Too often, incredible foreign-language films slip through the cracks and escape international notice. Even with widespread acclaim, it can be difficult for foreign films to be seen outside their native country and sometimes even within their native country, particularly if said film was the subject of controversy. Here is a look at ten of the best foreign subtitled action films, starting with
Mathieu Kassovitz’s hidden gem
Rebellion
Rebellion (2013)
Mathieu Kassovitz’s thrilling, action-packed Rebellion tells the real-life story of a French tribe in New Caledonia who attacked a police precinct taking 30 innocents hostage, as Special Ops officer Captain Philippe Legorjus (Matthieu Kassovitz, Haywire) is tasked with freeing them. A connection is formed between the Captain and lead terrorist Alphonse Dianou (newcomer Iabe Lapacas), but as negotiations become increasingly hostile, it becomes clear that the rebels have nothing to lose and everything to fight for. Kassovitz was nominated for a César award for this film, along with co-writers Benoît Jaubert and Pierre Geller for a Best Adapted Screenplay.
La Haine (1995)
Rebellion director Mathieu Kassovitz’s second feature film was the critically acclaimed La Haine (or Hate), which featured a stellar breakthrough performance from close friend, then-rising French star, Vincent Cassel. The controversial film chronicles 19 hours in the lives of three young friends from immigrant backgrounds—one North African, one Jewish and one Afro-French—as they contend with the overflowing racial tensions in the French housing project where they live. Despite the controversy in his native France, the film earned Kassovitz the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Oldboy (2003)
Loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name, the second instalment in The Vengeance Trilogy by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, Oldboy has developed something of a cult following for its cinematic originality and shocking twists. On his way to his young daughter’s birthday party, businessman Oh Dae-su is kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years. Once released, he embarks on a perilous five-day journey to discover the motive behind his confinement. Oldboy garnered incredible reviews from Western critics, and director Spike Lee’s American remake is scheduled for 2013 release.
Tough Enough (2006)
Director Detlev Buck’s gripping German thriller showcases a brilliantly emotional performance from a teenage David Kross (The Reader, 2008). When Miriam splits up with her wealthy boyfriend, she and her 15-year-old son Michael (Kross) are forced to relocate from their posh neighbourhood to a rundown Berlin suburb. Michael endures violent bullying from the first, until he begins running drugs for a local charismatic dealer. Praised for its gritty social realism and stellar soundtrack, the film won Buck the International Federation of Film Critics award at the Berlin Film Festival, along with a slew of other accolades from Germany and Austria.
City of God (2003)
The critically acclaimed City of God follows two young boys from the same Brazilian slum and the very different trajectories their lives take. Rocket grows up to become a photographer who chronicles the rise of childhood associate Li'l Zé, now a ruthless kingpin who terrorises the city with maniacal glee. The film received four Academy Award nominations, and following its success, director Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardner, 2006) created a television series City of Men, which was then adapted into a 2007 film.
The Debt (2007)
This Israeli thriller tells the fictional account of a 1964 covert Mossad team charged with capturing a nefarious Nazi doctor who brutally experimented on Jews during the Holocaust. When the doctor manages to escape, the group reports instead that he was shot and killed in the process of fleeing. Years later, the celebrated agents discover the surgeon may still be alive and on the verge of confessing all. The film was nominated for four awards by the Israeli Film Academy, and in 2011, Helen Mirren, Ciarán Hinds and Tom Wilkinson starred in the American remake.
Battle Royale (2000)
Based on the 1999 novel of the same name, Battle Royale follows a young student forced by a dystopian government to compete against the other students of his class in a fight to the death. The film was met with immediate controversy in its native Japan, particularly from government officials, but still managed to become one of the country’s top ten highest grossing films and was hailed by Western critics.
Tsotsi (2005)
In the slums of South Africa, brutal gang leader Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae) comes of age through rather unusual circumstances. After a mugging gone wrong, Tsotsi accidentally rides away with a three-month-old in the backseat of a stolen car. With the police hot on his trail, the young gangster becomes the baby’s sole caregiver and that baby becomes the catalyst for his redemption. Tsotsi won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film and was nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category.
Hidden (2005)
Starring French luminaries Danny Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, Michael Haneke’s polarising thriller about a small Parisian family shaken by the discovery that they are being anonymously surveilled premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to tremendous acclaim. The film won three prizes, including the Best Director Award for Haneke. The film received largely positive reviews, and is a regular fixture on the best of world cinema lists.
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
In this fiercely original, animated documentary, writer and director Ari Folman meets up with an old army buddy, 24 years after the 1982 Lebanon War. Both still teenagers at the time, his friend remembers nothing about the war effort and Folmon discovers he, too, recalls very little with precision. In order to recover his memories, Folmon seeks out others in Beirut at the time to share their stories. Although classified as a documentary, the film uses a combination of storytelling techniques and Folmon used both actual people and composites. Among its numerous accolades, Waltz With Bashir counts the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language; but despite its numerous accolades, the film is banned in its native Lebanon.
Rebellion is released on DVD and Blu-ray by Lionsgate in UK&Ireland
26th August,
read our review here.
