My Best Foreign Language Film Winners
This is a list of my winners of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I have obviously NOT seen most of the films that appear on this list, but I plan on seeing most of, if not all of them. I feel comfortable making such a list despite my lack of viewing history because, for many of the films, especially the winners, their reputations precede them. Please don't hesitate to talk about any disagreements in the comments section. Also, I request that, if the spirit so moves you, you comment with any recommendations of other foreign language films I should see that are worthy of possible inclusion on my list as either winner(s) or as nominee(s). Notes: **-won Academy Awards; *-nominated for Academy Award; ^^-shortlisted for Academy Award nomination; ^-submitted for consideration for Academy Award nomination
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- DirectorJean CocteauRené ClémentStarsJean MaraisJosette DayMila ParélyA beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraToshirô MifuneReizaburô YamamotoA drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorRaj KapoorStarsRaj KapoorNargisPrithviraj KapoorA poor young man named Raj joins a criminal gang to feed his mother. But when he falls in love with Rita, he decides to reform himself for her.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsGeorges PoujoulyBrigitte FosseyAmédéeA young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsAnthony QuinnGiulietta MasinaRichard BasehartA care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsMax von SydowGunnar BjörnstrandBengt EkerotA knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsVictor SjöströmBibi AnderssonIngrid ThulinAfter living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonGunnar BjörnstrandMax von SydowRecently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family in their island home, only to slip from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJeanne MoreauOskar WernerHenri SerreDecades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsEiji OkadaKyôko KishidaKôji MitsuiAn entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
- DirectorJán KadárElmar KlosStarsIda KaminskaJozef KronerFrantisek ZvaríkA carpenter in the Fascist Slovak State is appointed "Aryan controller" of a Jewish widow's store.
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
- DirectorJirí MenzelStarsVáclav NeckárJosef SomrVlastimil BrodskýAn apprentice train dispatcher at a village station seeks his first sexual encounter and becomes despondent when he is unable to perform.
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsLyudmila SavelevaVyacheslav TikhonovSergey BondarchukThe Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.
- DirectorElio PetriStarsGian Maria VolontèFlorinda BolkanGianni SantuccioA chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.
- DirectorJan TroellStarsMax von SydowLiv UllmannEddie AxbergSmåland, Sweden, mid-19th century. A farming family struggle with their rocky, unyielding land, and decide to embark on the arduous journey to new hope in America.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJacqueline BissetJean-Pierre LéaudFrançois TruffautA committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
- StarsLiv UllmannErland JosephsonBibi AnderssonTen years within the marriage of Marianne and Johan.
- DirectorDino RisiStarsVittorio GassmanAlessandro MomoAgostina BelliA young private is assigned to accompany a blind captain. It soon becomes clear that they are both complex personalities.
- DirectorLina WertmüllerStarsGiancarlo GianniniFernando ReyShirley StolerThe defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and its effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.
- DirectorEttore ScolaStarsSophia LorenMarcello MastroianniJohn VernonTwo neighbors, a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife, meet during Hitler's visit to Italy in May 1938.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsIngrid BergmanLiv UllmannLena NymanA devoted wife is visited by her mother, a successful concert pianist who had little time for her when she was young.
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsDavid BennentMario AdorfAngela WinklerIn 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
- DirectorJosé Luis GarciStarsAntonio FerrandisEncarna PasoJosé BódaloA renowned Spanish writer returns to his natal city after 40 years and embarks on a journey back to his roots, triggering memories of his past.
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsBertil GuvePernilla AllwinKristina AdolphsonTwo young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
- DirectorRichard DemboStarsMichel PiccoliAlexandre ArbattLiv UllmannDuring the Cold War, the World Chess Championship clashed complete opposites - personal and political.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsYves MontandGérard DepardieuDaniel AuteuilA greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.
- DirectorClaude BerriStarsYves MontandEmmanuelle BéartDaniel AuteuilA beautiful but shy shepherdess plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsAnton GlanzeliusTomas von BrömssenAnki LidénIn the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsPhilippe NoiretEnzo CannavaleAntonella AttiliA filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
- DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsGérard DepardieuAnne BrochetVincent PerezFamed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsSolomon PerelMarco HofschneiderRené HofschneiderA boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.
- DirectorNikita MikhalkovStarsBademaBayaertuVladimir GostyukhinA curious friendship develops between Gombo, a young Mongolian shepherd living with his wife and family in a hut, deep in the wilderness of the steppes, and Sergei, a Russian worker whose truck breaks down not far from Gombo's hut.
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsLeslie CheungFengyi ZhangGong LiTwo boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsIrène JacobJean-Louis TrintignantFrédérique FederA model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiBaotian LiXiaoxiao WangA provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
- DirectorSergei BodrovStarsOleg MenshikovSergey BodrovSusanna MekhraliyevaTwo Russian soldiers, one battle-seasoned and the other barely into his boots and uniform, are taken prisoner by an anxious Islamic father from a remote village hoping to trade them for his captured son.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsRosario FloresJavier CámaraDarío GrandinettiTwo men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsRémy GirardDorothée BerrymanStéphane RousseauDuring his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- DirectorHany Abu-AssadStarsKais NashifAli SulimanLubna AzabalTwo childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsUlrich MüheMartina GedeckSebastian KochIn 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsMathieu AmalricEmmanuelle SeignerMarie-Josée CrozeThe true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
- DirectorXavier BeauvoisStarsLambert WilsonMichael LonsdaleOlivier RabourdinUnder threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh BayatA married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.