Fortunately, living in Vancouver means being exposed to international/world/foreign cinema all year round. If still thirsty, there are countless international film festivals in Canada. Luckily, theres an audience for foreign movies with English sub-titles. Canadians are more prone to watch sub-titled movies unlike Americans who either dont want to read or cant read the English sub-titles. The mass or intellectually challenged American viewers are missing a lot in not getting to know about life other than their own.
Living in Canada means a steady supply of films from around the world on a regular basis, all year round. This means that many of us will not be stuck with American shopping mall features (Guess Who, The Pacifier, Miss Congeniality 2, Hostage, Constantine) and moronic stereotype movies for the brainless (Ice Princess, Man of the House, Son of the Mask, Are We There Yet).
Heres a sampling of world cinema in multi-cultural Vancouver, now showing in several cinema houses.
Senegal Africa Moolaade. Ordinary life in a West African community. It tells the story of a woman who offers asylum to four young girls fleeing a circumcision ceremony. The film captures the colors and textures of traditional life.
Quebec, Canada Memories Affectives. A man with amnesia searches for clues to his identity. Haunted by images from his childhood, he begins to piece memories that would perhaps best be left forgotten. It stars top film actor from French Canada, Roy Dupuis.
Calcutta, India Born Into Brothels. Though the director is American, the documentary captured the sordid, poor, dirty, hand-to-mouth existence of picture-taking children whose mothers work as prostitutes in Calcutta. This film won an Oscar for best documentary.
Czech Republic - Up and Down. A Robert Altman-type comedy drama about a pair of smugglers who find an abandoned child. The setting is todays Czech (mainly Prague) and its examines family structure and social issues, including immigration. The film also explores the crises between inherited and desired destinies. At times satirical, but mostly realistic, the storyline gives ample opportunities to portray racism, xenophobia and the confusion in a post-Communist life.
Germany - Downfall. Popular art house actor Bruno Ganz stars as Adolph Hitler. Its focussed on the Nazi dictators mental/emotional state in the final weeks of World War II. Swiss-born Ganz is riveting as Hitler and portrayed him with occasional humanity. Downfall brings to life eye-witness accounts of those inside the bunker during Hitlers last days.
Israel Walk on Water. In what looks like a commercial political thriller ala Hollywood, the clever scenario blossoms into a deeply moving, intelligent affirmation that peace can be achieved in the world. Along the way, the viewer gets to know some basics about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Germanys dark war legacy and homophobia in macho-oriented Israel. You will also get a tour of Germany, Turkey and scenic Israel. Walk on Water is an outstanding contemporary journey through conflicting ideologies and histories.
Pakistan Silent Waters. Set in 1979, the film follows the ordeal of a widowed Muslim woman who invests high hopes in her handsome, lovable teenage son, only to discover that he has joined a group of Islamic fundamentalists. The Muslim clerics worked on the young mans feelings of inferiority and emasculation at the hands of the women in his life. (Sounds familiar?)