# What are the best foreign movies you've seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995 "2013-02-01T02:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dick\_Dastardly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@Dick\_Dastardly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dick_Dastardly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/21 "2013-02-01T05:38:23Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > I’m in the same situation as An Gadai there aren’t a lot of films made in my country. > > Here are some more suggestions. > _Boy_ a New Zealand comedy. _Old Boy_- Korean action. _Silmido_ another Korean movie based on a remarkable incident from the 70s I’ve got Old Boy in my queue. Also watched Memories of Murder as it was recommended. Absolutely rubbish tough. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/22 "2013-02-01T06:14:37Z")
> [@Dick\_Dastardly](#): > > The Intouchables. Amazing movie about a Senegalese immigrant looking after a wealthy invalid. I think this won an Oscar too. Unfortunately it wasn’t even nominated. I certainly thought it would be. It’s a good movie, as well as a crowd-pleaser that should have been a hit. It’s a great example, one of many, of the massive disconnect between the US and the rest of the world. There was a time when this movie might have been a crossover hit, but nowadays, forget it. It was treated specifically as a “foreign-language” film, and foreign-language films are treated as “art house” films, and it withered away in the art house ghetto, where other great and crowd-pleasing movies go to die. Though, as an _art house_ film, it did pretty well for itself. In the US it made $10,198,820, which is considered big bucks. In the rest of the world it made [$416,389,690](http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=intouchables.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/23 "2013-02-01T06:45:43Z")
See if you can find [Max Manus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029235/reference), I’d bet you’ll like it. It’s not a documentary, but it’s “The true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II.” Here’s a slightly longer synopsis with no major spoilers, unless you like going into a movie with bare bones knowledge. After fighting the communists in Finland, Max Manus returns to Norway, currently occupied by the Nazis. He joins with the Norwegian resistance movement in their fight against the Germans… Have you seen [Bullhead](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821593/reference) from Belgium? It was an Oscar nominee last year but lost to A Separation. I liked **A Separation** , but Bullhead hit me harder. It stars Matthias Schoenaerts in an extremely brave performance that will stay with you forever. Like many movies, I’d suggest going into it knowing as little as possible. After reading Rollo’s post, I realized that Schoenaerts stars with Marion Cotillard in **Rust and Bone** (which I haven’t seen) by **A Prophet’s** director Jacques Audiard. So many great movies have already been mentioned. I’ll have to go through my Twitter list to cull out titles. I’ve seen so many in the past couple+ years, especially at the month-long European Union Film Festival that happens every March at the Gene Siskel Film Center. I saw dozens that unfortunately never got a US release so you probably wouldn’t be able to find them. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/24 "2013-02-01T06:53:46Z")
Il Postino and Time Crimes. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/25 "2013-02-01T08:33:09Z")
> [@Dick\_Dastardly](#): > > The Baader Meinhoff complex. German movie about the Red bArmy Faction, peace be upon them. Peace be upon them? Really? These folks were nothing but a bunch of delusional murderous terrorists. They werent afraid to kidnap and murder to further their crazy political agenda. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/26 "2013-02-01T08:35:01Z")
> [@Dick\_Dastardly](#): > > Is that the Indonesian one? I’ve got that in my queue too. Yep. Best damn action flick I’ve seen in years. They’ve just begun working on the sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/27 "2013-02-01T08:50:40Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > See if you can find [Max Manus](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1029235/reference), I’d bet you’ll like it. … Another good movie in that same vein is _Flame and Citron_, which I actually think is better. _As It Is In Heaven_, a very tender Swedish film about a choir in the boondocks, starring the same guy who was in the Dragon Tattoo series (which I heartily second as a great movie, or 3 great movies). Some great Italian films: _Cinema Paradiso_, _Night of the Shooting Stars_, and _Life is Beautiful_. My favorite Japanese film is _Ran_. I’ve also been enjoying some of Takeshi Kitano’s Yakuza films. There is a great Brazilian cop movie called _Elite Squad: the Enemy Within_. It is a sequel to _Elite Squad_, which I haven’t seen but I heard was even better. Definitely watch _Slumdog Millionaire_ if you haven’t yet. A couple of very funny French spoof spy films under the title _OSS 117_, Another good Italian Western spoof is _My Name is Nobody_. The only good Hugh Grant film – _About a Boy_. _District B13_ and its sequel are both very good. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/28 "2013-02-01T09:06:52Z")
Some others that have popped into my head: _In Bruges_ – fantastic black comedy. _Beaneath Hill 60_ – very good WWI film. _Gallipoli_ – great WWI film. _Breaker Morant_ – great Boer War movie. How could I have forgotten _The Road Warrior_ and _Mad Max_? _The Architecture of Doom_ – very interesting film about Nazi architecture and “high culture”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/29 "2013-02-01T09:10:44Z")
_Rules of the Game_ - late 1930’s French film, a glimpse of bourgeois life, directed by Jean Renoir _Delicatessen_ - Post-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy _Seven Beauties_ - about an Italian everyman who deserts the army during World War II and is captured by the Germans and sent to a prison camp, where he does anything to survive. _Pan’s Labrynth_ Dark Mexican fantasy set in post civil war Spain _Amores Perros_ - Mexican thriller First ones that come to mind, have got many others, but these were all very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/30 "2013-02-01T09:21:47Z")
**Tears of the Black Tiger** Thai cowboy movie shot in surreal psychedelic colour. Mad as a box of hammers. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/31 "2013-02-01T10:18:29Z")
Akira still does it for me and I love Spirited Away. I especially love the instrumental intermissions Animé films have. I know it’s only done to show off the animation but it really lends a great atmosphere and gives me a chance to enjoy the soundtrack without all that pesky dialogue getting in the way. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/32 "2013-02-01T10:25:06Z")
[Winter in Wartime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_in_Wartime_%28film%29) is a beautiful Dutch film set during WW2. Really great. I also enjoyed [The Well Diggers Daughter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1473063/) - a french film. [Sarah’s Key](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah%27s_Key) - another french film set between the beginning of WW2 and the present day. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/33 "2013-02-01T10:38:10Z")
A lot of my favorites have been mentioned already but I’ll add: **The City of Lost Children** : a wonderfully bizarre, surreal, almost steampunk type fantasy. **Show Me Love** : I actually just finished watching this for the first time tonight. It’s about two teenage girls who live in a boring little town in Sweden. They meet each other and fall in love. What a refreshing little film. The way the teenagers are portrayed is about as accurate as any I’ve ever seen in cinema. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/34 "2013-02-01T11:55:08Z")
Watched _[Departures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Departures_%28film%29)_ recently, Wow! I can see why it won the Foreign Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/35 "2013-02-01T14:10:39Z")
Kurosawa’s [_Ran_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ran_%28film%29) is a favorite of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/36 "2013-02-01T14:18:59Z")
All these posts, and no mention of _Amelie_? Forget all of these “if your sensibilities can handle it” recommendations-- _Amelie_ is the happiest movie I’ve ever seen. You _will_ leave it feeling good, no matter what’s going on with you. And I’ll also second **The Other Jeffrey Lebowski** ’s mention of _Pan’s Labyrinth_, though I will warn that it’s pretty brutal in spots (the main villain is a highly-placed Fascist in the Spanish Civil War, and behaves accordingly). But it’s a wonderfully surreal and yet realistic fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/37 "2013-02-01T14:22:59Z")
Two of my favorites are [Amélie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) (also known as Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain) and [Waltz with Bashir](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9uoLMhMhs). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/38 "2013-02-01T14:25:58Z")
[The Emperor and the Assassin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162866/?ref_=sr_2) - epic “historical” drama about the first emperor of China (and a plot to murder him). [Malena](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213847/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) - starring Monica Bellucci (that’s good enough for me!). [High Tension](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338095/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) - a very bloody French horror flick. [Trollhunter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119167/?ref_=sr_2) - Norwegian “found footage” film about, well, hunting trolls. Not as much “shaky-cam” as other such films. The original [Funny Games](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119167/?ref_=sr_2). Basically anything by Zhang Yimou: [Ju Dou](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099902/) [Raise the Red Lantern](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/) [To Live](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110081/) [The Road Home](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235060/) These are all very beautiful Chinese (melo)dramas. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/39 "2013-02-01T15:04:37Z")
I’ll also vote for **Delicatessen**. I can think of a bunch of 90s kung fu flicks, too (Drunken Master II, Last Hero in China, New Legend of Shaolin, Fong Sai Yuk), but those might not be for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/40 "2013-02-01T15:16:45Z")
Oh! And how can I forget **Shaolin Soccer** and **Kung Fu Hustle**? **Good Bye, Lenin!** was pretty funny, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995.md?page=3)