Foreign Languages on Labor Day Weekend. 2046(2005) and The Devil's Backbone(2001)

2046: After viewing the flawed but solid "My Blueberry Nights", I wanted to see what director Wong Kar Wai was like when he brings his A-game (ie: when he writes and directs in his own language). 2046 easily restored my faith in this world renowned director for a number of reasons. The story, which combines 1960s China with a futuristic story created by the main character, blends together beautifully, as the two sometimes parallel real life. Colors of course are unbelievably stunning, with lush greens and reds making prominent appearences. The cast are all wonderful and though the film moves at an appropriately dream like pace; calm, but never dull. Kar Wai's stunningly romantic film is a beautiful and haunting portrayal of unrequited love (for multiple characters) that deserves to be seen not just by those who need their faith restored in him, but for anyone who loves unique storytelling.

Grade: A

Nominations for 2005: Best Picture(#1 WINNER), Best Director - Wong Kar Wai(#1 WINNER), Best Actor - Tony Leung(#3), Best Supporting Actress - Ziyi Zhang(#2), Best Supporting Actress - Faye Wong(#3), Best Original Screenplay(#1 WINNER), Best Editing(#2), Best Art Direction(#1 WINNER), Best Cinematography(#1 WINNER), Best Costume Design(#2), Best Foreign Language Film(#1WINNER), Best Original Score - Shigeru Umebayashi(#2)
The Devil's Backbone: If you're looking for something a bit more literally 'haunting' look no further than The Devil's Backbone, Guillermo Del Toro's exquisite prelude to his 2006 masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth. Though there are some similarities between the two, they vary wildly enough (Pan's is much more of a fantasy; this is a ghost story) so that they don't seem recycled. Del Toro, like Mr. Kar Wai, really knows how to pack a punch when he works with dramas in his native tongue. Though the first half or so feels a little too much like the Del Toro-produced "The Orphanage" (2007), a solid effort that never amounted to true intensity and/or scares, the second half of Backbone reaches the same emotional and physical intensity and devastation that made Pan's so brilliant. Let's hope that Mr. Del Toro's adaptation of The Hobbit is more like this, than like either Hellboy movie.

Grade: A

Nominations for 2001: Best Picture(#3), Best Director - Guillermo Del Toro(#3), Best Actor - Fernando Tielve(#4), Best Actor - Inigo Garces(#5), Best Supporting Actor - Eduardo Noriega(#4), Best Original Screenplay(#1 WINNER), Best Editing(#2), Best Art Direction(#5), Best Cinematography(#3), Best Foreign Language Film(#1 WINNER), Best Original Score - Javier Navarrate(#5)