Favourite "slow burner" movies? (Euro Dramas)

gibbo · Jul 15, 2013

Looking for more "slow burners" to watch.

European Pacing, moody and atmospheric.

I don't exactly know what to call the type of films, so I dubbed them the Slow Burner. Usually European Dramas, in particular Russian, Austrian and German cinema. Minimalist, gritty and bleak, generally ambiguous sometimes with abrupt endings or open endings left open for interpretation. Long takes, not a lot of cuts, sometimes minimal dialogue, can be slow, the plot isn't jammed down your throat - you have to think about it etc...

Movies like Michael Haneke's films, in particular:

The White Ribbon

And some of Refn's, particularly Valhalla Rising.

A couple of others that fall into that category that I can think of off the top of my head:

Fat Girl http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243255/
Once upon a time in Anatolia http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827487/
Revanche http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1173745/
dog tooth http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1379182/
Benny's video http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103793/
Sleeping beauty http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588398/
the piano teacher http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254686/
michael http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1906426/
bullhead http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821593/
lilya 4 ever http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300140/
breathing http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1680679/
Melancholia: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/
Amour: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602620/
Sauna http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124394

I'm trying to watch more of this type of film, it would be great if you could list your favourites!

Thanks!

P.S.

A special mention to the Dardenne Brother's films (personal favourites):
The kid with a bike http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827512/
The son http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291172/
Rosetta http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200071/
The child http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456396/
Lorna's Silence http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1186369/
The promise http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117398/

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 15, 2013

gibbo said:
Usually European Dramas, gritty and bleak, generally ambiguous sometimes with abrupt endings or open endings left open for interpretation. Long takes, not a lot of cuts, sometimes minimal dialogue, can be slow, the plot isn't jammed down your throat - you have to think about it etc...

Caćhe

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 15, 2013

Most of Iñárritu's stuff.

JoshL · Jul 15, 2013

The complete works of Ingmar Bergman might be up your alley (Wild Strawberries is one of my favorites, but Cries and Whispers in particular you'd like). Herzog in the 70s is also pretty amazing for this sort of thing.

gibbo · Jul 16, 2013

ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Caćhe

Ahh yep, seen that a couple of times. Love it!!!

ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Most of Iñárritu's stuff.

Seen Amoresperros, Babel and Biutiful. I've got 21 Grams ready to go.

JoshL said:
The complete works of Ingmar Bergman might be up your alley (Wild Strawberries is one of my favorites, but Cries and Whispers in particular you'd like). Herzog in the 70s is also pretty amazing for this sort of thing.

I've actually got a whole stack of Bergman's films ready to go. Not Wild Strawberries or Cries and Whispers though, I will bump them up to the top of the list! thanks

Will check out Herzog, haven't seen any of his older films... Any in particular? I would imagine Stroszek and Heart of Glass? Also the enigma of casper hauser and Woyzeck look good. (also, I had no idea he did a Nosferatu

)

jax_rox · Jul 16, 2013

I actually think Side Effects (Soderbergh) was a really great slow-burning thriller

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 16, 2013

gibbo said:
I've got 21 Grams ready to go.

My favorite film by him.

ShockingMind · Jul 16, 2013

Breaking The Waves is a stunner, but very slow, also Dance in the dark.

Time of The Wolf is a pretty good Haneke one, not his best though.

How slow do you wanna go?? I'm wading through Angelopoulos and Tarkovsky boxsets, incredibly slow, but the cinematography and direction is utterly jawdropping.

Ulyssses Gaze was great and Stalker is pretty mindblowing.

I love Herzogs Fitzcarraldo but there's a lot of his others I haven't seen yet!!

Hotel by Jessica Hausner, pitched as Haneke meets Lynch...I enjoyed that one.

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 16, 2013

ShockingMind said:
Breaking The Waves is a stunner

Von Trier has a few good "slow-burners".

MiniJamesW · Jul 16, 2013

Aside from Tarkovsky and Bergman who I love and have been mentioned there is Bela Tarr. His Sátántangó is over 7 hours and is composed of only about 150 shots (being a master of the long take). It's not just that film though, his Werckmeister Harmonies is a good place to start and it's just over 2 hours.

JoshL · Jul 16, 2013

gibbo said:
Will check out Herzog, haven't seen any of his older films... Any in particular? I would imagine Stroszek and Heart of Glass? Also the enigma of casper hauser and Woyzeck look good. (also, I had no idea he did a Nosferatu )

Those first two would be the first I'd suggest! Stroszek is a favorite of mine. His Nosferatu and Heart of Glass both have a very dreamlike quality to them. Great stuff!

David.rhsc · Jul 16, 2013

Johnny To, though he is often building to something that will break the "slow burn" mold eventually, the ride there is as good as any. PTU and Exiled are probably the ones to watch for this.

gibbo · Jul 16, 2013

jax_rox said:
I actually think Side Effects (Soderbergh) was a really great slow-burning thriller

Thank jax, I actually let this one slip through my fingers. I will check it out now though.

ShockingMind said:
Breaking The Waves is a stunner, but very slow, also Dance in the dark.

Will watch Breaking the Waves. Dancer in the Dark lost me at a specific point, plus I dont like musicals...

Time of The Wolf is a pretty good Haneke one, not his best though.

I actually should rewatch that, I didn't enjoy it very much when I saw it.

How slow do you wanna go?? I'm wading through Angelopoulos and Tarkovsky boxsets, incredibly slow, but the cinematography and direction is utterly jawdropping.

Ummm... well I mean not too slow. Like the examples I gave in my OP. One word I forgot to use to descibe them is "minimalist". Also, some form of a Narrative.

I've found so far that European films fit the bill perfectly. Particularly from what ive seen of Russian, German and Austrian films. Another one that pops to mind is Sauna http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124394

I tried to get into Tarkovsky, I really did.... I wanted to like his films but I just couldn't get into them. Maybe I just didn't get them. I will still watch Solaris and Stalker and hope!

Ulyssses Gaze was great and Stalker is pretty mindblowing.

HAven't seen any of Angelopoulos. Thanks for the heads up!

Hotel by Jessica Hausner, pitched as Haneke meets Lynch...I enjoyed that one.

Oh cool. This actually looks good! Thanks!

MiniJamesW said:
Aside from Tarkovsky and Bergman who I love and have been mentioned there is Bela Tarr. His Sátántangó is over 7 hours and is composed of only about 150 shots (being a master of the long take). It's not just that film though, his Werckmeister Harmonies is a good place to start and it's just over 2 hours.

I've got Satantango but I dont have the courage to watch it! ALso got his Turin Horse, looks interesting.

Any more of his you could recommend that would fit the bill?

David.rhsc said:
Johnny To, though he is often building to something that will break the "slow burn" mold eventually, the ride there is as good as any. PTU and Exiled are probably the ones to watch for this.

Great. I will check him out. PTU looks great.

ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
Von Trier has a few good "slow-burners".

Yeah I actually should check more of his stuff out. I liked Antichrist but REALLY REALLY liked Melancholia.

Thanks for the recommendations guys, its great! Keep em coming!

ShockingMind · Jul 17, 2013

I'd also add Festen and Mifunes Last Song, Dogme films and absolute stunners, in totally different ways... Maybe not so much a slow burn with a huge payoff like some of the films listed but have that "european pace" that I think you're after.

Also the Sympathy for Mr/Lady Vengeance films by Chan Park Wook (?) very very good... I think Lady V is better than Oldboy!!

Time Of The Wolf is a weird one...

I sort of missed a lot of it because I was so shocked at what happened in the first 10mins

Side Effects was really good. But I wouldn't say it was slow. Very good thriller though...even with Jude Law in it!!!

MiniJamesW · Jul 17, 2013

I've got Satantango but I dont have the courage to watch it! ALso got his Turin Horse, looks interesting.

Any more of his you could recommend that would fit the bill?

Well Werckmeister Harmonies and Satantango are considered his best works. Satantango is quite lengthy though so I don't recommend you start with it (although if you get the chance watch a screening at a theater, it really is the best way to watch it.) So I would recommend a two DVD set that has Damnation (one of his early films, great stuff) and Werckmeister Harmonies. I haven't seen The Man From London but I'm sure it's also a good movie. If you want there is also a collection that includes all three of these films (Werckmeister, The Man From London, and Damnation).

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 17, 2013

Turin House is an amazing film. Love the cinematography!

David.rhsc · Jul 19, 2013

gibbo said:
Great. I will check him out. PTU looks great.

Awesome. More people should check out his films. His DP, Siu-keung Cheng, is one of the great unsung heros of the craft.

gibbo said:
Yeah I actually should check more of his stuff out. I liked Antichrist but REALLY REALLY liked Melancholia.

Thanks for the recommendations guys, its great! Keep em coming!

Hmm. I should perhaps watch some of his later work. His early stuff where he was too full of his "dogma95" nonsense was not my cup of tea at the time. I wonder if I would like those films more now that I am also not so full of my own dogma. :lol:

gibbo · Jul 20, 2013

I watched Only God Forgives last night. I thought it was REALLY good... The pacing on it was perfect IMO< not too slow and not too brisk. The mood and atmosphere were also close to perfect. And the cinematography - wow!

ShockingMind said:
Hotel by Jessica Hausner, pitched as Haneke meets Lynch...I enjoyed that
one.

I watched Hotel the other night... I liked it! Again, pacing was spot on, mood and atmosphere, little dialogue - all exactly what I've been looking for! Thank you!

ShockingMind said:
I'd also add Festen and Mifunes Last Song, Dogme films and absolute stunners, in totally different ways... Maybe not so much a slow burn with a huge payoff like some of the films listed but have that "european pace" that I think you're after.

Also the Sympathy for Mr/Lady Vengeance films by Chan Park Wook (?) very very good... I think Lady V is better than Oldboy!!

Time Of The Wolf is a weird one...

I sort of missed a lot of it because I was so shocked at what happened in the first 10mins

Festen I loved! I have the other 5 original/frst Dogme films all loaded up and ready to go! "European pace" is a great way to put it.

I saw the Vengeance Trilogy, I couldn't get into Lady Vengeance, I preferred Old BOy and Mt Vengeance. I think I should watch them again now that I appreciate pace more. (Also, special mention to another great Korean flick - I saw the devil)

I will probably re-watch Time of the Wolf, I just couldn't get into it, and I dont remember anything specific about what you mentioned!

MiniJamesW said:
Well Werckmeister Harmonies and Satantango are considered his best works. Satantango is quite lengthy though so I don't recommend you start with it (although if you get the chance watch a screening at a theater, it really is the best way to watch it.) So I would recommend a two DVD set that has Damnation (one of his early films, great stuff) and Werckmeister Harmonies. I haven't seen The Man From London but I'm sure it's also a good movie. If you want there is also a collection that includes all three of these films (Werckmeister, The Man From London, and Damnation).

Excellent. Thank you!

David.rhsc said:
Awesome. More people should check out his films. His DP, Siu-keung Cheng, is one of the great unsung heros of the craft.

Hmm. I should perhaps watch some of his later work. His early stuff where he was too full of his "dogma95" nonsense was not my cup of tea at the time. I wonder if I would like those films more now that I am also not so full of my own dogma.

Ive seen a lot of people call his work pretentious etc, I just really appreciate the pacing and the ambiguity of it all - when something "ambiguous" happens, its there for a reason and its up to us to figure it out, if we want to!

ChimpPhobiaFilms · Jul 20, 2013

Broken Flowers.

ShockingMind · Jul 22, 2013

David.rhsc said:
His early stuff where he was too full of his "dogma95" nonsense was not my cup of tea at the time. I wonder if I would like those films more now that I am also not so full of my own dogma.

Von Trier only made one dogme film... The Idiots...

I love the range of visual styles he has in his early work... really shows a guy finding his range... Some beautiful collabs with Dod Mantle as well!