Stream: Best Foreign Language Films of 2015 (So Far)

Quick Picks: Several acclaimed international films that missed Madison screens currently stream on Netflix and other resources.

If you follow our Facebook page you probably saw our link to “The Best Foreign-Language Films of 2015, According to the Criticwire Network,” via Indiewire. As 2015 comes to an end, we’ll have more to say about the list and the issues it raises for Madison’s exhibition market. Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that several titles on the list that never had a full theatrical (one week) engagement in town are currently available on various streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Fandor, and others.

While Criticwire‘s methodology is open to scrutiny, their list still provides a useful survey of well-received films with theatrical distribution in 2015. A few things are worth noting about these 38 films (and forgive us in advance for any memory lapses or mistakes).

Six of the 38 were only screened at the Wisconsin Film Festival. An additional 3 titles that played the Festival returned for at least one campus screening. From this list, only Phoenix played the Festival and returned for a theatrical engagement.

A total of 24 out of 38 (or 63 percent) of the films had/will have at least one screening in town, which sounds pretty good on the surface. But 10 of those 24 were screened only once. Distributors don’t sustain themselves on one-off non-theatrical engagements.

Four of those 10 one-offs will take place in the next two weeks: Horse Money at WUD Film this Thursday; The Wonders at Spotlight Cinema; Breathe, Amour Fou (and other repeats from the list) at WUD Film Marquee Film Festival next week. Support these efforts if you can.

Only 4 of the 38 (or 11 percent) had/will have a week-long theatrical engagement in town. Clearly commercial exhibitors do not see a strong market for these films Madison. And they’re probably right, based on observations of attendance at one-off screenings with admission fees that don’t have the momentum of ongoing free series with ongoing publicity.

One of those theatrical engagements begins next week: Labyrinth of Lies at Sundance. If you want to see these films on the big screen in Madison, you have to make it worthwhile for distributors and exhibitors to bring them.

Please share your thoughts (and any corrections on the numbers) in the comments below. We’ll return to this topic in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, below we have preserved the Criticwire rankings (repeating numbers for ties in their list). First we note in what capacity the films have played on the big screen in Madison. Then we provide links to subscription streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Fandor). For additional rental-on-demand options, follow the GoWatchIt links. We will attempt to update links but be aware that films are generally available for a limited time on subscription services. And as always, remember that Four Star Video Cooperative and the Madison Public Library remain reliable resources for many of these films.

Note: Thanks to feedback from several sources, some of the numbers have and Madison screenings have been updated and corrected since the original posting. –J.K.

28. The Kindergarten Teacher | Nadav Lapid
No Madison theatrical or campus screenings
VUDU | GoWatchIt

34. The Princess of France | Matías Piñeiro
No Madison theatrical or campus screenings
VUDU | GoWatchIt

2 Comments on Stream: Best Foreign Language Films of 2015 (So Far)

Elliot November 10, 2015 at 5:44 pm

WUD Film is also showing PHOENIX on November 20 (Friday, 5:45pm) and November 21 (Saturday, 9:00pm), so it’ll be available for those who didn’t catch it at WFF or Sundance.
- James Kreul November 10, 2015 at 11:32 pm
  
  Thanks for the update, Elliot. The WUD feed at our Alternative Screening Calendar has also been updated, showing both screenings.