Top 100 Best Foreign Films
A list of the top 100 best foreign films I've ever seen (we're counting only films not in the English language here). Enjoy!
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- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.From Brazil
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsGrazyna SzapolowskaOlaf LubaszenkoStefania IwinskaA naive inexperienced young man spies on a woman who lives across the courtyard, and falls in love with her. He starts using tricks which he hopes will lead to them meeting.From Poland
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.From Japan
- DirectorDamián SzifronStarsDarío GrandinettiMaría MarullMónica VillaSix short stories that explore the extremities of human behavior involving people in distress.From Argentina
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsFranka PotenteMoritz BleibtreuHerbert KnaupAfter a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.From Germany
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsKim Min-heeHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongA woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.From South Korea
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsIsabelle HuppertLaurent LafitteAnne ConsignyA successful businesswoman gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse as she tracks down the unknown man who raped her.From France
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.From Japan
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.From Japan
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiJingwu MaSaifei HeChina in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.From China
- DirectorJean-Pierre DardenneLuc DardenneStarsMarion CotillardFabrizio RongioneCatherine SaléeLiège, Belgium. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job.From Belgium
- DirectorQuang Dung NguyenStarsHong-AnhHoang Yen ChibiThanh HangGo-go sisters brings together two parallel stories about young ambitious teenage girls and middle-aged women who have experienced life's sweet spiciness.From Vietnam
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsYukiji AsaokaTôru MasuokaMasako ArakiThe life and misadventures of a family in contemporary Japan.From Japan
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsEddie ConstantineAnna KarinaAkim TamiroffA U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.From France
- DirectorSeverin FialaVeronika FranzStarsLukas SchwarzElias SchwarzSusanne WuestTwin boys move to a new house with their mother after she has face-changing cosmetic surgery, but under the bandages is someone the boys don't recognize.From Austria
- DirectorBaz PoonpiriyaStarsChutimon ChuengcharoensukyingEisaya HosuwanTeeradon SupapunpinyoLynn, a genius high school student who makes money by cheating tests, receives a new task that leads her to set foot on Sydney, Australia. In order to complete the millions-Baht task, Lynn and her classmates have to finish the international STIC(SAT) exam and deliver the answers back to her friends in Thailand before the exam takes place once again in her home country.From Thailand
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsBae DoonaAki MaedaYû KashiiA music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.From Japan
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsMatti PellonpääKari VäänänenSakke JärvenpääSiberian rock band Leningrad Cowboys go to the USA in pursuit of fame.From Finland
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.From Italy
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.From Spain
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.From Spain
- DirectorLuis MandokiStarsCarlos PadillaLeonor VarelaXuna PrimusA young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980's El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.From Mexico
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsEduardo NoriegaPenélope CruzChete LeraA very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.From Spain
- DirectorPietro GermiStarsMarcello MastroianniDaniela RoccaStefania SandrelliA married Sicilian baron falls in love with his cousin and vows to wed her, but with divorce illegal he must concoct a crime of passion to do away with his wife.From Italy
- 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.From Italy
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.From Japan
- DirectorRuben ÖstlundStarsJohannes KuhnkeLisa Loven KongsliClara WettergrenA family vacationing in the French Alps is confronted with a devastating avalanche.From Sweden
- DirectorJuan Antonio BardemStarsLucia BosèAlberto ClosasBruna CorràA couple having an affair strike a bicyclist with their car and do not offer aid out of fear of their relationship being exposed.From Spain
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.From South Korea
- DirectorVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.From France
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIvana BaqueroAriadna GilSergi LópezIn the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.From Spain
- DirectorLuca MinieroStarsClaudio BisioAlessandro SianiAngela FinocchiaroOverwhelmed by his wife, a postal worker from Northern Italy feigns disability to request a transfer to Milan. When he's unmasked, he is sent to a tiny village near Naples for two years. He moves there alone, scared and full of the typical prejudice about the south. But he meets lovely people who quickly make him feel at home. Now the challenge is to explain this to his wife, so he chooses to make her believe that his life is hell. A remake of the French film "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis."From Italy
- 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.From Germany
- DirectorYû IrieStarsTatsuya FujiwaraHideaki ItôTôru NakamuraA television reporter and a detective try to track down a serial killer known as the Tokyo Strangler.From Japan
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsLyudmila SavelevaVyacheslav TikhonovSergey BondarchukThe Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.From the Soviet Union
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsKim Ki-dukOh Yeong-suJong-ho KimA boy is raised by a Buddhist monk in an isolated floating temple where the years pass like the seasons.From South Korea
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsLázaro RamosLeandra LealLuana PiovaniA Brazilian photocopier operator falls in love with a girl who lives in an opposite house and spends his evenings looking at her through his binoculars.From Brazil
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.From South Korea
- DirectorJesús Magaña VázquezStarsInes De TaviraJuan Pablo CampaPaco de la FuenteLauro, Rita and Agus have a punk band that's not very successful, so they decide to bring a keyboard player to "refresh" their sound, and that's when they meet Pepe, a talented player. In spite of the fact that he has Down syndrome, they accept him in the band and call him "The Alien". Thanks to Pepe's "touch", Mr. Gramophone, a legendary music manager, decides to represent the band and takes them to the top of the music scene with a new genre. However, Lauro gets jealous of The Alien because he steals attention from him with his huge talent, and it seems he's going to steal the love of Rita, his ex-girlfriend, as well.From Mexico
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsFrançois CluzetOmar SyAnne Le NyAfter he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.From France
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.From Japan
- 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.From Iran
- DirectorYoshihiro FukagawaStarsOsamu MukaiMachiko OnoKayoko KishimotoA wealthy Japanese couple living in Nanjing flee China at the end of the Second World War, and struggle to rebuild their life over the following decade back in Japan.From Japan
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.From South Korea
- 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.From France
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsHisako KanemotoMiyu IrinoKazuhiko InoueA coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.From Japan
- 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.From Italy
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.From France
- DirectorKeiichi HaraStarsAkiko YajimaMiki NarahashiKeiji FujiwaraWhen a new threat regresses the minds of the adults of Kasukabe back into children, its up to Shinnosuke and his friends to reclaim their parents from becoming trapped in the nostalgia of the 20th Century.From Japan
- DirectorJean-Pierre AmérisStarsBenoît PoelvoordeIsabelle CarréLorella CravottaJean-René, owner of a chocolate factory, and Angélique, a talented chocolate maker, are too shy to admit their love for each other. Will they come together thanks to their common passion?From France
- DirectorTaichi IshidateNaoko YamadaStarsMiyu IrinoSaori HayamiAoi YûkiA young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.From Japan
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.From Japan
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsMarie-Laure DougnacDominique PinonPascal BenezechPost-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.From France
- DirectorSung-ho KimStarsLee ReLee Ji-WonEun-Taek HongJi-so, a young girl who doesn't have a house because of her bankrupted dad. In order to get money to buy a house she plan to steals wealthy people's dogs to earn reward money when she returns them.From South Korea
- DirectorHannes HolmStarsRolf LassgårdBahar ParsFilip BergOve, an ill-tempered, isolated retiree who spends his days enforcing block association rules and visiting his wife's grave, has finally given up on life just as an unlikely friendship develops with his boisterous new neighbors.From Sweden
- DirectorAlfonso ArauStarsMarco LeonardiLumi CavazosRegina TornéWhen tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.From Mexico
- 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.From China
- DirectorTono ErrandoJavier MariscalFernando TruebaStarsEman Xor OñaLimara MenesesMario GuerraChico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.From Spain
- DirectorSion SonoStarsReina TriendlMariko ShinodaErina ManoA girl's life cascades into chaos as everyone around her suffers a gruesome fate while she becomes less certain of who she is and her once-once normal life.From Japan
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsGiulietta MasinaFrançois PérierFranca MarziA waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak.From Italy
- DirectorÁlex de la IglesiaStarsBlanca SuárezMario CasasCarmen MachiIn bustling downtown Madrid, a loud gunshot and two mysterious deaths trap a motley assortment of common urbanites in a decrepit central bar, while paranoia and suspicion force the terrified regulars to turn on each other.From Spain
- DirectorKaige ChenStarsXueqi WangBai XueQuiang LiuA communist soldier travels to Shanbei to collect folk songs for propaganda while visiting a poor peasant family, giving hope to the teenage daughter in escaping an arranged marriage.From China
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.From Italy
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.From Japan
- DirectorDino RisiStarsVittorio GassmanCatherine SpaakJean-Louis TrintignantAn impulsive braggart takes a shy law student with him for a two-day road trip from Rome to Tuscany.From Italy
- DirectorOriol PauloStarsMario CasasAna WagenerJose CoronadoA successful entrepreneur accused of murder and a witness preparation expert have less than three hours to come up with an impregnable defense.From Spain
- DirectorHiromasa YonebayashiStarsBridgit MendlerAmy PoehlerWill ArnettThe Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter Arrietty is discovered.From Japan
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSachiko MuraseRichard GereHisashi IgawaThree generations' responses to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.From Japan
- DirectorFernando SalemStarsEsteban BigliardiRafael SpregelburdPilar GamboaCelina works at a remote tollbooth on a desert road, few days before Christmas, her father dies and Celina becomes a door-to-door encyclopedia saleswoman so she can earn enough money to travel to Italy and find her mom.From Argentina
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLim Soo-jungRainPark Byeong-eunA girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.From South Korea
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.From Japan
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsLee Seung-yunJae HeeHyuk-ho KwonA transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.From South Korea
- DirectorSylvia ChangStarsSylvia ChangZhuangzhuang TianYueting LangA dying old lady reminisces about her happier moments. Her daughter, Hui Ying, decides to move her father's grave from his hometown to beside her mother's grave. However, his first wife, who has looked after the grave for years, doesn't approve, and their disagreement ends up becoming a problem for the whole town. Hui Yang's daughter, Weiwei, works at a broadcasting company. After showing a video clip of a scuffle between her mother and step-grandmother to her colleagues, it becomes local news, and much gossip ensues.From China
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSimone SignoretVéra ClouzotPaul MeurisseThe wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.From France
- DirectorDavid WnendtStarsOliver MasucciThomas M. KöpplMarc-Marvin IsraelAdolf Hitler wakes up in the 21st century. He quickly gains media attention, but while Germany finds him hilarious and charming, Hitler makes some serious observations about society.From Germany
- DirectorGary AlazrakiStarsGonzalo VegaLuis Gerardo MéndezKarla SouzaThree spoiled children are cut off from their family fortune and forced to do the unthinkable: get jobs.From Mexico
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenAnnika WedderkoppA teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.From Denmark
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAnna KarinaGraziella GalvaniPierrot escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.From France
- DirectorSebastián LelioStarsDaniela VegaFrancisco ReyesLuis GneccoMarina, a transgender woman who works as a waitress and moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend.From Chile
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsToshiaki KarasawaKyôka SuzukiMasahiko NishimuraJust before the live airing of a radio play, an actress decides to change the name of her character. This cascades into a battle of egos by all involved that causes continual script changes while the play is on-air live.From Japan
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRyunosuke KamikiNanami SakurabaMitsuki TanimuraA student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.From Japan
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.From Japan
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzLluís HomarBlanca PortilloHarry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.From Spain
- 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.From Japan
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsIrène JacobWladyslaw KowalskiHalina GryglaszewskaTwo parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.From Poland
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsBrigitte LinTakeshi KaneshiroTony Leung Chiu-waiTwo melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.From Hong Kong
- 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.From Japan
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneHideko TakamineHiroshi AkutagawaA poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.From Japan
- DirectorJang Hang-junStarsKang Ha-neulYeon Je HyungKim Mu-yeolWhen his abducted brother returns seemingly a different man with no memory of the past 19 days, Jin-seok chases after the truth behind the kidnapping.From South Korea
- DirectorFriðrik Þór FriðrikssonStarsMasatoshi NagaseLili TaylorFisher StevensA Japanese businessman travels to Iceland and has a series of misadventures while venturing to a remote area to perform a traditional burial ritual where his parents died several years back.From Iceland
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsZiyi ZhangTakeshi KaneshiroAndy LauA romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.From China
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsFumiyo KohinataEri FukatsuYuki IzumisawaAfter a sudden worldwide power cut, a Tokyo family are caught up in the chaos as millions traverse the country in search of electricity.From Japan
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJean SebergVan DoudeA small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.From France
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.From Japan
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsAnna KarinaSady RebbotAndré S. LabartheTwelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.From France
- DirectorYoshifumi KondôStarsYoko HonnaIssei TakahashiTakashi TachibanaA love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.From Japan
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsHideaki ItôMasami NagasawaShôta SometaniAfter failing to get into university, a soft city boy randomly picks a job in forestry.From Japan
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.From Japan
- DirectorRohit ShettyStarsAjay DevgnKajal AggarwalPrakash RajA truly honest police officer is transferred to a town controlled by a gangster he has humiliated. The gangster believes he can use good power to bring down this officer who made him look foolish and weak.From India