foreign films

Laugh or Die is a film about the zest of life and the power of laughter, even if tinged with dark humor. In the film World War I prisoners of war, who have already been sentenced to death, prepare a play to entertain their guards and the commander of German troops visiting the prison island on which they are detained.

Belarusian-American director Darya Zhuk’s debut feature, Crystal Swan (2018), tells the story of a young Belarusian city girl, Velya, attempting to get an American Visa with forged documents in the 1990s to achieve her dream of becoming a DJ in Chicago. When Velya discovers that the fake work phone number on the visa application has a typo, she must venture into the Belarusian countryside to find the apartment of the registered phone number to falsely confirm her employment.

In Harm’s Way is a Japanese production filmed in English and Mandarin by a Dutch director (Bille August), written by an American (Greg Latte) with an American actor (Emile Hirsch) leading a Chinese and Japanese cast. It's a curious oddity: before arriving at its current title, In Harm's Way (like the 1965 Pearl Harbor movie by Otto Preminger with Kirk Douglas and John Wayne), this WWII film was released in Britain as The Hidden Soldier, and premiered at 2017’s Shanghai International  Film Festival as The Chinese Widow.

Roma is more than a place. It’s a presence, a state of mind: the mind of multi-award winner Alfonso Cuarón, traveling back to his childhood to recount a very personal moment in his life which feels universal.

Based on the arresting true story of the so-called Executioner of Emsland, The Captain follows a German army private, deserter Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), after he finds an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform in the final weeks of World War II. Emboldened by the authority the uniform grants him, he amasses a band of stragglers who cede to his command despite the suspicions of some.

It is hard to find a Colombian story that is not about drugs, but it would be too simple to call Birds of Passage a drama about the drug trade. Based on real events and set among the Wayúu people during a crucial period in recent Colombian history, between the mid-60s and the early 80s.

Tevye’s Daughters is a 2017 Ukrainian period melodrama directed by Vladimir Lert, a Latvian immigrant. Lert studied direction at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara while simultaneously attending the International Actors School founded by Soviet/Russian actor Alexander Kuznetsov.

Capernaum follows 12-year-old Zain who is imprisoned in Beirut’s Roumieh prison for stabbing a man. He is back in court after suing his own parents for allowing him to be born into a life of deprivation and abuse.

While watching Namme, a new film from Georgia submitted for Golden Globe consideration, one has to understand that it did not come out of anywhere. Georgian cinema has a long and illustrious tradition based on a distinctive and centuries-long literary, artistic and theater culture.

Unknown Soldier is a Finnish war drama based on the bestselling classic novel by Väinö Linna. With a budget of $8 million, the film became the most expensive film ever made in Finland or in the Finnish language.