You Need to Watch Foreign Films and Here's Why
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Dress - River Island
Jacket - Noisy May (Asos)
Boots - Betts
Earrings - Lovisa
Lipcolour - Colourpop
Jacket - Noisy May (Asos)
Boots - Betts
Earrings - Lovisa
Lipcolour - Colourpop
Sydney Film Festival is currently in full swing and after several failed attempts in the
years prior, I finally got around to attending a screening. The outfit above
was worn on the same day for a screening of the Finnish film, ‘The Other Side of Hope’. The wry comedy about a Syrian Refugee in Finland was nowhere in my
shortlist of films to see, as its somber and minimalist style of cinematography simply
never appealed to me. But as chance would have it, I failed to get tickets to the
movies I wanted to see and chose to watch this instead, and boy was I surprised!
The first
20 mins I sat perplexed, wondering why my fellow movie-goers were laughing so
hard. I seemed to miss the joke every time. But gradually as the movie
finished, I realised just how much I enjoyed the deadpan humour and how deeply
moving it had been.
Four hours
later, it was still on my mind.
I’m glad to
say that I was able to shatter my preconceived notions about the film and enjoy
it for what it was, a poignant tale of an unusual friendship and humanity in
characters that at first seemed cold.
This struggle
of setting aside your prejudices is one I’ve also had to handle in my previous experiences
of watching foreign films. Having never been much of a movie buff and almost
never one that watched movies at home, my experience with films was limited to
visiting the cinemas every 3-4 months.
That was
until one dreadfully boring day, where on a whim I decided to watch the South
Korean drama, ‘The Handmaiden’. Beautiful, colourful, and dramatic, it kept me on the edge of my seat. I was impressed enough to follow it up with a Chinese
film called ‘What’s in the Darkness’ and an Iranian Oscar Winner titled ‘The Salesman’.
What got me
hooked was not the differences (I guess I expected those), but the abundant similarities.
If you take away the Chinese cast of ‘What’s in the Darkness’ what’s left is a
story that could translate wonderfully into Indian society. Whether that’s the
mannerisms of characters, the quirks of the story, the relationship dynamics and
concerns or the town it was set in, it could all very easily strike a chord
with the nation’s southern neighbours. Seeing all these similarities had me
sold and I firmly proclaimed my love for foreign films from there on.
However,
while the similarities can offer a sense of kinship and belonging, the
differences that come to the fore are just as intriguing to watch. I anticipated that foreign films will likely hold no social relevance to me, after all our
reactions to topics and our approach to life is intrinsically linked to our
culture. But if you look beyond this seemingly irrelevant surface of
differences, you can acquaint yourself with human emotions and dilemmas that
seem to occur thousands of times over, all around the world. When you are able to
connect with the person onscreen, who looks and talks differently to you, when you
are able to understand their plight despite the barrier of cultural, social and
political differences;
This for me
paves the way for a unique kind of intimacy.
Ultimately,
empathy is the need of the hour and films have proven to be a path to
uncovering that.
There is so
much to be learnt from foreign films. I recently wrote an article about
‘Journey to Personal Growth without Travel’, and one aspect that I didn’t
address was the role foreign films can play in this growth.
Similarly I heard a recent Bollywood movie ‘Dangal’ broke records in China and my Chinese colleagues gushed about how they needed to watch it. Perhaps, they could identify with the characters and relationships just like I did.
19 comments
Love your floral piece. You look fab girl!!!
ReplyDeleteLove
Nistha
https://www.fashionistha.com/fringe-trim-trumpet-sleeve-knit-dress/
Such a cute dress :)
ReplyDeletewww.sophiaston.de
That's great and interesting! Except American movies I'm not watching anything else but I should! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletehttp://violettedaily.com
Cute dress. I like watching foreign films.
ReplyDeleteBernie, xx
The Style Fanatic
You're inspiring me to watch more foreign films! You look gorgeous hunny xx
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thatnewdress.com
These florals are seriously made for youuu, girlie!! I actually never really watch German movies, even though I live here - haha!
ReplyDeleteXX from Germany
Jecky
Want Get Repeat
I really should take your lead and watch more foreign films as the one or two I have watched in the past I have really enjoyed. My fiancee once brought round a French DVD and I felt really mean after as I was less than impressed to begin with but he said he had brought it as he thought I would like it and he was so right! Lesson learnt and it just goes to show that you should try something before just dismissing it completely :) x
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute outfit, girlie; I love that dress and those earrings! I've never really watched foreign films before, but I must admit, you've inspired me to, I'd imagine it'd give you more insight of the culture overall. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a great week ahead!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jalisa
www.thestylecontour.com
First of all, beautiful outfit! I love that dress. And second, I really enjoyed reading your post! Very interesting to hear your perspective on watching this film.
ReplyDelete~Lindsey
http://have-clothes-will-travel.com/
I feel like you would really enjoy this Japanese movie called Our Little Sister. It's so heartwarming and funny. One of my favourite foreign films.
ReplyDeleteDora
http://www.adropofindigo.com/single-post/2017/06/21/Azores-Adventures---Featuring-Picos-de-Aventura
It's been a while since I've watched a foreign film, unless you count Bollywood films. I don't get to the theater often enough. I totally agree that foreign films are so moving and really get you to think differently. Humanity is often divided, but I feel like films are a great way to bring us together. I'll have to check out that Syrian film. Would love to see how they turned a tough situation into a humorous one.
ReplyDeletexx Yasmin
http://banglesandbungalows.com
Suck a beautiful outfit! you look beautiful as always
ReplyDeleteGros bisous
http://gallech.blogspot.com
This is such an incredible post. I totally agree with the moral of this post. When I was younger my mom would make my brother and I watch all sorts of different foreign films: Afghan, Iranian, Chinese, French! What's funny is I wasn't that interested as a kid at first, but they were still really important as I learned about different cultures from a director's beautiful point of view.
ReplyDeletex,
S | Je M'appelle Chanel
In love with the entire outfit!! So chic!!
ReplyDeletexx
Mónica Sors
MES VOYAGES À PARIS
NEW POST: MY CAMPAIGN FOR JIMMY CHOO
Amazing look, love your dress ! :-) xoxo
ReplyDeletehttp://katycolorfulfreak.blogspot.com
I loved the floral dress and the way you have carried it girl!
ReplyDeleteNistha
https://www.fashionistha.com/palm-leaf-and-rains-and-lavasa/
I completely agree that foreign films are a must. That's why I love Netflix! They have such a good selection of them. As long as there are subtitles I'm good to go =)
ReplyDeletexoxo
Rina Samantha
http://www.andshedressed.com
You look so lovely! ♥️ Anyway, here in the Philippines, we're also fond of watching foreign films, specifically American movies and TV series. Aside from that, I'm also a bit hooked with Korean dramas! I recommend you watch Legend of the Blue Sea, Descendants of the Sun, and Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. You'll love it! :)
ReplyDeleteHear from you soon!
Love,
Airish | Gorgeous Glance
http://www.airishabella.blogspot.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteMihaailo| mihaailo.blogspot.com