What are your favourite foreign-language films?

Arabic

ذيب (Theeb)

Arabic/Flemish/French

Black

Estonian/Georgian

Mandariinid/მანდარინები (Tangerines)

English/French/German/Italian

Inglourious Basterds

French

À bout de souffle (Breathless)
Bande de filles (Girlhood)
Caché (Hidden)
Entre les murs (The Class)
Incendies
La haine (Hate)
La vie d’Adèle (Blue is the Warmest Colour)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
Maryland (Disorder)

German

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)

Japanese

生きる (Ikiru)
羅生門 (Rashomon)
七人の侍 (Seven Samurai)
用心棒 (Yojimbo)

Polish

Ida

Portuguese

Cidade de Deus (City of *)

Russian

Бронено́сец «Потёмкин» (Battleship Potemkin)

Spanish

Amores perros
Che
Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries)
El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth)
El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes)
Volver
Y tu mamá también

 

the long good friday and lock stock and 2 smoking barrels .

 

Every foreign language film I’ve seen I’ve really enjoyed. The first two are up there with my favourite films.

Pan’s Labyrinth (Spanish)

City of * (Portuguese)

Cronos (Spanish)

The Devil’s Backbone (Spanish)

Che (Spanish) - bit too long though.

The Hunt (Danish)

The Raid 1 and 2 (Indonesian)

Battle Royale (Japanese)

Oldboy (Korean)

Inglorious Basterds as well I suppose, which I love, but wouldn’t lump it in with the others.

In fact I have seen a foreign language film that I didn’t enjoy. The Act of Killing (Indonesian).

May have forgotten one or two...

 

Good picks. I think that The Raid was directed by a Welshman, oddly enough.

They are on my to-watch list.

 

Because of my personal limitations nowadays, it's been a while so can't comment on more recent releases, but going back a few years, some definitely worth checking out are/were:

French (and some Polish):

The Colours Trilogy (Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Blanc & Rouge) esp Red.

To fully appreciate it, need to watch all 3 in that order, but they all can stand alone equally well.

Double Life of Veronique (same director as Three Colours)
City of Lost Children

Some of the old Hong Kong films:

Drunk Master (early Jackie Chan)
The Killer (early Chow Yun Fat)
Eastern Condors (one of the funniest movies ever)

Three of the best WWII films (All German):

Der Untergang (Downfall)
Das Boot
Stalingrad

Swedish:

Pretty much everything by Ingmar Bergman, especially Seventh Seal & Wild Strawberrys

Let the Right One In (don't bother with the English language remake)

Italian:

Cinema Paridisio (Italian)
Life Is Beautiful (Italian)
Bicycle Thieves (Italian)

Japanese:

Not a massive fan of Horror, but they did make some damned good ones

The Ring (0, 1 & 2), espeially the original, 1.
The Grudge

Again, these are vastly superior to the Hollywood remakes

Obviously there are loads from India, but I can't say I was ever much of an afficiado of Bollywood or the various other films types eminating from India.

 

Yep. Gareth Evans.

Strange!

 

City of *

Oldboy

Godfather 2

 

Oh, and I forgot :-

M

If anyone hasn't seen it, they should. Well, could say that about half the films listed in this thread, lol. Just thinking of some of these films and knowing I can never really appreciate them properly ever again makes me sad.

 

I have only ever seen short clips of Bergman’s films in a film class, but to be honest, I have never felt compelled to watch them - I know I probably should though.

Those are also high on my to-watch list; I think I will order them now actually.

 

I’m sorry to hear that, mate.

 

Start with Seventh Seal.

Probably one of the more accessible - fascinating and surreal. Must be close to 25yrs since the last time I saw it, part of an Igmar Bergman double bill with * & Alexander. That was at a cinema in Kings Cross in Sydney that was run by buddist monks, where had to take shoes off when entering the cinema, got to sit on bean bags, and no food in the theatre, but they did it as a daily double bill, and in between the 2 films there would be a vegetarian buffet provided. Was always a great night, always did double features, be it directors, Hal Hartley, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick et al, writer, actor etc, something that would link the 2 films.

 

I will give that a go.

The theatre sounds fantastic.

 

Do it. And those 3 German WWII films are all must catch as well. Well, they all of the films listed, not just by me, but everyone are, lol.

But find those films so interesting as they come from the completely different perspective, after growing up watching so many British and Hollywood films glorifying the war at times, and these do absolutely nothing of the sort. Humanizing the soldiers and sailors so often villified and all simply branded Nazis, whether they were or not. The claustaphobia, the hardships and brutal realities, while Downfall is an amazing character study of those within the inner circle of Nazism in those last dying desperate and futile days of the war.

It really was great theatre. No idea if it's still going, as its ben more than 20yrs since I lived there, lol. But it was really great and one of the most unique cinema experiences. Movies were always great, the food was delish and the monks were very warm, welcoming and friendly.

 

Mesrine is a good shout (French)

 

A Bittersweet life,south korean,probably one the greatest gangster movies ever made.

 

Superb film.
As is Das Boot.

 

Have seen a good few but La Haine is easily my favourite.

 

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

 

2 other great French films

Mesrine killer instinct
Mesrine public enemy no1

Also Baise moi (rape me) is quite good