‘Shadow’, ‘The Heiresses’: Best Non-English Language Movies 2018

A look at some of the finest non-English language movies of the year 2018.

Stills from The Night Comes for Us, One Cut of the Dead, and Happy as Lazarro (L-R).

(Photo courtesy: Twitter)

It's that time of the year when movie lists keep popping up randomly talking about the best English movies, Hindi movies or even regional movies from various parts of India. But this list focuses on some of the finest non-English language movies of the year 2018. With Netflix and chill, things have become more accessible and yet there are movies that often miss our attention. Here's an attempt to fill up that void:

The Night Comes for Us (Indonesia)

The Night Comes for Us is another glorious addition to the Indonesian action movie canon. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto and starring Joe Taslim, Iko Uwais and Julie Estelle, we see a fairly tried and tested formula where a Triad enforcer (Joe Taslim) has a change of heart and decides to protect a girl whose village he just massacred along with his accomplices. His triad bosses are not happy and they get his friend (Iko Uwais) to stop him. And from here starts a visceral journey of non-stop adrenaline pumped relentless extravaganza that's bound to keep you on the edge of your seats.

An Elephant Sitting Still (China)

Director Hu Bo, who committed suicide at the age of 29, creates a masterpiece with his very first and unfortunately, last movie. Nearly 4 hours long, it is a moving tribute and a fantastic deconstruction of a landscape that is slowly becoming a wasteland- both morally and culturally, where we find four characters in search of a mythical elephant as well as themselves, while time stops responding to the plea of their souls. There will come a time when the entire cinema fraternity will mourn the loss of Hu Bo, who leaves behind a legacy that will be hard to replicate.

Daha (Turkey)

Onur Saylak's debut feature is a merciless brutal narrative that tells the story of a boy and his father who smuggles immigrants to Europe. It becomes a circus of sorts, where helpless immigrants are at their mercy before they start the arduous task of going to a world where a better life awaits them. The focus shifts to the son, who is like the immigrants, wanting to escape from all these, but it seems impossible. Daha is cinema at its best and will strike a chord with viewers from all possible spectrums.

Dogman (Italy)

Italian director Matteo Garrone once again creates a bleak premise where we see a David struggling against a Goliath. Marcello (Marcello Fonte) is a dog groomer and occasional drug pusher living a rather laidback life, with his friends and his daughter. But he has one major issue and it is the neighbourhood thug Simone who literally bullies Marcello and seeks random favours that pushes Marcello off the edge resulting in an apocalyptic showdown. This movie got Marcello Fonte the best actor award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

One Cut of the Dead (Japan)

This zombie comedy has turned out to be a surprise hit of the year, wooing critics and audience alike. Here we see a director shooting his zombie film but things are going bad till a real zombie turns up. From there it is utter chaos and madness, which elevates the movie to a different level, playing and mixing all the possible tropes of a zombie film while itself becoming a treatise on life and also on cinema, probably more on the madness that's needed to make one. Director Shinichiro Ueda has created a masterpiece with this film and we are definitely going to hear more about this talented filmmaker in the coming days.

Gutland (Luxembourg)

Europe has been reeling for a while now because of the immigration crisis and director Govinda Van Maele, who is part Sri Lankan, tries to address this issue through his slow-burning and surreal Gutland. And he does succeed. Jens, a thief commits a robbery with his accomplishes and then comes to hide in a village before getting away with the money. But in the village he comes across secrets that force him to question the reality he is part of, where his identity becomes his greatest nemesis.

Western (Germany)

Director Valeska Grisebach tries to examine cultural clash, identity politics and a host of other issues by putting in a group of German workers in a remote village of Bulgaria where they are building a hydroelectric plant. Tensions flare between them and the locals, the landscape proves to be unforgiving and there seems to be no respite from all these as things become bleaker. Western succeeds where many movies have failed as it brings a poignancy rarely witnessed between two conflicting sides more or less tied together by history.

The Heiresses (Paraguay)

The Heiresses, made by Marcelo Martinessi, is a sure-shot winner from Paraguay. It is about the lives of two women, formerly aristocratic but now victims of dwindling fortunes. When one of them gets imprisoned, the other tries hard to make their lives better and in the process comes across a strange weird world. And as she explores it, she also ends up meeting a young woman who serves as a catalyst in her change. This movie perfectly captures the nostalgia of the old while celebrating the vibrant youth and deals with various issues like class divide and sexual desires.

Beauty and the Dogs (Tunisia)

Mariam is out to celebrate the night with her friends. Instead it turns into a nightmare when she is raped. Seeking justice, she goes to every possible avenue but sees that she herself is treated like a criminal, who deserved her predicament because she asked for it. This movie is nauseating as it questions our basic humanity and also addresses the bureaucratic red-tapism in a society where Arab Spring started. Director Kaouther Ben Hania leaves no stone unturned to highlight the apathy and indifference of a society that's strictly patriarchal.

Happy as Lazzaro (Italy)

More than a movie, director Alice Rohrwacher treats Happy as Lazzaro as a fairytale. Winner of the best screenplay award at Cannes 2018, it traces the nearly Rip Van Winkle-esque Lazzaro who is a worker in a farm where he is exploited till he meets the strange, a near Bowie-embodiment called Tancredi who asks for his help in an elaborate scheme that doesn't really succeed. This changes Lazzaro's life forever as he gets embroiled in events beyond his control. The movie is deeply political and captures a country that has suddenly become a ticking time bomb.

Shadow (China)

Shadow is a stunner of a movie where Chinese maestro Zhang Yimou declares triumphantly that he is back and how. Taking cue from Chinese history and tweaking the basic premise of The Man in the Iron Mask, Yimou weaves a paramount grandeur so brilliant that you grasp for air and go mad as the narrative serenades you with trademark visuals that Yimou is known for. Travelling between art house aesthetics as well as commercial magnificence, Zhang Yimou doesn't disappoint and nor does his leads be it Deng Chao, Guan Xiaotong or Kai Zheng, as the movie marches towards cinematic immortality.