# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/61 "2013-02-02T02:32:41Z")
There’s a French animated film that I love; _A Town Called Panic_. They play it a lot on cable. Very surreal and hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![meflin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@meflin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meflin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/62 "2013-02-02T02:47:15Z")
Most of mine have been listed. La Fem Nikita The Killer Kimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day ( requires knowing the previous OAV’s at least ) Meflin ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/63 "2013-02-02T03:01:35Z")
Most of mine have been listed (I loved _Rust and Bone_), but I haven’t seen the 2002 winner for Best Foreign Language Film, [Nowhere in Africa](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161860/?ref_=sr_1), which is probably my favorite foreign language film (in German). ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/64 "2013-02-02T03:39:40Z")
**No Man’s Land** -Bosnian War drama. 2001 Oscar winner Best Foreign Language film. **Man Bites Dog** -French mockumentary about a film crew following and profiling a serial killer. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/65 "2013-02-02T07:46:56Z")
The Secret In Their Eyes ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/66 "2013-02-02T07:54:10Z")
Walkabout Strangers In Good Company La Cage Aux Folles ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/67 "2013-02-02T08:40:43Z")
Some great movies mentioned, but this one was my favorite for a good long while: \*\*Mitt Liv Som Hund (My Life As A Dog) \*\* - a Swedish coming of age story, about a curious and imaginative young boy who is forced to live with relatives as his mother goes through health problems. The film has noticeably bad editing at time (in terms of cuts), but is otherwise one of the best unflinching depictions of a kid and his world and thoughts I’ve seen. I’m making it sound heavy, but it’s really quite funny too. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/68 "2013-02-02T13:25:28Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > **Man Bites Dog** -French mockumentary about a film crew following and profiling a serial killer. A superb satire of media manipulation, very sick and very funny and 20 years before its time. I’d add [Hidden (Caché)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387898/) , though I had to look up what happened at the end. In this someone is videotaping a family, and posting the tape through the door. I’d also ask if anyone understands [Certified Copy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020773/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), then please tell me, but I did appreciate its strange ways. And a rare soviet film about the hell that was the east after the Germans invaded in WWII: [Come and See](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). Astounding. ---
**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 2, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/69 "2013-02-02T15:00:01Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > If you mean foreign as non-US and not foreign language/non-English, then include **Whale Rider**. By this criteria, [Once](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_%28film%29). I loved **Whale Rider** , too, but it isn’t a foreign film (to me, anyhow), ---
**Author:** ![Evin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@Evin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/70 "2013-02-02T16:22:22Z")
_Burnt By The Sun_ a Russian film (1994) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/71 "2013-02-02T16:52:31Z")
[The Square](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1085507/), an Australian film about married lovers plotting to kill her husband. I’ve watched it twice, and there’s not a dull moment. Ditto _The Secret in Their Eyes_, although the rape/murder scene is very difficult to watch. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/72 "2013-02-02T18:56:05Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Ditto _The Secret in Their Eyes_, although the rape/murder scene is very difficult to watch. As it should be. A rare example (IMO) of non-gratuitous horror. As much as I love this movie, during those scenes I yank myself out of the movie - “they’re actors” - and then jump back in. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/73 "2013-02-02T19:04:46Z")
I go back and forth on Krzysztof Kieslowski’s [Blue](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108394/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) and [Red](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111495/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2) as to which is my favorite of the two. My favorite is whichever I’m watching at the time, I guess. ---
**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 2, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/74 "2013-02-02T19:13:12Z")
[The Orphanage](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/?ref_=sr_1) (_El Orfanato_ in Spanish) - excellent, non-gory horror flick from Spain. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/75 "2013-02-02T19:56:20Z")
The Full Monty, I still remember it after all these years. Funny, yet poignant film. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/76 "2013-02-03T03:05:07Z")
Le Cop (Le Ripoux) and Le Cop II… Wonderfully funny French ‘buddy’ films about two cops. The hard-bitten cynical one meets the ‘straight out of college’ idealist. Well worth a watch… Requiem fur Dominik… A Romanian film about the fall of Communism. Acting mixed with contemporary footage. Very powerful. I once saw a South American film that started in the middle, half way through had the end credits, swiftly followed by the opening credits, and then ended in the middle (where it started). It was about a woman who was trying to find out who was throwing eggs at her house. I know it sounds absolutely bonkers, but it worked. Anyone remember it? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/77 "2013-02-03T04:48:46Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > By this criteria, [Once](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_%28film%29). > > I loved **Whale Rider** , too, but it isn’t a foreign film (to me, anyhow), Me neither, but other posters had listed English-language non-US films and I take any chance to recommend **Whale Rider**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/78 "2013-02-03T11:18:06Z")
Here’s everything on the list of my 100 favorite films that probably would be considered non-U.S. movies: _Amarcord_ (1974, Italy, Federico Fellini) _Chungking Express_ (1994, Hong Kong, dir. Wong Kar-Wai) _Excalibur_ (1981, U.K., dir. John Boorman) _Fantastic Planet_ (1973, France, dir. Rene Laloux) _Four Weddings and a Funeral_ (1994, U.K., dir. Mike Newell) _Jules and Jim_ (1961, France, dir. Francois Truffaut) _La Jetée_ (1962, France, dir. Chris Marker) _La Strada_ (1954, Italy, dir. Federico Fellini) _M_ (1931, Germany, dir. Fritz Lang) _Metropolis_ (1926, Germany, dir. Fritz Lang) _My Brilliant Career_ (1979, Australia, dir. Gillian Armstrong) _The Road Warrior_ (1981, Australia, dir. George Miller) _Seven Beauties_ (1976, Italy, dir. Lina Wertmuller) _The Seven Samurai_ (1954, Japan, dir. Akira Kurosawa) _The Third Man_ (1949, U.K., dir. Carol Reed) _The Tree of Wooden Clogs_ (1978, Italy, dir. Ermanno Olmi) _The Year of Living Dangerously_ (1983, Australia, dir. Peter Weir) ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/79 "2013-02-03T20:17:55Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > I’d also ask if anyone understands [Certified Copy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020773/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), then please tell me, but I did appreciate its strange ways. I can’t explain it either, unfortunately, but I still thought it was pretty good. It’s like a puzzle that I wasn’t able to figure out, but I think it’s a credit to the movie that I enjoyed it even thought I wasn’t able to make everything fit together in the end. Plus, Juliette Binoche’s performance is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995/80 "2013-02-03T20:41:37Z")
M.\* \*sometimes it is difficult to avoid whistling “The Hall Of The Mountain King” when in a public place where children are misbehaving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-best-foreign-movies-youve-seen/648995.md?page=5)