It’s not just the stories, the settings, or the characters the whole experience just feels different. We don’t call imported food “foreign” food, so maybe we should be using a better label like “international” films instead? What I like about international films is the cultural insight gained through watching these movies. In fact, the label “foreign films” may explain our prejudice. There hasn’t been any major foreign language hits here since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) which still holds the title of top grossing non-English language film of all time. Despite recent streaming hits like Squid Game, Roma, and Parasite, it seems Americans are allergic to subtitles. Foreign films don’t do well at the box office here, and as a result, many foreign films never find an American distributor - and those that do often go directly to video. The rest of the world may love American movies, but unfortunately we don’t return the love. Except that musical sequence that comes out of nowhere - you just know that it’s coming. Filled with fantasy sequences, visionary imagery, strange camera angles, quirky editing and odd use of colored gels, one never knows what to expect next. Swinging wildly between surrealism and magic realism, this whimsical film is unpredictable in the best way. Into this spiritually deprived desert environment walks a German tourist, and her presence becomes a catalyst for change. The characters all seem familiar there’s the frustrated mother, the fledgling musician, the slutty teen, the visionary painter, the moody tattoo artist, and the men who like to leave their wives. Instead, you’ll see a cast of colorful characters in a collage of scenes set in a funky roadside diner that feels like a microcosm of our country. Sorry, foodies, the closest you’ll get to see anything edible in this movie is dirty dishes being cleared from tables. With a title like Bagdad Cafe, one would expect the movie to show some yummy dishes or at least some scenes of people eating. Like Wim Wender’s Paris, Texas, Bagdad Cafe looks at America through the eyes of foreigners and what we see reflected back is very odd indeed. Although Percy Adlon’s Bagdad Cafe is set in the U.S., this 1987 cult classic is really an English-language film produced by Germans, directed by a German, and stars a very popular German actress ( Marianne Sägebrecht). That’s Bagdad (as in California) not Baghdad (as in Iraq). Let me share a tale of two cafes: one in Urbana and one in Bagdad.
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