1. IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
(Nagisa Oshima; Japan; 1976) (star)(star)(star)(star)
Oshima’s sexual-cinematic milestone has lost none of its power to shock in the two decades since its release. Based on the famed real-life ’30s love-and-crime story of a gangster and his geisha Sada, this is the most sexually explicit of all great foreign films by the most radical and daring Japanese director of his generation. In Japanese; English subtitled. Special Jury Prize, 1976 (available on DVD/video)
2. LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST
(Theo Angelopoulos; Greece; 1988) (star)(star)(star)(star)
Angelopoulos’ masterpiece is a strange, lyrical road film in which two orphaned Greek children travel over a bewitching landscape in search of their lost father. Done in exquisite long takes, the film is visually breathtaking and emotionally haunting: a modern tale of despair and alienation that casts a unique spell. In Greek; English subtitled. Silver Hugo, Best Director, 1988 (video)
3. JU DOU
(Zhang Yimou; China; 1990) (star)(star)(star)(star)
China’s greatest filmmaker, Zhang–and his exquisitely lovely star, Gong Li–infuse this period drama of infidelity and murder in a dye plant with vibrant visuals and an undertow of overpowering eroticism. In Chinese; English subtitled. Gold Hugo, Best Feature, 1990 (video)
4. THREE COLORS: BLUE
(Krzysztof Kieslowski; France/Poland/Switzerland; 1993) (star)(star)(star)(star)
First in a linked series of “color” movies (inspired by blue, white and red, the liberty-equality-fraternity colors of the French flag), Kieslowski’s film is, like “The Double Life of Veronique,” a visually startling, sparsely worded study of a woman in crisis. In French; English subtitled. Special Jury Prize, 1993 (DVD/video)
5. AMORES PERROS
(Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu; Mexico; 2000) (star)(star)(star)(star)
Inarritu’s heavily-awarded first feature is a journey through three kinds of modern urban hell: one in Mexico City’s crime-ridden lower depths; one in a glamorous-but-sterile world of celebrity and money; and an amoral underworld where death is omnipresent. In Spanish; English subtitled. Gold Hugo, Best Feature Film, 2000 (DVD/video)
