5 Foreign Films to Watch this World Mother Language Day
If you’re looking for something new to watch or if you are learning a new language, check out our selection of foreign films for World Mother Language Day 2021!
International or World Mother Language Day is here to promote learning languages and raise awareness about disappearing languages. Around 43% out of the 6000 spoken languages are endangered according to the United Nations.
Whether you have a chosen language you are trying to learn or are still looking for a language to blow your ears away, there’s nothing better than a film to try it out, see how it sounds or to test out your newly acquired vocabulary. So, watch a foreign film and save a language!
The Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows the blossoming romance of Marianne and the painter commissioned by her mother to paint her. Once the portrait is finished, they must go their separate ways. With that threat hanging over their heads, the two women deploy unimaginable creativity to delay that happening.
This is a beautiful film and a feminist one. Celine Sciamma is the writer-director while Claire Mathon is the cinematographer which means that the female experience and perspective are at the centre of the film. It is very far from the tropes and stereotypes of romance films as we know them.
The Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the perfect occasion to dust off your French while seeing what happens when women film women and free themselves from the male gaze.
Available to watch on Amazon Prime with a subscription to MUBI
303
Jule, a young woman, decides to take a trip from Berlin to Portugal to tell her boyfriend she is pregnant. She accepts to take Jan, a hitchhiker on his way to Spain, with her. As the road trip goes on, their conversations take a deeper turn making them slowly fall for each other.
303 defies genre classification by carefully threading road-movie and romance characteristics to offer a heartfelt look on modern relationships far from the Hollywood standards. Going further than a potential love story in between the main characters, it is also an ode to Europe and its stunning scenery.
303 is the perfect film to discover German while feeling like you are travelling through Europe without leaving the safety of your living room.
Atlantics
Set in Dakar, Souleiman leaves the country to find a better life in Spain after his boss withholds his pay check for months. He leaves behind his lover, Ada, who is promised to another wealthier man. As the wedding day approaches, strange incidents start to occur to save Ada from an unhappy fate.
Using Souleiman and Ada’s compelling romance as a backdrop, Atlantics highlights the difficulties faced by the youth of Senegal - the economic hardships, the lack of opportunities and the lack of freedom for women.
I really enjoyed the combination of sci-fi, romance and drama. The use of sci-fi allows for the spiritual to manifest in the world as we know it which means you can experience the feelings of the characters and let yourself be carried by the story. It was also the occasion for me to discover wolof - one of the 39 languages spoken in Senegal.
If you liked The Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Claire Mathon is back as cinematographer in this debut film directed by Mati Diop. Atlantics is a feast for the eyes and heart !
Rajma Chawal
A young musician Kabir from Delhi tries to navigate the difficult relationship with his father Raj Mathur. Raj Mathur desperate for connection tries to get to his son through social media. Stuck in between his father’s expectations and his own dreams, he finds relief when he meets the mysterious Saher at one of his gigs. As he tries to find her, he has never imagined that he would need to confront his feelings about his dad first.
Rajma Chawal is a contemporary, funny and emotional coming of age story. The music in the film is stunning and will stay with you long after the film has ended. This film will make you fall in love with Delhi and Hindi.
Leto
Jump into 80’s Russia with Leto ! The film tells the story of the relationship between the established Mike Naumenko and his wife Nina as Viktor’s arrival drives everything upside down.
This personal drama is the entry point into the formation of the Leningrad Rock Club and Viktor Tsoi’s rise to fame with his band Kino. Leto mixes romance, biopic and magical realism to deliver an innovative experience of Soviet Russia.
The magic serves to enhance the experience that music gives to the people and how it modifies their grim reality to make them able to survive. When I think about Soviet Russia, rock’n’roll is definitely not what comes to my mind which makes this film even more surprising and enjoyable.
Leto makes History come alive through personal narratives and an amazing rock soundtrack.
Disclaimer: We have an affiliate deal with Amazon to keep City Girl Network Magazine running. Of course, we will only talk about films we have seen and loved very much. We hope you will enjoy them too ! You can also support us via Patreon or a one-off donation. Thank you for your support !
Written by Melanie Toutakova
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