# Best foreign language movies you've watched **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 15, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121 "2021-12-15T21:23:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/81 "2021-12-18T12:39:04Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > I can’t think of any reason to watch this film, unless brutal, graphic violence is what you crave, in which case, YDY. It’s a satire. Of what filmmakers would want to film, ie: a serial killer killing people. Then the camera crew actually start to help him. Plus their sound guys keep getting killed. It lives in a world of serial killers and the moment when they meet another serial killer and his camera crew is absolutely priceless. Yes, it’s brutal (and I still remember some of the more horrible scenes even to this day 20 years later), but it really is much much more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/82 "2021-12-18T12:52:42Z")
L’Atalante (1934) dir: Jean Vigo. Haunting images. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/83 "2021-12-18T15:44:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > _The Gods Must be Crazy_ – The danger of Coca-Cola > > > [@Biggirl](#): > > > > Shout out to The Gods Must Be Crazy for originality and laughs. > > Did you watch it in Afrikaans? Because the version most people know is the English version. There’s a bit of Juǀʼhoan in both, but most of the film is in either Afrikaans or English. No. I didn’t read _Hamlet_ in the original Klingon, either. My loss. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/84 "2021-12-18T15:47:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. I was just curious if the Afrikaans version had made it overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/85 "2021-12-18T23:07:27Z")
Forgot to mention **Allegro Non Troppo** , an Italian parody of _Fantasia_. It runs a little long but it is exceedingly clever, with sections ranging from slapstick to pathos with a heavy dollop of social satire mixed in as well. I will admit to really enjoying **[Intouchables](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intouchables)** - I know there was a [rather tepid American remake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Upside), but the French version keeps all the rough edges in that elevate the film from well-worn cliche to heartwarming story. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/86 "2021-12-18T23:59:49Z")
Some of my favorites: [A Separation](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832382/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - Complex interfamily drama set in Iran [The Lives of Others](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - Conscience against the state in cold war East Germany [Shoplifters](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8075192/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - A group of poor people living in Japan who resort to shoplifting to scrape by. The story raises interesting questions about what it means to be a family. [City of God](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - Drug wars in a Brazilian slum. [The Story of Qiu Ju](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105197/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - Pride and stubbornness leads to the escalation of a personal conflict. [Raise the Red Lantern](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - A young woman becomes the fourth wife in a Chinese lord’s household, which causes conflict as she runs up against unwritten rules. [Let the Right One In](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - A troubled and bullied boy makes friends with a girl who turns out to be a vampire. [Persepolis](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - An Iranian girl growing up during the war with Iraq. Her family sends her to France to get her away from the dangers of war and the Revolutionary Guard. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/87 "2021-12-19T00:36:45Z")
I didn’t see (but may have missed) my favorite, [Carmen](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085297/), a flamenco version of Bizet’s opera of the same name. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/88 "2021-12-19T01:12:32Z")
_The Raid: Redemption_ ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/89 "2021-12-20T04:29:25Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > [The Secret in Their Eyes](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/) - An Argentinian retired detective revisits a brutal old case from the times of the Dictatorship of Franco. Remade in English, I’ve never watched the remake. An excellent film. The cinematography is amazing… there’s a long shot in the film that made my jaw hit the floor and left me wondering “how the hell did they do that?” ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/90 "2021-12-20T05:12:03Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > [Let the Right One In](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) - A troubled and bullied boy makes friends with a girl who turns out to be a vampire. I enjoyed this much more than the American remake. I especially liked telling people that I thought one of the best films of the year was a teenage and vampire love story, just to see their expressions (the Twilight series had just started). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2021, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/91 "2021-12-20T05:48:35Z")
I was in Germany years ago, and started watching a movie on television. It was in French with German subtitles, and I don’t know either of those languages; but it was a prison-break movie so I could follow the action even if I couldn’t understand the dialog. When it ended, I wrote down the names of some of the actors so I could look it up on IMDb. It’s called _ **Le Trou** _. When Netflix came around, I put this movie in my queue and finally got to see it with English subtitles. If _Rififi_ is the first heist movie, _Le Trou_ may be the first prison-break movie, or at least it influenced a lot of movies that followed. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/92 "2021-12-25T18:34:50Z")
Another vote for The Fast Runner. Also: Les Triplettes de Belleville. Animated french story about um … bicycle racing, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/93 "2021-12-25T20:42:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I was just curious if the Afrikaans version had made it overseas. I get lots of movies from “differently legitimate” sources, and I’ve never found anything other than the English dub. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2021, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/94 "2021-12-25T20:47:32Z")
I wouldn’t call this “best” movies but a trilogy of low (low) budget Japanese movies from the 1960s recently got a re-release as a Blu-Ray box set. (I already had the old DVD set.) > **[Yokai Monsters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokai_Monsters)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Yokai Monsters (妖怪シリーズ) is a trilogy of Japanese horror/fantasy films written by Tetsuro Yoshida and released in the late 1960s. The films were produced by Daiei Film. > There were originally three movies made: > While not canonically linked, all three were thematically joined by their inclusion of a group of creatures from Japanese mythology known as yōkai (妖怪, lit. "strange things"). The old versions of the movies are on [archive.org](http://archive.org): [https://archive.org/search.php?query=Yokai%20monsters&and[]=mediatype%3A"movies"](https://archive.org/search.php?query=Yokai%20monsters&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22movies%22) ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/95 "2021-12-26T05:31:04Z")
Have you read the source novel by Jerzy Kosiński? ---
**Author:** ![moes\_lotion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@moes\_lotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moes_lotion)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/96 "2021-12-26T05:44:32Z")
Four Japanese movies I’d recommend Kamikaze Taxi - set in contemporary times (mid nineties), an ex-pat who grew up in South America comes back to Japan and gets involved with a young yakusa member on the outs with his gang Hidden Blade and The Twilight Samurai - both set towards the end of the samurai period in Japan and dealing with the changes imposed on the country by Western influences After Life - the recently deceased arrive at a decrepit facility where they are given a week to choose their happiest memory to enable them to move on (where to is never made clear) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/97 "2021-12-26T13:52:46Z")
> [@moes\_lotion](#): > > Hidden Blade and The Twilight Samurai No love for _[Love and Honor](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_and_Honor_(2006_film))_? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/98 "2021-12-26T14:41:09Z")
I browsed thru the thread; lots of great films mentioned. I’ll try and add to the list: [_Pusher_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pusher_(1996_film)) is excellent. Grim. Gritty. Unforgiving. _Realistic_. This is Nicolas Winding Refn’s first film, and it’s a doozy. Intended as a stand-alone film, he later made two sequels (he needed the money) which are also good, but this one stands a bit above the others, IMO. There are also Hindi and UK remakes of _Pusher_. [_Returner_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Returner) is a lot of fun. Time travel, aliens, fight scenes, chases, stunts, stylish costumes… just a big, fun movie. Two from Luc: [_Le Femme Nikita_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Femme_Nikita_(film)) is good, if a bit rough around the edges. Many people may have seen the Hollywood remake, _Point of No Return_; fewer will have watched the Hong Kong remake, _Black Cat_. And most have prolly heard of or watched one of the popular TV series based on the film. [_District 13_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_13) is a movie that exists so that there is a reason to watch people do insane parkour stunts for 90 minutes in case watching people do insane parkour stunts isn’t enough fun all by itself. It totally fucking rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/99 "2021-12-26T15:49:30Z")
**Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior** an impressive martial arts film with Tony Jaa. **Throne of Blood** Kurosawa’s take on Macbeth, dark and brooding. **Blind Swordsman Zatoichi (2003)** Beat Takeshi’s version is bloody, funny and ends with a Bollywood style dance number. **The Bear** told from the perspective of a bear cub whose mother dies in a rockslide. Looks like a nature documentary. **The Vanishing** atmospheric suspense thriller without the remake’s Hollywood ending. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121/100 "2021-12-26T15:54:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s called _ **Le Trou** _ . When Netflix came around, I put this movie in my queue and finally got to see it with English subtitles. Is Netflix different in the USA? I can’t find _any_ of the films mentioned here in my Netflix, is there a trick I am missing? Anyway, I wanted to mention _**[Elevator to the Gallows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator_to_the_Gallows)**_ (French: _Ascenseur pour l’échafaud_ ), also known as _ **Frantic** _ in the U.S. and _ **Lift to the Scaffold** _ in the UK, is a 1958 French crimethriller film directed by [Louis Malle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Malle), starring [Jeanne Moreau](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Moreau) and [Maurice Ronet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Ronet) as illicit lovers whose murder plot starts to unravel after one of them becomes trapped in an elevator. Fantastic music by Miles Davies! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-foreign-language-movies-youve-watched/956121.md?page=6)