From Alfred Hitchcock to Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman to Jean-Luc Godard, Europe has birthed many of film’s greatest innovators. And that’s just to name a few. The more you dig into the world of European film, the more and more gems you find. Scroll down to find the best European films currently reviewed on FilmRoot, or pick a country if you know what you’re after:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom
If you’re a teacher, The Hunt is your worst nightmare. Set in a small town in Denmark, The Hunt shows how one lie can bring down a credible and likeable man and turn him into the victim of a modern day witch hunt.
From: Denmark, EuropeContinue reading “The Hunt (Denmark) – A Teacher’s Worst Nightmare”
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, Amazon (rent)
Next: Festen, The Shining, Gone Girl
If you enjoy watching people try to deal with high pressure scenarios then check out A War. A husband and wife face two uniquely high pressure situations – the husband in organising his squadron in Afghanistan, and his wife in bringing up 3 kids on her own. Unfortunately the husband is the first to crack and the consequences are bad.
From: Denmark, EuropeContinue reading “A War – Experience the Pressures of Army Life”
Watch: Trailer, Netflix, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Hurt Locker, Manchester by the Sea, The Insult
If you’re looking for a fun road movie like Thelma and Louise or Y Tu Mama Tambien, you’ve come to the wrong place. The Load is a brutal depiction of a country traumatised by war – it’s not a place where humour exists. There are no bright colours and no sweeping landscape shots. No one really knows what they’re doing, and there aren’t any dreams.
From: Serbia, EuropeContinue reading “The Load – A Road Trip Through Serbia’s Wasteland”
Watch: Trailer
Next: Shok, The Trader, Mardan
In If Only, Alma and her older brothers are sent to Rome to spend New Years skiing with their dad. Life with him is a world apart from their mother. He’s a disorganised failing scriptwriter with a young partner whilst their mother is a converted orthodox Christian with a strict husband. Instead of skiing, which is just a front to show his ex wife he is a success, he takes them to his friend’s beach house.
By the beach, the kids make friends with some of the locals whilst their father and his younger partner argue, make love, and write. They are your typical dysfunctional family.
Nothing much happens in If Only which feels for the most part like your typical light hearted Italian art house film. As a result, it’s quite hard to describe. However, it succeeds because of the performances of Alma, her dad and his partner.
Alma, the 8 year old daughter, has the benefit of the narrative voice, which she uses to comically picture her dreams of reuniting her mother and father. She’s the naive one – always blissfully unaware of her fathers current relationship with his partner and her and her brothers. Her rose tinted glasses make this a heart warming disfuncional family film rather than a more depressing one.
Her dad plays the stereotypical Italian dad. He’s all over the place and always emotional. One second he’s writing and angry at anyone who disturbs him, the next he’s a loving dad that’s present but will disappear in another second. His partner plays a free loving, spontaneous woman that doesn’t shy away from anything. However she’s always the one in control vs. Alma’s dad.
The other two brothers don’t offer too much, apart from two events which the director uses to help bring the film to a close.
Ultimately, If Only is a nice coming of age Italian art house film featuring a dysfunctional family. It’s a light and enjoyable watch. However, outside of the three characters, there isn’t much to distinguish it from other films in the genre.
If you’re looking for a comedy beyond the Iron Curtain, check out Cosy Dens. You’ll meet a mixture of Czech families celebrating Christmas in the 1960s – some Bolsheviks, some apolitical, some fans of America. As with any big family Christmas, there’s a lot of arguments. These ones often get hilariously out of hand.
From: Czech Republic, EuropeContinue reading “Cosy Dens – Dark Humour in Communist Czechoslovakia”
Watch: Trailer, Watch on Amazon
Next: Closely Watched Trains, The Royal Tenenbaums, Toni Erdmann
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