A Language Learner's Forum Film Club

[AlexTG]

The Original Thread
I want to write a review, and I don't want to start a log, and I don't want to use the old site, so here is a Film Club thread for the new forum.

Edit: lots of thanks should be given to iguanamon for coming up with the idea of a Film Club and writing out the rules, I loved the original thread.

Welcome to the HTLAL Film Club 2015. Its creation came about because of a need on the forum to have a place where people can discuss about the films/television series they watch instead of just the quantity. This is not the Super Challenge, which I encourage all learners who wish to make a dramatic improvement in their language skills to do.

You are encouraged to write in any TL if you wish, but it isn't required. If you do write in TL, then you must include either a translation into English or, at least, a synopsis in English of your main points so that everyone may benefit from possibly discovering a new film, actor, series or director, even if they don't speak your TL. Your translation doesn't have to be word for word, UN translator standard. Recommendations of films and series to watch are welcome- please flesh them out a bit instead of just posting a simple list with links (see "Links" for posting guidance).

If you are watching, a film/series in TL dub from English or a TL dub from another language, this is alright. You can, indeed, talk about these here as long as you are watching in your TL. If you are a learner of English, you are welcome to discuss here as well.

Corrections: If posters wish to have their TL's corrected, they should state so clearly in the beginning of the post or at the end. If posters do not wish their posts to be corrected by non-native speakers, this should also be made clear. Posters should bear in mind that the HTLAL text interface isn't designed well for corrections and it can be a time consuming task for the correctors. If someone goes to the time and trouble to do this for you, they should be thanked. If a poster doesn't state that they wish to be corrected, the assumption should be that they do not want to be corrected without being asked. Private messages can be used to ask someone if they want a correction.

Links: No one should post links to illegal downloads, illegal dvd purchases or illegal streaming sites including full movies or series on youtube/vimeo as per Forum Rules. If you do so, you will be reported to the moderators and the post will be dealt with accordingly. Quotes from films should be attributed to the film's title. Links to short clips should be in accordance with the CODE OF BEST PRACTICES IN FAIR USE FOR ONLINE VIDEO, please see Item Two: Using copyrighted material for illustration or example in particular.

This can be tricky. What is "short"? What is fair use?. Let's say, for the purposes of this thread on this forum, that anything over 6 minutes (not specifically made for youtube or the web or freely published by the copyright owner) is crossing the line. Ultimately it is best to avoid any doubt. If you are unsure, don't post the link. We don't want the moderators to close our thread. Perception is reality. If you violate copyright, you will get busted by the moderators. Official trailers can make the post fun for others and illustrate your topic well. They are widely available and legal to use without worry.

Images: Images can also make a post fun, but keep in mind that too much of a good thing can spoil that fun. Be judicious about image use. Please try to edit the size of images you post so that they don't expand the screen width in such a way that it makes reading a chore of scrolling back and forth from left to right for every line on the page. Please check your post to see if the photo is too large. If you can't edit the image to fit within the optimum screen width for reading, please delete it and provide a link instead. Please keep other members in mind. One post with giant photos can ruin a whole page of posts for everyone else. If this happens, feel free to point this out to the poster.

Disagreements: If you disagree with someone's post about a film or television series, please, try to disagree without being disagreeable.

Let's talk about what you are watching in films and series! Enjoy!

[AlexTG]

I've just discovered a wonderful Argentinian show called Lalola. So far I've watched the first five episodes. I came annoyingly close to not watching it because the Argentinians class it as a "Telenovela", which is a turn off for me. But, as it turns out, it's really what we'd call a comedy-drama (or dramedy) in English speaking countries, not a soapy at all. It's about a womanizer who is transformed into having a female body (a curse from a woman scorned... ).

The lead actress is fantastic with her physical comedy, one of those performers whose body movements and facial expressions just send you into fits of laughter. I was shocked to find out she has a background in proper telenovelas, not stand up comedy or something. A strong, strong recommend to any fans of Ally McBeal or Desperate Housewives.

It's available (officially and legally), on Youtube, and, with English or Spanish subtitles, on Viki.

[Spoonary]

I've just discovered a wonderful Argentinian show called Lalola.

¡Y qué suerte tuviste! Muchísimas gracias por compartir tu hallazgo con nosotros. Sólo con ver el tráiler me conquistó. Pensé "Esta serie la tengo que ver,"

Desde que vi la película argentina Nueve Reinas, me enamoré del acento argentino y sabía que tendría que escucharlo más.

EDIT: I forgot the translation (sorry).

And how lucky you were! Thank you so much for sharing your discovery with us. Even just seeing the trailer it won me over. I thought "I have to watch this series."

Since I saw the Argentine film Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens), I fell in love with the Argentinian accent and I knew I would have to listen to more of it.

[iguanamon]

AlexTG, thanks for the link to the original thread, but it would be nice if you attributed my quoted post to me

[AlexTG]

AlexTG, thanks for the link to the original thread, but it would be nice if you attributed my quoted post to me

Good point, remedied now.

[Mohave]

I haven't found many interesting French shows in the Netflix US catalog recently, but I found a French TV-miniseries Les Témoins (The Witnesses) is now available. I've watched the first two episodes, and am really enjoying it. It's a French crime procedural, not quite as gritty as Engrenages, but maybe more so than Profilage. Also the French is much easier to follow (for me) than Engrenages.

The first episode is chilling and dark. A man comes home from work only to find that his living room has been re-populated with three dead bodies, lovingly arranged to mimic a traditional family setting. There’s a mom and dad on the sofa, and a teenager perched on a stool at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. We soon realise, these posed cadavres have been dug up from their graves and placed very deliberately. Here is the Bande-Annonce:





Edit: to put YouTube video in

[aabram]

I'm sort of watching Taiwanese 喜歡 · 一個人. Romcoms are usually not my taste, but this one is actually half-decent. For some reason it is really hard to find Chinese movies/shows which are not cheesy and filled with cliches and one dimensional characters. 喜歡 · 一個人 is quilty of that too, but the main character is actually enjoyably quirky in her grumpiness.

Language is Mandarin but since it's Taiwanese show it has that southern slant to it, that lovely northern softness is missing. It's a good listening practice though. Dialogue is mostly short and terse and there are no long complicated passages. Original subs are in traditional characters, which is a detriment for me. But, as I said, for some unkown reason it's really hard to find chinese shows which are not childish or overly simplistic with complex plots so I'm continuing with that one.

It's available on YouTube with Mandain subs or on Viki with English subs.

[Via Diva]

A bit of Czech weird cinema for you:
Kytice / Wild Flowers (2000)

It's most probably completely useless if you want to hear some colloquial, conversational, real Czech. But if you like scary fairy tales from the MIddle Ages, before they became kind and nice you probably like this movie too.
All spoken Czech in the movie is in the form of poetry, taken from a collection of ballads by Karel Jaromír Erben.
According to Wikipedia, while relatively successful commercially, the film was deplored by critics for its crude literalism of depiction. Well... yeah. Watching this is definitely not a walk in a park, you need to be ready to face some pretty dark and weird stuff. I went through the comments to the movie before watching, and someone said that it's a lot like Tim Burton works. My answer to that is nope, no way. Burton is much more cheerful and optimistic.
Basically, the movie is a compilation of seven unrelated tragic stories - seven different deaths. This is not much of a spoiler, so don't throw tomatoes at me. Just don't watch it: 1) before sleep 2) while depressed 3) while being too sensitive.
But definitely watch that if you've been considering, whether you should learn Czech or not. This is bad for your wanderlust.
Last, but not the least - it was probably hard to find suitable music for that kind of a movie. But the right music was found.
(if you have some feedback, please, contact me or write it here. I love to hear people liking things I have recommended, but here any feedback would do)

[AlexTG]

All spoken Czech in the movie is in the form of poetry, taken from a collection of ballads by Karel Jaromír Erben.

I love it when movies make heavy use of verse. In English of course we have lots of great Shakespeare adaptations and in French they have Cyrano de Bergerac. I wish there were more.

I'm gonna check this movie out cause I love weird stuff. It's too bad I won't be able to savour the poetry since I don't know any Czech .

[Via Diva]

I love it when movies make heavy use of verse. In English of course we have lots of great Shakespeare adaptations and in French they have Cyrano de Bergerac. I wish there were more.

Oh, yes, The Hollow Crown is just a quintessence of awesomeness!
I can't remember any movies in Russian that would consist entirely of poetry, but... there's a an animated film (available fully on youtube, copyright NOT violated):

Here people mostly prefer just to listen to the author reading this, but I think this won't be so entertaining for you unless you're a fan of one-man performance (he doesn't just read there) :)