The film that "sent me on my way" was Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala. At that particular time I detested movies.  Of course the overwhelming majority of the films that I had seen up to that point were post 1970 Hollywood offerrings.  Dersu Uzala blew me away.  I have been knee deep in foreign film ever since.  If you have yet to see this one, give it a view.