European Film

Best European Films

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

126

Indian Food and the British Asian Experience: A Collection of Short Films

Since the pandemic began, I’ve come across a lot of free films to watch online thanks to Cinema Tropical’s Daily Recommendations, Exmilitary’s collection of apocalyptic Eastern European films, as well as art cinemas like Arsenal Berlin unlocking selections of hidden films weekly. The free collections on the BFI Player are another great place to look. That’s where I came across this selection of short films focused Indian food in Britain and the British Asian experience in the 1970s and 1980s.

I’m British But…

You might know Gurinder Chadha from Bend It Like Beckham and Blinded by the Light but you probably haven’t seen her short documentary portrait of British Asians in the 1980s. It’s well worth watching to hear about what it means to be British and Asian from a selection of young people based in different corners of the country. It’s good to watch to be reminded of the cultural influences from South Asia that British people often take for granted. You’ll also get to actually hear the opinion of British Asians themselves – unfortunately still a rare sight in British film and TV.

London Me Bharat

London Me Bharat (India in London) is the first Hindi-language film made in Britain (1972). It’s a short documentary that feels a bit like a made-for-TV special as the narrator describes everything we see. It takes us from London’s main sights, full of tourists to Southall, a district where tourists probably haven’t heard of, which hosts one of the largest Indian communities in Britain. It’s a perfect short documentary for anyone not familiar with the origins of the Indian community in the U.K. and for anyone interested in seeing the multiculturalism of London.

Indian Sweets & Indian Sweets & Savories

These two short TV documentaries feature white British men raiding South Asian sweet shops in London. The first, Indian Sweets, features an incredibly bad mannered white presenter walking around behind the counter grabbing everything he fancies like he owns the place. After taking a bite of each he asks “what’s this then?” before adding it to the pile of sweets that starts to bulge in his hand. The low-light: when introduced to Jalebi’s, he shouts “Jelly Babies?” after taking a huge bite.

The white presenter in Indian Sweets & Savories is a little better. He at least asks the sweet shop owner before he grabs sweets. Unfortunately he relegates Indian food to unhealthy food you’d eat after a night out, fake burps after eating his Thali, and doesn’t do much to ingratiate himself to the restaurant owners that have invited him in. The behavior of both white TV presenters is a window into the Britain of the 1970s and 1980s.

New Ways

Created by Ealing and Hammersmith as an introduction for South Asian people moving to the UK, this 13 minute documentary sets out the basics for adapting to life in Britain. It makes you wonder how many people watched this before or right after arriving in the UK to start a new life. It hardly develops any kind of excitement for life in Britain as it monotonically emphasizes the cold dull weather. It’s patronizing tone must have drawn a lot of raised eyebrows too.

You can watch all of the short films about Indian Food and the British Asian Experience featured above for free on the BFI Player.

127

Hive – A Group of Widows Bond Against the Patriarchy and Grief

Hive Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

In Hive, a struggling widow starts making Ajvar to get by. Setting an example for self sufficiency, the town’s widows flock to her to share their grief and start healing. However their independence faces backlash from the patriarchy.

From: Kosovo, Europe
Watch: Trailer, JustWatch
Next: Writing With Fire, Beatriz' War, Shok

Hive – The Breakdown

Before watching Hive, all of the films I’d previously watched from Kosovo were affected by the Kosovo war. Whether directly or more indirectly, the trauma of the war that forged the country’s birth just over 20 years ago has never had a chance to heal.

Hive is no different. Fahrije’s husband has been missing for what might be years. Her father in law and two kids still believe he is alive. But she seems to believe he must be dead. Her face has been sucked of all emotion – as pointed out by her daughter – and she has started to move on. She visits mourning sites, such as the river where many local men were killed, and has also taken over some of her husband’s chores (bee keeping). She’s accepted his fate.

In addition to being a mother, Fahrije is forced to assume her husband’s role in his absence. So she seeks work to make a living in a neighboring town. However, she’s ostracized for behaving like a man with locals shooting her threatening stares and throwing bricks at her car and windows. Faithful wives aren’t supposed to learn how to drive and leave the house. In response, Fahrije also subconsciously takes on the stereotypical masculine emotions too, assuming an unemotional stoicism that confuses her kids. She hides her grief so deep to avoid dealing with it.

Her way out is not in independence through work but in company. Her successful Ajvar making business inspirationally brings together other widows together in community. They’re willing to sacrifice their honor because she’s taken the brave step to doing something about her situation and trying to move on.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for another inspirational story about a group of entrepreneurial women fighting the odds to succeed, try Writing with Fire. It features India’s only women-run news channel. Or if you’re looking for another story set within another traumatic event, Beatriz’ War follows a widow and her community fighting for freedom in East Timor. Or for more stories from Kosovo, try the tragic short, Shok, and feature film, Three Windows and a Hanging.

128

Beginning – A Mother’s Existential Crisis in a Targeted Outsider Community

Beginning Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you’re looking for a provocative transcendental film that captures a mother’s existential crisis you’ve come to the right place. Beginning uses slow pacing and a classic film look to shock Yana’s humble existence within a Jehovah’s Witness community in rural Georgia to the core. As her peace is shockingly disrupted, she’s forced to reevaluate her life as a mother as part of her remote community.

From: Georgia, Asia
Watch: Trailer, JustWatch, Mubi
Next: Fire Will Come, Loveless, Taming the Garden

Beginning – The Breakdown

Beginning follows Yana, a failed TV actress that has been ‘saved’ from the entertainment industry by her religious husband. She’s taken on some of the responsibilities that are expected of a mother in a Georgian Jehovah’s Witness community but always looks like an outsider within an outcast community. As religious extremists infringe on their world and corrupt, power hungry detectives stalk the group, Yana’s small bubble begins to collapse with shocking consequences.

The most noticeable feature of Beginning is the film’s look. It’s grounded in the foundations of transcendental film, using takes that linger longer than you expect. These long takes force you to watch minute of ‘dead time’ in which the character’s aren’t doing much. It’s also shot on 35mm at a 1:33 aspect ratio, which eschews width and the modern look of digital film for the narrower and grainier classic film. The character this adds to the film heightens the dramatic long takes by eliminating the distractions of a widescreen aspect ratio whilst giving the film a more epic, classical look. The long takes and film style both set up the shocking images that are scattered through the film (such as the church on fire). Within the context of the high amount of ‘dead time’ and narrower, grainier film, these images are even more of a surprise. They look more powerful, like a piece of classical art in an empty museum. Beginning practices serenity to make these few chaotic moments feel even more disruptive.

The film’s style mimics Yana’s inner self. Her life is mostly peaceful; working with the kids in the community and raising her son. This is emphasized in the many moments of peace on screen – such as a very long shot of her lying, eyes shut in the woods. However, these serene moments are punctuated by moments of chaos that cast doubt on her otherwise serene life, signifying her existential crisis. Despite her family ties, she appears more and more uncomfortable with her life as an outsider living within an outsider community. The uncertainty surrounding the terrorist attacks isolates the community even further from Georgian society whilst the suspicious detective isolates her even more from her family. She’s questioned by her husband and feels more distant from her son as he grows to resemble him. In her existential crisis, the chaotic moments, emphasized by the film’s style, offer her a twisted olive branch to free herself from both the community and her family.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for more brooding films that patiently unravel, check out Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come. It features the return of a notorious arsonist to his small hometown in Galicia where he is treated with scorn whilst he tries to adapt to his new life. You could also try Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev, a slow burn thriller that captures another mother uncertain about motherhood and her role within her family.

Or for more great films from Georgia, try Taming the Garden. It’s a slow paced documentary that highlights the wealth inequality in the country through a billionaires tree theft.