FOREIGN CINEMA: “Exterritorial” / “Hannah.” / “The Other End.” / “La Sirga.” / “Lila Says.”

“Exterritorial” (2025, Netflix) German action thriller about a former special forces soldier with PTSD who is determined to find her young son after he mysteriously disappears inside the US Consulate in Germany. 

       The film reached #1 on the Netflix charts in 79 countries in May last year (2025), the most successful German film on Netflix ever.

       On the subject of PTSD as navigated via Jeanne Goursaud's inspired take as ex-special forces soldier Sara Wulf, this thriller works as a psychological treatise. I first saw Ms Gousaud in another popular Netflix series “Barbarians,” the reason why I clicked “Exterritorial.” She is a fine actress. 

    Anyhow, beyond Sara's compelling character study, the ensuing action sequences and overall drama seemed contrived and robotic, almost like a Hong Kong martial arts fare in some. I don't mean to imply that that sucks, it isn't. 

       The script per se by writer/director Christian Zubert is formulaic but the sort of formula that viewers who prefer non-complexity in their “thrillers” prefer. Unarguably, “Exterritorial” is entertaining.

       Meanwhile, Robert Daniels, writing for New York Times, took note of the “oppressively white and bright setting” as though it's a bad thing. Hey, I wasn't “oppressed” by the lighting; I guess Mr Daniels belongs to those psychosomatics who rationalize the dim lighting in many shows as due to the film's “dim emotional tone,” uh huh? Punish themselves? Never mind that we don't know what's going on since the TV screen is all dark? Oh well.

       Just saying. 🎥💻📽

“Hannah” (2017, Tubi) Italian drama with mostly French language or dialogue. Stars the great Charlotte Rampling in the title role.

       A woman named Hannah is adrift after her husband is imprisoned, and she is forced to confront the consequences of a past crime. The plot is a slow-paced character study focusing on her attempts to navigate a life now defined by isolation, with her family cutting ties and her former life in shambles. 

       Seems a lot but there's no “a lot” in this film. It's all minimalist snooze (if there's such a thing).

       A.I. critic's take: “Much of the film shows Hannah performing mundane, daily tasks and trying to find meaning, with the story unfolding through her actions rather than explicit exposition.” Okay.

       Charlotte Rampling won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for this movie. Yes. Yet I don't think she actually “acted” here. Unlike other critics (including A.I., of course) who saw the “art” in this exercise of bloated boredom, I don't. I don't overread beyond what hit me. This movie is all Ms Rampling's face: Sad, stoic, dull, unfeeling. That's all. 🎥💻📽

“The Other End” (2016, Tubi) Portuguese drama film about a 43-year-old divorcee who begins a relationship with a 17-year-old boy. This little movie started quite intriguingly and eerily exciting, enough to pay attention to what'd happen next. A tired and drained subject for an erotic cinema or dramatic feature but let's see.

       Sadly, writer/director Felipe Sholl failed to follow through. The opening hook simply got lost to cliches. Leads Karine Teles and Tom Karabachian lacked sexual allure as individuals or as partners. 🎥💻📽

“La Sirga” (2012, Tubi) Colombian drama about the fear that hangs like a dark cloud over a young female refugee who seeks a new life in the High Andes with her uncle. 

       Although the ending is either ambiguous or open-ended, this little movie by writer/director William Vega is neatly-done. 

       The morose set exude isolation and entrapment; and the characters, ensnared by the futility of their existence, are doomed with embracing their fate. Yet with Alicia (Joghis Seudin Arias, quietly involved) leaving her uncle's house, we hope yet in an uncertain destination. 🎥💻📽

“Lila Says” (2004, Plex) French drama. Chimo, age 19, lives with his mother. Rather than taking advantage of a Paris writing school scholarship, the unemployed aspiring writer kills time with his friend Mouloud on the streets of Marseilles. The plot is based on the novel of the same title written by "Chimo" (a pseudonym).

       The eroticism here is subtle. We don't see a lot of nakedness and copulation. But the earth-bound tenderness and unabashed intimacy are felt sans graphic visuals. Credit to Vahina Giocante as Lila, we are in front of a flower-bud innocence despite her sexual blatantness. And of course the nuanced direction of Ziad Doueiri, a debut work, is remarkable. 🎥💻📽