La pianiste (The Piano Teacher, 2001) 8.5/10
In French, it definitely is beyond the bounds of the relatively circumscribed realm of American cinema. Took me into areas of imagination that don't get a lot of exercise in popular media. Stark sex, explores realms of the psyche not often visited, mostly done with understated cinematic values but they were perfect for the subject matter. Great great casting and acting.
Downfall (Untergang, German, 2004) 7.5/10
Watched a few days ago, here are my notes (I don't think this would spoil it for anyone who knows even a little history):
Brutal, horrible, could have been worse in that regard. Lots of screaming in war scenes where bombs dropped, shells dropped on people, etc. Hammered home the point that it was not all fun and games for the 3rd Reich. At first I thought "this guy just isn't coming across as a dictator, he's a guy playing the role and he's not up to it, not at all." Actually, he was best in the scenes where he portrayed Adolph Hitler as a guy with a very bad temper, to say the least, the temper of tempers. Was he actually like that? It wouldn't surprise me, But how can I judge that. It wasn't Adolph speaking to thousands of people at a time, which is just about the only view I have of him as a person. It was Adolph among his close ties, so who knows? It's based on some books, evidently according to the credits. It's all in German with English subtitles. A lot of very good cinematography. It's one of those historical pictures where during the end credits it tells you what happened to all the major surviving characters. Many of the characters committed suicide, including Adolph, of course, and his paramour (and at the last moment, wife), Eva Braun.
Hitler was a vegetarian, so it said in the movie. That seems pretty ironic for a guy who had arguably more blood on his hands than any other human being in the history of the race.