The First

So this is the first column I am to write under the topics of independent and foreign motion picture films. I have always been an aficionado of films throughout my youth and early-adulthood; however, I have mostly seen mainstream films and a wide range of the immortal classics that were produced way before I was born.

I haven’t until recently (last year) got into the genres of foreign and independent films so bare with my elementary knowledge of these topics through the first couple of blogs.

I am pretty adamant of writing about movies and came to the conclusion that writing about independent and foreign films would be better for me anyways . . . because these are the types of films that breed creativity and are not impeded by the sense of urgency to make a profit over quality.

For this reason they are pure, unfiltered and relevant, and usually are trying to make a political or social-economic point, with a rare chance of gratification and acceptance by the masses for their excellance.

Those exceptions that have managed to bridge the gap from small, isolated pet-project to mainstream acclaim and reverence have been steadily increasing throughout the past decade, with recent foreign films such as “The lives of Others” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” making domestic box office splashes, as well as the all time most profitable film for its total cost, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

Be it censorship, fascism or family customs, each one of these films as well as a long list of others in these topics have a meaning of relevance that cannot be captured in a CGI sequence, palpable explosives, or big-breasted woman.

Yet without these gimmicks that are used to entice a fickle-minded crowd, the influences of foreign and independent films are making a place for themselves amongst the American culture. They continue to present meaning and art in the form of a moving motion picture, but now it seems that the narratives of these films are evolving more to fit the American appetite, and in some cases portraying a well told story better and at a fraction of the price than those that are Hollywood produced – a cachet that may be a recurring theme.