# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/122 "2023-02-21T15:45:22Z")
**Barrio** (1998), written and directed by Fernando León de Aranoa. Three teenage friends deal with the prospects of spending the rest of their lives in a gloomy, working-class neighborhood of Madrid. At 15 years of age, they see their dreams fading and a precarious future unfolding, and they know they’re not smart or successful enough to do much about it. The film combines a coming-of-age story and a cautionary tale with healthy doses of sarcasm and irony, touching on both the poignant and the hilarious. The acting and dialogue are so natural that it sometimes looks like a documentary. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/123 "2023-02-21T18:57:08Z")
_An Cailín Ciúin_ (The Quiet Girl) is unique just because it’s an Irish language film. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film. > **[The Quiet Girl (2022) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15109082/)** > > The Quiet Girl: Directed by Colm Bairéad. With Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett, Catherine Clinch, Michael Patric. Rural Ireland 1981. A quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer. She... ---
**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:** [February 22, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/124 "2023-02-22T15:48:04Z")
A nomination that was deserved. Pity it hasn’t got a chance of winning. My take from last year: > [@Movies you've seen recently](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-youve-seen-recently/699906/5594): > > It’s been a busy movie going end of the year. Lots of one week qualifying runs. The Quiet Girl - After killing a man in the ring, a 12 year old Irish girl returns to Inisfree… OK, not really. A quietly heartbreaking movie about a young Irish girl in the 1980’s (much of the dialog is in Gaelic with subtitles) with a quiet soul, in the wrong family situation, given to relatives, and finding the first love and nurturing in her life. A very specific story set in a slice of life that takes you to … For some reason, my mind connects _The Quiet Girl_ to one I championed as one of the best of 2017, even though, on the surface, they are very different films (warning: _Tigers Are Not Afraid_ has a lot of violence, _The Quiet Girl_ doesn’t). > **[Tigers Are Not Afraid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigers_Are_Not_Afraid)** > > Tigers Are Not Afraid (Spanish: Vuelven, lit. 'They Return') is a 2017 Mexican crime-fantasy horror film, with elements of magical realism, written and directed by Issa López. The film is produced by Marco Polo Constandse, under the banner of Filmadora Nacional, and Peligrosa. The film stars Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Ianis Guerrero, Rodrigo Cortes, Hanssel Casillas, Nery Arredondo, and Tenoch Huerta. The film has received extremely positive reviews from critics. > Estrella is a young girl in... ---
**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:** [February 27, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/125 "2023-02-27T14:12:17Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I haven’t read all of the posts so I’m not sure if _Cinema Paradiso_ was mentioned. I watched it many years ago, when I was getting Netflix DVDs in the mail. I remember it being a very touching movie. Yes, see post 35. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/126 "2023-02-27T21:38:29Z")
“A Hero” – very good movie about morality, conscience, and how a little white lie can become a spark or a cog in corruption after so many become involved. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/52DJmYT-3Hg/maxresdefault.jpg "A Hero (2021) - Winner: Grand Prix Cannes - Asghar Farhadi - HD Trailer - English Subtitles") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52DJmYT-3Hg) ---
**Author:** ![fordgt100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fordgt100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fordgt100)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/127 "2023-02-28T04:16:27Z")
My two favorites are Fellini’s 8 1/2 and Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and The Beast). No other movie has a script, or acting, like 8 1/2, and Cocteau’s film is a surreal, fairy tale masterpiece from beginning to end. Two totally different films that can be enjoyed and understood even w/o the sub titles for English speakers. Honorable mention for Incubus, the only film that was ever made entirely in Esperanto. Shatner is very good. If anything he underacts, which may be the only time in his career. When you briefly see the demon in the end, wow. I loved the musical sound of the language. Captain Kirk, beautiful witches and a horrifying demon in the end. What’s not to like? ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/129 "2024-02-20T11:32:57Z")
I’m surprised no one, including me, has mentioned **Quest For Fire**. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/130 "2024-02-20T12:32:46Z")
**Le Dernier Combat** isn’t really in any language, because there’s no spoken dialogue in it (well, there are two words, but that hardly counts). It’s the first feature film by Luc Besson. Like many of huis later films, it’s science fiction, but in this case in black and white and on a tight budget. It’s a weird post-apocalyptic film. It’s almost impossible to describe without sounding boring, but the film is visually fascinating, from the put-together aircraft to the Survivors who wear suits to The Dwarf. Worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/131 "2024-02-20T14:51:57Z")
### [A Dance in the Rain](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055309/?ref_=rt_li_tt) (1961) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/132 "2024-02-20T16:46:37Z")
**War of the Buttons** (1994) is about young kids in Ireland living in a microcosm of The Troubles. It’s alright, but it’s an adaptation to a French book about youth during the Occupation. The French film **La nouvelle guerre des boutons** (2011) or ‘The New War of the Buttons’ is the honest adaptation. It is also quite good. It’s powerful and yet remains child appropriate without being trite which is rare. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/133 "2024-02-20T17:05:41Z")
BTW, I apologize for the inadvertent thread bump; there must have been a spammer that got cornfielded as the thread was at the top of the CS page when I posted. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/134 "2024-02-20T17:36:52Z")
Has anyone found a good way to stream these foreign films? I keep looking up the films you guys are recommending but _IF_ I can even find it watching it will require a new subscription. I already have Hulu, Paramount+, Netflix, Prime, Peacock and YouTube Red. I will not have another, but an willing to pay whatever to rent or buy. But even something as well known as **Tampopo** or **Barrio** is not going to happen for me until I can find a source. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/135 "2024-03-08T21:41:35Z")
I type them out on Google and select ‘Duration’ and select a filter to include only ones that are over 20 minutes. If you get spam, I would add a -youtube in the search to avoid those results. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540/136 "2024-03-08T21:42:37Z")
### [The Commissar](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061876/?ref_=rt_li_tt) (1967) saw it on YouTube. Lots of propaganda, but it is what it is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-unique-non-english-language-movies/974540.md?page=6)