Matt's Guide to Enjoying Foreign Films, Part Two

Click here for Part One!

Well, sorry for the delay on Part Two. Been busy with friends, house-sitting and bad movies (I enjoyed the travesty that is “Batman and Robin” just last night). But I’ve got it finished now, so quit your complaining. Without further ado, the second installment of the my three-part series: Matt’s Guide to Enjoying Foreign Films!

Do your research:
You know, not all foreign films released Stateside are dramatic masterpieces. Overseas filmmakers are just as capable of churning out crap cinema as any American director. Luckily, God saw fit to grant mankind with its greatest innovation: the internet. Use it, folks. Do your research. What’s good? What sucks? What’s a good, accessible film for someone just getting into foreign cinema? If I liked this American film, would I like this similar foreign film? With a limitless well of readily available information and literally millions of users active in film forums across the net, the world wide web is a great resource for a film fan looking to dip their toes in the foreign cinematic waters. Happiness is only a Google search away!

Listen to recommendations:
Your local video clerk (for our purposes here, we’ll refer to him as “Matt”) seems to know his stuff. Matt is always quick to offer his opinion on your film choices, and you consider him to be a knowledgeable, dependable resource when it comes to picking your flicks. Or maybe you have a friend (again, for our purposes, we’ll call him “Matt”) who is passionate about film, and is always willing to recommend a movie from any given genre. People, like the internet, are excellent resources when it comes to film recommendations. If someone tells you that “Pan’s Labyrinth” is a dazzling, beautiful, multi-layered piece of cinema, you should probably take it upon yourself to see it. Trust your sources and you can’t go wrong with foreign cinema.

Read the back of the DVD, for Christ’s sake!:
I can’t tell you how many people rent a movie based on the DVD cover alone. It’s ridiculous, really. It is, essentially, judging a book by its cover. “Oh, this movie has a sweet cover. It must be good!” Nope, not true. When picking up a foreign film, read the back of the DVD! You’ll easily find the answers to several important questions: A) What’s the movie about? B) Who’s in it and what characters do they portray? C) Who’s directing and what else has he/she done? D) What year was this produced? E) What language is it in / black and white or color / widescreen or fullscreen / duration / rating? All of this information can influence your decision. The back of any DVD is just brimming with essential tidbits such as these.

Part Three tomorrow!