To help you ease your way into our world, we have devised a the film difficulty ranking system to rate the difficulty of each film reviewed on our site. The easiest to watch films (the Rom-Coms and Superhero flicks that you watch anyway) will have a rating of 1. Foreign language films automatically add one point, as do black and white films, and films with strange and hard to follow plots. Welcome to Film Difficulty 2.
Film Difficulty Ranking 2: These films are perfect introductions to those new to foreign films. These one’s may have subtitles, or be in black and white, but these films are all easy to follow and enjoy.
For the next step, check out Film Difficulty Ranking 3.
“I lie the truth, until I no longer know whether something did or did not happen.” Who can you trust in this psycho-thriller from Verhoeven.
From: Netherlands, EuropeContinue reading “The Fourth Man – Dutch Thriller Full of Symbolism”
Watch: Trailer, Buy on Amazon
Next: Oldboy, Who Killed Teddy Bear?, The Shining
Sand Storm Film Difficulty Ranking: 2
Want to learn a bit about modern Bedouin life in the Middle East? Well it doesn’t appear to be all rosy in Sand Storm. Explore a small village where gender roles are not always clear and rules are upheld out of habit. This is also your chance to start watching some films from Israel/Palestine. Be sure to check out the excellent Ajami and Omar after this!
Sand Storm starts with Layla driving a car along a dirt track through the Negev desert. Her father sits in the passenger seat and asks her what grades she got at school. She says she got 63, but her father does not believe her, and voices his disapproval. Despite this, she continues to drive until they reach their village where they switch seats. Because he let her drive and study, and is pretty laid back, the dad appears more liberal than we might expect.
The opening sets the scene for the rest of the film as gender roles are explored. Layla’s mother (Jalila) appears to be the complete opposite to her father. From the outset she is angered by her husband’s loose discipline their daughter. He lets the daughters do what they want, whereas she wants them to grow up to become strong wives.
However, whilst Jalila has some control of Layla, she has no control over little Tasnim. Unlike Layla, Tasnim does not help out with household chores, goes and hangs out with her father and friends, walks around town in trousers, and even gets away with standing on the kitchen counter. She always has the same excuse: “dad says I can”, which exasperates poor Jalila. In the context of the dad’s second wedding (which Jalila has to prepare) you start to sympathise with Jalila. Is her strictness just her way of trying to protect her kids? After all, she has nothing else.
Sand Storm explores gender roles in Bedouin society. Are women free to do what they want or are they ultimately always in the hands of their fathers? Watch to find out and uncover what life is like in a remote town in the Negev desert.
Looking for teen thriller at the other end of the spectrum from the usual teen horror films? Try Bad Genius. It will conjure up those dreaded memories of sitting in exam rooms at school. And before you think, how can a film about exams be exciting, think again. These fun characters are big time cheaters and keep taking their tricks to the next level as the stakes get higher and higher.
Bad Genius starts with Lynn, a teenager applying to a top secondary school to take her final year exams. She’s got a load of trophies from all her academic achievements, but she knows her dad can’t afford to pay for the education at this new school. So, her Dad pays for it on the sly by hiding the payments he makes.
It’s inevitable that she finds out he is paying more than she expected (which she’s not happy about). But, more importantly, she finds out after she’s helped her best friend cheat in a maths exam. The perfect time to receive a proposition from her richer classmates: to help them cheat their school exams for a price. From then on, the stakes slowly get higher and higher.
What’s obvious from the start is the massive class divide between the kids at this scholarship school. Unfortunately, the poor, clever kids are exploited by the rich, lazy kids. Ultimately, this is the wealth privilege. As presented in this film, the rich will always make it out OK, whereas the lives of the underprivileged have to be absolutely speck free to get anywhere close to success.
If you’re looking for a thrill, watch Bad Genius. The story-line is tight, and the characters are fun, and just like the best magic shows, you’ll be enthralled by seeing how these kids managed to cheat the SAT exams.
If you’re looking for some of the most awesome stunts and acrobatics you can see on screen, you’ve come to the right place. Ong Bak is a martial arts stunts fest that you can watch again and again. Yes,the script is a little basic and predictable, but, ultimately you won’t care, because this film is so much fun to watch. It’s a thrill ride from start to finish.
From: Thailand, AsiaContinue reading “Ong Bak – An Incredibly Fun Muay Thai Action Thriller”
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Enter the Dragon, Kung Fu Hustle, Steamboat Bill Jr.
From: Bangladesh, Asia Watch: Trailer, Vimeo, IMDb Next: American Factory, Salt of the Earth, I, Daniel BlakeContinue reading “Made in Bangladesh – Standing Up to Factory Owners”
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