Trenčianske Teplice

Also what do you guys think of my European film festival quest idea? I want to see more European movies as I feel most of the movies I’ve seen have been either American or Japanese. I think this idea should be a pretty good way to slooowwwwly work my way through modern film history over the course of several years.

i’d recommend my personal favs - there’s a lot and most indonesian lol (directors in the parentheses)

Grave Torture (2024) (i love joko anwar films)
Qorin and Qorin 2 (Ginanti Rona)
The Queen of Black Magic [Ratu Ilmu Hitam] (kimo stamboel)
la llorona 2019 (Jayro Bustamante)
unlocked 2023 (kim tae-joon)
death whisperer collection (taweewat wantha)
you won’t be alone 2022 (goran stolveski)
kotoko 2011 (shinya tsukamoto)
the witch. revenge 2024 (andrii kolesnyk)
sijjin 2023 (hadrah daeng ratu)
a woman called mother 2025 (randolph zaini)
mudborn 2025 (sheih meng-ju)
tumbbad 2018 (rahi anil barve)
ivanna 2022 (kimo stamboel)
veronica 2017 (paco plaza)
sister death 2023 (paco plaza - prequel to veronica)
marui video 2023 (yun jun-hyung)
the ghost station 2022 (jeong yong-ki)
the medium 2021 (banjong pisanthanakun)
satans slaves 2017 (joko anwar)
satans slaves 2: communion 2022 (joko anwar)
impetigore 2019 (joko anwar)
gonjiam haunted asylum 2018 (jung bum-shik)
incantation 2022 (kevin ko)
[REC] 1-4

Maybe people who enjoy Foreign films, have heard of Le Gendarme? French comedy classic

Does anyone recall a parody of the Resnais’ film? A recreation it the opening scene with dialogue like:
Was it bigger than a breadbox?
Oui
Was it Yougoslavie?
Oui, Yougoslavie.

was a bit unrealistically serendipitous at a few points, it has an incredible amount of detail, rich worldbuilding, excellent acting and offers a fascinating look at the Chinese perspective on American militarism. Food serves as a handy stand-in not only for community building but also nation building and economic development.

I also appreciated subtle character details that humanized people on all sides of the conflict. Apparently the star, Shen Teng, is a big comedic actor which makes his restrained, dramatic performance all the more impressive. I couldn’t help but think that his hero’s journey was reminiscent of the Odyssey, filled with detours and monsters to outwit before finally making it home years later.

Again, my main critique is relates to the story. While the chef character was apparently a composite of actual Chinese restauranteurs who stayed in Iraq after the US invasion, the scenes of him saving orphans and rescuing child soldiers seemed a bit too on-the-nose and over the top. As far as I know, nothing like this ever happened in the Iraqi context, so these plot points make an otherwise nuanced movie feel a bit propagandistic. There was also a child labor aspect that seemed a bit…questionably casual?

Overall though, I’d give it a 4.5/5, definitely worth a watch. It felt well-researched and well-shot, you could almost call it an epic tragedy.

Curious to hear if anyone else had the chance to catch it.