My foreign language choice is one for the action film enthusiasts. Starring Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung and directed by the legendary John Woo, I give you:
Hard BoiledThe film is a complex cop thriller worthy of any Hollywood director. Woo takes his trademarks (dual-wielded pistols, slow-motion moves, doves, balletic action) and weaves them into one my my favourite action films ever. It's basically this and
Die Hard.
You think of films that have one or two great action set pieces. This film has five or more. Right from the start, with an insane shoot-out in a HK tea house, you can see Woo's guiding hand all over the film. Chow Yun-fat (above with baby) is perfect as Tequila, a cop who crosses paths with a notorious mob boss.
The highlight is a five minute
one take shoot out that works its way through different levels of a hospital. Bullets, bodies, explosions, it has it all.
You may have seen things like Face Off and Hard Target from John Woo's Hollywood output, and those are great films, but they pale when compared with Hard Boiled. Don't be put off by the subtitles. You will love it.