Travel the World Challenge (Official, December 2019)

[blocho]

Travel the World Challenge



Welcome to the Travel the World Challenge. Formerly known as Conquer the World, it has been renamed because we've had our fill of imperialism as a species, haven't we?

Goal
Watch one movie/short/episode/miniseries from as many different countries/territories as possible.

Nationality -- PLEASE READ THIS SECTION
I want to spend as little time as possible this month writing about matters of territoriality, sovereignty, and federalism. While these issues are very important, I think this challenge is not the ideal place to go back and forth regarding our thoughts on the autonomy of Western Sahara or whether any particular co-production is more French or more British. As such, please use the following rules:
- We will be using imdb as the sole source for determining nationality. This is not a perfect method, but it is relatively simple, and imdb is a fairly comprehensive resource. If you see something that does not have an imdb page, then you choose which country it should count for, but please be reasonable in your determination.
- To determine a movie's nationality, look at its imdb page. You will find a country listing under the section titled "Details." If more than one country is listed there, then you can choose ONE of those countries. For example, the 2000 biopic Lumumba has four countries listed: France, Belgium, Germany, and Haiti. If I saw Lumumba for this challenge, I could post it for any of those four countries. Once you indicate which country a movie counts for, you can't go back and change it later. Again, it's not a perfect method, but it gets the job done.
- Here is a list with every imdb country code. The countries/territories in this list are the only eligible ones for this challenge. As such, the maximum score in this challenge is 246.
- For movies that are listed on imdb as being made in a country that no longer exists, please list the current-day country that is analogous. This should be pretty easy to figure out if you see a West German movie -- obviously, you list it as a German movie. It's a little harder if you see a Soviet or Yugoslav movie. If you do so, please list whichever current-day country you feel it properly belongs to. So, if you see a Soviet movie, you could list it as a Russian or Ukrainian or Uzbek movie. Please be reasonable in these cases. Don't list a movie like Nevestka as a Latvian movie when it's clearly a Turkmen movie.

Rules
- Challenge runs 1 December 2019 - 31 December 2019.
- A feature film (at least 40 minutes) counts as one point.
- A total of 60 minutes of short films that are less than 40 minutes counts as one point.
- A mini-series episode that is at least 40 minutes counts as one point. If less than 40 minutes, then the short films rule applies.
- A total of 60 minutes of TV episodes counts as one point.
- One point per country.

Stats & Formatting
- Title (Country/Territory, Year) is the preferred format. Submissions that do not mention the country/territory will not be counted.
- New posts are preferred over edited posts.
- Since this is a community project, participants are encouraged to post their reactions, thoughts, and ratings. The challenge is more fun and interesting when discussion is ample and it's possible to pick up recommendations.

Lists
Well, every movie, short film, TV show, and miniseries ever made is eligible for this challenge. So, feel free to look at any list. But if you want a purposefully global list, I suppose the following could help:
The 100 Best Films of World Cinema
UNESCO's Memory of the World: National Cinematic Heritage
There's also this submission from Max

Doubles and Triples
Every documentary ever made is a potential double. There is only one triple possible--the Italian documentary of your choice.

Bonus Challenge: Travel the Continents
In addition to tracking the overall leader, I will also be tracking the leader for each continent except Antarctica. Not everyone agrees on the boundaries of continents, so please take note of the following: Central American and Caribbean countries will be counted as part of North America, and the former Soviet republics of the Caucasus will be counted as part of Asia. Transcontinental countries will be counted for only one continent: Russia will be counted as part of Europe, Turkey as part of Asia, and Egypt as part of Africa.

Scoreboard

Rank	Participant	Number of Points	Continental Leader?
1	jeroeno	107	Europe (37), Asia (29), Africa (14), North America (11), South America (10)
2	blueboybob	50	---
3	hurluberlu	44	---
3	sol	44	Africa (14), Oceania (7)
5	coryn	38	---
5	RogerTheMovieManiac88	38	---
7	burneyfan	36	---
8	flavo5000	35	---
9	zzzorf	33	---
9	ororama	33	---
11	Mario Gaborovic	32	---
12	72aicm	29	---
13	shugs	28	---
13	jdidaco	28	---
15	allisoncm	27	---
16	cinephage	25	---
17	Obgeoff	23	---
18	blocho	22	---
19	Cinepolis	21	---
20	maxwelldeux	19	---
20	AB537	19	---
20	Daviddoes	19	---
20	jvv	19	---
24	albajos	17	---
25	sebby	15	---
26	clemmetarey	14	---
26	nimimerkillinen	14	---
28	mochard	13	---
29	weirdboy	12	---
29	Eva_L	12	---
31	India Istanbul	9	---
32	ChrisReynolds	8	---
33	connordenney	7	---
34	tarr	6	---
34	globetrotter	6	---
36	morrison-dylan-fan	4	---
37	vortexsurfer	2	---
37	Knaldskalle	2	---

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

Thanks for hosting, blocho! I very much enjoyed reading your thoughtful introduction.

I like this part a lot and think it is a very wise and fair system to adopt:

- For movies that are listed on imdb as being made in a country that no longer exists, please list the current-day country that is analogous. This should be pretty easy to figure out if you see a West German movie -- obviously, you list it as a German movie. It's a little harder if you see a Soviet or Yugoslav movie. If you do so, please list whichever current-day country you feel it properly belongs to. So, if you see a Soviet movie, you could list it as a Russian or Ukrainian or Uzbek movie. Please be reasonable in these cases. Don't list a movie like Nevestka as a Latvian movie when it's clearly a Turkmen movie.

Looking forward to this challenge!

[Coryn]

I'm in! Actually for more than the docu challenge I'm hosting. Will have to change my watchlist a bit because of the imdb rule but no problem at all.

[jeroeno]

This is my favourite challenge this year so yeah, I'm in.

[zzzorf]

Wanted this challenge in March when I already do it on Letterboxd but I'm still in anyway, been saving up quite a few movies that I have to watch due to personal challenges so I can't wait for december

[maxwelldeux]

In! I'm probably going to see how far I can get by focusing on Documentaries from around the world.

One suggestion for the OP: jvv's list of countries from the unofficial version of this challenge: viewtopic.php?p=611497#p611497

[maxwelldeux]

There's also the World Cup, with a curated list of films from 32 different countries... viewtopic.php?p=613490#p613490

[Knaldskalle]

In. I'll probably be a bit all over the place (pardon the pun).

[zzzorf]

How about we get this show on the road with a classic.

1. El ángel exterminador (Mexico, 1962) - 9/10

[sol]

Second in.

1. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971) Italy



After an intriguing opening in which a wealthy man tortures and murders a prostitute who reminds him of his deceased wife, this luridly titled giallo becomes a dialogue-heavy affair with little of note happening until halfway in. The stuff that happens halfway in is enthralling though with suggestions of something supernatural afoot and things become especially twisted in the final quarter of the movie with many memorably macabre moments.

Progress:

[sol]

The World is Not Enough

1. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971) Italy

2. The Story of Kindness or How to Behave (1987) Vietnam



Rambling and unfocused but fascinating, this documentary springboards from a group of filmmakers deciding to record one of their colleagues who is dying of a terminal illness. As they interview different citizens about what kindness means to them, the documentarians also reflect on their existence, how their job involves something that is not needed, as well as the benefit of narrative cinema when there are so many real life stories that go untold.

Progress:

[Coryn]

1. First Contact (1982) Australia
2. Daisies (1966) Slowakia
3. The Five Obstructions (2003) Denmark

[zzzorf]

Spoiler

1. El ángel exterminador (Mexico, 1962) - 9/10

2. Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (USA, 1999) - 6/10
3. Zombi 2 (Italy, 1979) - 6/10

[hurluberlu]

I am in!

1. In the Crosswind / Risttuules (Martti Helde, 2014) [Estonia] 6

[sol]

The World is Not Enough

1. The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971) Italy
2. The Story of Kindness or How to Behave (1987) Vietnam

3. Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008) United States



Morgan Spurlock is a fun personality, and much like his Super Size Me and Greatest Movie Ever Sold, this is an entertaining watch from start to finish and there some imaginative animated sequences and original songs in the mix. Spurlock does not, however, succeed in linking his search for Osama to his parenthood anxieties and spends far more time asking locals what they think of America rather than what they think of Osama and where he is.

Progress:

[zzzorf]

Spoiler

1. El ángel exterminador (Mexico, 1962) - 9/10
2. Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (USA, 1999) - 6/10
3. Zombi 2 (Italy, 1979) - 6/10

4. Noce Blanche (France, 1989) - 8/10


Also love the maps you guys are using, pity I'm not that knowledgeable to do it myself.

[albajos]

https://traveltip.org/countries_visited.php
and you get a link you can use

[jvv]

1. USA - The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) - 7.5/10

[72aicm]

I’m in. Thanks for hosting Blocho.

[Cinepolis]

4. Noce Blanche (1989) - 8/10

Forgot the country.

1. Why Shoot the Teacher? (Canada, 1977) - 6/10
A comedic depiction of the bleak life during the Great Depression in the Canadian prairie. A little too slow for my taste, but I liked the atmosphere and setting.

[blueboybob]

1. [Germany] RR (2007)
2. [USA] Casting a Glance (2007)

[Cinepolis]

2. Kajaki (UK, 2014) - 7/10
A tense film about a team of soldiers stuck in a minefield. Wonderfully shot, there's no way to predict who will end up unharmed.

Spoiler

1. Why Shoot the Teacher? (Canada, 1977) - 6/10
2. Kajaki (UK, 2014) - 7/10

[connordenney]

1. Where Is the Friend's House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, Iran)

Spoiler

1. Where Is the Friend's House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, Iran)

[maxwelldeux]

Around the world in 31 days

1. Caesar Must Die (2012, Italy)

Not sure why this isn't tagged as a doc on IMDB, but oh well. It's a look at an Italian prison's performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Nice cinematography, shooting prison scenes in black and white, with the live performance in color. Lots of rehearsals with a few breaks in action so you get to see the prisoners themselves a bit. Interesting blend of documentary and drama and comes across relatively innovative to me.

[hurluberlu]

2. Okko's Inn / Waka Okami wa Shogakusei! (Kitaro Kosaka, 2018) [Japan] 6+
3. Times and Winds / Bes Vakit (Reha Erdem, 2006) [Turkey] 7-

travel book

1. In the Crosswind / Risttuules (Martti Helde, 2014) [Estonia] 6

[burneyfan]

Around the world in 31 days

01. Bulgaria: Kozijat rog a.k.a. The Goat Horn -- Andonov, 1972.

Earlier this morning, I randomly picked this film, and as I was watching it, I thought, "Gee, it would be fun to join the Travel the World Challenge and just see how many countries I'd hit in a month with my normal viewing habits -- this would give me Bulgaria." I paused the film about ten minutes before the end, and then I see on the forum that it's just been listed as Film of the Week, with a note that it would work for the TtW Challenge! So weird.

Anyway, I'm in. I won't be trying to seek out countries for the challenge; I'm just going to see how many I'd hit in a month with my usual viewing habits. I do use some lists (both official and unofficial), but I also watch a lot at random.

Edit: I'm still so weirded out that I forgot to comment on the film: very powerful, with great b&w cinematography.

[albajos]

01. Under solen (1998) Sweden 1 official list 84 checks
02. 70'ernes folk (1975) Denmark 8 checks [double]
03. Om Tilla (1963) Norway 8 checks

!seen 3

[Coryn]

4. Senna (2010) France

[zzzorf]

4. Noce Blanche (1989) - 8/10

Forgot the country.

Yeah I realised I hadn't when I went to bed, I will fix it now.

[jeroeno]

01. Germany - Menschen, Hoffnungen, Medaillen (1960)
02. Peru - Espejismo (1972)
03. Italy - Vincere (2009)
04. Belgium - No Home Movie (2015)
05. Nepal - Manakamana (2013)
06. South Korea - Hand in Hand (1988)
07. USA - The Irishman (2019)

[burneyfan]

Where I Travel in December

01. Bulgaria: Kozijat rog a.k.a. The Goat Horn -- Andonov, 1972.

02. Germany: Phoenix -- Petzold, 2014.

Great performance from Barbara Hoss as a concentration camp survivor; the ending is particularly good.

[jvv]

Seen

1. USA - The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960) - 7.5/10

2. Finland - Valehtelija (1981) aka The Liar - 6/10

[burneyfan]

Where I Travel in December

01. Bulgaria: Kozijat rog a.k.a. The Goat Horn -- Andonov, 1972.
02. Germany: Phoenix -- Petzold, 2014.

03. UK: Shooting Dogs a.k.a. Beyond the Gates -- Caton-Jones, 2005.

Rough watch. I'm sure it's inevitably compared to Hotel Rwanda (2004), as both films focus on historical events during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, but they're both distinct, and Shooting Dogs goes to places even darker than the other film. If this seems odd for a UK entry, but that's its Country entry for IMDb -- it has a British director and mostly British stars, even if virtually all of it was filmed onsite in Kigali and had real-life survivors of the Rwandan Genocide among the cast and crew.

[Mochard]

1. Duvidha (1973) - 5.5/10 - India

Passport Stamped 1 time

1. Duvidha (1973) - 5.5/10 - India

[allisoncm]

Thanks! I'm in. MUBI is currently streaming a film from Bhutan if anyone's interested: Honeygiver Among the Dogs. I plan to watch it relatively soon.

[albajos]

Thanks! I'm in. MUBI is currently streaming a film from Bhutan if anyone's interested: Honeygiver Among the Dogs. I plan to watch it relatively soon.

MUBI's schedule is different in different territories

[blocho]

I'm gonna save my remarks for the icmff pages, but these were all somewhere between OK and very good.

1. Another Day of Life (Belgium, 2018)

2. Endless Poetry (Chile, 2016)

3. LA 92 (US, 2017)

[burneyfan]

Where I Travel in December

01. Bulgaria: Kozijat rog a.k.a. The Goat Horn -- Andonov, 1972.
02. Germany: Phoenix -- Petzold, 2014.
03. UK: Shooting Dogs a.k.a. Beyond the Gates -- Caton-Jones, 2005.

04. Iran: Ansuyeh Atash a.k.a. Beyond the Fire -- Ayari, 1990.

A very dark story about family feuding over oil money in 1970s Iran after they've been resettled. Not a bad film, but (deliberately) very unpleasant.

[India Istanbul]

I'm in.

1. Lebanon (2009) UK
2. Ha-shoter (Policeman) (2011) Israel

[maxwelldeux]

Around the world in 31 days

1. Caesar Must Die (2012, Italy)

2. La flaca Alejandra (1994, Chile)

This is a doc from the new Chile list, and well worth watching. The titular character is a member of the Chilean resistance who was broken under torture and informed on others. The film talks about why she survived, why others didn't, and the scope of disappearances. I knew just enough from school to get a LOT out of this doc, and I'd recommend at least the Wikipedia page for this if you're not familiar.

3. The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution (2018, Canada)
4. The Great Hack (2019, USA)

Comments in Doc challenge.