The Truth (1960)

Academy Awards, USA 1961

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film France.

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Rebellious teenager Brigitte Bardot is put on trial for murdering her lover. Through flashbacks, we see the story of her troubled youth unfold. On her own for the first time in the big city of Paris, she takes on a series of lovers, eventually settling on her sister's fiance, a composer. After their initial sexual attraction wears off, it turns out they have little in common and break up. She becomes destitute and eventually turns to prostitution while he becomes engaged again to her sister. This only enrages her further, leading to the murder. The court trial is more of a distraction than anything else, since she readily admits to the crime and the only question is whether or not it is a "crime of passion" which apparently carries a lighter sentence. The rest is nothing more than watching a very young Brigitte in a series of compromising situations, entertaining but hardly essential.

White Bim Black Ear (1977)

Academy Awards, USA 1979

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Soviet Union.

Directed by Stanislav Rostotsky
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A retired writer adopts an albino pure bred Setter. He trains the dog to hunt and they form an inseparable bond. The writer is sent away for an operation, leaving the dog in the care of his neighbors. This sets in motion a series of misadventures as the dog desperately tries to find his owner. This might be fairly light family entertainment, but at nearly 3 hours it becomes almost intolerably long. And the reward for those 3 hours? A downbeat ending. I would recommend skipping this and watching Benji instead.

Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

Raise the Red Lantern (MGM World Films)

Academy Awards, USA 1992

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Hong Kong.

Orion Classics
Directed by Zhang Yimou
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, MGM/Fox)

A young woman is purchased by a wealthy older man to become his "fourth mistress". They all live within an opulent compound, waiting outside their respective houses each night to see whom he chooses to spend the night with. Of course the new, young bride is favored in the beginning, but she soon realizes the other mistresses will stop at nothing to win the favor of their master. She gets caught up in their schemes and soon loses her nightly privilege. The situation becomes dire when a maid is caught breaking the rules and dies as a result of her punishment, then a mistress is caught cheating and hung by the servants. Zhang Yimou once again elevates melodrama to new heights in this sumptuously photographed film.

Ju Dou (1990)

Ju Dou DVD

Academy Awards, USA 1991

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film China.

Miramax
Directed by Yimou Zhang and Fengliang Yang
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Artisan)

A man works at his adopted uncle's fabric dyeing business in rural China. One day the uncle brings home his newly purchased wife, young beauty Gong Li. However, he mercilessly beats and tortures her when she is unable to conceive a child. She soon falls in love with the kinder nephew and they begin a sexual relationship. She becomes pregnant but pretends the boy's father is her husband. Still tortured nightly, they consider murdering him, but he becomes paralyzed from the waist down after an accident. They no longer hide their relationship which infuriates him to the point of almost murdering the child, but he realizes he can cause them more pain by befriending him. This goes on for over a decade, before the grown child takes matters into his own hands. Intense, beautifully filmed melodrama, overloaded with symbolism and a calculated plot, but guided by the steady hand of director Zhang.

The Thief (1997)

The Thief DVD

Academy Awards, USA 1998

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Russia.

Stratosphere Entertainment
Directed by Pavel Chukhray
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Olive Films)

A single mother is seduced on a train by a Russian soldier. They live in an apartment house with her young son. Despite initial antagonism, the boy eventually looks up to the man as a father figure. Unfortunately, he is a brute, not to mention a thief, who passes along his worst qualities to the boy. They travel from city to city using the same method. Eventually he is caught and sent to prison, leaving the boy and his mother on their own. Bleak, unpleasant film plays out to its inevitable tragic ending.

Porte des Lilas (1957)

Academy Awards, USA 1958

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film France.

Cinédis (France)
Directed by René Clair
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A middle-aged drunk and loafer, living with his mother and sister, befriends a local musician at a bar. They hang around his dilapidated house eating cans of stolen food. One day, they hide a wanted thief and murderer in the basement. Days turn into weeks, and the two men will do almost anything for the criminal, who graces the national headlines with his good looks. He seduces a young girl and persuades her to give him money to leave the country, infuriating the other man and leading to a deadly confrontation. Odd little film from Clair, with unsympathetic characters trying to find meaning in their lonely lives. Real life musician and poet Georges Brassens basically plays himself as "L'Artiste" in his only film appearance.

Boy and the World (2013)

Boy and the World (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)

Academy Awards, USA 2016

Nominated Oscar

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year Alê Abreu

Gkids
Directed by Alê Abreu
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Gkids)

The simple life of a farming family is broken up when the father decides to go to the city to find work. Soon, his young son leaves to find him, a quest that takes him a lifetime. He finds life in the big city bewildering, if not nightmarish, but eventually befriends a street musician. Their journey comes full circle, in more ways than one, with the boy becoming the father, or perhaps the other way around. The animation is stunning: a vibrant, colorful style that comes alive on the screen. The soundtrack is almost as innovative, from traditional Brazilian to the Grupo Experimental de Musica and other obscure Brazilian bands.

Beyond the Walls (1984)

Academy Awards, USA 1985

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Israel.

Warner Bros.
Directed by Uri Barbash
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

The conflict between Israel and Palestine takes place in the microcosm of a prison in which Jewish and Arab gangs tee off against each other. They take every opportunity to spit, curse, fight, rape and otherwise harass each other under the eye of mostly uninterested prison guards. One of them is a contestant in a national music competition, which keeps them distracted for awhile. However, when the corrupt warden uses murder to pit them against each other, they find common ground in a hunger strike. Violent prison drama filled with repulsive characters leaves no one to root for.

Hedd Wyn (1992)

Academy Awards, USA 1994

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film United Kingdom.

S4C (Wales)
Directed by Paul Turner
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A Welsh farmer, poet and pacifist resists peer pressure to enlist in the English army in WWI. He has love affairs with several women, but seems to be mostly interested in the one who likes his poetry. The draft board finally identifies him and forces his father to choose one of his sons to send to the war. The agonizing decision is made to send the oldest, the poet, who reluctantly agrees. He is sent to the front and participates in one of the bloodiest trench warfare battles. Too much time is spent on his melodramatic love affairs, but the final act more than makes up for it: a mesmerizing mix of Celtic music, poetry and haunting war images.

Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)

Academy Awards, USA 1976

Nominated Oscar

Best Actor in a Leading Role James Whitmore

Theatre Television
Directed by Steve Binder
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

James Whitmore channels president Harry S. Truman in this one-man filmed play. He reminisces about war, visits with a former president and his wife, argues with subordinates, attacks Republicans, and tells a lot of jokes. It's all a bit awkward, especially when talking to other people who are not there or laughing at his own jokes, but still entertaining.