How to Choose a Foreign Film Worth Seeing

Some of the world's best films are not stamped "Made in the United States." Wonderful foreign films are on display in American theaters or available in your local video stores. Add some of these movies to your viewing list, and you won't be sorry.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Newspaper Subscriptions
• Internet Access
• Classic Film Memorabilia
• Movie Tickets
• Computers

1. Check the entertainment section of your newspaper to see whether local theaters show foreign films. Big cities generally have "art house" theaters that exhibit foreign-made movies, but even smaller cities and towns may have cinemas that present lesser-known titles on occasion.
2. Explore your neighborhood video stores to see whether they include foreign films on their shelves. Often the bigger stores have separate sections for films from other countries.
3. Read movie reviews in your newspaper, and watch for glowing endorsements of new foreign films. Sometimes reviewers will even mention the theaters where the movies can be seen.
4. Check movie reviews online. Pay particular attention to widely acclaimed foreign titles.
5. Make a list of foreign films you want to see. Divide it into "current" and "rentals."
6. Talk over each week's selections with your movie-going partner, making sure that both of you have equal input.
7. Go to the theaters that exhibit your chosen titles, or patronize the video outlets that offer good foreign films.

Tips & Warnings

• Identify the people among your friends and acquaintances who frequently watch foreign films. Get their feedback regularly about "don't miss" titles.
• Use e-mail to get input from online film buffs.
• If you live in a rural environment, be willing to spend a few weekends each year in big cities where you can catch up on current foreign films that will never come to your local theaters.
• Some foreign films are terrible. Do some checking before you make a special effort to catch "a foreign flick."
• Try to get eyewitness accounts of art films before you see them, because you may hear complaints about unreadable subtitles (white lettering instead of yellow), terrible print quality or viewing environments that are unclear or unsafe.