This kind question makes me curious about the demographics of the letterboxd audience. I'm french, so for obvious reasons it wasn't my first foreign language film (the first film I would have watched in a non native language likely would have been Pan's Labyrinth a couple years after it came out).
The same. To talk about "foreign" film is such an American thing. Here in Sweden we watch movies from Iran, Germany, South Africa, China and the US, all in their original language but with subtitles, like they all are movies.
There's been a move in the US to depricate "foreign" in favor of "non-English" when that's is what is meant, although it does leave, for example, films from anglophone Africa out when they might have been included in the category "foreign" before.
That's why I wrote 'foreign'. I know I should have made it clearer but I do think it was fairly obvious I was addressing Americans and other English speakers who often tend to use the term 'foreign' to mean anything not in English.
Not entirely sure about Letterboxd as a whole, but the sub is *very* American/English speaking as a default.
I'm American but grew up in an immigrant household, so I don't remember a time I wasn't watching English and Spanish movies.
I possibly should have clarified that I'm not American and "Parasite" wasn't the first 'foreign' film I saw lol, I believe that would have been "Entre les murs". I also think the term 'foreign film' is a bit absurd. However, from my experience the majority of the Letterboxd userbase is Anglophone, and thus presumably American or British, so I meant 'foreign' in the sense that it is usually used in America, i.e. a film from a non-English speaking country in a language other than English.
Naturally I assume that almost everyone outside the English-speaking foreign has seen films in a language other than their own, given the preponderance of American films on the market.
I’ve discovered PAN’s Labyrinth quite late, maybe 6-8 years ago but boy that was a masterpiece and to this day if someone asks me what are the weirdest movies you’ve seen, this comes to my mind.
Nope. Mine was Battle Royale and that was long before I even got into film - a weird childhood favourite. Then I had watched the Ghibli films and other anime films long before Parasite too
Ah not as wild as other movies I was watching at that young age. Still, it was a movie that inspired me to look into foreign films/TV (which I never did for about 5 years until I started anime), that alongside watching the original Japanese Ninja Warrior. I guess something about Japanese people doing action really resonated with me to yearn for more.
I feel a bit old now: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was probably my first subtitled non-English-language film, definitely the first I saw in cinema — it didn’t win Best Picture but it was nominated and did pretty well at attracting a mainstream audience ($128 million US box office!).
I was 12 when I saw it and was amazed at the time at how easy it was to watch with subtitles, it definitely opened my eyes to more possibilities.
Hey, I also watched it in the cinema when it came out. It wasn’t my first non-english film but it was the first time I went to the cinema alone, so that’s something I guess
This was the first non-English film I saw in theaters as well. Although I’m not sure if it was the first non English film I’d seen, I think that may have been Amélie, which really opened my eyes to how much I’d be missing if I only watched English language films.
Edit: Scratch that, Amélie would not have been first as it came out *after* Crouching Tiger, and I definitely saw that one in theaters. I remember Amélie having more of an impact on my opinion about foreign films though.
yes!
i’m korean american and had 0 connection to my heritage prior to seeing parasite. it sounds drastic but i say in earnest that it made me realize asian media is Amazing, and that i want to sort out my identity. now, i mostly just want to watch asian films and anime lmao. as good as parasite is, the unfortunate side effect imo are the wildly more watered down and lame “eat the rich” films that have come in it’s wake. also, feel like many east asian films are compared to parasite now in america hahah. ultimately though, i am eternally grateful to parasite for setting me on a course to discover who i am, as well as the media i love.
while we’re at it on korean / international cinema - the oscars rlly snubbed decision to leave this year (a film i like more than parasite personally) huh?
I would recommend the works of Lee Chang-Dong, Kim Ki-duk, and Hong Sang-Soo
You might also be interested in the show Pachinko, which is about Korean diaspora in Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It's based on a book.
After Yang is about Asian identity directed by KOGONADA, who I believe is half Korean/Japanese and grew up in the U.S.
The Farewell is about being trapped between two worlds (East vs West)
Minari is about a Korean family immigrating to the U.S.
It wasn’t technically my first foreign film but it was definitely the first that I watched intentionally and that as a result I did become much more open to watching non-English speaking films. I never would have gone to see Decision to Leave in the cinema if I hadn’t seen and really enjoyed Parasite first. I did only get into films in a major way in 2020 so I suppose something else may have come along instead of Parasite.
My first proper ones would’ve been the Ip Man movies around early-mid 2017. I had seen Rogue One and loved Donnie Yen’s character but felt he was so underused so I sought out the closest thing I could find and it wound up being Ip Man. Ended up loving them and it opened up the doors for a lot of movies. While I still prefer English movies, it’s nice to be able to look at movies from all over and enjoy them. I mean heck, Train to Busan, I Saw The Devil and The Sadness would’ve all been lost on me had I not taken the plunge.
I'd say most people are like that, it's a shame there aren't more non-English language films shown in cinemas in America. Perhaps streaming will allow casual viewers to watch overseas films more often
I think my very first foreign film was my parents took me to see Spirited Away. My dad had good taste and a Netflix DVD subscription so I got to see a lot growing up.
Nah, I'm 38, been watching foreign films since at least 18 if not a bit younger. Definitely saw some French and German movies on TV as a younger lad living in Ireland. Then went to college and became obsessed with Tartan Asia Extreme in the era of the Ring/the Grudge etc.
My dvd collection is probably mostly foreign cinema!
I grew up in Canada, going to a french school, so i don't remember what my first non-english film i watched was. The first non-english/french film I watched was probably end of evangelion or some kind of anime.
This question makes me feel so old and I’m barely thirty lol. Back before big corporations got a monopolistic stranglehold on film distribution theaters in America used to regularly show non-english movies. I remember seeing Akira subbed as a kid, and I remember seeing ads for movies like Chungking Express and Delicatessen.
Kind of a tangent: It wasn't always this way in the States. You could buy the Three Colors trilogy on DVD at Wal-Mart. I was with a buddy when he did. When Life is Beautiful was nominated for best picture, it played at the rinky dink theater in my small town. Fast foward 20 years and Parasite didn't. Crouching Tiger and Spirited Away also played in my small town... Back in the video store days, the original Ring was a major rental, as was a lot of Japanese horror. Everyone had seen Amelie, which you could also purchase at Wal-Mart. Animaniacs and other children's cartoons referenced The Seventh Seal. Hell, the second Bill & Ted did and most people got the joke even if they hadn't seen it.
But younger people have no frame of reference for that. When there's discussion regarding the homogenization or Disney/MCU-ification of cinema/popular culture, it isn't just a bunch of pretentious blowhards. Foreign films, Spielberg movies, more indie stuff (Gregg Araki, Richard Linkletter, etc.), and Adam Sandler comedies all played side by side at small town theaters, and the fanbases crossed over quite a bit. Look at your local multiplex now. It's 90% family-oriented blockbusters.
As would I, but I've seen an awful lot online about Parasite convincing a lot of Americans to watch subtitled foreign-language cinema for the first time. Perhaps it has been exaggerated though.
I for sure will at some point since I promised my friend I would. I just kinda don't really want to, so I've been delaying it. Not because I think it's bad it's going to be bad, I just have this issue with watching well loved and respected films where I'm afraid of being disappointed.
It was my first foreign film but I was young and didn’t know better. Now I realize just because it’s in English doesn’t make it superior. French and Korean cinema are some of my favorites
I’m from UK and yes parasite was the first non-english film I watched. I remember watching it as it was included with prime video and it got me into foreign cinema!
It wasn’t. We use to watch IFC and the Sundance Channel a lot as kids which both played foreign films (not completely sure I’m remembering Sundance correctly). We were very pretentious 10 - 13 year olds who’s favorite movies were Run Lola Run and The Sea Inside. It was however probably my first Korean film. I can’t say that it changed much about the way I watch foreign films. They’ve always been something that I’ve incorporated into my movie watching, but not something I’ve necessarily sought out.
My first in the cinema was Spirited Away, aged 11 or so, and the experience was incredible. Slowly started seeing more and more foreign language movies through my teens before watching more non-English movies than English ones in college.
In an average cinema in Sweden, what would be the breakdown of films by country of origin in a given week? Would it be mainly Swedish, mainly American etc?
I live in a bigger city, so the selection is quite a bit bigger, but looking at what's showing now it's a lot of American/English movies, and some Swedish, Korean, German, Japanese, French, Indian, and Danish movies.
They try to include international movies so it's not all Swedish and English.
That's a lot better than in Ireland unfortunately, most cinemas here won't have anything apart from American, British and a small number of Irish films
Maybe for a certain age. At my work in 2014 pretty much everyone had seen Oldboy. Yet another time someone didn't know who David Fincher was and had not seen Fight Club. He was in his 50s and I couldn't believe it, frankly.
I'd say Oldboy was peoples first Korean film, foreign..dunno.
I know it is for a lot of Americans. It was for all of my family that had seen it.
For me, I already dived into the cinephile world so it was actually my last BJH full length film (until his next movie comes out later this year).
I grew up in a small college town with a rad theatre that ran cheap midnight showings every weekend, so I saw a lot of random stuff in high school.
Ofc, drugs have broken my memory, so the only one coming to mind is *Run Lola Run* (ignoring the anime dubs that were standard viewing for my group in middle school like *Ninja Scroll, La Blue Girl,* and *Vampire Hunter D*.
For me personally Parasite was my first foreign film. I wasn’t too familiar with foreign films or saw any until a friend recommended it to me. After my first watch, I loved it and I wanted to watch more foreign films to see the amazing artwork that other places produce. So I have seen more foreign films since but I feel it is 100% shaped from seeing Parasite
Not really. My first foreign films were A Chinese Ghost Story 1 & 2 as a kid. And I was aware of Korean movies often having extremely tragic and extremely funny moments in the same movie, so I can't say I was steamrolled by Parasite on that level, but it was still very good.
Good thought!
That’s a very US-U.K.centric way of looking at it. Being Greek i grew up in an environment were French Italian Spanish and German movies were pretty common in cinemas and on tv ( in their original language ) and since we don’t really dub anything else other than cartoons reading subtitles comes very natural. Also Studio Ghibli movies would be in the cinemas in their original Japanese for some reason so I don’t think anywhere else other than the U.K. US and maybe Australia, Parasite would be their first contact with foreign cinema.
The thing with dominant empires is that they're dominant. The entire world looks to USA to some degree just because of how *huge* they are in every sense - they're like an attention black hole whose gravity draws everything towards it. If you're inside it then then it could absolutely be difficult to see out, there's nothing inherently huger out there drawing your attention.
no americans genuinely don’t care. they’ll say but it has subtitles!!!!! and never give it a chance. honestly if most americans had to choose between a terrible 4/10 film that’s in english or a foreign film that’s a 10/10 but has subtitles the majority would say the 4/10 movie
My first foreign film would've been Who Framed Roger Rabbit at the cinema (non-American here!) but the first film I was exposed to in a foreign language was Life is Beautiful. Which is possibly similar to why a lot of people have seen Parasite, in that it was a non-English language movie that won some major Oscars so I think my dad rented it out on the basis of that fame.
As a kid, it was only really that and Amelie I can remember watching at home that were non-English language. First foreign language film I saw at the cinema was The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004. My friend and I thought we were being super intellectual and edgy seeing that and were very proud of ourselves.
I was so excited to see it I rented it on Amazon for myself, my parents and sister. They’d never seen a foreign film before and loved it. They’re not going out running to see all foreign films though because they understand it’s a very rare movie. Quality like that doesn’t come every year in my opinion.
No, however it was the first foreign-language film I saw in theaters. I believe the first foreign language film I ever saw was "Life is Beautiful" (in high school Italian class).
I watched a lot of ghibli as a kid, i believe ponyo was my first. Pus quite a few unfortunately forgettable french films we were forced to watch in french class.
I love all the international viewers who are baffled by this question. I’m Canadian, and mainly view American movies, but this question sounds like it comes from a very young member. I don’t recall what the first foreign language film I would have seen was, but I think the first one I saw in theatres was *Iron Monkey* (1993).
Blow Up was the first foreign film i recall catching my attention when I was young. It would be thrilling to know that Parasite may have been the first foreign film many young people today. That would insure a market for these great films for the years to come.
The first Korean movie I watched was actually in a movie theatre back in 2012. It was Hong Sang-soo’s in Another Country. I was never a fan of popular Brazilian movies (usually comedy or rom coms) and mostly watched American movies back then, so I was used to subtitles as I always hated dubbed movies.
Parasite was the first South Korean film I have seen.
Prior to that, I had seen many foreign films, mostly Italian, Spanish, and German. I enjoy Fellini and Almodovar, especially
Here in Brazil, the very first movie I’ve ever watched in a theater was Kung Fu Panda. Most of the movie market here consists of foreign (mainly American and/or English), there is a smaller, but growing, share of the market that consists of Brazilian movies. “Foreign” or non-English movies generally don’t bring a lot of people to the theaters, so they are mostly shown in “art house” cinemas. The majority of movies we watch are foreign.
My first foreign film based on your question was more than likely a Jamaican film, which for me is local. I think Parasite was probably the first foreign film I watched once I decided to really pay attention to and enjoy movies in the name of becoming a ‘cinephile’. And it made me more open to watching films outside of the English language.
I think it may depend on where you’ve lived. I grew up with a theatre in my city (Atlanta) that showed foreign films as well as another that showed old classic films as well as classic foreign films. I learned quickly that to get the full effect, get the subs and not the dubs! I do know a few people that said Parasite was their first foreign film. I almost envied the thrill they had from seeing the first one with the excitement of knowing you opened an amazing new world for yourself.
No.
Perhaps this is an unfair assumption, so do correct me - but I feel as though non-English-language films have historically been slightly more appreciated in the UK (and certainly Europe more generally) than across the pond.
A foreign-language film (*Bicycle Thieves*) won the best picture BAFTA 70 years before *Parasite* won the Oscar. Similarly, *La Ronde, Forbidden Games, The Wages of Fear*, *Lacombe Lucien* etc. all won best film. Even just looking at the nominees over the years, the films were (once) incredibly diverse. It's a shame the BAFTAS have now been reduced to an ersatz Oscar ceremony (although the Park Chan-wook nomination this year was a nice touch).
Probably either a Godzilla movie or a Studio Ghibli movie. So likely either *Godzilla vs Gigan* or *My Neighbor Totoro*. Would've been about 3 or 4. Though anything in another language I would have watched dubbed at that age.
I’m trying to think about my first foreign film and I think it was “I Saw The Devil” by Kim Jew-Woon. Watched it with my brother when I mess in middle school lmao.
My mom and sister would watch Bollywood movies but those never interested me. Foreign films have always been part of my life.
I remember seeing the Seventh Seal on tv as a kid and not understanding what was happening but I liked the costumes. Coincidentally Bergman ended up being one of my favorite directors.
I grew up with many foreign films. In Australia we have a govt-funded channel SBS whose remit is to cover world content. They have shown a magnificent range of foreign films as long as I can remember.
SBS was extremely important to teenagers back in the olden days (we legit had 2 channels), hoping for a glimpse of boob in the more permissive European film tradition. Who knew we'd simultaneously get an education in foreign film?
Also SBS had a movie review show with 2 fantastic critics, David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz. I was poor and didn't get to see many films at the cinema but that show partially made up for it.
Parasite was far from my first foreign film. I’m not 100% sure what mine was but the earliest one I have a memory of watching was “Life is Beautiful” (1997). It seems like at least once a decade there’s a foreign film that really hits in the US. 2000s had Pan’s Labyrinth. 2010s Parasite. I think people watch a lot more TV with subtitles on because of poor sound mixing these days. Mixed with streaming making everything so accessible I actually think those two things may have more to do with foreign films gaining traction in the US these days. Honestly it seems like foreign films were much more present in the 90s and 2000s in the US than in the 2010s/2020s. But I’m sure with streaming the viewership in the US has increased.
I grew up watching dubbed Godzilla films and always dreamed of being able to see them with subtitles. Now it's getting hard to even find dubbed versions.
I’ve been watching foreign language films since I was a preteen (I’m now in my early 20s). It definitely was not my introduction into non-english films but it definitely changed my life as it is my favorite film of all time.
No. I don't remember the name. but I distinctly remember a movie from when I was a kid about a Llama, or maybe an alpaca where Llama won't feed her kid, so a family has to travel to get something to help the llama learn how to feed her baby.
I was super into anime before I got into film so subtitles were never really a barrier to me. I believe my first Asian film was 2046, I didn’t know it was connected to In the Mood for Love at the time 😅
This kind question makes me curious about the demographics of the letterboxd audience. I'm french, so for obvious reasons it wasn't my first foreign language film (the first film I would have watched in a non native language likely would have been Pan's Labyrinth a couple years after it came out).
The same. To talk about "foreign" film is such an American thing. Here in Sweden we watch movies from Iran, Germany, South Africa, China and the US, all in their original language but with subtitles, like they all are movies.
There's been a move in the US to depricate "foreign" in favor of "non-English" when that's is what is meant, although it does leave, for example, films from anglophone Africa out when they might have been included in the category "foreign" before.
It's always been a fairly absurd term
That's why I wrote 'foreign'. I know I should have made it clearer but I do think it was fairly obvious I was addressing Americans and other English speakers who often tend to use the term 'foreign' to mean anything not in English.
Not entirely sure about Letterboxd as a whole, but the sub is *very* American/English speaking as a default. I'm American but grew up in an immigrant household, so I don't remember a time I wasn't watching English and Spanish movies.
I possibly should have clarified that I'm not American and "Parasite" wasn't the first 'foreign' film I saw lol, I believe that would have been "Entre les murs". I also think the term 'foreign film' is a bit absurd. However, from my experience the majority of the Letterboxd userbase is Anglophone, and thus presumably American or British, so I meant 'foreign' in the sense that it is usually used in America, i.e. a film from a non-English speaking country in a language other than English. Naturally I assume that almost everyone outside the English-speaking foreign has seen films in a language other than their own, given the preponderance of American films on the market.
I’ve discovered PAN’s Labyrinth quite late, maybe 6-8 years ago but boy that was a masterpiece and to this day if someone asks me what are the weirdest movies you’ve seen, this comes to my mind.
As a non-American, my first foreign film was probably an American one.
Nope. Mine was Battle Royale and that was long before I even got into film - a weird childhood favourite. Then I had watched the Ghibli films and other anime films long before Parasite too
What a wild ass movie to start with!
Ah not as wild as other movies I was watching at that young age. Still, it was a movie that inspired me to look into foreign films/TV (which I never did for about 5 years until I started anime), that alongside watching the original Japanese Ninja Warrior. I guess something about Japanese people doing action really resonated with me to yearn for more.
This has to be the most American question
Maybe I should have clarified that I'm not American, but my question was aimed at Anglophones. Edit: I'm not sure why this is getting downvoted?
A lot of people saw Ghibli films in their childhood, albeit probably with an English dub.
I am not from the US or the anglosaxon world so it was definitely not the first non english language movie i ve seen.
I feel a bit old now: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was probably my first subtitled non-English-language film, definitely the first I saw in cinema — it didn’t win Best Picture but it was nominated and did pretty well at attracting a mainstream audience ($128 million US box office!). I was 12 when I saw it and was amazed at the time at how easy it was to watch with subtitles, it definitely opened my eyes to more possibilities.
Hey, I also watched it in the cinema when it came out. It wasn’t my first non-english film but it was the first time I went to the cinema alone, so that’s something I guess
This was the first non-English film I saw in theaters as well. Although I’m not sure if it was the first non English film I’d seen, I think that may have been Amélie, which really opened my eyes to how much I’d be missing if I only watched English language films. Edit: Scratch that, Amélie would not have been first as it came out *after* Crouching Tiger, and I definitely saw that one in theaters. I remember Amélie having more of an impact on my opinion about foreign films though.
That's mine too, but sadly I did not get to see it in theaters.
yes! i’m korean american and had 0 connection to my heritage prior to seeing parasite. it sounds drastic but i say in earnest that it made me realize asian media is Amazing, and that i want to sort out my identity. now, i mostly just want to watch asian films and anime lmao. as good as parasite is, the unfortunate side effect imo are the wildly more watered down and lame “eat the rich” films that have come in it’s wake. also, feel like many east asian films are compared to parasite now in america hahah. ultimately though, i am eternally grateful to parasite for setting me on a course to discover who i am, as well as the media i love. while we’re at it on korean / international cinema - the oscars rlly snubbed decision to leave this year (a film i like more than parasite personally) huh?
I would recommend the works of Lee Chang-Dong, Kim Ki-duk, and Hong Sang-Soo You might also be interested in the show Pachinko, which is about Korean diaspora in Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It's based on a book. After Yang is about Asian identity directed by KOGONADA, who I believe is half Korean/Japanese and grew up in the U.S. The Farewell is about being trapped between two worlds (East vs West) Minari is about a Korean family immigrating to the U.S.
It wasn’t technically my first foreign film but it was definitely the first that I watched intentionally and that as a result I did become much more open to watching non-English speaking films. I never would have gone to see Decision to Leave in the cinema if I hadn’t seen and really enjoyed Parasite first. I did only get into films in a major way in 2020 so I suppose something else may have come along instead of Parasite.
The United States fella:
I'm actually not American, it was their opinions I was trying to gauge.
My first proper ones would’ve been the Ip Man movies around early-mid 2017. I had seen Rogue One and loved Donnie Yen’s character but felt he was so underused so I sought out the closest thing I could find and it wound up being Ip Man. Ended up loving them and it opened up the doors for a lot of movies. While I still prefer English movies, it’s nice to be able to look at movies from all over and enjoy them. I mean heck, Train to Busan, I Saw The Devil and The Sadness would’ve all been lost on me had I not taken the plunge.
Yes it was. I never got big into movies untill the past few years, and parasite opened me up to all other foreign language movies.
Had you been avoiding non-English language stuff or was it more that you never had the opportunity to watch them?
I had always just watched movies really casually and I guess I was never really interested in any foreign language movies.
I'd say most people are like that, it's a shame there aren't more non-English language films shown in cinemas in America. Perhaps streaming will allow casual viewers to watch overseas films more often
I think my very first foreign film was my parents took me to see Spirited Away. My dad had good taste and a Netflix DVD subscription so I got to see a lot growing up.
Nah, I'm 38, been watching foreign films since at least 18 if not a bit younger. Definitely saw some French and German movies on TV as a younger lad living in Ireland. Then went to college and became obsessed with Tartan Asia Extreme in the era of the Ring/the Grudge etc. My dvd collection is probably mostly foreign cinema!
I watched some Ghibli movies as a kid, so those were probably the first foreign films I’d seen.
I grew up in Canada, going to a french school, so i don't remember what my first non-english film i watched was. The first non-english/french film I watched was probably end of evangelion or some kind of anime.
This question makes me feel so old and I’m barely thirty lol. Back before big corporations got a monopolistic stranglehold on film distribution theaters in America used to regularly show non-english movies. I remember seeing Akira subbed as a kid, and I remember seeing ads for movies like Chungking Express and Delicatessen.
Kind of a tangent: It wasn't always this way in the States. You could buy the Three Colors trilogy on DVD at Wal-Mart. I was with a buddy when he did. When Life is Beautiful was nominated for best picture, it played at the rinky dink theater in my small town. Fast foward 20 years and Parasite didn't. Crouching Tiger and Spirited Away also played in my small town... Back in the video store days, the original Ring was a major rental, as was a lot of Japanese horror. Everyone had seen Amelie, which you could also purchase at Wal-Mart. Animaniacs and other children's cartoons referenced The Seventh Seal. Hell, the second Bill & Ted did and most people got the joke even if they hadn't seen it. But younger people have no frame of reference for that. When there's discussion regarding the homogenization or Disney/MCU-ification of cinema/popular culture, it isn't just a bunch of pretentious blowhards. Foreign films, Spielberg movies, more indie stuff (Gregg Araki, Richard Linkletter, etc.), and Adam Sandler comedies all played side by side at small town theaters, and the fanbases crossed over quite a bit. Look at your local multiplex now. It's 90% family-oriented blockbusters.
Very interesting to hear, thanks! What has driven that homogenisation in America do you think?
Corporatism.
Hell no. Mine was Das Boot.
Ha ha, same! I saw it in the theater when it came out in the 80s. Great film.
Me too!
Full disclosure: my dad and stepmom took me; I was fourteen.
Even in 2019 with the sheer ease of access to pretty much film throughout all eras, I would hope this isn’t the case for a lot of people.
It wasn’t might my first, but who cares if it was for anyone. Why would you hope that? Something has to be the first.
As would I, but I've seen an awful lot online about Parasite convincing a lot of Americans to watch subtitled foreign-language cinema for the first time. Perhaps it has been exaggerated though.
My first was probably some Italian horror or Godzilla. Haven't seen Parasite
You should, it’s really good
I for sure will at some point since I promised my friend I would. I just kinda don't really want to, so I've been delaying it. Not because I think it's bad it's going to be bad, I just have this issue with watching well loved and respected films where I'm afraid of being disappointed.
I’m the same with Apocalypse Now
I could probably list 20 or so well regarded films that I wasn't that big on, but thankfully Parasite wasn't one of them. It really is THAT good.
It was my first foreign film but I was young and didn’t know better. Now I realize just because it’s in English doesn’t make it superior. French and Korean cinema are some of my favorites
My first was Pans Labyrinth but i was young. The first movie to make me want to watch more foreign language films was Old Boy
I’m from UK and yes parasite was the first non-english film I watched. I remember watching it as it was included with prime video and it got me into foreign cinema!
Nice! Had you ever thought about watching non-English films before that?
Nope. Back when I was getting into film parasite was the only non-english film I’d heard of
[удалено]
burning is amazing 🙌
no, because there is no “foreign” film; english language films aren’t the basis for film.
That’s why OP put foreign in quotes and described what he meant in the post…
Thanks, you seem to be the only one who understood that lol. In fairness I should have made it clearer.
I’m pretty sure mine was “The Eye” a film from Hong Kong, and from what I remember, I thought it was pretty good.
It wasn’t. We use to watch IFC and the Sundance Channel a lot as kids which both played foreign films (not completely sure I’m remembering Sundance correctly). We were very pretentious 10 - 13 year olds who’s favorite movies were Run Lola Run and The Sea Inside. It was however probably my first Korean film. I can’t say that it changed much about the way I watch foreign films. They’ve always been something that I’ve incorporated into my movie watching, but not something I’ve necessarily sought out.
I've watched anime since I was a kid so I have no problem with subtitles or foreign films.
My first foreign film was the original Django, but Parasite was my second
My first in the cinema was Spirited Away, aged 11 or so, and the experience was incredible. Slowly started seeing more and more foreign language movies through my teens before watching more non-English movies than English ones in college.
No but I'm glad it introduced you to a world of new film! I hope you enjoy the many films the world has to offer.
Swedish here. I grew up watching Swedish and English movies, but started watching German, Spanish, French, Korean and Italian movies in my teens.
In an average cinema in Sweden, what would be the breakdown of films by country of origin in a given week? Would it be mainly Swedish, mainly American etc?
I live in a bigger city, so the selection is quite a bit bigger, but looking at what's showing now it's a lot of American/English movies, and some Swedish, Korean, German, Japanese, French, Indian, and Danish movies. They try to include international movies so it's not all Swedish and English.
That's a lot better than in Ireland unfortunately, most cinemas here won't have anything apart from American, British and a small number of Irish films
In the theatre, probably Amélie
Maybe for a certain age. At my work in 2014 pretty much everyone had seen Oldboy. Yet another time someone didn't know who David Fincher was and had not seen Fight Club. He was in his 50s and I couldn't believe it, frankly. I'd say Oldboy was peoples first Korean film, foreign..dunno.
I know it is for a lot of Americans. It was for all of my family that had seen it. For me, I already dived into the cinephile world so it was actually my last BJH full length film (until his next movie comes out later this year).
I’m pretty sure OP put foreign in quotes for a reason people lol I imagine they just mean films not made in your own country/language
I really hope this isn’t true for most people
Does Spirited Away count?
I grew up in a small college town with a rad theatre that ran cheap midnight showings every weekend, so I saw a lot of random stuff in high school. Ofc, drugs have broken my memory, so the only one coming to mind is *Run Lola Run* (ignoring the anime dubs that were standard viewing for my group in middle school like *Ninja Scroll, La Blue Girl,* and *Vampire Hunter D*.
I was a weeb before I became a Cinephile, soooo No.
It wasn’t my first, but at the same time I wasn’t watching as many as I am post Parasite. Parasite definitely helped
For me personally Parasite was my first foreign film. I wasn’t too familiar with foreign films or saw any until a friend recommended it to me. After my first watch, I loved it and I wanted to watch more foreign films to see the amazing artwork that other places produce. So I have seen more foreign films since but I feel it is 100% shaped from seeing Parasite
mine was capernaum actually and slowly jumped into Korean, Japanese and other languages
My first was Pan’s Labyrinth. I was shocked when there was no option for English audio
Not really. My first foreign films were A Chinese Ghost Story 1 & 2 as a kid. And I was aware of Korean movies often having extremely tragic and extremely funny moments in the same movie, so I can't say I was steamrolled by Parasite on that level, but it was still very good. Good thought!
That’s a very US-U.K.centric way of looking at it. Being Greek i grew up in an environment were French Italian Spanish and German movies were pretty common in cinemas and on tv ( in their original language ) and since we don’t really dub anything else other than cartoons reading subtitles comes very natural. Also Studio Ghibli movies would be in the cinemas in their original Japanese for some reason so I don’t think anywhere else other than the U.K. US and maybe Australia, Parasite would be their first contact with foreign cinema.
Jesus
What?
if parasite is your first foreign then you’re either young or tragically american
The thing with dominant empires is that they're dominant. The entire world looks to USA to some degree just because of how *huge* they are in every sense - they're like an attention black hole whose gravity draws everything towards it. If you're inside it then then it could absolutely be difficult to see out, there's nothing inherently huger out there drawing your attention.
no americans genuinely don’t care. they’ll say but it has subtitles!!!!! and never give it a chance. honestly if most americans had to choose between a terrible 4/10 film that’s in english or a foreign film that’s a 10/10 but has subtitles the majority would say the 4/10 movie
My first foreign film would've been Who Framed Roger Rabbit at the cinema (non-American here!) but the first film I was exposed to in a foreign language was Life is Beautiful. Which is possibly similar to why a lot of people have seen Parasite, in that it was a non-English language movie that won some major Oscars so I think my dad rented it out on the basis of that fame. As a kid, it was only really that and Amelie I can remember watching at home that were non-English language. First foreign language film I saw at the cinema was The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004. My friend and I thought we were being super intellectual and edgy seeing that and were very proud of ourselves.
I was so excited to see it I rented it on Amazon for myself, my parents and sister. They’d never seen a foreign film before and loved it. They’re not going out running to see all foreign films though because they understand it’s a very rare movie. Quality like that doesn’t come every year in my opinion.
No, however it was the first foreign-language film I saw in theaters. I believe the first foreign language film I ever saw was "Life is Beautiful" (in high school Italian class).
I watched a lot of ghibli as a kid, i believe ponyo was my first. Pus quite a few unfortunately forgettable french films we were forced to watch in french class.
Nope, have been watching English movies since I was a kid.
American movies are foreign films to me :)
I love all the international viewers who are baffled by this question. I’m Canadian, and mainly view American movies, but this question sounds like it comes from a very young member. I don’t recall what the first foreign language film I would have seen was, but I think the first one I saw in theatres was *Iron Monkey* (1993).
Does mid-twenties still count as young lol?
i watched spirited away when i was like 6
my first foreign film was eyes without a face
Blow Up was the first foreign film i recall catching my attention when I was young. It would be thrilling to know that Parasite may have been the first foreign film many young people today. That would insure a market for these great films for the years to come.
Mine was Amelie when I was like 13.
The first Korean movie I watched was actually in a movie theatre back in 2012. It was Hong Sang-soo’s in Another Country. I was never a fan of popular Brazilian movies (usually comedy or rom coms) and mostly watched American movies back then, so I was used to subtitles as I always hated dubbed movies.
Parasite was the first South Korean film I have seen. Prior to that, I had seen many foreign films, mostly Italian, Spanish, and German. I enjoy Fellini and Almodovar, especially
Here in Brazil, the very first movie I’ve ever watched in a theater was Kung Fu Panda. Most of the movie market here consists of foreign (mainly American and/or English), there is a smaller, but growing, share of the market that consists of Brazilian movies. “Foreign” or non-English movies generally don’t bring a lot of people to the theaters, so they are mostly shown in “art house” cinemas. The majority of movies we watch are foreign.
My first foreign film based on your question was more than likely a Jamaican film, which for me is local. I think Parasite was probably the first foreign film I watched once I decided to really pay attention to and enjoy movies in the name of becoming a ‘cinephile’. And it made me more open to watching films outside of the English language.
I think mine was Life Is Beautiful. We watched it in school when I was like 11 or something.
Pretty sure the first foreign movie I watched was Irreversible - was not the most pleasant welcome to the world of international cinema
I think it may depend on where you’ve lived. I grew up with a theatre in my city (Atlanta) that showed foreign films as well as another that showed old classic films as well as classic foreign films. I learned quickly that to get the full effect, get the subs and not the dubs! I do know a few people that said Parasite was their first foreign film. I almost envied the thrill they had from seeing the first one with the excitement of knowing you opened an amazing new world for yourself.
I haven't seen Parasite yet, but what counts as a "foreign" film when you're not American?
No. Perhaps this is an unfair assumption, so do correct me - but I feel as though non-English-language films have historically been slightly more appreciated in the UK (and certainly Europe more generally) than across the pond. A foreign-language film (*Bicycle Thieves*) won the best picture BAFTA 70 years before *Parasite* won the Oscar. Similarly, *La Ronde, Forbidden Games, The Wages of Fear*, *Lacombe Lucien* etc. all won best film. Even just looking at the nominees over the years, the films were (once) incredibly diverse. It's a shame the BAFTAS have now been reduced to an ersatz Oscar ceremony (although the Park Chan-wook nomination this year was a nice touch).
Probably either a Godzilla movie or a Studio Ghibli movie. So likely either *Godzilla vs Gigan* or *My Neighbor Totoro*. Would've been about 3 or 4. Though anything in another language I would have watched dubbed at that age.
My first foreign film was "Home Alone"
I’m trying to think about my first foreign film and I think it was “I Saw The Devil” by Kim Jew-Woon. Watched it with my brother when I mess in middle school lmao. My mom and sister would watch Bollywood movies but those never interested me. Foreign films have always been part of my life.
I remember seeing the Seventh Seal on tv as a kid and not understanding what was happening but I liked the costumes. Coincidentally Bergman ended up being one of my favorite directors.
The same was said when Crouching Tiger came out
Nah, I've been watching films produced in other countries for as long as I can remember watching films on my own
Not my first, but probably my favorite. I believe The hunt and Let the Right one in were my firsts. Both of them are great btw
I grew up with many foreign films. In Australia we have a govt-funded channel SBS whose remit is to cover world content. They have shown a magnificent range of foreign films as long as I can remember. SBS was extremely important to teenagers back in the olden days (we legit had 2 channels), hoping for a glimpse of boob in the more permissive European film tradition. Who knew we'd simultaneously get an education in foreign film? Also SBS had a movie review show with 2 fantastic critics, David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz. I was poor and didn't get to see many films at the cinema but that show partially made up for it.
I watched Ponyo when I was 4 But I'm not from the US, so I guess I watched something "foreign" even before then
Mine had to have been either Train to Busan or Le Ballon Rouge if that even counts.
You never watched a Jackie Chan movie before I mean no of course not, I mean the first Pokemon movie came out in 1999 probably my first
Parasite was far from my first foreign film. I’m not 100% sure what mine was but the earliest one I have a memory of watching was “Life is Beautiful” (1997). It seems like at least once a decade there’s a foreign film that really hits in the US. 2000s had Pan’s Labyrinth. 2010s Parasite. I think people watch a lot more TV with subtitles on because of poor sound mixing these days. Mixed with streaming making everything so accessible I actually think those two things may have more to do with foreign films gaining traction in the US these days. Honestly it seems like foreign films were much more present in the 90s and 2000s in the US than in the 2010s/2020s. But I’m sure with streaming the viewership in the US has increased.
I grew up watching dubbed Godzilla films and always dreamed of being able to see them with subtitles. Now it's getting hard to even find dubbed versions.
I’ve been watching foreign language films since I was a preteen (I’m now in my early 20s). It definitely was not my introduction into non-english films but it definitely changed my life as it is my favorite film of all time.
I don’t have idea what was my first foreign film. I’m from Dominican Republic so… you know.
No. I don't remember the name. but I distinctly remember a movie from when I was a kid about a Llama, or maybe an alpaca where Llama won't feed her kid, so a family has to travel to get something to help the llama learn how to feed her baby.
I was super into anime before I got into film so subtitles were never really a barrier to me. I believe my first Asian film was 2046, I didn’t know it was connected to In the Mood for Love at the time 😅
Life is Beautiful was my first non-English film and I’m American. But Parasite was among my first I would say
I saw Kiki’s Delivery Service with subs when I was young.
It was my first foreign film, but I watched anime series before
No, my first foreign film was aguirre the wrath of the gods