# Great Unique Non-English Language Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 7, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540 "2022-11-07T23:26:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/22 "2022-11-08T13:14:04Z")
That was a “fun” movie… Did you ever see Audrey Tautou in “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not”? > **[He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (2002) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291579/)** > > He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: Directed by Laetitia Colombani. With Audrey Tautou, Samuel Le Bihan, Isabelle Carré, Sophie Guillemin. A young woman who is in love with a married doctor becomes dangerous when her attempts to persuade him to leave his... ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/23 "2022-11-08T13:14:28Z")
“The Seventh Seal” is definitely a great one, 10/10, by Bergman, who is probably in my Top 5 directors. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/24 "2022-11-08T13:18:44Z")
There’s a lot above I haven’t seen, so thank you all so much! I was hoping I’d watch one or even two today, because I need to stay way from the news until the polls close, but I’ve been up since 4am, and not sure if I can even type, but here’s one of my favorites, and it’s very minimalist, every-day life, funny writing, talented acting/directing. > **[Shadows in Paradise (1986) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092149/reference/)** > > Shadows in Paradise (1986) Reference View [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ghuSkyWcmqg/maxresdefault.jpg "Shadows in Paradise (1986)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghuSkyWcmqg) “Sult” (Hunger) was a Pullitzer (just trying to get you all to see it) winning book by Knut Hamsun [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/m_zUAKMrBTc/hqdefault.jpg "Fome (Sult, 1966) - Filme Completo") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_zUAKMrBTc) ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/25 "2022-11-08T13:20:14Z")
I’ll second _Farewell My Concubine_. And add _The Pillow Book_, one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. _Nine Queens_ is a terrific con artist movie, the pace is perfect for the story (_Criminal_, the English remake is slow & plodding). For comedy, _The Gods Must be Crazy_ is mostly in English, but it’s the non-English speakers who make the story. _Rabbit-Proof Fence_ (Australia) is in English, but the story is very foreign to Americans. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/26 "2022-11-08T13:28:11Z")
I tried watching one of the above movies, since it was on YouTube, but for some reason, I just can’t watch dubbed movies… I love subtitles, though. Hell, I sometimes use them for English movies, or documentaries (to avoid misinterpreting). Hopefully a unique drama somewhere, because I see a lot of enthusiasm, and I want one of those movies you want to tell everyone! Thanks again. Weird question, but is there a foreign movie similar to “Buffalo '66”? That’s the kind of dialogue-driven movie which is so unique, despite it looking very domestic and normal… “Series Noire” is a really unique movie, and it reminds me of it, and wondered if anyone felt the same way… Speaking of fun, “Il Sorpasso” is one, pretty unique. If you like Italian movies like I do, and prefer “realistic horror”, check out, “Fist in Pocket” by Bellocchio. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/27 "2022-11-08T13:31:54Z")
_Le Septième Juré_ (1962) — is knowing that the juror is the murderer a spoiler? I think the 1960s were the best decade for foreign movies (70s for American), and this seems interesting, but not if I know the twist. Is it revealed from the very beginning? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/28 "2022-11-08T13:59:28Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > …I need to stay way from the news until the polls close… Good thinking. 👍🏽 * * * * * * Here’s a movie I recommended in a thread similar to this one. > **[Lust, Caution (2007) ⭐ 7.5 | Drama, History, Romance](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808357/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0)** > > 2h 37m | NC-17 This is from an IMDB reader comment. More succinct than the IMDB plot summary, but the unfolding of the story is a lot more subtle than this. > This film is about a woman enticing a top ranking official in the occupying Japanese government, in order to assassinate him. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/29 "2022-11-08T14:10:03Z")
I’ll second _Amelie,_ the Japanese _Shall We Dance,_ and _Babbette’s Feast._ All delightful films. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/30 "2022-11-08T14:14:36Z")
_Ma Vie En Rose_ (_My Life In Pink_), a 1991-ish French film about a transgender girl navigating her family life, well before these things were discussed as openly and as freely as they are now. Part of the reason I like it so much is that it shows, for lack of a better choice of words, day to day life in a foreign country (France). I’ve always been obsessed with minutiae when it comes to foreign lands – people paying mortgages, driving their kids to practices, maintaining workplace relationships, etc. – and all of those things are on display here in this film. My only complaint is that the English subtitles were written by … someone who doesn’t understand English particularly well. For example, there’s a scene where a character kind of scats/mumbles to himself, and the English subtitles say something like “zippity-bop-bop-zippity-doo,” when they could have just as easily said “(scats)”. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/31 "2022-11-08T14:23:26Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > _Le Septième Juré_ (1962) — is knowing that the juror is the murderer a spoiler? Not a spoiler, as it is known from the beginning who the killer is. His actions on the jury are a bit more complex - and ironic - than one might expect. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/32 "2022-11-08T15:17:36Z")
Oh, just popped back in after checking my Plex server this morning (everything I’ve mentioned are titles I own), and wanted to mention 2008’s [Let the Right One In](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/). The original, Swedish version, not the remake. It’s another dark movie, theoretically horror, but with a lot of fascinating other stuff mixed in. And while it absolutely has supernatural elements, it speaks a lot more about bullying, abuse, and the twisted paths of love more than horror. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/33 "2022-11-08T16:13:29Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > “The Seventh Seal” is definitely a great one, 10/10, by Bergman, who is probably in my Top 5 directors. I always feel compelled to mention this short whenever someone brings up Bergman, in case someone hasn’t seen it. They’re not speaking English… or… _are_ they? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/L1TlAd6M-xU/hqdefault.jpg "In 1968, this Bergman parody was up for Best Short at the Oscars.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1TlAd6M-xU) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/34 "2022-11-08T17:22:17Z")
Ikiru (1952), directed by Akira Kurosowa. _“A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.”_ That’s from the IMDB entry because I saw the film just once many years ago and, right now, all I remember is that I liked it very much, despite the subject matter. > **[Ikiru (1952) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044741/)** > > Ikiru: Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Takashi Shimura, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki. A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/35 "2022-11-08T17:30:28Z")
Back in the mid-90s when Hong Kong action cinema was exploding on this side of the Pacific, about a third of all the movies I watched were in Cantonese with badly-translated subtitles (“Brother Fu your mad, pointy boss with gun!” from _City on Fire_ was my favorite memorable one). Too many to cite there. Of the icons of New German Cinema, Wim Wenders is the one whose work struck a chord with me. Wings of Desire is a masterpiece, but of his German-language work, I recommend _Kings of the Road_ and _Alice in the Cities_ a lot. As for French-Canadian film, Denys Arcand has been a bit wobbly of late, but you can’t go wrong with _Jesus of Montreal_, _The Decline of the American Empire_ and _The Barbarian Invasions_ (all of which share a continuity). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/36 "2022-11-08T17:37:05Z")
I liked _Cinema Paradiso_ very much, about a gruff film projectionist and a boy who become friends, bonding over their shared love of movies; it covers decades in their tiny Italian village. It’s probably my favorite non-English-language foreign film. Don’t see the extended version - there are a couple of extra scenes near the end which damn near ruin it. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/37 "2022-11-08T18:02:10Z")
I just saw [House](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076162/), a 1977 comedy-horror film from Japan. Kind of surrealistic, lots of amimated effects; it was the 1970s after all. One movie that had really stayed with me is [Forbidden Games](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043686/), a 1952 movie from France. It’s set in 1940 where an orphan girl is taken in by a family in a small town and tries to deal with death. I saw it on TCM a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/38 "2022-11-08T18:15:02Z")
We watch Housu ever year on New Year’s eve as a family and friend tradition. I considered mentioning it for a second, but it’s near the tippy-top of my list of weird movies. 😆 Think of a 70s to 80s haunted house movie from the US filtered through Japanese tropes and you’ll be at least close. I think it was trying to lean more into horror than the comedy, but both elements are certainly there. But dammit, bananas are unspeakably weird. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/39 "2022-11-08T19:02:51Z")
Some random memories: pretty much the rntire _oeuvre_ of Jacques Tati, but particularly _Jour de Fête_ and _Les Vacances de M.Hulot_. Very little actual language, mostly great sight gags. By complete contrast, Fellini’s _La Strada_ (high melodrama among a group of travelling players - I defy you not to be moved by Giulietta Masina’s first appearance). And from that to Fellini’s _Fred & Ginger_, in which two old dancers meet up again and re-kindle their relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/40 "2022-11-08T19:35:20Z")
Further love for _Tampopo_ here. Also from Japan I always enjoyed _[Dersu Uzala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dersu_Uzala_(1975_film))_, from Akira Kurosawa. Beautiful and meditative, a great slow-growing-friendship kind of movie - unusually for Kurosawa its main dialogue is Russian. The go-to foreign film of our youth was _[My Life as a Dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Life_as_a_Dog)_, directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Really nice coming of age story. I’d also recommend _[Ten canoes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Canoes)_, by Rolf de Heer, based on Australian indigenous stories of their past. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/41 "2022-11-08T19:55:43Z")
Ha! I saw that in the theater completely by accident when I went to see a Bergmann feature (War Games or something like that). I remember people looking at me when I was laughing. They hadn’t caught on yet. I absolutely loved Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus trilolgy: The Blood of the Poet, Orpheus, and Testament of Orpheus. If you like Cocteau, you’ll also like Les Enfant Terribles. But his most approachable film is still La Belle et Le Bete – best filming of a fairy story I’ve ever seen. > [@veryfrank](#): > > Of the icons of New German Cinema, Wim Wenders is the one whose work struck a chord with me. Wings of Desire is a masterpiece Absolutely agree. But don’t watch the completely drecky _City of Angels_ that was the US remake. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540.md?page=3)