Annual Review! 11 Non-English Films In 2023 Not To Be Missed!

Many non-English films worth watching emerged at the three major European film festivals in 2023. For example, there is the Silver Bear-winning film "Afire", which discusses literature and love amidst a fire. There is also the Golden Palm-winning film "Anatomy of a Fall", which dissects a broken marriage through a falling case. Another film, "The Zone of Interest", presents the banality of evil in a concentration camp setting with precision. There is also a tribute by Wim Vendors to Yasujirō Ozu in "Perfect Days". Lastly, there is the nostalgic, candid, tumultuous and charming Finnish sketch film "Fallen Leaves" by Kaurismäki...

Audiences find themselves immersed in various content contexts, encountering with countless characters. They establish a connection with the whole world. This is the significance of watching movies.

1. Afire / Roter Himmel
Director: Christian Pätzold
Writer: Christian Pätzold
Starring: Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs, Matthias Brandt
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Language: German
Release Date: February 22, 2023 (Berlin Film Festival), April 20, 2023 (Germany)
Duration: 103 minutes

Recommendation:
“Afire” is the second part of Christian Pätzold's element trilogy following "Undine". Unrestrained passion and sensitivity, unruly but with shallow knowledge, skilled in insight but also accustomed to detachment - these are the words we use to distance ourselves from conformity and pleasure. This film, which was nominated for the main competition at 2023 Berlin Film Festival, truly creates a cinematic perspective. Never has a straight macho man character resonated with so many people. Everyone shares some kind of similar experience with him. The fire spirit is angry because of mediocrity because he discovers that others don't look at him with the same gaze, and he fears being observed by others himself. The wildfire comes like a virus, embracing everything in death, and in that moment, the power of "gaze" is discovered. The film thus captures the essence of certain images and the charm of Éric Rohmer's films (like "Le rayon vert").

2. Anatomie d'une chute / Anatomy of a Fall
Director: Justine Triet
Writers: Justine Triet, Arthur Harari
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz, Samuel Théis
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: France
Language: French, English, German
Release Date: May 21, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival), August 23, 2023 (France)
Duration: 151 minutes

Recommendation:
An enthralling film that combines calmness and intensity, intertwining reality and fiction in a viewer-friendly manner. Directed by Justine Triet, a female director, this film won the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The central event of the film, a judicial investigation into a fatal fall, is a marvelous sample that immerses the audience in an analysis of family and social relationships. This is a world where language is the only way to construct stories, where there are communication difficulties between people and a tantalizing sense of absurdity, like that of an "outsider".

3. Ser ser salhi / City of Wind
Director: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Writer: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Starring: Tergel Bold-Erdene, Nomin-Erdene Ariunbyamba, Anu-Ujin Tsermaa, Bulgan Chuluunbat, Ganzorig Tsetsgee
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Mongolia, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Qatar
Language: Mongolian
Release Date: August 31, 2023 (Venice Film Festival)
Duration: 103 minutes

Recommendation:
"City of Wind" is an astonishing film in 2023. The film begins with a sense of mystery, but the director does not focus on depicting the magic; instead, it tells the everyday story of a seventeen-year-old boy who is both a high school student and a shaman. The film naturally unfolds and explores the conflicts between tradition and modernity, the boy's confusion, the spread of the city, the blurring of perception, discipline, and resistance. It presents a sense of floating, and it brings viewers the scenic beauty of Mongolia.

4. Falcon Lake
Director: Charlotte Le Bon
Writers: François Choquet, Bastien Vivès, Charlotte Le Bon
Starring: Joseph Engel, Sara Montpetit, Monia Chokri, Arthur Igual, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Canada
Language: French, English
Release Date: May 22, 2022 (Cannes Film Festival), October 14, 2022 (Canada), December 7, 2022 (France)
Runtime: 100 minutes

Recommendation:
It was a selected film at the 75th Cannes Directors' Fortnight. Overall, the film is decent, but as a director's first film, it is quite impressive. The reason for recommending it is that it manages to tell a coming-of-age story without being cliché or overly contrived, which is quite rare.

The supernatural element may be a bit childish, but linking ghosts and spirits to the sexual awakening of teenagers creates an atmosphere of sexual repression. In addition, the summer forest, the stormy nights and the mysterious lake add a touch of classical mythology, sensualizing the forbidden fruit of Adam and Eve through the environment and sound effects, blurring the line between fiction and reality, and magnifying the ambiguous feelings of young boys and girls. The boy's tragic fate at the end may be an extreme revelation: growing up is a form of spiritual suicide.

5. Kuolleet lehdet / Fallen Leaves
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Writer: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: Alma Pöysti, Juha-Pekka Mikkola, Alina Tomnikov, Janne Hyytiäinen, Martti Suosalu
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Country: Finland
Language: Finnish
Release Date: May 22, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival) / September 15, 2023 (Finland)
Runtime: 81 minutes

Recommendation:
This is the most adorable love film of 2023. The film's visuals, costumes, color scheme and the daily activities of the protagonist all resemble a story from Eastern Europe in the 1990s. However, the radio broadcasts about the Russo-Ukrainian war heard in the protagonist's house remind the audience that this story takes place in 2023 in Finland, the homeland of happiness, where many people have never met. This subtle conflict implies that this is not a modern love story; it is an extremely nostalgic and somewhat old-fashioned love fairy tale that is extremely rare in modern society.

The male protagonist is an alcoholic construction worker, and the female protagonist is a saleswoman facing unemployment. Both live at the bottom of society in a developed country, seemingly untouched by the progress of the times. There are very few scenes in the film showing them using modern electronic devices, and the female protagonist only has a radio at home. After their first date, she even writes her phone number on a piece of paper and leaves it for the male protagonist. When he accidentally loses the note, he waits in front of the cinema hoping to see her again in an old school way.

The relationship between the male and female leads is filled with accidents like car crashes and comas, and developments like reunions and waiting. While watching, one might anticipate a tragic ending because it seems like a miracle for love to grow between characters from the impoverished lower class such as a worker and a saleswoman, and any unexpected twist in life could shatter this miracle. However, this is precisely what makes this film so adorable - in the end, no accidents happen, only love.

The theme that "love can heal everything" may be cliché, but Aki, with his keen observation of life and his inherent wit, makes the audience believe that this story is happening right now on some distant street. That street is covered with fallen leaves in deep autumn, but there are two ordinary people who have been battered by life, and a little dog named Chaplin, all moving towards a happy tomorrow.

6. How to Have Sex
Director: Molly Manning Walker
Writer: Molly Manning Walker
Starring: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Samuel Bottomley, Enva Lewis
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, Greece
Language: English
Release Date: May 19, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival), November 2, 2023 (Greece), November 3, 2023 (UK)
Runtime: 91 minutes

Recommendation:
"How to Have Sex" is a thought-provoking film that won the Best Film award in the "Un Certain Regard" section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Set against the backdrop of a group of teenagers on holiday in Greece, the film explores themes of sexuality, consent, and self-discovery.

This film, based on the director's own experiences, successfully captures the complex emotions of teenagers exploring sexuality. Particularly in addressing the theme of sexual assault, the film portrays its intricacies and subtle details, rather than using the plot as a mere catalyst. However, what truly captivates the audience is the outstanding performance by the lead actress, Mia McKenna-Bruce. The film depicts her transformation from an innocent young girl who experiences pain to a mature woman who undergoes self-healing and awakening. This makes the film a noteworthy work that explores contemporary issues of youth and sexuality.

7. Perfect Days
Director: Wim Wenders
Writers: Wim Wenders, Takuma Takasaki
Starring: Kōji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Asō
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, Germany
Language: Japanese
Release Dates: May 25, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival), December 21, 2023 (Germany), December 22, 2023 (Japan)
Duration: 123 minutes

Recommendation:
"Perfect Days" is like a fugue, with the thematic melody gently unfolding at the beginning of the film, giving audience a sense of smooth and light. It then transitions to different voices, echoing and contrasting with the theme in a similar manner, creating a parallel structure. And the music played is the ordinary life itself. All variations revolve around life, serving as interludes.

Wim Wenders purifies life to the extent that it consists only of waking up, working, eating, reading, and sleeping. The nature of work also carries symbolic significance: cleaning the dirtiest places in Tokyo, the public toilets. As a devoted fan of Yasujirō Ozu, Wenders pays homage to his idol not merely by setting the story and location in Japan, but by merging the characters' spirit, behavior, environment and camera into a serene wholeness. This also reflects the spiritual core frequently expressed in Ozu's films: the unity of inner self and the world. Instead of falling into the trap of debating whether "Perfect Days" condescends to the working class from an elitist perspective or indulges in a delusional political view of glorifying labor, we can choose to draw inspiration from the sunlight streaming through the cracks, finding the scarce elements of tranquility and serenity that our era lacks.

8. Sieben Winter in Teheran / Seven Winters in Tehran
Director: Stefanie Niedermeier
Writers: Stefanie Niedermeier, Sina Ataeian Dena
Starring: Reyhaneh Jabbari, Shole Pakravan, Fereydoon Jabbari, Shahrzad Jabbari, Sharare Jabbari
Genre: Documentary
Country: Germany, France
Language: Persian
Release Dates: February 17, 2023 (Berlin International Film Festival), March 17, 2023 (Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival)
Duration: 97 minutes

Recommendation:
A documentary that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2023, "Seven Winters in Tehran" focuses on a global political scandal – the true story of Reyhaneh, a girl who was raped. The film is entirely shot using secret footage, audio recordings and letters from inside the prison, smuggled out of Iran. In fact, the material used for the film is straightforward, yet the visuals are exceptionally somber, enveloped in a profound sense of heaviness.

Freedom is not escaping the high walls of a prison but escaping the high walls of thoughts and soul. We need to redirect our attention to Iran, Iranian women, and women worldwide. It is a typical female-centered film that is not intense, resentful, or forceful. It shows us that the struggle of Iranian women does not begin with women, freedom, and life. You can witness the cages of survival faced by countless Iranian women; a system that has been allowed for over forty years. This is not just a matter of women's survival; it represents the oppression faced by numerous individuals under the weight of power. The significance of the imagery extends beyond the film itself, aiming to bring more awareness.

9. El sueño de la sultana / Sultana's Dream
Director: Isabel Herguera
Writer: Isabel Herguera, Gianmarco Serra
Starring: Miren Arrieta, Mary Billard, Roberto Bessi, Miren Gabilondo, Nausheen Javeed
Genre: Drama, Animation
Country: Germany, Spain
Language: English, Spanish, Hindi, Basque
Release Date: September 24, 2023 (San Sebastian Film Festival)
Runtime: 80 minutes

Recommendation:
"Now I can dream, I am free." This animated feature film, directed by Spanish director Isabel Herguera, is inspired by the feminist allegorical work "Sultana's Dream" (1905) by Bengali writer Rokeya Hossain. The film consists of three parts: the awakening of the female spirit of young Spanish artist Inès, the life of Rokeya Hossain, the original author of "Sultana's Dream" and the utopian world of "Ladyland" in the book, where there is no violence and the war has ended. In this world, women are in charge and men are segregated, reflecting the traditions of the Muslim and Hindu communities known as Purdah.

The three narratives are accompanied by different animation techniques, creating highly stylized visual effects. The story of Inès is portrayed using 2D ink and watercolor animation, discussing whether Western feminism has imposed its influence on non-Western cultures. The life of Rokeya Hossain is summarized using a more traditional paper-cut animation style. The world of "Ladyland" is vividly built using the Mehndi style art (a popular form of body art in South Asia, commonly designed and applied on the hands and feet of women, with brown as the standard color). The alternating narratives and visual effects raise the pressing question of how shared spaces can provide "equality" and "safety" for women, which is more impressive than serving as a popularization of feminist theory.

10. Le Ravissement / The Rapture
Director: Iris Kaltenbäck
Writer: Iris Kaltenbäck
Starring: Hafsia Herzi, Alexis Manenti, Nina Meurisse, Younès Boucif
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Language: French
Release Date: May 20, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival)
Runtime: 97 minutes

Recommendation:
Nominated by Cannes film critics, this film tells a series of stories that unfold when the female protagonist, a midwife, lies about her friend's child being theirs to gain the attention of her one-night stand. The overall plot is solid, with seemingly absurd developments that are easy to understand, and there are many humorous moments. The performances of the male and female leads are commendable.

11. The Zone of Interest
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Writers: Martin Amis, Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Ralph Herforth, Freya Kreutzkam, Max Beck
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: USA, UK, Poland
Language: English, Polish, German
Release Date: May 19, 2023 (Cannes Film Festival), December 15, 2023 (USA)
Runtime: 105 minutes

Recommendation:
This film offers a unique perspective on different wars, with perfect synchronization of sound and visuals that fully immerse the audience and make them feel the impact. The deafening silence at the beginning and end, with black screens, prevents us from detaching from this fairy tale. It was expected to have a very detached and calm perspective, but it turned out to be silent. The minimalist style, with many fixed shots in the courtyard that dissect all objects into basic visual lines, completely discards any internal emotional expression, clearly indicating the intention to create a world that excludes all unnecessary elements and exists in their own reality.

Similarly, this film is not like a historical documentary, but a postmodern life lived in the present. The editing is clear, with the movements of each character in the room and the actions that shuttle between different frames matching perfectly. It not only aims to create a sense of busyness and visual richness but also provides a contrast to the minimalist lines.

Sound is undoubtedly crucial in this film. The labor in the concentration camp, the screams, and the low rumbling of machines create a nightmarish atmosphere around the house, serving as the underlying noise that permeates the film. Unconsciously, our hearing constructs a surrounding garden from these historical sounds, and without realizing it, we shift from being observers to being present, and ultimately become perpetrators.