Favorite European Film

Terry kathryn, A few movies come to mind. > Chocolat > Midnight in Paris > Under the Tuscan Sun > Tea With Mussolini > A Month By The Lake > Ciao Professore > Life is Beautiful > Maléna There are a few others I can think of, but they probably wouldn't be suitable for a female audience. If I think of any more, I'll post another reply.

Il Postino is one of my favorites.

Two of my favorite films are "The Lives of Others" and "Goodbye Lenin", both in German -- a language I don't speak! But for a pre-travel film fest I'd go with something lighter and fun, something that celebrates Europe. I'll recommend "L' Auberge Espagnole" (in various languages).

Forgot about this one, which may go ever well with a predominantly female group. De Tweeling (The Twins): Twin sisters are orphaned at a young age, one gets adopted by a rich Dutch family, the other by a poor German one. The movie begins in the 1930s, so you can probably guess what happens next...

To give you a recent one: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Sweden) is a superior mystery/thriller, very well-acted and with beautiful Scandinavian exteriors.

A couple people have mentioned "The Lives of Others," which was amazing. The ending ... oh! I also like: Hope & Glory - England Au Revoir, Les Enfants - France
Cinema Paradiso - Italy

Others have mentioned several movies I've enjoyed, and I'll add two more I loved that are both about events/people from former Yugoslavia: The Hunting Party (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455782/) No Man's Land (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283509/)

National Lampoon's European Vacation Seriously, toss it in for comic relief in between all the serious ones.

Feragusto (Mid-August Lunch) - Italian. Light and Fun. Make sure you have some white wine around because you will crave it after watching countless glasses being poured.

Okay, I'm not sure if--as a guy--I should admit this, but I love "Under the Tuscan Sun." Depending on your travels, I also have some favorites based in the UK: ==The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain ==Saving Grace =="Any" Harry Potter Movie, of course! French: ==Amelie German: One I love that only starts in Europe, but mostly takes place in Japan---with spoken dialog in German, English, AND Japanese:
==Enlightenment Guaranteed

Some are serious...some are fun: The White Ribbon: German A Woman in Berlin: German The Lives of Others: German Winter in Wartime: Netherlands Amélie: French Micmacs: French Paris, Je t'aime: French Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky: French Coco Before Chanel: French Valentino: The Last Emporer: U.S. Goya's Ghosts: Spain/U.S. Letters to Juliet: US Midnight in Paris: U.S. You'll need to go to the theater. The Full Monty: UK Death at a Funeral: UK Made in Dagenham: UK The King's Speech: UK
Waking Ned Devine: UK Tron Legacy: U.S. (just kidding...seeing if you're still paying attention)

National Lampoon's European Vacation
Euro Trip

I'm not sure how many of these are available in the US, but here's some recent titles I have enjoyed. Nordwand (North Face): German movie about an early attempt to climb the north face of the Eiger in the Berner Oberland. Der Tunnel: Also German, concerning an attempt to escape from East Berlin by digging under the wall. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others): About the Stasi spying on East German citizens and ruining their lives. Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex: Story of the infamous left-wing West terrorist cell in the late 1960s and 1970s West Germany. De Zaak Alzheimer (The Alzheimer Case, but I think it was released as "The Mind of Killer" in the US): Flemish-Belgian, about an aging hired assassin in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease on the hunt for a ring of child molesters, and the Antwerp police department trying to catch him. Loft: Also from Belgium, a who-dunnit, in which a group of married men find a dead body in their shared Antwerp "love nest"... Belgium seems to specialize in these sort of dark crime dramas. Alles is Liefde (Everything is Love): Ensemble romantic comedy in Amsterdam around Christmas time. Johan: A Dutch teenager born into a large soccer family who wants to be a singer. 06/05: Fictionalized account of the assassination of controversial Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. Directed by Theo Van Gogh, a distant relative of Vincent Van Gogh, who himself was brutally assassinated by a Moslem radical a few years later. And I forget the name of it, but anyone know what this Italian movie was called? It was about a small town girl who's ambitious dad moves the family to Rome. The girl bounces between the ultra-left and ultra-right cliques in her school and her dad tries in vain to rub elbows with influential people? Anyone?

Room With A View and I also loved Mid-August Lunch!

Also, any of the films based on Jane Austen novels: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility. Then, there's the 2011 version of Jayne Eyre...excellent. How about The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins...another excellent film?

Off the top of my head: "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain." A sweet, romantic love letter to Wales, featuring a gorgeous and delightfully dithery Hugh Grant. "My Life As A Dog." Endearing, heartwarming, heart-BREAKING story of a little Danish boy and his family. One of my fave films of all times. "Wings of Desire." The gorgeous Bruno Ganz as an angel, in Berlin. Featuring Peter Falk. Amazing film. Amazing. "Alice in the Cities." A German journalist and a little girl who becomes his charge take a journey together. Directed by Wim Wenders way back in 1974, and still fantastic. "Cria Cuervos." About twins in Madrid being raised by their aunt. With Geraldine Chaplin as their mother. Excellent and creepy! "The Last Metro." Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve star in this CLASSIC about a Parisian theatre company during the Nazi occupation. Depardieu is so sexy he will knock you off your feet. Seriously. "Mon Oncle." Hilarious classic by Jacques Tati, about post-war France, modernism and consumerism. A joy to look at - fantastic production design. No subtitles, because you're really not intended to get all of the dialogue. "A Room With a View." Voluptuously romantic, featuring a dewy Helena Bonham-Carter and Julien Sands before he went all weird and icky. Delightful contrast of straight--laced English folk and the drowsy, dreamy Italian lifestyle. REALLY made me want to get on the next plane - for both England and Italy.

The late Louis Malle's "Au Revoir Les Enfants." French, with subtitles. Excellent acting by the (mainly) child/teen actors and gripping story. But, WARNING-you & your friends be bawling at the end...and then may still be bawling days later! I'm not one who cries often, and rarely do I cry over a movie....but I'm man enough to admit that, wow, did I ever at the end of THIS one! Def one of the highlight's of Malle's long and distingushed career.

Definitely "A Room With A View".

Oh this is great fun and I see a few of my favorites are already listed. Some older, some newer. Tom Jones Lives of Others Bicycle Thief The Third Man About A Boy Obscure Object of Desire Local Hero Secret of Ronan Innish La Vie En Rose Il Postino Divorce Italian Style Swimming Pool Love Actually Cinema Paradiso Wings of Desire Secrets & Lies Jean de Florette Comfort and Joy The Dresser Belle de Jour Howard's End The Red Balloon Notes on A Scandal The Commitments The Lady Killers Match Point
Z

Oh- and "Tell No One," from, oh, around 7-8ish yrs ago. French, with subtitles (and SOME english, if I recall). A GREAT thriller, very much in the style of a Hitchcock film. British actress Kristin Scott Thomas has minor role in it (she's bilingual in real life; and it shows in this film; her French is flawless). But pay attention (!) espesially at the end. I recall it getting GREAT reviews in both The NY Times and The Wall Street Journal...and the reviews were spot-on. This thriller's a gem.

This is a French film that, I believe, wasn't mentioned (great list, gotta get some of the ones I missed!) "The Closet" - very funny.

@ Claudia-- "Swimming Pool" - that's a GREAT one! Good suggestion. Terry-- it takes place in France, but is mainly in Engish. VERY good thriller/mystery....but as with "Tell No One," it's one you have to pay very close attention to. Ending is sort of tricky...but well worth it!

Separate Lies-(2005) Scenery around London and the English countryside. Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett. An investigation into a murder reveals lots of secrets in the lives of a married couple.

Wow - Great suggestions! Most of my favorites are already listed, but here are few more to add to the list... Bread and Tulips Les Choristes Apres Vous The Dinner Game Volver Vicky Christina Barcelona
The Last Time I Saw Paris French Kiss (okay, I'll admit I love this stupid movie) Also a suggestion, from Claudia's list above, Jean de Florette is a GREAT movie but really should be followed by Manon of the Spring, otherwise it's only half the story...

Thank you all so much.... this is fantastic! I always have a list of movies I am waiting to see that friends and I put together, but there is such a wealth of info from this site with diverse taste and so much knowledge. I have seen a number of these, but there are so many new ones. I am going to be with my friends on the coast of Oregon at one of the women's homes in Sept., but I am going to start on this list immediately. I am trying to wean myself off political tv and this is the perfect distraction! And yes, we will have plenty of wine to go along with the movies. It is a bittersweet get-together as one of the women is sick, so sharing wonderful movies and great memories together is what we plan on doing. Thank you. We have had many trips together to Europe so it will be a great time.

My favorite most recent movies are 'Un Prophete' (french) and 'The Damn United (british). Both fabulous movies. Worst piece of crap I have spent $7 on this year, 'I Am Love' (italian). If you took all the film school cliches and ram all the social cliches into it, you would still come in second place to this POS. That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

One not mentioned that I enjoyed: "My Life in Ruins"

"Bread and Tulips." Venice is the main setting. It has scenery, romance, suspense, humor, etc. I think it is an Italian film with English subtitles. Great for a group of women. For Rome, it's "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn. "Tea with Mussolini." I think in San Gimignano, It.

Terry, It IS a classic, a must see - "The Bicycle Thief." No happy ending....

Bourne Supremacy Berlin Rob Roy, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Dear Frankie, Highlander, Braveheart, Venus Peter all in Scotland. Lion in Winter, France Sound of Music Salzburg Z Greece Pam

How about a little love for "Local Hero." It gets 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some others: - The Playboys (set in Ireland) - Waking Ned Devine (Ireland too, Michael said UK above, I started getting a facial tick, but maybe he meant a UK film company)
- In Bruges (I won't say where it is set)

Il Postino. (The Postman). This is not the American movie "The Postman" that Kevin Costner was in. I think the Italian movie Il Postino was not perceived as being a great movie, but I like it. It moves at a steady slow pace. No loud noise in it. I don't remember hearing any music in it. It does not have any disturbing scene until the last three minutes. I recommend - do not see the last three minutes of this movie. This is an Italian language movie, with English language subtitles. It is a quiet movie that I enjoyed viewing from a DVD at home.

Great lists. There are bunches of movies from the U.K. that my wife and I watched back in the early VHS days, but I'm going to have to think about it at bit to come up with the list. I didn't see it yet, so how about Babette's Feast?

OMG yes! "Local Hero!" Didn't really think of it as "European" and that was SOOOO wrong. "Local Hero" is one of my all time favorite films. Peter Reigert and Peter Capaldi delight. Burt Lancaster is amazing. The score, by Dire Straits, is so touching and superb. "That Sinking Feeling" and "Gregory's Girl" are also winners by the same deilghtful director, Bill Forsyth.

Have to say, "Good-bye Lenin" is one of my faves, if you want to get a really good insight into Germany. Plus it is funny. What about "Kick it like Beckham", to get that UK feel? The Da Vinci Code certainly will cover a few areas for you too.

Oh goodness, people have already posted so many wonderful films! But here are a few more that haven't been suggested yet. Calendar Girls, based on a true story (set in small town England) and Educating Rita (set in Dublin, mainly at Trinity College) are funny and uplifting, both have excellent casts. Tatie Danielle is a very funny and sometimes poignant French film about a truly awful old lady and the young woman who is hired to care for her. Before Sunrise (set in Vienna) and its follow-up, not really a sequel, Before Sunset (set in Paris) are indie American films. Low key, but vey romantic. For something a little grittier and challenging, but also funny in their way: Kontroll, set entirely underground in the Budapest subway, but not the nicer stations, is a sort of psychological thriller. The German film Edukators is part romance, part political/ social commentary. There are some beautiful scenes set in the countryside.

Teresa, you just beat me to it... "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium."

" ...That Sinking Feeling" and "Gregory's Girl" are also winners by the same deilghtful director, Bill Forsyth.. Speaking of Mr Forsyth, how can you not mention his most brilliant film: Comfort & Joy?!? It's even on Quentin Tarantino top 25 list. BTW, That Sinking Feeling, is now available in the US via Netflix streaming. Also available is the forgettable sequel Gregory's Two Girls.

I agree with many mentioned, especially "European Vacation." Anytime I get stuck somewhere, I can't help but quote "Big Ben, Parliament". Ah... But, one I haven't seen mentioned yet is: 'To Catch A Thief' A true classic: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly roaming around the French Riviera! Romance, mystery, and great scenery. Enjoy!

Has anybody mentioned "Shirley Valentine" with Pauline Collins? Starts in the UK ends in Greece - really fun! and "Mrs. Henderson Presents" or anything else with Judi Dench....

I didn't see Roman Holiday in the lists! It's one of my favorites. also Light in the Piazza, The Good Year and Two for the Road.

And Charade.

"The Lives of Others" and "Goodbye Lenin!", absolutely. I saw a wonderful Icelandic movie last year called "Country Wedding", about a bride and groom and their crazy families on tour buses trying to find this tiny church in the middle of nowhere in Iceland where they're going to get married. Hilarious and has gorgeous views of Iceland. I also liked "An Education" (2009), set in London in the 1960s, about a bright high school girl who falls in love with a shady, charismatic older guy.

I completely forgot about 'An Education'. I loved the scenes from Paris so much that when my sister and I left the theater we said at the same time: "Let's go to Paris!". No lie, that afternoon we planned a trip and took our mom this past October/November.

"Goodbye, Lenin" was hilarious! And how could I forget (as others have now mentioned) "Gregory's Girl," "Local Hero" and "Roman Holiday"? Definite must-sees. Along the lines of "European Vacation" (completely silly; always makes me happy), "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium."

I just thought of another that I saw recently - Kinky Boots - takes place in London and Northamptonshire - fun/feel good movie!

Hey, how about some great post war Italian films! "Two Women" and "Umberto D" by Vittorio De Sica are a couple of my favorites along with "The Bicycle Thief".

For great scenes of Venice, "The Tourist." Movie is so-so, but great scenery.

Ireland: Once, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, The Magdalene Sisters, Perrier's Bounty England: Withnail and I, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Notting Hill (American - but good shots of London). A Little Romance (Diane Lane's 1st film - also stars Laurence Olivier) - Paris, Venice and Verona Summertime (American - but good oldie with Katharine Hepburn in Venice) France: Breathless (1960), Two Days in Paris, Mesrine Killer Instinct, Potiche, Ma Vie En Rose (not to be confused with La Vie En Rose - which is also a good film about the life of Edith Piaf), I've Loved You So Long. Sweden: All 3 of the Millenium Series (Girl w/ Dragon Tattoo, etc.) with Noomi Rapace in the starring role (no way is the American version going to equal the originals). Czech Republic: Anything directed by Jan Svankmajer - although I liked both Little Otik and Alice. Germany: Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum) Spain (Barcelona): Biutiful

Some mentioned "The Commitments". If you haven't seen it, see if you can find a copy of the "The Snapper", which was the second film in the so-called "Barrytown Trilogy" (the third, "The Van", wasn't that good). Best movie about pregnancy ever!

I just thought of another Irish film that I love, Waking Ned Devine. Also, what about The Secret of Roan Inish? And for Scotland, Whisky Galore. Pam

A couple people have recommended the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movies. They are very good, but they may not be right for a light film fest. Very sexually violent.

I host German movie nights in my house about once a month. However, a lot of the movies mentioned in this discussion would not make it to my list. They are great but way too serious to enjoy in a group setting where some women want to get together to enjoy some wine and fun. Our group saw "The Lives of Others" in the theatre and we were all in tears in the theatre AND coming out AND every time we tried talking about it ... Here are our favourites, all with a great sense of humour: * Soul Kitchen by director Fatih Akin, set in Hamburg * In July by director Fatih Akin, his first big success, starts in Hamburg and then ends up being a road trip through Europe ending in Istanbul * Run Lola Run by director Tom Twyker, set in Berlin * Good Bye Lenin! set in Berlin in 1989/1990 great ones that are a bit more difficult to find or only available in Region 2 code: * Solino by director Fatih Akin, set mostly in Italy * Peas at 5.30 (Erbsen auf halb sechs) a blind couple journeys through Europe, not well known but a gem! * Men
by director Doris Dörrie - the movie that made her famous, VERY funny, especially when a group of women watch it!

I'd also like to second some of the Irish movies mentioned above, especially: * The Secret of Roan Inish
well, it's actually an American indie movie but set on the West coast of Ireland * The Commitments I also loved "The Magdalene Sisters" but that is another sad and serious movie.

Reading Beatrix's list of light German films (kind of sounds like an oxymoron :) reminded me of another light German film that I liked: "Sonnenallee", a comedy about teenagers living in East Berlin. We were unable to find a DVD with the correct region for the U.S. (I forget which number that is) but my roommate's Polaroid DVD player played it, although without subtitles. Luckily I had the right equipment: a good German friend who translated the whole thing for me as we watched it!

Greetings Terry Kathryn, from one Lower Peninsula troll to another ;-). Many of my favorites have already been mentioned. Here are a couple more. Germany- Das Experiment: A thriller set in Berlin I believe. Far Away, So Close. Europa, Europa. Zentropa. Ireland- The Commitments Italy- Johnny Stecchino and The Monster both are comedies starring Roberto Benigni. U.S./Europe: A Night on Earth. Great Britain: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Oh I love "Sonnenallee" !!! and unfortunately another difficult one to find one if you need region 1. My dvd player works for all regions but if yours doesn't you might be able to run a region 2 dvd on your computer. "Light German movie" doesn't have to be an oxymoron but for some reason German comedies seldom make it to the American market. Humour is much harder to translate successfully. I'd also like to second Angela's suggestion for "No Man's Land". It is a somewhat serious movie about the war in former Yugoslavia but it is also a very well done satire and in places very very funny.

Ok, adding to the list of Ireland based films: Barry Lyndon

I watched "Unknown" with Liam Neeson yesterday, it takes place entirely in Berlin.

Thank you everyone... I was out of town for a few days and have now added tons of movies to my 'must see' list. For those of you who want to add to your list a few of my favorites did not make it here... I can recite by heart Enchanted April and it takes my breath away every time I see the shutters open (probably because I had the same experience of arriving very late to a hotel on the Sea and not viewing it till morning when I opened the shutters) Kind of along the same idea as Under the Tuscan Sun....not deep, but totally enjoyable and lots of beautiful scenery.
Also two other great films... Kolya a Czech film and another wonderful Iranian film (I know not European but wanted to share) is Children of Heaven.

Il ne dis a personne ( tell no one)
Brilliant contemporary French thriller - very exciting and good story

Hey T.K. I watch "Mostly Marta" as a fall back movie, plus love to watch "Bread for Tulips" for the Venice scenes. And Tom, I also love to watch the Stieg (Stig) Larsson's films, "Män som hatar kvinnor" (The Man Who Hated Women.) Released in the U.S as "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" "Flickan som lekte med elden" (The Girl Who Played With Fire), and the best, the finale, Luftslottet som sprängdes, ("The Air Castle that Blew Up") , released in America as "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". There were 7 more books to be released, but Stieg died after climbing stairs up to his office when the lift was broken.
Lisbeth and Blomkvist rock!

Just noticed Lawrence from ny also mentioned tell no one ... :0)

"84 Charing Cross Road", true story about a NYC women who has a 30 year relationship with used bookstore at the above address in London, was a book and then movie staring Anne Bancroft, delightful, sadly I think the bookstore is now I think a pizza shop, or it was something similar when I went looking for it.

What a great topic! How about: "Until September" (romance - France) "The Pink Panther" (comedy - France) "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (musical/drama - France)
"The Third Man" (mystery - Vienna)

Guess only Crash, Tom from Chicago, and myself each gave 2 Thumbs Up for The Millennium Trilogy movies from Sweden. I see someone else pointed out "sexual violence" and felt it was too disturbing. For sure these ain't happy romantic comedy/chick flicks, but they are all fantastic films based on equally great and hugely popular novels - so popular that Hollywood had to jump on the bandwagon and remake the films in English for those too lazy to read subtitles. And Lisbeth (The Girl) does rock and it's refreshing to see a strong female heroine. To each his own...I enjoy light romantic comedies and Merchant-Ivory period dramas too, but 5 straight days of it and I'd feel like I was on an estrogen overdose. But to add some more to the estrogen side, "The Matchmaker", "Leap Year" and "PS, I Love You" all definitely breezy chick fare with lovely European landscapes. Also, "Atonement" (get out the tissues!), "Becoming Jane", "Little Dorrit", "Sense & Sensibility" "The Young Victoria", "The Queen", "Miss Potter", and the brand new 2011 version of "Upstairs/Downstairs".

How could I have forgotten two of my favorites?! Everything is Illuminated, set in Ukraine, is an American indie film based on the novel of the same name about a slightly neurotic young man in search of the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. It's definitley a "dramedy": quirkily funny (love the dog, Sammie Davis Jr. Jr.), but also sad and ultimately tragic. Great soundtrack which combines Klezmer/polka/folk/gypsy and a bit of punk (think Eastern European "Pogues") with an unexpected dash of salsa. Truly, Madly, Deeply is a weepy romantic comedy. I don't usually go for romantic comedies, but this is really good. And though sad at times, is has a positive/happy ending, but not in an icky-sweet, saccharin way. Has some nice scenes of London.

I'm surprised the names of Bergman, Fellini, Godart or Truffaut haven't been mentioned. If you want one example of post-war European intellectual film at it's finest, I would recommend Ingmar Bergman's "Winter Light". It's relatively short and low key, but in my opinion, it is the single best movie ever on the subject of religion and belief.

"Taffin" Ireland-beautiful scenery but bad movie-Pierce Brosnan
"A Good Year"-Russell Crowe, Provence- One of my favorites

@Tom: I already did my part and mentioned Breathless (1960-Godard version) in my 1st post). I leave the other shout outs for the older Helpline contributors since I was not even born yet when many of their masterpieces hit the screen for the first time. @TerryKathryn: "Camille Claudel" with Gerard Depardieu as Auguste Rodin & Isabelle Adjani was another I forgot to list.

Ceidleh, the Millenium trilogy most certainly deserves 2 thumbs up, especially considering how Noomi Rapace carried it all the way through. The Swedish landscape is actually quite nice and enticing. I would still recommend it even though I think it was a big mistake to change Mikael's character from the book (I can live with all other changes as changes are always necessary when doing a film, but Mikael not being the womanizer that he's in the book also changes the way Lisbet is seen which is totally unfair to her). And I actually like the way the extreme violence was portrayed on screen, very well done so not that much is actually shown but mostly imagined by the viewer. BUT these are simply not the kind of movies I'd recommend to watch when there's a happy reunion of a group of people happening. btdt it can easily crash the mood of the party. BTW all the films I recommended above are lighter entertainment AND really good, but none would be considered a typical "chickflick".

My favorite film is an Italian award winner, very amusing for women as the female protagonist is a put-upon housewife. Bread and Tulips. Subtitled-available on netflicks. You will love it.

Bourne trilogy Who Dares Wins Wild Geese II How Green Was My Valley (a classic Welsh tear-jerker) For a few yuks: National Lampoon's European Vacation (of course!) Spies Like Us Top Secret American Werewolf in London (stay off the moors!) A few WWII flicks now and again: Guns of Navarone Kelly's Heroes Where Eagles Dare
Valkyrie

Many of my favorites have been named. Such a great list! I like some of the films by Lina Wertmüller. "The Seduction of Mimi", Set in both Sicily and mainland Italy, starring Giancarlo Giannini. Not in the category of greatest movie ever, but I've watched it for the scenery. "Educating Rita" with Michael Caine. The setting is supposed to be Liverpool, but it is not. It was shot in and around Dublin.Trinity College, Dublin is used as the setting for the university, and many Dublin pubs used also. "Ryan's Daughter"(1970) directed by the great director Sir David Lean (He also directed Lawrence of Arabia and, Doctor Zhivago.) Filmed near Slea Head, on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. A married Irish woman who has an affair with a British officer during World War I. Lots of passion and romance, and windswept scenery of Ireland, beaches, old stone farmhouses. Chick flick by one of the greatest directors. Also by David Lean, "Summertime" (1955) Shot entirely on location in Venice. Starring Katharine Hepburn as a middle-aged American woman who has a romance while on holiday in Venice. (Notice how many times this theme comes up in movies: "American Woman Finds Romance In Italy")

I love Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

How could I forget "The Third Man" in my earlier posts?! Fantastic, atmospheric Orson Wells film from the 40s set in post war Vienna. And Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief; French Riviera is practically a chatacter in the film. It's usage as a setting is memorable, to say the least. This has been a great string; but, Terry, you prob received more film suggestions than you expected! Not surprsing that the RS community knows their films, too. Great question you asked there; people really seemed to enjoy chiming in on this one!

@Lawrence ...definitely, but it is such fun and a great way to not watch the lame shows on TV. I keep thinking I will print this out and then there are more posts added. I truly thank everyone for all of their knowledge shared here and I cannot wait to start on my goal of watching them all! Love The Third Man and someone here recommended it for the soundtrack before I went to Vienna , and it is now one of my favorites and free on youtube.
Such an interesting group and we all share this love of Europe!

I just had to post again, has anyone mentioned these Academy award winning films, Mrs. Miniver, Quiet Man and best of all times Casablanca??

Another vote for: Life is Beautiful, The Lives of Others, and Amelie

Most of my favorites have been already been mentioned. Two films I haven't seen listed are "Trainspotting" and "Angela's Ashes". Both are dark, but they're great regardless. Don't overlook some of the great British TV shows, a lot of which are available on Netflix. Two of my favorite comedy series are "People Like Us" and "The Office".

I noticed the other day that "The Third Man" is being shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) later this week. I've seen it before, but set my DVR to record it. It's been some time since I've seen it, so def time for another viewing, esp now that it's top of mind after this great string of posts (and as I love the city of Vienna). Facsinating to see post-war Vienna as the backdrop of such an interesting and compelling story/plot.

I loved "Italian for Beginners" a charming Danish film Definitely agree on "L Auberge Espagnole" and also "Gadjo Dilo" (same lead actor, he was also the lead in "Moliere" which you may have seen "Mostly Martha" a German film These have all been hits on "movie nights" when I had women friends over... For US made films ABOUT Europe: definitely "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "French Kiss" with Kevin Kline Charming french comedy: "the Valet" and another one with the same actors which was called, I think "The Best Friend"

I'm with Anna. If this is a girl's trip, you gotta see Shirley Valentine, a British movie about two girlfriends who embark on a trip to Greece. A great movie, if the Wall says so.