February 2021 is a special month for my viewing this year as I’ve labeled it my Month of International Films. Each month this year I’m giving a theme in the hopes that I will (finally) catch up with a lot of the films that have been on my “watch list” for quite some time. In January, I watched a lot of 2020 films that I had missed and now we are on to the Month of International Films.
I’m a huge lover of foreign films but sometimes you have to
be in the mood to read subtitles (my preferred way to watch a foreign
film). This being said, my viewing
spanned all genres and all parts of the world as I love to explore the many
different cultures through their art and film.
ACTION.
I should first mention that I finally got around to viewing
the cult favorite Female Prisoner Scorpion films (the original series) with
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972), Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge
Song (1973), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973), and Female Prisoner
Scorpion: Jailhouse (1972). This is
quite a film series of the ‘70s with its nudity and violence glorified to the
100 power. These were actually very
stylized productions that had some amazing cinematography . There are many more films that have expanded
the franchise but these are the core films (maybe one day I’ll get around to
those other films). I also watched a
couple Jackie Chan films this month that had been sitting on my shelf for years
– 1911 (2011) and Railroad Tigers (2016), of which both were quite good and
very different from one another. Chan is
a very versatile actor and producer and hopefully I will get around to the
other films of his that I’ve yet to get around to. He is still an amazing actor that I try to
view as many of his films as I can.
DRAMA.
Moving on to drams, of which Chan’s 1911 fits better, I
ended up viewing several dramas on the streaming service that I believe were
marked as Horror. The films Blue My Mind
(2017) and Zombi Child (2020) are both very much dramas with motifs and themes
from the horror genre but if you go in thinking they are horror films then you
will be completely disappointed. These
two films are amazing at creating character and drama within stories not
typical of the genre. Some audience
members may never take a look at them believing they are horror while horror
fans may be disappointed because they are horror at all. They both occupy a unique middle bridge and
successful tell their respective stories with no compromises due to genre.
Another drama film I’d like to mention is Pete Walker’s Home
Before Midnight (1979), one of the director’s non-horror films that has to deal
with a musician who gets involved with an underage woman and controversy
surrounds. Not what I was expecting
(since I was expecting a horror film) but a film whose themes still resonate
and are current even today forty years later.
THEATRICAL & FANTASY.
I only saw one international film at the Box Office this month and it also happens to be the only fantasy film as well – A Writer’s Odyssey (2021). This was an amazing film with a huge story whose themes and influences encompass many different genres. Some critics have said that the film is too complicated but I loved the complex story and the many different elements that will make repeated viewing richer. It is by far one of my favorite films of 2021!
I did manage to get a couple animated films through into the
mix! First up is Ne Zha (2019) the
hugely successful animated film that presents audiences with everything missing
from a Disney animated film. I don’t
know why it took me so long to get around to this film as it was one at the top
of my “watch list” but I’m glad I had the chance to watch it this month instead
of waiting around any longer. I loved
this film and will watch it again because of how different it is from other
films being produced by American animation studios. The same can be said of the cryptic and mind
bending The Wolf House (2020), which is unlike anything out there right
now. It’s style of storytelling reminds
me of Triplets of Belleville while the animation style is pure experimental
filmmaker yet it has a charm all its own like something David Lynch would
create. This is a film in which repeat
viewings will be needed (and maybe even a few shots of alcohol).
HORROR.
As can be expected, the horror genre made up the largest
segment of films I got around to! I
spent most of the month buried on Shudder catching up with tons of films that I
hadn’t seen yet. The first selection of
films being Italian Giallo genre but also includes films inspired by these
films as well. Some of them were – Black
Belly of the Tarantula (1971), The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972), The Fifth
Cord (1975), The Corruption of Chris Miller (1975), Short Night of Glass Dolls
(1971), The Strange Vice of Ms. Wardh (1971), and What Have You Done to
Solange? (1972). Once I started I just couldn’t stop until I had finished them
all. I’m a huge fan of the Giallo film
by way of Dario Argento and Mario Bava so finally getting around to seeing some
of these cult classics was great (thank you Shudder!). Now, unfortunately, they were all as great as
an Argento or Bava film but they were entertaining even when the plots were
completely ludicrous.
The rest of my horror viewing list was all over the map with the original and modern remake of The Queen of Black Magic (1981, 2020) followed by the sequel May the Devil Take You Too (2020), which I didn’t even know was a sequel until I already was watching it (I’ll eventually get around to watching the original).
Other films include The Canal (2014), Demon (2015), and
Noroi: The Curse (2005). I didn’t care
for The Canal at all while the Demon was an interesting take on a possession
film. Noroi is the film that was
recommended to me but I just didn’t really care for it at all.
I also watched some more recent films like 32 Malasana Street (2020), Belzebuth (2019), DeadTectives (2019), Hunted (2020), and The Platform (2019). A lot of these made their debuts at film festivals before being picked up by Shudder and other streaming services. I especially enjoyed Hunted and The Platform!
This makes up all the films for my Month of International Film which allowed me to reach my goal of at least thirty films! I hope that you seek out some of the films mentioned here as there were some gems but if none of them interest you then maybe of March Month of Action Films (!) will have something for you!
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