Non-English films
Subtitles has always been part and parcel for how I watch films, TV dramas. Whether it is a local production, or something from Hollywood. That is until learning about how it is just not the case in some countries, where dubbing comes in.
But as ‘Parasite’ director Bong Joon-Ho famously said it at the 2020 Golden Globes, if one overcome the one-inch barrier of the subtitles, one can enjoy more films. Or something like that.
(Or almost) All films here have been watched with the help of the subtitles. Because it is what I have always been doing without thinking twice, even if it is speaking in either the languages I speak and understand in English or Mandarin Chinese.
But as ‘Parasite’ director Bong Joon-Ho famously said it at the 2020 Golden Globes, if one overcome the one-inch barrier of the subtitles, one can enjoy more films. Or something like that.
(Or almost) All films here have been watched with the help of the subtitles. Because it is what I have always been doing without thinking twice, even if it is speaking in either the languages I speak and understand in English or Mandarin Chinese.
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- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- DirectorAndrew LauAlan MakStarsAndy LauTony Leung Chiu-waiAnthony Chau-Sang WongA story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
- DirectorRoyston TanStarsYuwu QiMindee OngYann Yann YeoThe story is about two good friends who grew up with genuine love for Getai culture.
- DirectorMichael SteinerStarsJoel BasmanNoémie SchmidtUdo SamelYoung Jewish man bucks orthodox traditions (and mother's meddling) by shaving, shopping outside the faithful, and considering a shiksa for a wife.
- DirectorJack NeoStarsShawn LeeMegan ZhengYun XiangA young boy accidentally loses his sister's school shoes. To avoid trouble at school and with their parents, they decide to secretly share his shoes.
- DirectorOmung KumarStarsPriyanka Chopra JonasSunil ThapaRobin DasA chronicle of the life of Indian boxer Mary Kom, who went through several hardships before audaciously accomplishing her ultimate dream.
- DirectorNacho G. VelillaStarsYon GonzálezJulián LópezBlanca SuárezTwo young Spanish men, with a university education, are tired of unemployment and decide to move to Germany. But soon they will find out that finding a better living is not as easy as they expected.
- DirectorGabriela TagliaviniStarsBlanca SuárezMacarena GarcíaAmaia SalamancaFour different sisters who all have their own little secrets attend their mother's funeral in Madrid, where the will reveals that their dad was not their biological father, so they go on a quest together seeking their biological father(s).
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
- DirectorJack NeoStarsTosh ZhangIrene AngVivek AroraA bunch of mischievous recruits go through National Service in Singapore.
- DirectorJack NeoStarsTosh ZhangWeiliang WangNoah YapThe film opens with the Republic of Singapore apparently being under an immense invasion from a fictional army, with iconic Singaporean landmarks (such as the Merlion and the Esplanade) coming under fire and many civilians killed brutally. It is later revealed that the war was fictitious setting of a war-based role-playing game played by Ken Chow (Joshua Tan), a rich and spoiled child reluctant to enlist into National Service. Ken plans to study abroad with his girlfriend Amy (Bong Qiu Ting), but his plans are derailed by NS. After being chided by Amy for his childishness, Ken takes it out on a nearby rubbish bin, to be apprehended by two policemen in the vicinity. A disappointed and embarrassed Amy looked very sad and angry. Back home, after being driven back by his father (Richard Low), Ken confides to his parents about his fears of National Service. His overprotective mother (Irene Ang) decides to help him think of ways to defer, but to no avail. Eventually, they are all forced to face the hard truth - there is no going against the law. The Chow family sadly send off Ken on the day of his enlisting. Thereafter, Ken and a few other recruits are assigned to Ninja Company (Platoon 2, Section 2) and are sent to their bunk and introduced to their Platoon Sergeant (Tosh Zhang), a portrayal of the tough-nails sergeant stereotype. Whilst waiting for the mandatory haircut, Ken gets to know a few people - "Lobang" (Wang Wei Liang), Aloysius Jin Sia-lan (Maxi Lim) and "I.P. Man" (Noah Yap). After two weeks of training, Ken and the other recruits are allowed to book out. A lavish party is thrown to celebrate Ken's return, but his mood is ruined when he is shown a photo of his girlfriend with another man. Ken angrily confronts her and demands that they meet, which she does not agree to. She later admits that she has fallen for another man and dumps Ken on the highway. Determined to regain her love, Ken devises a plan to escape from Pulau Tekong and send her off, for he feels she is merely just testing him. Ken stops drinking water, in hopes to get a heat injury, for which he would be sent home for ten days; he takes the extra measure of sleeping under a ceiling-fan after dousing himself in cold water. However, he gets into a situation worse than expected and he is quickly sent off to a hospital after collapsing during training. Ken's father is alerted of his son's critical condition while in a company meeting. He quickly drives off to the hospital, but the shock and strain is too much and he suffers a stroke while driving and violently collides with another vehicle. Ken wakes up in the next scene, surrounded by his two sisters, in a hospital. He realised his foolish actions have caused problems for many people and cannot bear to face his father, who has survived the car crash and is recuperating in another ward in the same hospital. Awakened to reality, Ken is finally fit enough to go back to training. The film ends at this junction, and snippets of the next part are shown.
- DirectorIsabel CoixetStarsNatalia de MolinaGreta FernándezSara CasasnovasIn 1901, Elisa Sanchez Loriga took on the identity of Mario Sánchez to marry her lover of fifteen years, Marcela Gracia Ibeas.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungLai WangBozhao WangAll the while, Master Chu tries to find his place in the foreign American world.
- DirectorNikita MikhalkovStarsBademaBayaertuVladimir GostyukhinA curious friendship develops between Gombo, a young Mongolian shepherd living with his wife and family in a hut, deep in the wilderness of the steppes, and Sergei, a Russian worker whose truck breaks down not far from Gombo's hut.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungKuei-Mei YangWang Yu-wenA senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.
- DirectorMajid MajidiStarsMohammad Amir NajiAmir Farrokh HashemianBahare SeddiqiAfter a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.
- DirectorMarc RothemundStarsJulia JentschFabian HinrichsAlexander HeldA dramatization of the final days of Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous members of the German World War II anti-Nazi resistance movement, The White Rose.
- DirectorPer FlyStarsUlrich ThomsenLisa WerlinderGhita NørbyA young man is torn between his individual hopes and his sense of duty when his father dies and he is expected to take over the family industry.
- DirectorAnders NilssonStarsJakob EklundIrina BjörklundNicholas FarrellJohan Falk hasn't been working for over a year since he resigned from the police. Most of all he wants to move out to the countryside, but fate has a different thought.
- DirectorNikita MikhalkovStarsNikita MikhalkovIngeborga DapkunaiteOleg MenshikovIn the USSR in 1936, shadows of Stalin's repressions fall on a famous, revolutionary hero. The accusations of him being a foreign spy are nonsense, and everyone knows that. However, a slow process of his downfall has already started.
- DirectorTae-gyun KimStarsHyun BinPark Jin-youngLim Ju-hwanJae-Kyung (Hyun-Bin ) is a tough guy, who is a high school senior,If he turns 19 years means, he could be a millionaire by inheriting his deceased grandfather's wealth. Unfortunately his family lawyer informs Jae-Kyung about the will from his grandfather. In his will grandfather stated he can only become a millionaire after he graduates from Boram High School,a countryside local school. He has no other choice to avoid. Life became worse there and he can't use his money or make friends. In his class, he meets Eun-Hwan (Lee Yeon-Hee)a pretty girl. She's some kind of different from others. Things change Jae-Kyung's mind and became close to their new friends. Eventually he fell in love with Eun-Hwan and things become strong after he knows about her secrets.
- DirectorWolfgang BeckerStarsDaniel BrühlKatrin SassChulpan KhamatovaIn 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.
- DirectorXiaogang FengStarsDonald SutherlandRosamund KwanPaul MazurskyYankie director Don Tyler faces mounting insecurity and declining health while on location in Beijing, so his assistant hires down-and-out camerman YoYo to take the reins. Scrambling, studio boss sells the sagging picture to a Japanese media company. But YoYo is determined to upstage the whole production by granting the director's wish to have a grand "comedy funeral". To raise the money for it, he auctions off advertising and sponsorships for the funeral to companies around the world. But wait...is Don getting better?