Favourite Foreign Language Films
by svenning123 | created - 03 Apr 2013 | updated - 19 May 2014 | PublicMy top 40 favourite foreign language (non-english) films in rough order.
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1. Tsotsi (2005)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Matseke-Zulu, Terry Pheto
Votes: 31,603 | Gross: $2.91M
2. 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: 252,844 | Gross: $5.38M
3. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 929,055 | Gross: $13.18M
4. Revenge: A Love Story (2010)
90 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Kit is a young man hunted by the police after a series of murders. A mystery unravels and out comes a story about revenge.
Director: Ching-Po Wong | Stars: Juno Mak, Sora Aoi, Tony Liu, Siu-Ho Chin
Votes: 1,752
5. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah
Votes: 217,016 | Gross: $4.11M
6. The Raid 2 (2014)
R | 150 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara
Votes: 131,241 | Gross: $2.63M
7. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During 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.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 848,981 | Gross: $10.06M
8. Kidnapped (2010)
Not Rated | 85 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, and forcing the father to empty his credit cards.
Director: Miguel Ángel Vivas | Stars: Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, Ana Wagener, Guillermo Barrientos
Votes: 8,468
9. 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: 635,549 | Gross: $0.71M
10. 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: 794,067 | Gross: $33.23M
11. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When 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.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 742,977 | Gross: $57.60M
12. 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: 223,320 | Gross: $10.10M
13. Point Blank (2010)
R | 84 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Samuel, a male nurse, saves the life of a thief whose henchmen take Samuel's wife hostage and force him to spring their boss.
Director: Fred Cavayé | Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya
Votes: 14,641 | Gross: $0.71M
14. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,074 | Gross: $1.11M
15. Zift (2008)
Unrated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on wrongful conviction of murder. Jailed shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944, he now finds himself in a new and alien ... See full summary »
Director: Javor Gardev | Stars: Zachary Baharov, Tanya Ilieva, Vladimir Penev, Mihail Mutafov
Votes: 5,446
16. 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: 800,818 | Gross: $7.56M
17. 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: 206,953 | Gross: $7.27M
18. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
R | 99 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Siu-Lung Leung
Votes: 150,806 | Gross: $17.11M
19. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
PG | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
An adventure set in the early part of the 20th century and focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche, Jean-Paul Rouve
Votes: 22,635
20. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 911,847 | Gross: $32.57M
21. 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: 74,830 | Gross: $0.01M
22. 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: 106,963 | Gross: $1.20M
23. The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Drama
As computer hacker Lisbeth and journalist Mikael investigate a sex-trafficking ring, Lisbeth is accused of three murders, causing her to go on the run while Mikael works to clear her name.
Director: Daniel Alfredson | Stars: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson
Votes: 98,494 | Gross: $9.08M
24. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Lisbeth is recovering in a hospital and awaiting trial for three murders when she is released. Mikael must prove her innocence, but Lisbeth must be willing to share the details of her sordid experiences with the court.
Director: Daniel Alfredson | Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Annika Hallin
Votes: 74,548 | Gross: $5.43M
25. Bijitâ Q (2001)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ken'ichi Endô, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe, Jun Mutô
Votes: 17,051
26. 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: 281,577 | Gross: $128.08M
27. In Darkness (2011)
R | 145 min | Drama, War
A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the German-occupied Polish city of Lvov.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Schrader
Votes: 11,158 | Gross: $1.04M
28. Symbol (2009)
Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery
A man wakes up in a white room empty other than buttons on the walls, he must find out which button to push to get what he wants.
Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto | Stars: Hitoshi Matsumoto, David Quintero, Luis Accinelli, Lilian Tapia
Votes: 4,446
29. Breathless (2008)
Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Drama
A bitter loan shark strikes a friendship with a troubled schoolgirl as he faces his own troubled past with his abusive father.
Director: Yang Ik-joon | Stars: Kim Kkobbi, Hwan Lee, Yang Ik-joon, Jeong-soon Park
Votes: 5,560
30. Cell 211 (2009)
113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
Director: Daniel Monzón | Stars: Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann, Antonio Resines, Manuel Morón
Votes: 70,763
31. 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: 226,727 | Gross: $2.12M
32. Micmacs (2009)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Nicolas Marié, Yolande Moreau
Votes: 31,266 | Gross: $1.26M
33. The Counterfeiters (2007)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, History
The story of the Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history, carried out by Germany during World War II.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky | Stars: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach
Votes: 47,174 | Gross: $5.48M
34. The Housemaid (2010)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
A man's affair with his family's housemaid leads to dark consequences.
Director: Im Sang-soo | Stars: Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Jung-jae, Youn Yuh-jung, Woo Seo
Votes: 12,486 | Gross: $0.15M
35. The Hole (1960)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: André Bervil, Jean Keraudy, Michel Constantin, Philippe Leroy
Votes: 20,361 | Gross: $0.03M
36. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Not Rated | 144 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin
Votes: 146,147 | Gross: $0.13M
37. 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: 410,386 | Gross: $11.29M
38. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
PG | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wei Zhao, Yat-Fei Wong, Man-Tat Ng
Votes: 89,150 | Gross: $0.49M
39. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa
Votes: 449,144 | Gross: $4.71M
40. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 128,046
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