Three Recent, Fabulous Foreign Films with Supernatural Themes

Supernatural themed films are a dime a dozen certainly, and in perusing the aisles of Blockbuster, or the pages of Netflix, you get the feeling that a dime may have actually been the production budget for many of them. It's so disappointing to rent something in which the description seems promising, only to find it's a mindless, straight-to-DVD, formulaic piece of garbage, or worse, a bloody slasher movie.

I watch a lot of movies, and the supernatural thriller is one of my favorite genres. But-it has to be smart and well written. I also love foreign films, and I'm particularly pleased when I find a great one reminiscent of a great Twilight Zone-y theme. I've recently seen three fairly current foreign films with great supernatural themes that are sure to please the most discriminating viewer.

La Moustache (2005) is a French Kafakaesque, (yes the term is overused, but I guarantee it is appropriate here) psychological mystery, with a large and welcome dark comedy overtone, by director/writer Emmanuel Carrère, who also directed the lovely and more widely distributed film Cache. La Moustache explores the essence and artifices of identity and relationships through seemingly mundane and follisome events, which shift into disturbing questions and existential paranoia. There's something primal about the fear expressed within this film-the fear that the sane world revolving around you is changing drastically or even disappearing. Remember that Star Trek TNG episode in which the Universe literally begins to enclose around Dr. Crusher, and she finds herself destined to be utterly alone? La Moustache is like that, only it's not physical isolation.