lizatleeds's "The List (Part V)"
Alright, time to pull out that passport, dust off those suitcases, and update those shots. Oops! I forgot I shouldn’t mention needles. That’s right. Jules Verne may have taken his readers around the world in 80 days, but I’m taking you around the world in 26 films. There will be no American films on this list; in fact, there will be very little English on it. I will have you know that the Nazis are tangential at best, gangsters are kept to a minimum and sand—well, there still is plenty of sand. Do you know how many deserts there are on this planet? When you sent me what you were looking for in this fifth list I was actually delighted because it fell into what I was already planning perfectly. This certainly will take you out of your comfort zone, probably in ways that I won’t even foresee, but that seems to be the nature of these things. In taking this trip around the globe I have selected films from every habitable continent, while still trying to cover as many decades and genres as possible. Due to my own cinematic limitations, Europe does get a little bit of an advantage. I have also tried to cover as many prominent film movements and styles as I could. Acknowledging that my lists do have a tendency to be a bit on the grim side, I have included more comedies, romances and fantasies than any previous list. Instead of placing them in chronological order, I have put them in a roughly geographical order, as if you were zigzagging your way through an actual journey. However, watch them in whatever way seems to make the most sense to you. I will admit that I am both excited and terrified to give you this list. When I came up with the mad thought to make a list entirely of foreign films it sounded like a good idea, but now that we’re finally here it’s a whole other story, especially given how successful the previous list was. That’s a lot to live up to. The one thing this list and the previous one have in common is that they cannot be rushed through, and that is partially by design. Like any good journey, I hope this opens up a world you have yet to see. And like any trip that you and I take, you should be able to guess your first destination…
Comments