I'm not sure it's yet possible to capture the spirit of post-Wall Berlin yet - Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt) has something of the edginess of Germany generally, perhaps (I'm not even quite sure that it's set in Berlin). Maybe 'Goodbye Lenin'..?

As for Venice, I don't think anyone mentioned 'Don't Look Now' - and they should have done!

And while I second 'Hue and Cry' for he vanished London of my childhood, let's also mention 'Passport to Pimlico', and 'Theatre of Blood' - a fantastically camp Hammer horror that was largely filmed in and around the part of London I was brought up in, so many of the locations capture a lot of my memories.

You all seem to know your movies so maybe someone can tell me the name of this one...

It came out in the late 90s (I think) and is about a girl who becomes a courtesan. It's a period piece set around the time of the bubonic plague I think, and it has some scenes with canals and gondolas which made me think it's probably Italy.

Any ideas?

OH! Nevermind. I found it! It's Dangerous Beauty. I was confusing that title with Stealing Beauty.

Gotta go rent them both now :)

I loved "Don't Look Now" Venice like "Comfort of Strangers" is not your tourisy town.

Oooops, sorry, I am still relatively new here so I didn't get to this thread on time to answer you.

Stealing Beauty was summarized nicely for you. I love the plot, myself. To me the plot is that this beautiful young girl who is still a virgin goes to visit her deceased mother's friends at their villa in Tuscany to find out about her patrimony. The story slowly unfolds as she relates to the different characters and how they relate to her, stealing or reacting to her "beauty" or "innocence".

geewhiz, I pushed the wrong key!!

I relate to the wife because she becomes this put-upon matriarch who keeps the whole group together and then loses sight of who she is and what she wants in the process and how she resolves it.

Mine would have to be Before Sunrise. I love Vienna and I think that the movie did a good job of capturing different aspects of such a great city.