[NON-US EDITION]What films best describe the spirit of your country? [NON-US EDITION]

The most famous Swedish films are Ingmar Bergman´s films, but personly I don´t think they represent the typical Swede. Then of course there are films from certain times, which now would be rather boring to see, but were fun and good at that time.
Jan Troell directed The Emigrants (Utvandrarna) in 1971 and its sequel The New Land (Nybyggarna) the following year. The films are based on Vilhelm Moberg's epic novels about the Swedish emigration to America in the 19th century, books extremely well known in Sweden. I think it is a good film representing 25% of the Swedish population which emmigrated
During World War II cinema had to perform the task of psychological defence during the war. There were many good comedies during and after the war, but also very good more serious films.
In the 60´s there came a serie of fun films, which now are a cult in Sweden.
In 2009 the feature films The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) , The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes) became international hits
One could pick a film or two which would represent life in Sweden at that time, but does not make it the best film to describe the spirit of my country over several decades.

Denmark has been producing films since 1897 . Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical innovation.
After 1913, Danish cinema began to lose its leading foothold in the film industry, with foreign companies having intensified competition in the production of feature length films. Danish cinema had also begun to suffer from a lack of imagination and a willingness to take creative risks on the part of Danish producers.
As a whole, Danish film in the 1920s was on the decline

Between 1940 and 1945, the German occupation of Denmark during World War II provided favourable conditions to start producing more serious art films. . As a whole, a more sinister tone was expressed in these years, and several parallels to the American film noir (also some years after 1945) can be found. Even the standard of the comedy was lifted, . The first years after the war still saw a rising standard, and foremost a more social/realist line But after some years the pre-war conditions reappeared: sentimental comedies, and uncomplicated regionalist movies.
1950s to 1970s

A large stream of family comedies and class-conscious folk comedies were produced from the 1950s to late 1970s/early 1980s

Danish cinema nonetheless remains highly respected internationally, and Danish films (today almost exclusively consisting of social realist dramas, social realist comedies, children's films and documentaries) receive many awards at major international film festivals.

Again there is no one alone which can represent the spirit of a country. Only a certain time, a certain group.

Yeah. It's a hopeless and shallow exercise at best but a fun one at least in terms of seeing what pops into ones mind at first thought.

Pelle the Conqueror, I think, is a sober and hard hitting film about Swedish migrant workers in Denmark. I wonder if the situation is as bleak for workers now as it was during the times the film takes place.

Canadian Films:
Slapshot
The Hockey Sweater
Black Robe
Jesus of Montreal
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz - very montreal jewish
Dance Me Outside
Fubar
Hard Core Logo
Men with Brooms
Trailer Park Boys - The Movie
Passchendaele
Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Salmonberries
Cool Runnings
Loyalties
Bye Bye Blues
Road to Saddle River - my old car made an appearance..
I've heard the Mermaid Singing

Both film and the book represent a certain time and it is far from reality now.
All Scandinavian countries are on the top of the list of best countries in the world.

You gotta watch Kitchen Stories on Netflix streaming. Hilarious and oddly charming...

Any list of films that embody the spirit of Canada and which do not contain Strange Brew is sadly deficient.



Also The Saddest Music in the World.

Good point, we do have our fair share of hosers.

Slumdog Millionaire (India)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/

I love The Saddest Music in the World. What a strange world view Canadians have.

And the most gentle end of the world film is Canadian of course:
Last Night (1998)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/

House of angels. Also about two old men, a daughter and who is the father.

Tough question, since cinema was widely used as a propaganda tool and the country has changed so much in the last century.

Redes (1936), an Eisensteiniasque film about fishermen in Pátzcuaro, beautiful propaganda.

Danzón (1991), a nice story about a telephone operator going to Veracruz, searching for her lost dancing partner and finding new friends, and a lover.

Reed, México Insurgente (1973), the Revolution de-mitified.

Arráncame la vida (2008), life, love and politics in the 1940s through the eyes of a woman.

El Compadre Mendoza (1934), first study on political opportunism during the Revolution

La sombra del caudillo (1960), a classic about political treason in the 1920's, the film was prohibited from 1960 to the mid-1980's.

María Candelaria (1944), another beautiful classic, idealizing indian life and its supposed incompatibility with modern values.

La Ley de Herodes (2000), an acidly funny story of an idealistic politician turned into a big corrupt "winner".

Los Caifanes (1966), urban social class cultural differences clash in a wild night out.

A toda máquina (1951), I would be damned if I didn't include in this list a film with Pedro Infante, the biggest national and nationalistic film icon. This is a comedy about male friendship -half way between hard competition and a man-crush- between two traffic police agents.

That's my list.

But the first film that actually came to my mind is Nosotros los Pobres (1949), "We, the Poor".


Everyone agrees now that it's a terribly manipulative and sentimental film (it became a trilogy), but it has been certainly the most popular one in the history of Mexican cinema (inside Mexico, that is).
Everything goes wrong in poor Pedro's life, a carpenter in a working class neighborhood in Mexico City, any conceivable tragedy falls upon him, and he keeps on working and fighting and hoping, only to have his hopes crushed by yet another tragedy.
Millions of Mexicans know by heart several lines of the film, but they're used now to make jokes.

I was born in Germany in 1954 (which perhaps was still "postwar" Germany). Here in the United States during the 1970's I saw some of the early films of Fassbinder, Herzog, and Wenders (a new postwar generation of filmmakers). These movies were very grim and seemed to be affected by German guilt over the Hitler era.

Later, when I saw Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live playing the German film critic Dieter, I understood even the most obscure jokes being made in his skits. "Dieter" would actually praise a film based on how "tedious" it was.

Australia :

The Light Horsemen
Gallipoli
They're a Weird Mob
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Barry MacKenzie
Rabbit Proof Fence

Also ...
Muriel's Wedding
Romper Stomper

Also ....
The Dish
The Castle
Walkabout
Newsfront
The Year My Voice Broke
Romulus, My Father
Strictly Ballroom
My Year Without Sex

Was Breaker Morant mentioned? (That is my personal favorite among Australian films.)

We rewatched The Castle not long ago. Such a funny movie! And, of course, The Dish is just a little gem of a film.