25.)
Audition (1999)This is not for the faint of heart and really any movie where an animal dies is not high on my list, but this is certainly an exception.
Plot: 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.
Country: Japan
24.)
Stalker (1979)A beautifully shot and very trippy movie, this movie might scare some away with its nearly three hour run time, but it's certainly worth the watch.
Plot: A guide leads two men through an area known as The Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Country: Russia
23.)
Umberto D (1952)A beautifully heartbreaking film typical of Italian Neo-Realism with an ending that nearly turns tragic, well more tragic than it already is.
Plot: An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension in Rome.
Country: Italy
22.)
Stephen Chow stars and directs one of my favorite Kung-Fu movie of all-time thanks in part to its over the top fight scenes and ridiculous characters. A great film to cheer you up after watching the last three movies.
Plot: 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.
Country: China
21.)
City of God (2002)Back to the gritty with this one as City of God examines the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It's the breakthrough picture for director Fernando Meirelles who earned a Best Director nod.
Plot: In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Country: Brazil
20.)
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010)The only sequel on this list that like City of God, shows how rough things are going in Brazil.
Plot: After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.
Country: Brazil
19.)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)Not to be confused with the American remake, this movie is much better and unlike the version from the states, this actually had the trilogy completed and they are also pretty solid films.
Plot: 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.
Country: Sweden
18.)
Like political thrillers set in other countries? Then Costas-Gravas is your man, and this is his greatest film. This is the first movie on this list to win Best Foreign Film and it also garnered a Best Picture nomination.
Plot: Following the murder of a prominent leftist, an investigator tries to uncover the truth while government officials attempt to cover up their roles.
Country: Algeria
17.)
The Lives of Others (2006)Ever feel like someone is listening to everything you say? In The Lives of Others, they are. This one also won Best Foreign Film.
Plot: 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.
Country: Germany
16.)
Before Mathieu Kassovitz made that awful film Gothika, he was wowing with this mid-90's classic that is chalked full of rage and violence.
Plot: 24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Country: France
15.)
Downfall (2004)The bunker scene is brilliant, but has become a victim of the internet with people redubbing the fiery speech.
Plot: Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Country: Germany
14.)
Alejandro G. Inarritu is one of my favorite directors with 21 Grams, Babel, and The Revenant all under his belt, but his first feature film might just be his best. Like several of his films, there's more than one storyline and all three are intertwined beautifully. I'm also a huge Gael Garcia Bernal fan.
Plot: A horrific car accident connects three stories, each involving characters dealing with loss, regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love.
Country: Mexico
13.)
Writing and communicating can be a very difficult process. Doing it with one eye is an even more tedious task, but it's what Jean-Dominique Bauby did to write his story and share it with the world.
Plot: Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind.
Country: France
12.)
High and Low (1963)This film made a great impression for a different film on this list about society by contrasting the rich (high in a skyscraper) and the low (down in the streets).
Plot:An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
Country: Japan
11.)
Oldboy (2003)Vengeance, torture, and one horrific twist all come to a head in the final act of this thriller.
Plot: After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in five days.
Country: South Korea
10.)
Seven Samurai (1954)Before the Magnificent Seven rode on to the big screen, their inspiration came from the East with Kurosawa's epic masterpiece and his second appearance on this list.
Plot: A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.
Country: Japan
9.)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)Italian Neo-Realism strikes again, but this time with an even more depressing story and an ending so unjust, you can't believe they'd end a movie on that note.
Plot: In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen on the first day of his new job. He and his son set out to find it.
Country: Italy
8.)
The Hunt (2012)One of the most haunting endings that stays with you long after the film is over.
Plot: Lucas is a Kindergarten teacher who takes great care of his students. Unfortunately for him, young Klara has a run-away imagination and concocts a lie about her teacher. Before Lucas is even able to understand the consequences, he has become the outcast of the town. The hunt is on to prove his innocence before it's taken from him for good.
Country: Denmark
7.)
A beautiful film about romance, friendship, and the movies.
Plot: A 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.
Country: Italy
6.)
Amelie (2001)A beautifully funny movie that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.
Plot: Amélie is a shy waitress in a Montmartre café. After returning a long-lost childhood treasure to a former occupant of her apartment, and seeing the effect it has on him, she decides to set out on a mission to make others happy and in the meantime pursues a quirky guy who collects discarded photo booth pictures.
Country: France
5.)
I was disappointed to see an American remake of this being announced, because to me, this is already a near perfect film.
Plot: After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Country: France
4.)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)Guillermo del Toro's creative mind is at its fullest potential with the creepy fantasy world that a young girl stumbles into. The hand eyes pose is a must in the Pool house when trying to act like a weirdo.
Plot: In 1944 Falangist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.
Country: Mexico
3.)
A Separation (2011)A movie that had me stop everything I was doing and just focus immensely on every word I read. Iran might not seem like a place for fantastic film making, but this along with The Salesman are just a few examples.
Plot: A 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.
Country: Iran
2.)
Parasite (2019)A tale of two different films as it starts as a dark comedy and then falls into a chaotic thriller. I jumped out of seat after a shocking sequence near the end of the movie. I've immediately added all Bong Joon Ho films to my watchlist.
Plot: A poor family, the Kims, con their way into becoming the servants of a rich family, the Parks. But their easy life gets complicated when their deception is threatened with exposure.
Country: South Korea
1.)
Emotions run wild in this Holocaust story and it might sound weird that you'll find anything funny about the situation, but that's what makes this film appeal to me so much.
Plot: When an open-minded Jewish librarian 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.
Country: Italy
By Country:
Italy-4
France-4
Japan-3
South Korea-2
Mexico-2
Germany-2
Brazil-2
Iran-1
Denmark-1
Algeria-1
Sweden-1
China-1
Russia-1
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