The term “international movie” is a little iffy, from one point of view. Or maybe it’s iffy from most points of view, seeing as a film gets called an international orforeign oneif it’s not produced in the U.S. But, if you’re not in the U.S., then aren’t Hollywood productions international movies? You could go a little broader and say international movies are ones where English is not the primary language, but then what happens if you don’t speak English?
Oh well. It’s going in circles. For right here, right now, international movies fall within the fairly narrow definition of “non-English-language movies either mostly or entirely funded outside the U.S.” Thepast 50 years has seen a wide range of incredible non-English-language films get released, with the following titles being some of the most incredible.
10’City of God' (2002)
Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Easily one ofthe best non-American gangster moviesof all time,City of Goddelivers as a fast-paced crime film but is also a good deal more than just that. It follows characters embroiled in chaotic lives in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, spending time with the central ones as children and then also as young adults, with the central character longing to escape the violence around him.
City of Godpulls very few punches throughout, retaining a sense of grit and authenticity while alsobeing compelling and sometimes exciting. To call it entertaining in the traditional sense or fun might be underselling/misrepresenting it, butCity of Godisenthralling because of how emotionally gripping it is. You feel like you’re taken on a pretty vast journey here, with so much being packed into a movie that’s ultimately only a little over two hours long.
City of God
9’Princess Mononoke' (1997)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
If you look back onthe past few decades of anime, the one name that’s going to come up the most often is, inevitably,Hayao Miyazaki’s. The filmmaker has never missed, and this makes ranking his filmography difficult.Similarly taxing is picking one of his films as his best… whileSpirited Awaymight be the pick for most, that one’s going to be runner-up here, andPrincess Mononokeis going to be placed here instead.
Why? It might well bethe most emotionally mature Miyazaki film, and also has perhaps the most ambitious and emotionally fulfilling story of all his movies. It’s about humanity vs. nature, at its core, but does a great deal more across a runtime that’s quite epic for an animated movie.Princess Mononokealso looks and sounds beautiful throughout, but that pretty much goes without saying whenever the filmography of Hayao Miyazaki is being discussed.
Princess Mononoke
8’Christiane F.' (1981)
Directed by Uli Edel
Fewmovies that tackle the topic of drug addictionare anywhere close to being easy watches, but still, few go quite as far asChristiane F. This is an honestly mortifying film from start to finish, being about a young girl who falls in with a rebellious crowd, and finds herself getting addicted to increasingly harder drugs, culminating with heroin, which reshapes her life in especially difficult ways.
To callChristiane F.uncompromising would be a massive understatement. It unpacks the initial highs of being, well, high (complete withquite a lot ofDavid Bowiemusic), butonce the first act is over, things become increasingly horrific. It hammers home a simple message with brutality, and without ever threatening to tip into ridiculous or preachy territory. It’s a deeply unpleasant film, but it has to be.
7’Chungking Express' (1994)
Directed by Wong Kar-wai
Chungking Expressis an unconventional but also very relatable romantic comedy of sorts. It feels weird tohit it with the “rom-com” label, but it is quite funny, it is romantic, and it is moving. It’s about loneliness and longing, following one set of characters for one half of the film before jumping over to another set of characters in the second, kind of just at random.
Well, it feels random, at least at first. And it’s hard to explain or justify. But it works.One grittier and slightly more downbeat story (that’s also quite high energy) gives way to something a little breezier, warmer, but also slower. They add up to make one great film that has two halves that sort of mirror each other emotionally. They contrast narratively, but fit together so well on a gut level.
Chungking Express
6’Portrait of a Lady on Fire' (2019)
Directed by Céline Sciamma
Another film that, likeChungking Express, feels far more ambitious than most that focus on love,Portrait of a Lady on Fireis one of many releases that make2019 one of the best years for cinemain recent memory. It’s primarily about two women on an island, and the bond that slowly forms between them when one is tasked with painting a portrait of the other.
Portrait of a Lady on Firetakes place more than two centuries ago, though, and so the time during which they liveprevents their romance from becoming something long-term(the subject of the painting is engaged, unhappily, to a nobleman).The core story is straightforward, but thematically and emotionally,Portrait of a Lady on Firegoes deep, and it also stands as one of the most beautiful-looking movies of the 21st century so far.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
5’Yi Yi' (2000)
Directed by Edward Yang
A perfect marriage of relatable and everyday drama coupled with immaculate filmmaking,Yi Yiis easily amongthe greatest international films of all time(not just the last 50 years). Its focus is on numerous members of a family living in Taipei, with each of them struggling with their own issues (it’s a littleMagnolia, though the fact that they’re related does tie most of the characters together more explicitly).
And that’s kind of it,for about three hours. It might sound tedious, but it’s all in the execution.Yi Yiis, so long as you’re patient, quite staggering in how emotional it gets. It’s a film that creeps up on you and inevitably catches you off guard. It’s absorbing to watch, though the experience of watching it is difficult to put into words. It should just be watched and felt.
4’Pan’s Labyrinth' (2006)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Pan’s Labyrinthis a lot of things, and successfullypulls off being both a war filmand a fantasy movie at the same time. It’s about a young girl beingforced to live with a tyrannical stepfather, and the way she escapes into a fantasy world because of how trying her life around him has become. It’s far from a happy world (and it could all be in her head), but it beats the hopelessness of real life.
Despite being pretty damn sad,Pan’s Labyrinthis undeniably beautifuland technically might well be perfect.Guillermo del Toro has directed other great movies for sure, but none are on quite the same level asPan’s Labyrinth. That might sound like hyperbole, but nah, this one is just that good.
Pan’s Labyrinth
3’Fanny and Alexander' (1982)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
If you watch the theatrical cut ofFanny and Alexander, you’ll need to find athree-hour window of time to properly digest itall, and then if you watch the miniseries cut, you’ll need a bit over five hours. Both are incredibly rewarding watches, though, even if the idea of putting aside an entire evening (or an entire afternoon, in the case of the longer cut) might sound daunting.
Perhaps a little likeYi Yi,Fanny and Alexanderis most effective as a family drama, though it has a slight fantastical spin to it at times. It’salso an exceptionally dark film at points, while inspiring hope during other moments.You feel just about every emotion there is at one point or another duringFanny and Alexander, and it’s that richness (plus a skilled filmmaker likeIngmar Bergmanworking at the height of his powers) that makes this one so riveting.
Fanny and Alexander
2’Parasite' (2019)
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
It feels tempting to callParasiteone ofthe greatest films of all time, with only a little hesitation, since most films have to reach a certain age before they become classics in the traditional sense. What that age is, that’s maybe up for debate, but it’s not wrong to say that. Things could change in the next couple of decades, and there’s a not-impossible chance thatParasitewill be weighed down in some unforeseen way.
But also, that’s super unlikely. This is, for now, pretty much perfect as far asunpredictable blends of the comedy, drama, and thrillergenres go, and there’s a good chance it’ll stay feeling perfect for years to come.If you had to bet on one film from the 2010s enduring and maybe even seeming decade-defining, in hindsight,Parasitewould probably be a pretty good pick.
1’Ran' (1985)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
The bestAkira Kurosawafilm came out more than 70 years ago (it’s probablySeven Samurai), but the second-best is a little more recent:Ran. Okay,High and Lowis also a contender, but that one is more than 60 years old. So, of those made since 1975,Ranis clearly the best. It’s an all-timer however you want to define it, taking the premise ofKing Learandmorphing it into a grand-scale epic.
Of the Akira Kurosawa films made since 1975, Ran is clearly the best. It’s an all-timer, however you want to define it.
It offers a great deal of spectacle, and its action sequences are undeniably striking, but the drama present inRanis also remarkable, with things feeling theatrical, brutal, realistic, and stylish, all at once.How Kurosawa did it all at onceis hard to work out, but that’s why he was one of the greats. Who are we to understand how he pulled off something likeRan? At least we can stand in its shadow and admire the hell out of it.
