158 Best European Stories On Itunes (Page 9)

How does a standout director follow up to a film like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? With a more profound exploration of style, a further exploration of his originality. Gael Garcia Bernal (who you might know from Y Tu Mama Tambien) plays an imaginative but awkward kind of guy who falls for his cute neighbor, played Charlotte Gainsbourg. Bizarre and whimsical dream sequences follow and a sweet, if hesitant, love story unfolds. An eccentric, funny and very French movie (with most scenes in English).  

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Alain Chabat, Aurelia Petit, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emma de Caunes, Eric Mariotto, Gael García Bernal, Jean-Michel Bernard, Miou-Miou, Pierre Vaneck, Sacha Bourdo, Stephane Metzger, Yvette Petit

Director: Michel Gondry

Rating: R

When depicting a novel, book adaptations on film, especially earlier on in the medium, tend to be quite lengthy. The film version of Pelle the Conqueror does have this quality, and the storylines that aren’t directly connected to Pelle and Lasse do feel randomly stitched in. But, when this epic film focuses on Pelle and Lasse– their struggles immigrating to another country, dealing with harassment from the Danish majority, and the rare moments of joy once they finally figure things out– it shines. The legendary Max von Sydow and Pelle Hvenegaard (who was one of the many boys named after the title character) share a tender father-son dynamic that easily stirs one’s heart, and it’s all beautifully captured within Denmark’s lovely countryside. Pelle the Conqueror may only adapt the first of four volumes of the iconic Danish novel, but it does compassionately capture the struggles of the country’s impoverished immigrants.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Astrid Villaume, Axel Strøbye, Bjorn Granath, Buster Larsen, Erik Paaske, John Wittig, Kristina Törnqvist, Lars Simonsen, Lena-Pia Bernhardsson, Max von Sydow, Nis Bank-Mikkelsen, Pelle Hvenegaard, Sofie Gråbøl, Thure Lindhardt, Troels Asmussen, Troels Munk

Director: Bille August

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem star in this mystery by Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian Oscar-winning director of A Separation and The Salesman. When Laura returns to her small Spanish hometown with her two daughters, she is greeted with the warm welcome worthy of someone who once was a loved member of the community. However, when an event concerning one of her daughters happens at a wedding, secrets come to the surface about her history that threaten the fabric of the whole village. Laura is masterfully played by Penélope Cruz, who seems to shift gears in this Spanish-language movie. Farhadi is outside of his usual territory, but he does what he does best: deliver a rich, thrilling family drama.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Barbara Lennie, Carla Campra, Eduard Fernandez, Elvira Minguez, Inma Cuesta, Iván Chavero, Jaime Lorente, Javier Bardem, Jordi Bosch, Jose Angel Egido, Mar del Corral, Penélope Cruz, Ramon Barea, Ricardo Darín, Roger Casamajor, Sara Salamo, Sergio Castellanos, Vicente Vergara

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Rating: R

A black and white movie, A Coffee in Berlin is an early Woody Allen reminiscent film with a great emphasis on the emotions it handles.  It flows naturally, telling the story of Niko, a young college dropout in a period of his life where he has to face loneliness and lack of money and success. He goes from observing the people of Berlin to first realizing he is becoming a stranger to them and then lastly deciding to do something about his life. It's a whimsical German film with a lot of heart, as much of a tribute to youth as it is a tribute to the city of Berlin.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alexander Altomirianos, Andreas Schroders, Annika Ernst, Arnd Klawitter, Ellen Schlootz, Fred Aaron Blake, Frederick Lau, Friederike Kempter, Inga Birkenfeld, Jakob Bieber, Justus von Dohnányi, Katharina Hauck, Katharina Schüttler, Katharina Schüttler, Leander Modersohn, Lis Böttner, Marc Hosemann, Martin Brambach, Michael Gwisdek, Robert Hofmann, Rolf Peter Kahl, Sanne Schnapp, Steffen Jürgens, Theo Trebs, Tim Williams, Tim Wustrack, Tom Schilling, Ulrich Noethen

Director: Jan-Ole Gerster

Rating: Not Rated, Unrated

We Are the Best! is one movie that may be overlooked largely by viewers, though it perfectly captures counterculture, and relates to the misfit young and old. The movie is an adaptation of Moodysson's wife Coco's graphic novel "Never Goodnight". Set in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982, Klara (Mira Grosin) and her best friend Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) are junior high teenage girls who believe in their heart that punk rock is alive and well. With both of their home lives not so pleasant, the girls spend their time at the local youth center while taking up the time slot in the band room to get revenge on the local metal band. That's when they find themselves starting a punk band without even knowing how to play an instrument. We Are the Best! is a fun and deeply sincere exploration of adventure, friendship, love, and betrayal in adolescence.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Actor: Ann-Sofie Rase, David Dencik, Emrik Ekholm, Felix Sandman, Johan Liljemark, Lena Carlsson, Liv LeMoyne, Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Peter Eriksson, Sofi Ahlström Helleday

Director: Lukas Moodysson

Rating: Not Rated

With a particularly empowering tenderness and resilience, The Divine Order explores a glossed-over chapter in history wherein Swiss women could not vote until 1971. The hillside Swiss farming village in which Nora Ruckstuhl lives seems picture-perfect. But under the village’s close-knit and idyllic surface, change is stirring. When an emerging sense of autonomy pushes Nora to question her identity beyond being a complacent housewife, she publicly declares herself in favor of women’s suffrage and draws attention from both outspoken opponents and quiet supporters.

As Nora discovers herself—what she does and doesn’t like; what her body looks like; what pleasure feels like—she also uncovers a yearning for better, for more: who is she not just as a spouse and mother, but also as a friend, a member of a greater community, an independent woman?

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Bettina Stucky, Ella Rumpf, Finn Sutter, Ingo Ospelt, Marie Leuenberger, Marietta Jemmi, Marta Zoffoli, Maximilian Simonischek, Nicholas Ofczarek, Noe Krejcí, Peter Freiburghaus, Rachel Braunschweig, Sibylle Brunner, Sofia Helin, Steffi Friis, Therese Affolter, Urs Bosshardt, Walter Leonardi

Director: Petra Biondina Volpe

This Danish film which was the country's submission to the Oscars is about a delicate subject. A lawyer who specializes in defending children, and who is used to developing closeness with her clients including meeting with them in her home, starts having an affair with her teenage step-son.

There is inherent tension to this obviously very explicit plotline: how would a serious, non-erotic (or not-only-erotic) movie like this one portray such attraction. And of course, afterwards, what are the implications?

Genre: Drama

Actor: Carla Philip Røder, Elias Budde Christensen, Ella Solgaard, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Gustav Lindh, Liv Esmår Dannemann, Mads Knarreborg, Magnus Kreppe, Magnus Krepper, Marie Dalsgaard, Mathias Skov Rahbæk, Nessie Beik, Preben Kristensen, Silja Esmår Dannemann, Stine Gyldenkerne, Trine Dyrholm

Director: May el-Toukhy

A fun science fiction movie from the UK,  Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel stars Chris O'Dowd and Anna Faris. The plot centers around two geeks and their cynical friend who go out for a couple of pints and end up having a night they won't soon forget. To go any deeper would court spoilers, but suffice to say there is time travel, witty banter, hilarious scenes and just an all-around good time.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction

Actor: Anna Faris, Arthur Nightingale, Chris O'Dowd, Dean Lennox Kelly, John Warman, Marc Wootton, Meredith MacNeill, Ray Gardner

Director: Gareth Carrivick

Rating: Unrated

This Swedish movie is the story of Astrid Lindgren, one of the most translated children book writers of all time. Her work of over 100 books includes Pippi Longstocking and The Brothers Lionheart.

Away from the quiet existence of the characters she would later create, Astrid had a turbulent life. Her troubles start when she falls for the editor of the paper she worked at when she was young, a man 30 years her senior. This results in an unwanted pregnancy and Astrid is pushed to immigrate.

Genre: Drama, History

Actor: Alba August, Björn Gustafsson, Henrik Rafaelsen, Magnus Krepper, Maria Alm Norell, Maria Bonnevie, Maria Fahl-Vikander, Sofia Karemyr, Trine Dyrholm

Director: Pernille Fischer Christensen

Rating: 12

Charming and easy to watch, The Painting is a simple morality tale with unique animation. The film is set in an abandoned painting, whose subjects are actually conscious, living beings. They have three distinct social classes: the Toupins (fully painted), Pafinis (lacking some colors), and the Reufs (sketches). Tired of the discrimination and wanting everyone to be fully painted, three of these beings leave the painting in search of the artist. While the lesson is seemingly simple, the film delves into some existential themes and makes them easy to understand for the younger audience. The film celebrates creating one’s self in an absurd world, rather than passively accepting other people’s definitions. But what stands out most about this film are the designs. Inspired by modernist art, director Jean-François Laguionie created colorful and distinct characters whose faces diverge from the usual bug-eyed Disney/Pixar style. If you’re looking for a different animated film, this might be a good start.

Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Céline Ronté, Chloé Berthier, Jean Barney, Jérémy Prévost, Julien Bouanich, Thomas Sagols

Director: Jean-François Laguionie

Rating: TV-PG

When a group of percussionists illegally carry out a city-wide performance act, it's up to policeman Amadeus Warnebring to stop them. The musical fugitives perform on stolen objects and disrupt public spaces, but Warnebring has his own reasons to pursue them so determinedly: he's tone-deaf for one and born into a family of snobby musical geniuses for another, making this case all the more meaningful and consequential to him.

Sound of Noise is more than reminiscent of Stomp, what with its playful symphonies subsisting on random borrowed objects, but it is livened up with the suspense of a caper, the dry wit of a Swedish comedy, and the abundant charms of a light romance.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Actor: Anders Jansson, Fredrik Myhr, Irene Lindh, Iwar Wiklander, Paula McManus, Peter Schildt, Ralph Carlsson, Sanna Persson, Sven Ahlström

Director: Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, Ola Simonsson

Rating: R