen the impact of the movie. The musical score is a mixture of Japanese drums (I think that's what they were) and an orchestral score, sometimes this score plays with the action and environmental background noise and at one point, you only here the music, no horses riding or arrows being shot, it's very different, but it works. The cinematography is stunning. The acting is at times melodramatic and at others, really melodramatic, but I think that was by design and not bad acting. As I was watching this movie, I tried to think of other attempts at versions or adaptations of King Lear in film, and I honestly could not think of too many, just one in fact, and that starred one of the greatest Shakespearean actors in history, Lord Laurence Olivier in an 1983 television version of King Lear. Once I remembered that, I tried to see the parallels between the two versions: Kurosawa and Olivier did their take on Lear towards the end of their careers and were recognized for their versions; they were done two years apart; the scene on the heath/mountains during the storm still seems pivotal to me and in both versions was gripping and the Fool grows in importance (the Fool in any story, if done well, is the truthsayer and should not be overlooked). If it is possible, I would recommend seeing both films, but probably not back to back, because that might be a lot to take in at one time. Also, if you are hesitant to see a foreign film, even though I have encouraged you to broaden your horizons, this is probably not the movie with which to start, it's very long, for one thing (160 minutes) and it may be easier to start with movies where the language is a little more familiar. However, if you do like foreign films, and just have not gotten around to seeing this, definitely add this to your list. The last 45 minutes are really powerful. Oh, and if you have no idea about the tragedy of King Lear, then you should send a note to your high school English teacher and ask for a summary, or read it yourself.

9/28/13 War Witch, Best Foreign Language Film nominee, 2012

Okay, here it is, the movie everyone should watch, but most people will not. It wasn't an easy movie to watch, and I was fairly convinced I was going to have nightmares. Not slasher movie nightmares, but holy shit, 'this stuff really happens' nightmares. War Witch was Canada's entry for 2012 (it was in French and Lingala) and tells the story of civil war in an unnamed country in sub-Saharan Africa and the use of child soldiers. At the beginning of the movie, Komona is a 12 year old girl whose village is attacked by soldiers and everyone is killed except for her, she is forced to kill her parents. She is then taken away and forced to be a soldier. She later befriends an older albino boy, called 'Magician' (there is a reason I mention he's an albino, it's relevant later), and he asks her to marry him and takes her back to his family (it's not quite that easy, it's all a journey). Unfortunately, things don't quite end there, and if possible, it gets harder to watch. The movie ends on a hopeful note, but it's not easy. This movie should be watched, it's a real issue and it's told in a way that does not shy away from the harsh reality. I'm not sure how the kids in the movie were able to do the things they were asked, but they deserve a lot of credit, in fact, the young girl who played Komona, Rachel Mwanza, had never acted before, but she won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, among other honors. War Witch was going up against some strong competition at the Oscars in 2012 and lost to Amour. I hope you give this one a try, but maybe watch an episode of Big Bang Theory afterward just to take the edge off.