| After a steady diet of Bruce Willis and Arnold | | | | and Jean Seberg light the fireworks and director |
| Schwarzenegger films, movie fans can hit a rough | | | | Jean-Luc Godard makes sure they don't go out. |
| patch. Does anything matter besides guns and | | | | See traces of Scorsese and Tarantino within. |
| terrorist plots? Flipping through the lineup of | | | | 3. La Dolce Vita. What is this classic Fellini film |
| satellite TV HD movie channels, it's easy to find a | | | | about? Such a question has no simple answer, as |
| remedy. For the best in Independent Films, there's | | | | the maestro is at his best, putting it all before the |
| IFC; for classic movies, there's TCM. On the other | | | | audience and commenting very little. You'll see the |
| hand, you will do yourself a favor by checking out | | | | dark side of the artistic life, the very empty and |
| foreign films stashed all over the map of satellite | | | | shallow side of the life of a gossip reporter, the |
| TV program guides. Here are five foreign gems | | | | invention of the word paparazzi and more when |
| to see. | | | | you dig in for three entertaining hours. Marcello |
| 1. L'Avventura. You might see the word | | | | Mastroianni leads the charge, with Anita Ekberg |
| adventure in the title - and it is often translated in | | | | and Nico on the fringes at all times. This film is a |
| this fashion - but in Latin languages this word has | | | | favorite on Turner Classic in HD. |
| the connotation of 'affair," as in love affair. Sure | | | | 4. Last Year at Marienbad. Like Antonioni, Alan |
| enough, Michelangelo Antonioni's picture follows a | | | | Resnais did not like to play by the rules. You |
| wealthy band of vacationers who try to find one | | | | might slip into a trance watching this film, which |
| of their number missing at sea. Once the trail runs | | | | follows several elegant players around a party at |
| cold, one of the women strikes up an affair with | | | | a French country estate. Someone had an affair |
| her missing friend's lover. Portraying the ruling | | | | with someone, someone has forgotten someone |
| class as a hopeless, aimless bunch, Antonioni is at | | | | else and no one can tell what happened - if you |
| his most masterful here in the cinematography | | | | like films like Memento, Last Year at Marienbad is |
| and storytelling. | | | | a must. |
| 2. Breathless. Boring, mournful and self-loathing - | | | | 5. Oldboy. As a knockout punch, check out Oldboy |
| these are some of the adjectives often applied to | | | | on HBO or another satellite TV network which |
| classic French cinema. In the case of Breathless, | | | | refuses to edit the films it shows. With a finely |
| none of the above dies. In fact, it may be the | | | | crafted script and inspired performances by all, |
| most exciting movie you see all year, as the | | | | there is nothing short of extraordinary in this |
| classic story of murder and love on the run | | | | Korean film. It's like watching Hitchcock and David |
| doesn't follow any typical script (at times, it | | | | Lynch come together in some sort of wild, unholy |
| appears there is no script). Jean-Paul Belmondo | | | | union. |