Topic: American or British or Indian or Korean or Indonesian or..

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I think British films still have the edge when they are done well (for me, being British) and are usually enjoyable within the same old tropes.

I think America has very much lost it's way. There are still some cracking films out there, but the remakes are getting beyond a joke now. On top of that, some films seem to be changed by the 'top people' rather than the 'creative people' and many points are lost due to their formulaic nature of 'America good. Everything else - especially the British - bad" - hero gets the girl, this happens, that happens - very predictable and a bit boring. You can discount independant films from that obviously who have much more of a say in the production and writing - been some terrific indy American films.

I'm not really into Bollywood - but I believe it's massively popular - the local Indian population steam into Speke Cineworld on regular occasions (or did before Covid) and was always great to see as they went to watch the latest Bollywood epic.

The Indionesian 'The Raid' was amazing and I look forward to watching more films from there.

The main reason for this thread though is to ask if people broadly agree with the above and would anyone agree that Korean films are the future? They don't give a fuck - the ones that are insane are properly insane and not in a cliched Hollywood 'Horror' way - their characters are brilliant, they don't pull any punches, most of the cast are usually dispensible if the script calls for it and the action, drama, adventure and sheer daring is incredible.

It's got to the stage where if it were a toss up between watching yet another trite, tired, sad American remake or a Korean film then we'd go with the latter.

I've got Netflix pointing at Korea at the moment and the missus has surprised me by also loving the films from there.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Im more of a tv than film guy and much prefer British tv shows to American so I guess Im with your sentiment

I much prefer the familiarity of the british way of life, it gives me a better understanding of the characters

Iv watched 2 South Korean films Parasite and I saw the Devil really enjoyed both although the garden scene towards the end of Parasite was ridiculous

[RedSince86]

I just watched a gem of a British movie the other night on Netflix, Calibre.

A really intense watch and one of the best British movies i've seen in a long time.

Korea are #1 right now you have to say, probably this century they can claim to be #1, they can do Drama, Horror and Black Comedy as good as anything Hollywood can and better it.

[killer-heels]

I really like foreign films, albeit I prefer European Cinema. The Japanese and Koreans produce amazing movies but I really havent enjoyed any of the Indian movies I have seen. Its film industry is huge though so its probably oversaturated with the shite the American industry puts out.

[Kenny's Jacket]

I really like foreign films, albeit I prefer European Cinema. The Japanese and Koreans produce amazing movies but I really havent enjoyed any of the Indian movies I have seen. Its film industry is huge though so its probably oversaturated with the shite the American industry puts out.

seems to be too much singing and dancing or the type over dramatic crap you get on Ch5

[markedasred]

Quite a lot of what you describe as the faults of American cinema are the tropes of Hollywood. The reality is that what Hollywood needs to make it function mainly makes it bullshit for the masses. There is less of a need to ascribe good or bad to national boundaries for me, it is more about first realising that the Independent scene is where it is at. These are films that people who are passionate push hard to get made despite not belonging to the mainstream ethos or values. There's also runs of time when there are golden ages in different countries. There were great 80s 90s US indie films (think Coen Brothers, Jarmusch etc), great French cinema between the late 60s and 80s. Britain squeezes out four or five great films each decade, give or take. The other big cultural economies probably do the same. It is a generally held view at the moment that American TV has eclipsed cinema in terms of quality. The way to get a sense of what is good is to see what is prized at the indie film festivals; Sundance, Berlin and Toronto for instance. That's my take on it.

[red mongoose]

I think British films still have the edge when they are done well (for me, being British) and are usually enjoyable within the same old tropes.

I think America has very much lost it's way. There are still some cracking films out there, but the remakes are getting beyond a joke now. On top of that, some films seem to be changed by the 'top people' rather than the 'creative people' and many points are lost due to their formulaic nature of 'America good. Everything else - especially the British - bad" - hero gets the girl, this happens, that happens - very predictable and a bit boring. You can discount independant films from that obviously who have much more of a say in the production and writing - been some terrific indy American films.

I'm not really into Bollywood - but I believe it's massively popular - the local Indian population steam into Speke Cineworld on regular occasions (or did before Covid) and was always great to see as they went to watch the latest Bollywood epic.

The Indionesian 'The Raid' was amazing and I look forward to watching more films from there.

The main reason for this thread though is to ask if people broadly agree with the above and would anyone agree that Korean films are the future? They don't give a fuck - the ones that are insane are properly insane and not in a cliched Hollywood 'Horror' way - their characters are brilliant, they don't pull any punches, most of the cast are usually dispensible if the script calls for it and the action, drama, adventure and sheer daring is incredible.

It's got to the stage where if it were a toss up between watching yet another trite, tired, sad American remake or a Korean film then we'd go with the latter.

I've got Netflix pointing at Korea at the moment and the missus has surprised me by also loving the films from there.

I've said it a few times on here - Korea is owning the 21st century so far when it comes to film, certainly, and they are making inroads in TV (which has traditionally been more soapy) with things like "Kingdom" and "My Name" and obviously "Squid Game." The output of their cinema has just been jaw-dropping - I can't think of many things from America or Europe lately which can compete with the following list of bangers, which is by no means a complete list:

"The Handmaiden"
"Parasite"
"New World"
"A Better Tomorrow"
"The Man from Nowhere"
"Assassination"
"Masquerade"
"A Bittersweet Life"
"The Age of Shadows"
"Memories of Murder"
"I Saw the Devil"
"Chaser"

There are more, and I don't mean to suggest that there haven't been great Western films lately, but the hit rate for Korea is ridiculous the past 20 years, and the ceiling is extremely high. I don't know that I have ever seen a film that is significantly better than "The Handmaiden," and that's just one example.

[Kenny's Jacket]

"The Handmaiden"
"Parasite"
"New World"
"A Better Tomorrow"
"The Man from Nowhere"
"Assassination"
"Masquerade"
"A Bittersweet Life"
"The Age of Shadows"
"Memories of Murder"
"I Saw the Devil"
"Chaser"

Not as good as "Gone with the Wind"