International unknown cinema from your country?

VPN
1

So - I love to explore cinemas from around the world, but I have this feeling, that the films that becomes known, is not the typical film from a given country.

So, when I watch Chan-Wook Parks films, I know that they do not represent the typical south korean films. I’m almost certain that the typical swedish films is not like the heavy films of Bergman or the surrealist cinema of Roy Anderson.

What I’m wondering is, how is the national cinema in your country normally like? You know, the films that only people from your country are going to watch, because they do not have any international appeal?

Denmark - where I’m from - is mostly known for Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Nordic Noir - but those films are far from the typical danish films. What really gets people going to the movies, is sort of family-oriented comedies. They are very generic and with the same actors (which is also because Denmark is a small country). They have exactly the same structure and if you have watched a few, you have kind a watched them all. An example would be “Blå Mænd” (Take the Trash) or “Den Eneste Ene” (The One and Only). It’s either romantic comedies with off-beat humor or sometimes dark humor (Adam’s Apples) or featuring people that are not to bright.

It is easy to watch and quickly forgotten. Historically we have so many films based on books by Morten Koch - they are jovial, comforting, rural and cosy. A film like Vagabonderne på Bakkegården (The Vagrants on the Hill Farm) is a good example, but I’m almost sure it is not available with subtitles. Or Olsen-Banden (the Olsen Gang) about three small time criminals making a lot of crazy schemes.

In general - current and historic - it is mostly a genre called folk-comedies.

So how is the internationally unkown cinema in your country like? And is it worth watching?

2

I’m from Canada and we have two distinct industries, one much more robust than the other. There is the English-language industry and the French-language one (based in Quebec, mostly).

The English language industry is most famous for David Cronenberg. He is probably the “national hero” of Canadian cinema. But it’s a small industry without much money. I’d say most Canadian movies are small, family dramas. The English Canadian industry also has fairly strong diversity initiatives, so you see a lot of stores about immigrant families or Indigenous movies as well. It’s also worth noting that most Canadians dont watch Canadian movies, Hollywood is too dominant here. FWIW, I believe the most financially successful Canadian movie is Goon, a comedy about hockey starring American actors. Whereas the most critically acclaimed is probably Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, an Inuit movie based on an oral tradition dating back thousands of years. Sarah Polley, Guy Maddin and Atom Egoyan are among the most celebrated directors as well.

The Quebec industry is much more robust and varied. They make a wider variety of movies and have their own star system. A lot of that has to do with a desire to preserve their own language and culture. Most of these movies don’t really penetrate into English Canada, with a few exceptions. The most famous director would probably be Denis Villneuve, though he only works on Hollywood now. His most successful French language film is Incendies, though Polytechnique is also notable. The most celebrated Quebec film is Mon Oncle Antoine, though its legacy has become tainted after it was revealed in a book that the late director Claude Jutra was a pedophile. Denys Arcand, Jean-Marc Valee and Xavier Dolan are also notable directors.

3

Everyone knows about Martin McDonagh, but not many outside Ireland know about his brother John. He made two amazing films with Brendan Gleeson called The Guard (a crime comedy that is really a love letter to cinema Co-starring Don Cheadle) and Calvary (a scathing black comedy that takes a look at the enduring trauma of the Catholic Church abuse scandals). Both phenomenal films that deserve a wider audience.

4

Brazilian cinema has a lot of hidden gems (even for locals). Mário Peixoto’s Limite and Glauber Rocha are well-known names for film buffs but aside from them I strongly recommend the directors Gustavo Dahl (O Bravo Guerreiro, 1969 – probably my favorite Brazilian movie), Luis Sérgio Person (São Paulo, Sociedade Anônima, 1965), Andrea Tonacci (Bang Bang, 1970, and Serras da Desordem, 2006), and Ozualdo Candeias (A Margem, 1967).

​

More recently, you should keep an eye on a small independent studio called Filmes de Plástico, especially the directors André Novais Oliveira and Gabriel Martins. These guys are close to an international breakthrough, and they’re really, really good. Temporada, 2018, and Marte Um, 2022, are the best films produced in Brazil in the last few years.

5

I think you might find the answer to this pretty disappointing. I think most countries’ usual type of film is just the really accessible, mainstream film, at least these days. For us it’s easy-going comedies that appeal to young people and also incorporate the sensibilities and beliefs/traditions held by the population of the country. The films that do make it out onto the international festival circuit are very much the exception, and are pretty often not liked by the casual audience. I don’t believe our “normal” films are worth much to a foreign film watcher.

6

So, low-budget Native American cinema is pretty unknown, it really only gets shown at local theaters or online, but it offers a unique perspective on Native life that larger Hollywood never showed you until things like Reservation Dogs got greenlit.

7

Hong Kong movies have been typically slapstick comedies and horror comedies in the 90s, with some gruesome exploitation flicks in the 80s.

While most people know about Wong Kar Wai, many working class locals have not actually seen his films. In a high pressure society where working overtime is the norm for office workers, people prefer to wind down with something silly rather than thought provoking and ‘artsy’. Totally understandable

HK film industry has been in a rut the past few decades imo. Since Infernal Affairs (2002) received international acclaim, HK has been churning out endless… and I mean endless copies and variations of undercover cop/triad movies. Mainstream HK films have become formulaic and unoriginal, and no production is willing to take a chance on something different these days.

8

From Nepal.

Pashupati Parsad . This has a bit of realism which is rare for Nepali movies. I do feel a little bit of exsitential dread remembering this. Certain characters have that feel to them. But the love story part is somewhat that doesn’t work for me.

Loot . This one is considered to be the turning point for the industry. I don’t like the ending but still its well made. Its a bank heist movie but does give a modern Nepali feel to it although heist are rare in Nepal.

Both of these movies are located in Kathmandu. It gives a lot of context on the culture, society and beautiful locations.

They both deal with main characters with financial problems and dream big to geat out of it.

These movies are free to watch on youtube from official source.

9

Here in Senegal (Africa) the cinematographic industries is not so much developped, when we do make films it is mostly senegalese people with French industry that are doing it. Even so Senegal was historically was at the forefront of African cinema in the 1960s because many of the first African filmmakers were Senegalese (Ousmane Sembene is the best known). Therefore i would have advised to check Touki Bouki from Djibril Diop Mambety and Touki Bouki from the same cineast

10

In case of India I would recommend you to watch a relatively unknown movie called Masaan(2015). It’s a multi-layered one that shows the dynamics of our society about how caste and creed can be a barrier for dreams in life. The movie is more about putting uncomfortable questions to the audience rather than giving plain answers. You must definitely look out for this one. I watched it 5 years after it’s release myself and then immediately felt guilty. And it left me in a state that only high quality cinema does to people.

11

I wrote a post about my country here a long time ago so i guess i can link it again - https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/6y6hc7/a_journey_through_bulgarian_cinema_tracking_the/

5 years since then nothing really has changed except covid fucked up a lot of productions and there was a big build up in movies that came out the last 2 years that were mediocre at best.

12

In our small Swiss country the film production and consumption is divided between the different language we speak. From the french speaking part we mostly watch french movies. As it the country is small we don’t have one national movie that everyone has watched and is proud of as a national product. However if we cheat a bit Jean Luc Godard is half Swiss so I could hint in that direction but it doesn’t fit to the easy to watch category !
My life as as zucchini was produced in Switzerland that’s maybe more suitable.
Maybe Swiss cinema is not about national famous director but is more about flicks filmed here in our nice landscapes ? Then Youth (2015) would be a great example of it !

13

Pedro Costa and Miguel Gomes. Pedro is internationally known, I’d say Miguel not so much but he has a great filmography and something tells me one day he’ll make a film that will peek abroad interest

I wouldn’t say they don’t have international appeal but they probably don’t hit the same without some sort of context of living in Portugal or understanding Portuguese people

14

As I am danish-german here also a short comment on the German industry or specifically just on one guy, Dominik Graf, who is possibly my favourite working director (from any country) right now but is pretty much only known in Germany and does a lot of TV. His latest film, Fabian (2021) got some slightly increased international recognition but many of his films don’t even have subtitles. Graf works in many different genres, from introspective experimental essay film to big action thrillers to period pieces to slow moving dramas and everything inbetween.

If you get the chance to watch them I would highly recoomend: Fabian (2021), The Cat (1988), Friends of Friends (2002), A Map of the Heart (2002), Munich - Secrets of a City (2000)

A lot of German cinema (like Till Schweiger) is of course also absolutely awful and its for the better that it stays mostly in Germany. However Domnik Graf deserves much more international recognition. Some years back he was tied to a Golem remake but I assume they coudln’t get sufficient funding. I would love to see a Graf Golem film with like a $25 mio budget or something. I think it would even be viable on the international market if you would give it a proper distribution strategy.

15

As someone from the Philippines, I have to say our movies don’t get enough love on the international stage. Sure, there are some rom-coms that make it big, but there are way more indie films that go unnoticed outside of the country.

We’ve got this genre called “Mano Po” that’s all about family drama and tradition. It’s super melodramatic and always has a big cast of famous actors.

Horror movies are also a big deal here, both mainstream and indie ones. They can be pretty low-budget, but they still manage to give you chills.

But what’s really cool right now is that there are a bunch of indie films that tackle social issues and current events. They’re more introspective and thought-provoking, and they’re starting to get some recognition both here and abroad. “Heneral Luna” is one that explores Philippine history and nationalism, while “On the Job” takes on the issue of political corruption in the country.

So yeah, even though our movies might not have the same level of polish or star power as Hollywood flicks, they offer a totally unique perspective on Filipino culture and society. And if you’re willing to give 'em a chance, I think you’ll find 'em pretty darn rewarding!

16

As a half-italian, i would say La grande bellazza (2013) by Paolo sorrentino. The complex theme and how it was expressed in a simple way reminded me of Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957), but in colour. Giallo is a great genre, which i would let you explore on your own, since not everyone is a fan of it.

17

Vinterberg is one of the most succesful directors in Denmark as well. Druk (Another Round) sold around 800.000 tickets in Denmark which makes it the 16th most succesful danish film in Denmark since 1976 and that was during Covid(see data here). This is half the tickets Titanic sold which is the most succesful film since 1976 in Denmark.

Overall a decent share of the most succesful Danish films in Denmark are not entirely internationally unsuccessful. Olsenbanden for instance is also a thing in Germany and plays semi-regularly on German TV (dubbed). Susanne Bier who made a number of the biggest succeses in Denmark, also has some degree of international recognition. Though you are right that “Den Eneste Ene” is mostly a thing in Denmark.

Von Trier is maybe a bit like Fassbinder was in Germany, he is well known among the public (in large part due to scandals and provocation) but his films don’t sell the most tickets (still Breaking the Waves did really well back in the day in Denmark, selling 300.000 tickets).

The black comedies of Anders Thomas Jensen (like Adams Æbler which you mention) also have international success. Adams Æbler has almost as many IMDB ratings as Breaking the Waves, the later is just much more critically acclaimed.

I think an example of a film that was a big deal in Denmark and that I can’t imagine doing well internationally would be something like Far til Fire or the recent Margarethe I film which had an absurd ($10 mio) budget for a subject with little appeal outside of Scandinavia and it wasn’t even a big hit in Denmark to begin with either. Wikipedia states it grossed $0 in North America. This is probably a data error but it’s still kinda funny. Lykke-Per by Bille August is probably another one for the category expensive prestige projects with no international traction. Kysset will be the same.

One film I would like to highlight because it is still my favourite 2022 release is Vanskabte Land by Hlynur Palmasson. It’s not really what you’re asking for as with 15.000 tickets sold its safe to say it failed in Denmark but I really hope it doesn’t fail completely internationally.

18

Im from Indonesia, the recent indonesian film that impressed me was “Ngeri Ngeri Sedap” the simple synopsis is “Parents from the Batak tribe pretend to fight so that their children come home from overseas.”

What impress me is yeah, the top comment is right, so much mediocre film that just focus on income so very much a mainstream movie. But this one right here is no, its really explore one of hundred of thousand tribe in Indonesia, and exactly what i want to see in indonesian cinema. I think its drama comedy, well you cant separate indonesia with comedy so yeah haha

You should watch it to get to know better about indonesia! I think its available on netflix but I dont if it is just on Indonesian server or no.

19

Italy here!

This is an interesting topic to me, as my partner isn’t Italian and there’s a whole bunch of local films that I’d like to watch with her but English subs either don’t exist or I haven’t found them yet.

I’d say there’s a whole part of local cinema for locals that’s more, like… expendable? Romantic comedies, cheap dramas and the like. But there’s a bunch of super interesting comedies that are both hilarious and meaningful.

Thinking about the Fantozzi saga, with Paolo Villaggio in the lead, an amazing series of comedies about the horrors of working class life in Italy through the 70s, 80s and 90s. The quality of the movies went down with time, but the first ones are Italian comedy masterpieces imho.

Other movies that come to mind are Il Minestrone (“The Soup”, 1981) by Sergio Citti, featuring Roberto Benigni, Ninetto Davoli and Franco Citti as protagonists! A three-hour epic about three guys who can’t seem to be able to find any food to eat as they wander around Italy, with some deep philosophical undertones. If you use a VPN you can watch this on RaiPlay, but without subs.

Another classic one is Non ci resta che piangere (“Nothing left to do but cry”, 1984), a comedy featuring Benigni and the timeless Roberto Troisi (from The Postman) - two friends who end up travelling back in time to the Middle Ages and decide to stop Columbus from sailing to America, and the why is central to the plot. Not gonna spoil it here.

There’s also the first three Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo movies, a trio of comedians that did these great movies in the late 90s/early 00s that lots of Italians basically know by heart. Tre Uomini e Una Gamba (“Three Men and a Leg”, 1997), Così è la vita (“Such is life”, 1998) and Chiedimi se sono felice (“Ask me if I’m happy”, 2000). Nothing really autorial about these, but they’re just great comedies with some romantic undertones.

20

I am Brazilian and the movie industry here is nowhere near Argentina but sometimes we do good movies. Karim Ainouz is not exactly an unknown director as he is releasing this year an international movie, but a few years ago he released “Invisible Life” (A vida invisível) and I am not sure how much it was screened overseas but I thought it was amazing.

If you enjoyed Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station (Central do Brasil), she has a small part in this movie and she did her magic yet again.