Re: Foreign (non-US) film suggestions?

Bwah ha ha. Ask and ye shall receive.

Foreign ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indeed City of Lost Children is a must. Its a brilliantly surreal SF film that's like Tim Burton crossed with a pre-Dr. Seuss Ted Geisel.

I would second Lucille Hadzihalilovic's Innocence; though its about a girl's school in a hidden wood, so there's nary a male in sight.

And The Annunciation is like a bunch of schoolchildren decided to stage an existential play. They aren't particularly convincing in their acting, but it is quite a shock to see the history of human exploitation with an all-child cast.

To those I'd add The Spirit of the Beehive just because Ana Torrent is sooo cute.

Poison for the Fairies is a so-so Mexican horror film about a girl who needs to convince her little friend that she's a witch. But its cool in that what few adults are in the film are either out of frame or partially cropped by the frame. While its live and stars two cute girls, its reminiscent of the Peanuts TV Specials in that the adults are peripheral to the kids' story.

Pan's Labyrinth; need I say more?

L'effrontee is Charlotte Gainsbourg's debut. And I think it captures the gap between expectations and results as a girl is testing the boundaries. I think its harder to find now.

Almost anything by Jacques Doillon. But @#$%&, Ponette is out of print in North Am. His Petit Freres is good but depressing. I envy the 2 boxed sets I've seen on Amazon France; one dedicated to films about children and the other to films about teens. @#$%&^!

Blame It On Fidel is an excellent story about a 9 year old whose parents become politically active and drag her kicking and screaming into the 70s.

Grbavica: Land of My Dreams is a teen girl's look at the aftermath of the War of Yugoslav Succession. Its a poignant story about not fitting in and one family's history.

My Life as a Dog has the best screen Tomboy of them all in Saga, the local sports star who is afraid of developing puffies.

Forbidden Games tells the story of a WWII War Orphan who plays with the notion of death.

Diane Kurys' C'est La Vie is a great coming of age story about two sisters whose love struck mother leaves them time to have an adventure for themselves.

Eric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach is as good an introduction to Rohmer as you'll find. And its among his best films with an AG at its center; although Claire's Knee is an excellent runner-up. Be forewarned, Rohmer films are tres dialogue-heavy. Like John Cassavetes or Woody Allen; either you love Rohmer or are bored to tears ( there's no middle ground.)

Opal Dream is a cute story about an Aussie girl who invents two imaginary friends. And how others react to her as a result.

And Vincent Perez's The Secret is as European a film as you'll find with an American cast; largely due to it being directed by a Swiss-French, produced by Luc Besson and shot in Quebec by a Francophone crew.

But I don't know of many tales of intergenerational love.

Dante