A Movie for Every Country?!

[Mysterious Dude]

That's the dream, anyway. I've always been interested in international cinema, but there are many regions of the world I have neglected, mainly due to limited availability of movies from certain countries. While some countries have found a market for their movies in America, many countries (even if they've made plenty of movies) have not, so the movies have been difficult for me to find. But that is changing. There are movies available to me today that few American movie fans would have been able to see only a few years ago.

Having said that, not all countries are created equal. Some countries simply have better resources for making movies. I believe there is a correlation between a country's wealth and the number of high-quality films it is able to produce. That is why, for this project, I am going to list the countries by their Gross Domestic Product from highest to lowest. This is not a perfect formula, as we shall see, but I think it's the most logical way to do this. If I lose interest or decide I can't do this, at least we'll have gotten the major countries out of the way (hopefully). I am interested in those less-wealthy countries, too. People from all nationalities must be capable of making great art.

I will attempt to watch one movie from every country on earth. I will then write all that I know about that country and its cinema and I will further humiliate myself by writing a three-paragraph review of the movie. This will be a particular challenge for me since I usually don't put in enough effort to write more than one and a half sentences (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?4171-Holy-Motors-%28Leos-Carax%29&p=459305#post459305) about a movie, but I'm going to try anyway. My ultimate goal is to have a decent top ten list for every country, or at least some countries. I probably won't accomplish that this round, but this project will not end when and if I've finished every country. It will last my whole life. If I'm not able to make a top ten list, I may instead make a list of notable movies from that country along with my star ratings.

I will also invite you, if you feel like it, to post your own top ten lists for each country, and tell to me how wrong I am about a movie or a country or anything else I've written. I will not, however, be telling you what movie I'll be watching in advance. I have hardly any of the movies decided yet. Full disclosure: I may even watch more than one movie per country and pick the most interesting one to review.

Without further ado, our first country.

The United States of America

The United States is my country. I have seen more movies from America than from any other country, without a doubt. They are simply the most available to me and also the most familiar to me. It's a language and a culture that I know. No translation is necessary.

Despite my obvious bias, I believe a case can be made that America is the best country at making movies. Not all American movies are good, but America has always produced good movies. Most other countries, as I think we shall see, go through phases. They produce a lot of bad movies while occasionally going through a spate of good movies before going back to making bad movies. But hardly a year goes by when there isn't at least one very good American movie.

I don't know if I could even begin to explain why that is (apart from my aforementioned hypothesis about GDP), but I do believe that if America has ever done anything thing right, it is establishing the Freedom of Speech. There are American movies that make America look like an absolute hellhole. As we shall see, you can't do that sort of thing in every country. Even during periods of major censorship, there were still many movies made in which the main characters were criminals.

Another strength in American cinema is its diversity. In any period of American cinema, you can find movies from just about any genre, to appeal to almost any potential audience. And in addition to Hollywood cinema, there is also a strong independent film movement in America. Related to the subject of diversity, America has always been a diverse country and even my favorite American movie was directed by an Englishman. And of course many great directors of American films have been immigrants: Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Charlie Chaplin, just to name a few. America is, after all, a nation of immigrants.

1. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
2. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
3. The Elephant Man (1980)
4. Touch of Evil (1958)
5. The Graduate (1967)
6. Badlands (1973)
7. Taxi Driver (1976)
8. Broken Blossoms (1919)
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
10. Testament (1983)

My top ten list doesn't even begin to cover the incredible diversity of American cinema and I could easily make a whole top 100. There aren't very many countries I can say that about. But I don't think I will write any more about American cinema now. You probably don't need me to educate you on the subject anyway. So I'll jump to the movie.

Rio Bravo (1959)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/Isaac3159/RioBravo1sm_zps4e3ab812.jpg

It's the nineteenth century. No, really.

I have been avoiding this movie. I had seen most of the undisputed American classics, but not this one. I think this is an undisputed classic, anyway. It's been on Time Out's list (http://www.filmsite.org/timeoutB.html) and Cahiers du cinéma's list (http://www.filmdetail.com/2008/11/23/cahiers-du-cinemas-100-greatest-films), among others. There are several reasons I've been avoiding it, but the main one is that I knew it was made as a response to High Noon, and I like High Noon. But let no one say I'm not up for a challenge.

There are some similarities between the two films. They're both about sheriffs that have to face a gang. Rio Bravo ups the stakes a little by multiplying the gang members by a factor of ten. And unlike that sissy Gary Cooper, John Wayne does not seek help from others, because John Wayne is a real man. Fortunately, people are practically falling all over each other in their efforts to help John Wayne, who accepts only after much reluctance.

The Western is a curious genre. It is focused on a particular place and time (the American West in the 19th century), but so many of the movies made in the genre are really a reflection of the time they were made in (even movies I love like Butch Cassidy and The Assassination of Jesse James). Rio Bravo is no exception, most exemplified in a weird scene where Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson stop everything to sing a song that doesn't sound at all like it was composed in the 19th century. But more than a reflection of 1950's America, Rio Bravo is an imaginary fantasy version of America. John Wayne neither reflects a typical 1950's American man nor a typical 19th century American man. John Wayne is what an American man is supposed to be, an ideal to which we should all aspire.

Sadly, Rio Bravo will not make my top ten list. That fantasy America doesn't hold much appeal to me.

*½

My next entry will be about China and Hong Kong. I have the movies ready so it shouldn't be too long of a wait, but give me a couple weeks, at least. I'm a busy man.

[B-side]

Cool. I've thought of doing something similar before, but decided I didn't have the balls to even attempt it.

[MadMan]

Awesome, and great list for the US.

1. The Night of the Hunter (1955)-Pretty good
2. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)-N/A
3. The Elephant Man (1980)-N/A
4. Touch of Evil (1958)-Classic
5. The Graduate (1967)-Classic
6. Badlands (1973)-Amazing
7. Taxi Driver (1976)-Great
8. Broken Blossoms (1919)-Good
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)-Classic
10. Testament (1983)-N/A

[Ezee E]

Can't wait to hear about Peruvian cinema.

[ledfloyd]

I'm excited to see what's going on in Swaziland these days.

[B-side]

The cinema of Suriname is bountiful.

[Derek]

This thread has the potential to be great, but I'm wary after the epic fail on Rio Bravo.

[MadMan]

This thread has the potential to be great, but I'm wary after the epic fail on Rio Bravo.Nobody's perfect, I guess :D

[Irish]

Interesting project! I like the angle you're taking here.

One nit: You talk about America's "diversity" and the strength the film industry has gained through immigration, but every immigrant director you named is a white European male. Likewise, almost all of the films in your top ten feature white male protagonists, starring in films made by white males. You also don't have any favorites from the last thirty years. Not a criticism, just an observation.

As for "Rio Bravo," it struck me as odd that you reviewed the film's politics and history, but not the film itself. One of the many ways I think "Bravo" is superior to "Noon" is that the former has multiple subplots, and a lot more nuance in the way it presents its characters. Dude's (Dean Martin) arc in this movie makes it something special given its place in film history, as does the way the movie has strains of anti-hero elements, sort of a more palatable and audience-friendly version of the stuff Anthony Mann was doing with Jimmy Stewart around this same time.

About the songs: Yeah, I get ya. The thing is, if you're gonna have Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson in a movie that allows it, why not have the songs? One of those songs was a folk tune that dated back to the 19th century. Another one was the same tune, albeit with different lyrics, taken from "Red River."

Finally, I found it odd that you slighted "Bravo" for not being historically accurate. That's a more modern conceit, one which I think only started with Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider" in the 1980s.

It doesn't hold much water for me, unless you're watching "Ben Hur," "El Cid," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "The Longest Day" with a similar amount of disdain. These movies weren't about history and never tried to be. They were all about presently an entertaining myth.

[Melville]

John Wayne is what an American man is supposed to be, an ideal to which we should all aspire.

Sadly, Rio Bravo will not make my top ten list. That fantasy America doesn't hold much appeal to me.
I don't remember that aspect of Rio Bravo (or much else about it), but yesterday I watched another Wayne movie, The Quiet Man, and was irked by its ridiculous fantasy Ireland and fantasy manhood. Irritating movie, particularly the ending.

[Derek]

I don't remember that aspect of Rio Bravo (or much else about it), but yesterday I watched another Wayne movie, The Quiet Man, and was irked by its ridiculous fantasy Ireland and fantasy manhood. Irritating movie, particularly the ending.

I'm with you on The Quiet Man and How Green Was My Valley was even more irritating. I'm glad Ford didn't make too many films about Ireland, since those are among my least favorite of his.

[Melville]

I'm with you on The Quiet Man and How Green Was My Valley was even more irritating. I'm glad Ford didn't make too many films about Ireland, since those are among my least favorite of his.
I actually just watched How Green Was My Valley recently as well, and I thought it was great. It's a romanticized depiction of Wales (including Irish accents, for some reason), but it's less silly caricaturing, looks beautiful, and creates a rich sense of place. And I'm more ok with its nostalgia for a lost world than The Quiet Man's message that manning up means overcoming past traumas by cheerfully pummelling someone to the applause of gawking townspeople.

At least the greatness of The Informer (yet another Ford movie I've watched in the last couple of weeks) makes up for awfulness of The Quiet Man on the balance sheet of Ford's Ireland movies.

[Qrazy]

I actually just watched How Green Was My Valley recently as well, and I thought it was great. It's a romanticized depiction of Wales (including Irish accents, for some reason), but it's less silly caricaturing, looks beautiful, and creates a rich sense of place. And I'm more ok with its nostalgia for a lost world than The Quiet Man's message that manning up means overcoming past traumas by cheerfully pummelling someone to the applause of gawking townspeople.

At least the greatness of The Informer (yet another Ford movie I've watched in the last couple of weeks) makes up for awfulness of The Quiet Man on the balance sheet of Ford's Ireland movies.

Yeah I'm with you. Didn't care for The Quiet Man but do like How Green Was My Valley. Speaking of Irish-centric films, any Ryan's Daughter fans here? I never expected to be as big a Lean fan as I am but for all his stuffiness his subtle appraisal of his characters emotional states always wins me over.

[Melville]

Speaking of Irish-centric films, any Ryan's Daughter fans here?
I've wanted to see it for years, but never got to it. I love Lean.

[Qrazy]

I've wanted to see it for years, but never got to it. I love Lean.

The IRA stuff doesn't fully work at the end of the film but the central romance is exquisite. I think you'll like it.

[B-side]

I was a bit disappointed with The Quiet Man, but it's hardly a bad film. Here's (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~wcd/quietman.htm) a great article on its virtues.

How Green Was My Valley is one of Ford's best, and an early inspiration for There Will Be Blood.

[Qrazy]

I was a bit disappointed with The Quiet Man, but it's hardly a bad film. Here's (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~wcd/quietman.htm) a great article on its virtues.

How Green Was My Valley is one of Ford's best, and an early inspiration for There Will Be Blood.

The lighting in that shot where they pull the guy out of the mine is fantastic.

[kopello]

They're showing The Quiet Man on the big screen here Tuesday, I thought about going but all this bad press is making me second guess.

[Lazlo]

I really liked The Wind That Shakes the Barley quite a bit.

[Li Lili]

My next entry will be about China and Hong Kong. I have the movies ready so it shouldn't be too long of a wait, but give me a couple weeks, at least. I'm a busy man.
I'm looking forward to read about what you will pick & write about China and HK... :)

[Irish]

They're showing The Quiet Man on the big screen here Tuesday, I thought about going but all this bad press is making me second guess.

Go see it. It's not the greatest movie from these collaborators, but then again it's still John Ford and Wayne in technicolor on the big screen. You could do much, much worse.

[B-side]

... but then again it's still John Ford and Wayne in technicolor on the big screen. You could do much, much worse.

Words you'll probably not often see: Irish has a point.:lol:

[baby doll]

I can't wait to see your entry on North Korea.

[Spinal]

There is a North Korean film playing at the Portland International Film Festival right now. It's called Comrade Kim Goes Flying.

[B-side]

I can't wait to see your entry on North Korea.

There are what appears to be probably ~15 or so North Korean films on KG.

[Irish]

Words you'll probably not often see: Irish has a point.:lol:

Oi! Watch your mouth, Scott-lover!

[Mysterious Dude]

I'm looking forward to read about what you will pick & write about China and HK... :)
The wrath of the Asian cult awaits.

[transmogrifier]

You better not pick Lord of the Rings for New Zealand.

[Derek]

You better not pick Lord of the Rings for New Zealand.

Obviously you have to go with something by the great Colin McKenzie.

[Mysterious Dude]

This took a little longer than I expected. I wrote most of this weeks ago, but I lack the courage of my convictions. I think I'd better post it before I completely forget about the movies I watched. A career as a movie critic is not in my future.

China

I have seen several Chinese movies from the 30's and 40's, and some of them are actually good. In the early thirties, they were still making silent films. The best I've seen are the Peach Girl and The Goddess, both starring Ruan Lingyu, whose tragic life story was later told in the film Centre Stage (1992). My favorite Chinese films from the 40's are The Spring River Flows East and Myriad of Lights, both of which are available at Netflix (on DVD). I will say this about Chinese movies from this era: the filmmaking is not always up to par with that of other countries at the time. In one movie (possibly Spring River), I can recall a scene with two actors talking indoors, and you can see their breath because it's so cold. I guess heating wasn't in the budget. I exhausted Netflix's collection of pre-revolution Chinese films in 2009, so I'm afraid none of the films are fresh in my mind.

In 1949, China became the People's Republic, and after that I discern a certain drop in the quality of Chinese cinema. I have seen no movies from the Mao era, so I can hardly say that with much authority, but it seems to me that no one else has seen very many movies from the era, either.

After Mao's death in 1976, we start to see some Chinese films again, but before we get to that, let's say a few words about...

Hong Kong

Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842 and remained so until 1997. While I abhor colonialism, I suspect it was preferable to live under British rule than under that of Mao Zedong. Today, Hong Kong is part of China again, though it enjoys some autonomy. The success of Hong Kong is impressive. Even if I were to consider it to a separate country, it would still be in the top 40 on this list. I sometimes think of Hong Kong as China's Hollywood (though apparently there's a new contender (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hengdian_World_Studios) for that title). They still send their movies to the Oscars as a separate country. I have decided to consider Hong Kong as part of China, but with an asterisk. It deserves its own sub-entry, at least.

By the time of Mao's death, Hong Kong already had a thriving film industry and had found a market in the West. I have seen some movies from this era, though perhaps not enough. I detect a homogeneity in Hong Kong cinema, at least in what has been made available in my country. I see a lot of Kung Fu movie and a lot of violent action movies. I have nothing against either of these genres, particularly. Hell, I can enjoy a good Kung Fu movie, but it is not my favorite genre and I like to see other kinds of movies as well, so I've had a hard time finding Hong Kong films that I really like. I know it's not all Kung Fu and shooting, but it doesn't seem as though many other genres have found a market outside of Hong Kong. I also have a problem with the way violence is generally depicted in these movies. The famous scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OPyoJgV_YY) in Hard Boiled which shows the two heroes in a shooting battle with dozens of gangsters in a hospital is supposed to be one of the greatest action scenes ever filmed, but I just don't see it. For most of the scene, henchmen are jumping into the frame just so they can get shot. Compare it to Raiders of the Lost Ark. The hero kills numerous people over the course of that film, but each person is different and presents a different obstacle. In Hard Boiled, it's basically the same henchman being killed over and over. I don't find it very interesting.

As for Kung Fu movies, I have some different problems. The fight scenes often seem obligatory, rather than flowing naturally with the story, as if they have to have a fight scene every ten minutes or so as a matter of course. And it doesn't always seem to matter who's fighting whom, as long as somebody's fighting. Come Drink With Me decides to change protagonists in the middle of the film and introduces a new villain at the same time. Other films manage to stick with one protagonist, but the fight scenes are usually like the aforementioned scene in Hard Boiled, wherein the hero is constantly fighting a series of anonymous henchmen who wait in line just to be cut down.

There are many popular movies in this genre that I have not seen, so my thoughts are based on a very small sampling of films.

Now, back to China for a bit. In the 90's, we start to see a lot of films that are joint productions between Hong Kong and China, perhaps in anticipation of their inevitable reunion in 1997. Interestingly, these films managed to avoid many of the Hong Kong clichés I've mentioned and found a more subdued approach (at least for a while). Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell My Concubine and The King of Masks are all pretty modest films. Farewell My Concubine is also very critical of the Mao regime, an interesting quality also found in The Blue Kite and To Live. I'm not sure how they got away with it, since China is still a dictatorship and still self-conscious about its past. Today, I don't see this sort of criticism in Chinese cinema anymore. More often, I see that criticism deflected to the much easier target of World War II-era Japan, though I'd argue Mao did about as much damage as the Japanese did.

After the international success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there seemed to be an interest in repeating that success, so we see China producing a number of big-budget knock-offs, many directed by Zhang Yimou and some of them aren't half bad.

I have an interest in historical films. Movies are not only entertainment to me. I consider them to be part of my continuing education. Historical movies are not necessarily a good way to learn actual history, being filled with lies as they are, but I think they can be a good gateway to learning more. If Chinese movies are to be believed, then pretty much every major conflict from antiquity to World War II can be reduced to a series of Kung Fu battles. I suppose there have always been some people in China who know Kung Fu, but I have a hard time believing it played a significant role in every major conflict in the country, or, for that matter, any of them.

Instead of posting a top ten, I'm going to post a selection of films I've seen along with my ratings of them. I'll do separate lists for China and Hong Kong and a third list for films produced by both.

China only

The Peach Girl (1931) ****
The Goddess (1934) ****
Street Angel (1937) ***
The Spring River Flows East (Tears of the Yang-Tse) (1947) ****
Spring in a Small Town (1948) **½
Myriad of Lights (The Lights of Ten Thousand Homes) (1948) ****
Yellow Earth (1985) ***
Red Cherry (1995) ***
Shanghai Triad (1995) ***½
The Emperor and the Assassin (1998) ***
Shower (1999) ***
Devils on the Doorstep (2000) ***
Together (2002) ***½
Electric Shadows (2004) ***
Last Train Home (2009) ***
Aftershock (2010) **½

Hong Kong only

Come Drink with Me (1966) ***
The Heroic Ones (1970) **
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) ***½
Once Upon a Time in China (1990) ***
Days of Being Wild (1990) ***
Center Stage (1992) ****
Hard Boiled (1992) *½
Iron Monkey (1993) ***½
Chungking Express (1994) ***½
In the Mood for Love (2000) ****
Infernal Affairs (2002) ***
CJ7 (2008) ***½

China and Hong Kong

Raise the Red Lantern (1991) ****
Farewell My Concubine (1993) ***½
The King of Masks (1997) ****
Platform (2000) **½
Hero (2002) ***½
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) ****
House of Flying Daggers (2004) ***½
Mountain Patrol (2004) ***½
Still Life (2006) ***
The Warlords (2007) ***
Ip Man (2008) **
City of Life and Death (2009) ***½
Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) **½

The Horse Thief (1986)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/Isaac3159/horse-thief1_zpsfe179e19.jpg

The Horse Thief is somewhat well-known for being Martin Scorsese's favorite movie of the 90's, though it was released in the 80's (even in America). I think he just wanted to tell people about it. I hadn't seen any Chinese movies from the 80's before this, so it's new territory for me.

There wasn't quite as much horse thievery as I expected. Our hero, Norbu, is part of nomadic tribe in Tibet in 1923 (when Tibet was independent from China). He does steal horses occasionally to support his wife and young son, which creates conflict with the tribe when they discover it. The film routinely digresses from this spare narrative to focus on scenery and the various Buddhist rituals performed by the area's inhabitants (including the protagonist).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/Isaac3159/horse-thief2_zpsbe294989.jpg

Some of these rituals are easy to understand. When a community is struck by a famine, the men make an effigy of Death, which they set on the river to float away and throw rocks at it. That's probably not going to help, but maybe it'll make them feel better, and I understand it. Others I'm less sure about, such as the ritual where they make a fire and throw pieces of paper into the air, while beseeching the mountain god to protect them. It does make for a beautiful image, though. There is a documentary quality to the way the rituals are filmed, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a peasantry in China in the 80's that still performed some of these rituals. I was reminded, during the ritual scenes, of Baraka.

I think the film works in the same way that Baraka does, though with a more limited focus. It is an interesting and beautiful snapshot of a time and place.

***½

The Wild, Wild Rose (1960)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/Isaac3159/wild-rose2_zps8eec0325.jpg

I chose this film because I was looking for something different than what I've come to expect from Hong Kong cinema. I think this film was made before most of those tropes were established.

The film begins with pianist Hanhua being hired at a nightclub, and he first sees Sijia (Grace Change) while she is singing a Chinese version of the Habanera. Anyone familiar with Carmen should know that a girl singing the Habanera is bad news. Nor will they be surprised by much else that happens in the movie. There are a few twists, I suppose. For example, unlike the original Carmen, that, we eventually learn that Sijia has a heart of gold, though that doesn't seem to change much in the story.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/Isaac3159/wild-rose4_zpsda5cad85.jpg

I didn't know the story was going to so closely follow Carmen, a decidedly European story. On top of that, the film seems to mimic the style of an American film noir. Had I known any of that, I might have been inclined to choose a film that was a bit more Chinese. But I feel like a hypocrite saying that since I have been so critical of Hong Kong cinema already and I chose this film hoping it would be less like a typical Hong Kong film. Well, it was that. The songs (also quite Western) are sometimes fun, but overall, this movie didn't interest me much.

**½

My next country is Japan. Hopefully, it won't take me quite as long to get to. At the rate I'm going, I should be done with this project in 2058.

[Li Lili]

I disagree when you say there is after 1949 a certain drop in the quality of Chinese cinema, there are some, even a fair amount, it's more during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) that there is a breakdown, but between 1949 and 1966, there some. I can for instance suggest San Mao (1949), The White-Haired Girl 1950 New Year Sacrifice 1956, Family 1956, even The Red Detachment 1961 is an interesting movie to see. The drop is more during the Cultural Revolution (so 1966-1976).
Concerning HK, especially 60s HK, well, I don't know why but I've been quite fond of those films (not just martial arts) and saw several of them (musical, romance, comedy, crime, spy films...). The Wild Wild Rose, a Cathay production, is one of my favourites, and I had the chance to see it for the first time at the cinema a few years ago. Grace Chang was a big star. I guess at this era there were some really famous actresses, Linda Lin Dai is also one of the biggest (she received 3 awards Asian Best Actress!).