Great Foreign Films (That I've Seen) Within the Last 20 Years
by anthony-magden-29 | created - 30 Mar 2012 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicIn no particular order.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Ben X (2007)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
As an alternative to getting bullied at school, an autistic teenager retreats into the world of online role-playing games.
Director: Nic Balthazar | Stars: Marijke Pinoy, Greg Timmermans, Cesar De Sutter, Gilles De Schryver
Votes: 19,378 | Gross: $0.00M
2. Timecrimes (2007)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
Director: Nacho Vigalondo | Stars: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández, Bárbara Goenaga, Nacho Vigalondo
Votes: 68,763 | Gross: $0.04M
3. High Tension (2003)
R | 91 min | Horror
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia's parents' secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls' idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja | Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon, Franck Khalfoun
Votes: 77,835 | Gross: $3.68M
4. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite 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.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,124 | Gross: $33.23M
5. Amores Perros (2000)
R | 154 min | Drama, Thriller
An amateur dog fighter, a supermodel, and a derelict assassin, all separately struggling to find love, find their lives transformed by a devastating car wreck in Mexico City.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo, Álvaro Guerrero
Votes: 252,860 | Gross: $5.38M
6. Sin Nombre (2009)
R | 96 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A young Honduran girl and a Mexican gangster are united in a journey across the U.S. border.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga | Stars: Paulina Gaitan, Marco Antonio Aguirre, Leonardo Alonso, Karla Cecilia Alvarado
Votes: 34,047 | Gross: $2.53M
7. Dogtooth (2009)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
A controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Passalis
Votes: 110,382 | Gross: $0.11M
8. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 800,910 | Gross: $7.56M
9. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,618 | Gross: $53.71M
10. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 206,962 | Gross: $7.27M
11. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A 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.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,590 | Gross: $128.08M
12. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,905 | Gross: $37.63M
13. The Orphanage (2007)
R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 163,579 | Gross: $7.16M
14. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,741 | Gross: $2.12M
15. Oldboy (2003)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
After 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.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok
Votes: 635,640 | Gross: $0.71M
16. Tell No One (2006)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An accidental discovery near a doctor's estate stirs up some painful memories eight years after his wife's hideous murder, and now, things are bound to take a turn for the unexpected. Does the good doctor know more than he's letting on?
Director: Guillaume Canet | Stars: François Cluzet, Marie-Josée Croze, André Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 57,979 | Gross: $6.18M
17. The Lives of Others (2006)
R | 137 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
In 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.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Votes: 410,412 | Gross: $11.29M
18. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
Director: Juan José Campanella | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Carla Quevedo
Votes: 222,346 | Gross: $6.39M
19. The Man from Nowhere (2010)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.
Director: Lee Jeong-beom | Stars: Won Bin, Kim Sae-ron, Kim Tae-hoon, Kim Hee-won
Votes: 74,834 | Gross: $0.01M
20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
R | 152 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
Director: Niels Arden Oplev | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Ewa Fröling, Lena Endre
Votes: 223,326 | Gross: $10.10M
21. Ip Man (2008)
R | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka-Tung Lam
Votes: 233,565
22. Vengeance (2009)
Not Rated | 108 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Simon Yam, Suet Lam
Votes: 7,001
23. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 800,910 | Gross: $7.56M
24. The Chaser (2008)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 72,751
25. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 593,850 | Gross: $13.54M
26. The Imposter (2012)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Adam O'Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson, Bryan Gibson
Votes: 50,435 | Gross: $0.89M
27. Headhunters (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Julie R. Ølgaard
Votes: 106,968 | Gross: $1.20M
28. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Votes: 877,701 | Gross: $141.32M
29. Black Book (2006)
R | 145 min | Drama, Thriller, War
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn
Votes: 80,500 | Gross: $4.40M
30. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Star-crossed lovers must fight on opposing sides in a battle that will determine the next Shogun.
Director: Ten Shimoyama | Stars: Yukie Nakama, Joe Odagiri, Tomoka Kurotani, Erika Sawajiri
Votes: 12,941
31. Attack the Gas Station! 2 (2010)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy
It's been 10 years since Mr. Park's gas station was attacked by No Mark motorcycle gangs.
Director: Sang-Jin Kim | Stars: Hyun-woo Joo, Jo Han-sun, Jong-hak Baek, Moon Won-ju
Votes: 382
32. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,606
33. The Host (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Votes: 132,690 | Gross: $2.20M
34. The Good the Bad the Weird (2008)
R | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Yun Je-mun
Votes: 37,929 | Gross: $0.13M
35. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura
Votes: 89,213
36. Kill Zone (2005)
Not Rated | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A near retired inspector and his unit are willing to put down a crime boss at all costs while dealing with his replacement, who is getting in their way. Meanwhile, the crime boss sends his top henchmen to put an end to their dirty schemes.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Jing Wu
Votes: 13,197
37. Howling (2012)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Thriller
Veteran detective Sang-gil and beat cop Eun-yeong are in charge of a case that seems to involve a simple act of self-immolation. Sang-gil initially thinks that it was an accident, but dog ... See full summary »
Director: Ha Yoo | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Na-young, Nam Bo-ra, Jeong In-gi
Votes: 2,197
39. Election (2005)
Unrated | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rival gang leaders are locked in a struggle to become the new chairman of Hong Kong's Triad society.
Director: Johnnie To | Stars: Louis Koo, Suet Lam, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Eddie Cheung
Votes: 11,371
40. District B13 (2004)
R | 84 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
Director: Pierre Morel | Stars: Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Tony D'Amario, Bibi Naceri
Votes: 73,871 | Gross: $1.20M
41. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,245,608 | Gross: $19.50M
Tell Your Friends