I was going to mention this, and its previous sketch based show “Chewin the fat”, which has a lot of scottish references…
There was one I was going to mention because I thought it was a Bill Forsyth movie, but turns out it isn’t, but is a similar style and around the time:
A couple of teenagers drive around scotland on a motorbike and rob the tourists with novelty toy items. Yet do it politely and become folk heros, just taking some valuables. Good fun… To the music of Big Country, a long forgotten but good scottish band…
One more obscure, and not fully scottish (got a welshman in it):
Late 80’s, early 90’s pythonesque comedy, a lot of Scottish humour including a scottish poet who hates the english, who writes anti english poetry and goes to the border with England to shout abuse…
Breaking the waves. A sad but good drama about a woman on a scottish island…
A couple of excellent cult ones with Evan McGregor, filmed in between his big roles:
Young Adam The story of a man working on the river and murder in Glasgow in the 60s.
Perfect Sense. A tale of the end of the world, set in Glasgow, where the world ends one sense at a time (taste first, smell next etc). Absolutely EXCELLENT.
Various ones: The big man, starring Liam Neeson and Billy Connolly. Filth (another Irvine Welsh (trainspotting) adaptation with James Macavoy.
Ken Loach does a bunch of them, but they can be pretty grim, such as My name is Joe
Angel’s Share is probably the most upbeat Ken Loach movie. Good on urban vs rural Scotland.
Velvet Soup was a brilliant sketch show from c.2001. More recently Burnistoun showcases good Scottish humour - including this on the difficulties Scots face making themselves understood.
And a definite must, from some of the same team: Insane Fight Club
Some may scoff, but I would also recommend Highlander.
The scenes shot at Eilean Donan Castle, Glencoe and the white sands of Morar would make anyone want to visit there.
Local Hero is another excellent choice, but be aware the village and the beach which appear adjacent in the film are actually filmed on opposite coasts of the country - Camusdarach beach and the village of Pennan.
I have no idea if you can get hold of it in the States, but I would also recommend the TV adaptations of the Rebus series of books. Set and filmed in Edinburgh, they give a pretty good overview of the city. Well, with maybe a little more murder than actually happens here.
Anything you want to know about Edinburgh as a potential destination for a student, ask away.
The last act of Skyfall.
Oh, goodness, if we’re doing Rebus, then Taggart! It’s Glasgow, yeah.,.but I love it.
And, of course, the beach run at the start of Chariots of Fire is St Andrews (though the film isn’t set there).
I scoff. I tried watching it a few years ago and its unwatchable… Ok, so its got a Scotsman pretending to be Spanish and a Frenchman pretending to be a Scot, but only bits of it, the flashbacks, are supposed to be in Scotland…
Isn’t it all getting a bit off topic when its things like “well, that wee bit is in scotland, but the rest of the film isn’t?”. I thought it was about scottish films…
And thinking about it, The film Perfect Sense is wonderful. Forget that its set in Scotland, its wonderful, sad and poignant. A bit high concept, but hell it works…
“The Illusionist” - It’s animated, but the drawings of Edinburgh are beautiful.
Have a look.
Death Watch is pretty good; it’s set in the future mainly in Glasgow but there’s a road trip to some unidentified part of the west coast.
Brond was a 3 part thriller set in Glasgow; opening section here. he main character’s a student in Glasgow.
Whisky Galore.
Highlander has more genuine Scottish scenery than Braveheart. And about as much genuine Scottish history 
Brigadoon. Totally authentic.
Although now I’ve got “Donny Mooooost, Doooonny Mooost” stuck in my head. Damn you, Seth McFarlane!
Has Macbeth been mentioned yet?
The Wicker Man (soundtrack includes Robert Burns’ “Corn Rigs”).
And scenes in Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and other well-known movies were filmed in Scotland.
“Nothing says Scotland like a millionaire Australian antisemite.”
William Wallace was the Marshal of Scotland, uniting all the clans against foreign aggressors was the mans job, he wasn’t some scrubby farmer. He was a noble, he would have been dressed in plate mail with plenty of banners and gold leaf in every battle, which by the by are all silly in the movie.
But, hey, watch it for the learning. :rolleyes:
Dog Soldiers
Shhhhhhh! We try and not let visitors know about our werewolf infestation!
Although it’s set in Swansea, Wales, and not Scotland, Twin Town has the quirkiness and grit of a Scottish ‘realistic’(ish) film.
And there’s The Full Monty which is set in Sheffield, England and is also a gritty, working class comedy.
Both are funny and kind of realistic. Although they’re set in different countries, we aren’t all that different. Jocks don’t go to work wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes, Taffs don’t ride to school on a sheep and eating leaks, and Limeys don’t ride horses to work, wearing a top hat and saying tally ho.