It seems to me, having watched several foreign movies recently, that foreign filmmakers are not afraid of almost any subject matter to have characters discuss, or even put into their film for the audience to see. They do not appear to limit themselves out of fear to how a censor may or may not react, or how a 'rating' might affect a box office turnout- unlike their American counterparts playing to the MPAA.
It seems that American movies in the exact same genres (dramas, thrillers, etc..) appear "tip toe" around most anything having to do with nudity, sex, sexuality, or crimes involving said nudity or sex. On the other hand American filmmakers (as well as the MPAA) have absolutely no problem with filming any sort of on screen violence (anyone see Saving Private Ryan, or Hostel?)- as long as there is no sexual component. Bashing "puritan" values is something I will discuss later...
This is not condemning the American film industry, American directors, or American filmmakers, as inferior, far from it - I am only pointing out that many foreign films I have seen are not restrained in their storytelling, which is often visible in their American counterparts.
One notable hang up or limitation I do have with foreign movies is that I am not fluent in any other language, so I have to rely on subtitles for dialogue (I never listen to dubbed movie soundtracks), and I am fully aware that I lose the nuances of language spoken from one character to another, whether it be sarcasm, innuendo, subtile hostility, etc...
I will review several foreign films in the next few posts, let me know what your favorite foreign films are.
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