Hollywood has been considered the center of the world’s most exceptional filmmaking for most of motion picture history, but there are many other places throughout the world that are home to not only profound but also highly influential films that often go unappreciated. To fully understand the endless possibilities that film provides, it’s essential to dive into the cinema of other countries because the different styles of filmmaking that you will find illustrate the incredible opportunities for storytelling that filmmaking makes possible. When you look outside the U.S., you will see that not all films conform to the mainstream Hollywood conventions of White casts and happy endings.
Though there are several, some of the main countries that come to my mind when I think of important and remarkable filmmaking are Germany, Japan, and New Zealand. So, let’s explore the important contributions that these countries have made to the world of filmmaking by taking a look at a few specific films and their styles.
1: Germany – Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
A beautifully unique film from the 1970s, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul chronicles the relationship between Ali, an Arab immigrant, and Emmi, a German native, as they struggle with the ridicule and judgement they receive from their peers because of their interracial marriage. The story itself is exceptional and is only enhanced by the remarkable filmmaking techniques employed throughout.
The film’s camera angles and blocking are some of the prime examples of these noteworthy techniques that Fassbinder utilizes. As the film’s story progresses, Ali and Emmi grow closer but then eventually begin to drift apart as they each deal with similar yet dramatically different forms of judgement. The angles and blocking used during their “honeymoon period” accentuate their emotional closeness while also emphasizing their separation from the people that surround them. As their connection dwindles, however, their physical separation seems to grow larger as the angles and blocking make the physical distance between them look larger than it actually is.
Fassbinder makes use of many other techniques, including color scheme and lighting, to heighten and symbolize the emotions felt by the characters at any given moment in the film. And, he does so not only exceptionally, but also to tell an important and honest story that isn’t trying to undermine the realities of racism or create a fantasy world in which everyone is accepting. Instead, he highlights the persisting racism that exists in our society and people’s continued desire to see the world as “us against them.”
2: Japan – Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri
One of many incredible films from Japan, Harakiri tells the story of a grieving father who takes revenge on those responsible for his son’s death. While all films convey some type of message, Harakiri’s message is far more complex than most because it both supports and criticizes Samurai culture. Through the character of Motome, the audience is shown the good, noble aspects of Samurai culture. However, Kobayashi uses the Iyi clan to represent the dogmatism and corruption that can develop in Samurai culture, therefore using the art of filmmaking to create a double-sided message that supports a specific culture while also warning against its possible pitfalls.
In addition to this unique thematic technique, Kobayashi uses certain technical approaches to filmmaking that are much less common in American films. One of the most notable of these is the evident use of zoom. During particular dramatic moments in the film, Kobayashi quickly zooms into a character’s face to enhance the intensity of the moment and call the audience’s attention to the moment’s importance. A technique that is often criticized in American filmmaking for being too obvious and reminding the viewer of the fact that they’re watching a movie, these zooms demonstrate Kobayashi’s deep understanding of the immense possibilities of filmmaking. Films often don’t fully utilize a camera’s capabilities because they want to appear as realistic as possible. However, the possibilities for experimentation are what makes filmmaking so different from all other forms of art. Ignoring these unmatched capabilities that a camera provides is a waste and is something that most American films tend to do.
Kobayashi uses several other unique techniques, such as non-chronological storytelling and realistic fighting sequences, that make this film and many others from Japan hugely important parts of film history and ones that should be studied and remembered just as much as American films are.
3: New Zealand – Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors
One of my personal favorite films of all time, Once Were Warriors details the lives of members of a Maori family in the slums of New Zealand as they battle poverty and domestic abuse. The film depicts how each character, from the mother to the children, respond to the physical abuse that the father, Jake, brings into the home.
Though this is a difficult film to watch, its painful, heartbreaking storyline is what makes it so profound. Like Fassbinder in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Tamahori doesn’t tip-toe around the problems that he’s depicting but rather takes them on in their entirety through scenes that illustrate domestic abuse and its consequences in a painfully raw manner. And to top it all off, Tamahori ends the movie on a tragic yet triumphant note that leaves his viewers awe-struck. Instead of taking the route of clean, happy endings that’s more typical of American cinema, this film comes to a finish on a note that’s much more representative of real life: bitter-sweet.
The brutal honesty of Tamahori’s film in regards to domestic abuse and the daily struggles of minorities sets it and many other international films apart from most Hollywood movies. This authenticity not only provides movie-goers with a new perspective, but also allows us to truly see the issues that people face in the real world on screen.
These three films barely scratch the surface of non-American cinema, and I hope that this short list leaves you with some inspiration to explore the wonders of international films.