R2D2's Ultimate Top 10 Countdown Of The 2000s #6 - Foreign.

[For the last 10 days of the decade, I'm doing a Top 10 list a day, all culminating into an ultimate post of Top 10 lists. We have previously seen Top 10 Comedies, Dramas, Animation, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Horror. Now we're moving on.]

Top 10 Foreign Films of the 2000s

As I've stated before, if any film was made in another country and speaks another language other than English (and thus has subtitles), it ended up here (with the exception of anime, which went under Animation). This is also the only Top 10 list that will have a tie. Luckily, it's the first on the list, so I can just get right to it. That being said...

10. Let The Right One In (2008) and Thirst (2009)

In an age where America's most known vampire story is Twilight, Sweden and South Korea give us two vampire films that show you how it should really be done. These films are absolutely nothing alike, but they both deserve to be on the list for, obviously, different reasons. I didn't want to leave off Let The Right One In from this particular list or face the wrath of, well, potentially everybody. Hence the tie. It's a quiet, emotional film about the friendship between a female (?) vampire and the boy who needs her (?). It's a total slow burn film, focusing on the boy's tortured school life and then his building relationship with the vampire. It all builds up to a stunning and violent (though not really shown) climax. While I really liked the film, I think I had taken in way too much of the hype by the time I had seen it, resulting in a bit of a let down.

This is why I think I enjoyed Thirst more. The first film on my list directed by Chan-wook Park, as well as the first film on my list starring Kang-ho Song, Thirst takes a much different approach to the vampire story. Though beginning a bit rocky, the film introduces us to a priest who catches a deadly virus and must obtain a blood transfusion to live (at least a little longer). But after the transfusion, he slowly begins to realize he's become a vampire, and he must drink blood frequently or else the deadly virus will return to finish him off. Of course, there is a female he gets involved with, as well. Anyway, what I loved about the movie is that, as with all Chan-wook Park films, there are multiple layers and heavy themes. This movie deals with the concept of sin and what is right and wrong. There is a good amount of eroticism in the film, but there's also a good amount of dark humor. Not to mention the film is visually stunning (as are all Park films) and has some good visual effects. And, as always with a Park film, there are many clues that help answer potentially unanswered questions at the end of the film... you just gotta look for them. But what I loved the most, I think, is how they dealt with learning and dealing with vampire abilities (and setbacks)... strength, speed, sunlight, etc. Very good stuff.

9. Wasabi (2001)

The first film on my list where Luc Besson was involved (in this case, as writer). The film stars Jean Reno as a cop who discovers he has a daughter from an old love who has just died. There's really not a lot to say, but I think the tagline really says it all: Quite Possibly The Greatest French-Language, English-Subtitled, Japanese Action-Comedy Of All Time.

8. The Host (2006)

This is the second film on my list with Kang-ho Song. It is essentially a horror/comedy/family drama version of Godzilla (but with a smaller monster). After toxic chemicals are dumped into a nearby river, a mutated monster emerges and wreaks havoc on the city. And when the creature takes away a young girl, her crazy family must try to find her and rescue her before it's too late. Like Cloverfield, this movie focuses more on the people than the monster (though I'd say that's one of the only comparisons). And what's really great is that the "kidnapped" girl isn't a total damsel in distress. She's actually smart, and you get to see moments where she attempts to escape or just stay alive. The movie also has some pretty good special effects (up until the end, when it becomes painfully obvious the creature is CGI). But it's all-around a great creature-feature.

7. Angel-A (2005)

After Leon, Angel-A has to be Luc Besson's best film (that he directed). It's basically It's A Wonderful Life, but a bit more... adult. It stars Jamel Debbouze (who is in another movie on this list, as well) as a down-and-out guy who owes a bit too much money to the wrong guys. In an attempt to kill himself to avoid getting killed by the bad guys (fate in his own hands and all that), he sees a beautiful young woman attempting the same. When he saves her life, she says she owes him a debt. So she attempts to help him as best she can (gambling, sex, etc.) to get him the money he owes. Oh, and there's another thing... she reveals herself to be an angel, actually sent down to help him out. It's an interesting take on an old story, but it's also a visually gorgeous film. It's in black and white, and I couldn't see it any other way.

6. Re-Cycle (2006)

It begins as a supernatural horror film, a really freaky one at that, but then turns itself into a dark fantasy instead. The change is a bit jarring at first, but you get used to it fast. It becomes a bit like MirrorMask--visually fantastic and a bit strange. But then there's also the bit of social (moral?) commentary that comes in around the third act. Some may like it. Some might be put off. For me, I didn't care. I thought the movie handled it well. Oh, and then there's the final twist ending that totally caught me off guard. Always love it when that happens.

5. The Orphanage (2007)

A couple years ago, we got a little Spanish film that redefined the ghost story. It's mostly a supernatural mystery/creepy thriller. But the acting is superb, and there's a nice twist that you don't see coming until right before it happens. Don't have a ton to say about it except that it is exceptionally good, and one of my favorites of its year.

4. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006)

Not many people have heard of this film, I'm sure. It's the second Chan-wook Park film on the list, and it stars South Korean pop star Rain (Ninja Assassin, Speed Racer). It's the tale of a young woman who checks herself into a mental institution because she believes she's a cyborg. There, she meets a young man (Rain) who may or may not be crazy, but who steals the "souls" of the other patients and allows them, at least until he returns their "souls," to not have whatever quirk it is they have. And while he has their confliction, he wears a mask that he'd made based on their own faces. It's brilliantly acted, visually stunning, and bizarrely quirky. And, again, as is the like with Mr. Park, the ending is ambiguously fantastic.

3. Amelie (2001)

Another quirky comedy, this time from France, and starring the beautiful Audrey Tautou (and co-starring aforementioned actor, Jamel Debbouze). It seems to do what in most films might not work... but somehow pulls it off magnificently. It's most likely due to the draw of its leading lady. It's hard not to enjoy this film, and I dare you not to smile or feel good at least once while watching it.

2. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Had this been an American film, it would have run the gamut of the Academy Awards of its year. It's beautiful in more ways than one. It's deep in theme. It's heavy. It's sad, yet somehow uplifting in its fantasy aspects. And it simultaneously has a sad and happy (as well as clear yet ambiguous) ending. Amazing film.

1. Oldboy (2003)

The third and final Chan-wook Park film of the list (obviously). It has thrills, mystery, romance, action/violence, and anything else you'd want in a movie. Not to mention the incredibly hardcore, twisted, demented, and heartbreaking twist at the film's climax. I needn't mention the ending, as I've mentioned the endings twice already. It has a great concept, that of a guy getting kidnapped and held hostage for years before being suddenly released... and then given 3 days to figure out why he was kidnapped in the first place. It's a revenge tale to beat all revenge tales, and it is Chan-wook Park's masterpiece. And I didn't even mention the famous Hallway Fight done in one shot. Not only one of my favorite foreign films, but one of my overall favorite films of all time.

LKMYNTS: I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK.

So I’ve wanted to see this movie for a very long time, and I finally got around to doing so. Though this movie is incredibly hard to come by (even outside the US), so finding a way to watch it was that much more difficult. But it was written and directed by Chan-wook Park, the same guy who did one of my favorite movies, Oldboy. However, it couldn’t be any more different (including the fact that Oldboy was an action/drama, and this is a comedy… for the most part, anyway).

I could attempt to give you a plot summary here, like I usually would, but that’s incredibly difficult for one major reason: there’s really no plot. The best I can describe it is thus: Young-goon (Su-jeong Lim) is a young woman who loses touch with reality after her schizophrenic grandmother is taken away (basically leaving her in the care of her overprotective mother). Young-goon, highly affected by her grandmother's fate, also seems to gain schizophrenia and suddenly believes she’s a cyborg, and she makes a promise to her mother not to tell anybody about it (so they couldn’t keep her locked up). Well, they put her in an insane asylum wherein she talks to electronics and meets a young man by the name of Il-soon (Rain), who is a thief that wears different masks in order to take people’s souls (and, in essence, their mental disabilities). But when Young-goon refuses to eat any food in fear of breaking down, Il-soon takes it upon himself to try and get her to eat before she starves to death.

But with a movie that is just shy of two hours long, that miniscule plot really doesn’t stretch itself over the whole time frame. No, what the movie really banks on is its cast of characters. The whole movie is more of a character study than a plot-driven tale. All of the other asylum inmates each have their own mental issues (obviously), most of which get their own moments to shine. And it’s really the attention to detail that this movie really pulls through. The camera can be just steadily going down a hallway or through a courtyard, and in the background you see each character doing their own thing and staying perfectly in character, even if they’re not even remotely close to being the focus of the scene.

But of course the two main characters are those of Young-goon and Il-soon, who form the almost heartbreaking romance (heartbreaking because of the circumstances) of the film. To me, Rain stole the show as Il-soon. Whether he was hopping around like a rabbit (and digging out his wedgies immediately after), stealing other people’s ‘souls’ and taking over their character traits, fidgeting with his masks, or earnestly trying to help Young-goon stay alive, he was really the most interesting character of the entire movie. And what I really loved about both the characters is that there were a lot of hints as to what happened to both of them in their pasts to bring them to this point, but it’s never just spelled out for you. And there’s always that hint of sadness linked in with the comedy. And that’s really the genius of Chan-wook Park, because if you’ve seen Oldboy, you know that his movies are very psychological and never only one layer deep.

Though this really brings me to one of my only issues with the movie: sometimes it tried a bit too hard to give another metaphor (because truly, the movie was nothing but metaphors and symbolisms). You know that everything is fake and all the fantasy elements are just happening in their heads, but there were moments I felt didn’t need to be in the movie and could have been trimmed down a bit. They were few and far between, but they were there. Because a movie with so little plot—as well as the fact that the first half of the film and the second half of the film don’t really match up in what’s been focused on (the other patients all but disappear in the last third of the movie)—doesn’t need to be almost two hours long. Other than that, the movie was golden.

At first I also really disliked the ending. It ends, and I’m staring at the screen like “what the hell?” But after a couple minutes to digest it and think about it, the more brilliant it became to me (and this was before I read about a part I actually didn’t catch, which just adds to its brilliance). It’s a lot like Oldboy’s epilogue, to me. I didn’t much care for that at first, either. But both endings are very open-ended, leaving you up to so many different interpretations. And I really don’t want to spoil anything (so if you’ve seen the movie, leave a comment so we can discuss it).

I also wanted to talk about the visuals and cinematography of the film, which were just beautiful. There’s a lot of use of color pallets all around. The movie is just very bright and colorful and really gorgeous to watch. The only iffy visuals were the CGI moments during the cyborg fantasy with the guns. Otherwise, it looked really good. And the camera work was great, as well. There were a lot of interesting shots with mirrors, and there were some good long-shots down hallways and such (nothing as epic as the side-scrolling battle in Oldboy, though).

Really, my last notes about this film are that you can’t go into it expecting your brain to function properly. Most people who have disliked the movie have straight-up said they disliked it because it didn’t make any sense. Well, after the brilliant opening 10 minutes (confusing at first, brilliant in hindsight) that basically foreshadow the fact that nothing can be taken logically or at face value, you should know what you’re getting yourself into. It’s a movie about crazy people, and you’re going to be submersed into their world fully. The best I can describe it is that it’s like at the end of that Robin Williams movie, What Dreams May Come: the guy says not to stay in the house too long or he’ll start to lose his mind and go crazy, too. Well, the longer you stay with the movie, the crazier you have to think in order to keep up with the utter randomness and chaos of the film. But in the end, the movie is really beautiful and touching… if you can understand it.

A Keanu 'Whoa'