Check it out

The world may appear in many guises, depending on the lens through which

it is viewed. To see it through the perspective of film directors from

distant lands, head for Newport Beach libraries, where more than 700

foreign films are available for a seven-day loan.

Popular with film buffs, cinematography students, native speakers and

those looking to brush up on foreign communication skills, the videotape

collection includes selections in languages ranging from French, Italian

and Spanish to Mandarin, Russian, Saami (Lapp) and Wolof (Senegalese).

All are subtitled unless unavailable in a subtitled version; for example,

if the dubbed version is the only one available.

Among numerous classics are such cinematic milestones as “400 Blows,”

Francois Truffaut’s semiautobiographical feature about an abused boy who

uses petty crime as a means of escape from painful family and school

life.

As one of the premier offerings of the French new wave era, the poignant

1959 portrait of Antoine Doinel introduced the character who became a

fixture in Truffaut’s movies.

Francophiles looking for more romantic fare may prefer “The Umbrellas of

Cherbourg,” Jacques Demy’s haunting musical starring ethereal Catherine

Deneuve as the teenage daughter of a woman who owns a Cherbourg umbrella

shop--the role that launched her to international stardom. Or, check out

celebrated filmmaker Jean Renoir’s “Grand Illusion,” a classic treatise

on war and the power of friendship, considered by many critics to be one

of the greatest achievements in film history.

There are somber, albeit stunning masterpieces, such as Ingmar Bergman’s

“Through a Glass, Darkly,” the 1961 Oscar-winner about a woman’s descent

into madness and the inability of her family to mitigate her pain. The

Swedish director dominates Scandinavian selections, with 15 films that

include the treasured “Cries and Whispers,” “Fanny and Alexander” and

“The Seventh Seal.”

Your whole clan should enjoy “Toto the Hero,” a captivating award winner

about a man consumed by the belief he was switched at birth with the rich

neighbor’s boy, who enjoyed the life he should have led. Other family

viewing options are “The White Balloon,” a charming film from Iran about

a 7-year-old girl’s tenacious quest to buy a cherished goldfish for a New

Year’s Day celebration. It provides a beguiling view of life in Tehran.

Among more contemporary offerings there’s “Like Water For Chocolate,” a

sensuous food fable about a young woman whose life is shaped as much by

cooking as by her unyielding mother. Even more recently added to the

collection was “Life is Beautiful,” the most successful foreign language

film in U.S. history, starring rubber-faced funny man Roberto Benigni,

who shapes a simultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the

Holocaust tragedy.

Foreign films available for loan are cataloged in a “videography”

available at all Newport Beach libraries. Find them arranged by language,

with title and director listed.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams in collaboration with

Sara Barnicle.