Best Foreign Films?

I'm kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to american made movies that I want to watch. Are any of you into the foreign scene? What can you recommend? Preferably something from the last few years.

@H2Oyea said:

Are any of you into the foreign scene?

Well, given your definition, I don't have too many options.

Oldboy. That movie... holy shit.

@AlexanderSheen said:

Oldboy. That movie... holy shit.

I've seen it, made a thread about messed up movies after that. It was taken down for having a swear in the title.

@ImaTreee said:

You might like Battle Royale

Seen it.

@PenguinDust said:

12 Assassins (2011). Here's a link to the trailer.

Seen it. It was...eh.

@PenguinDust said:

Also, Micmacs (2009) is a French film that was very good. Comedic, but with some emotion, too. trailer here.

Seen it.

@Thoseposers said:

kung fu hustle, i was just watching it and it's hilarious

Seen it.

You might like Battle Royale

12 Assassins (2011). Here's a link to the trailer.

Also, Micmacs (2009) is a French film that was very good. Comedic, but with some emotion, too. trailer here.

Last month I saw Linda Linda Linda (2005 - trailer) which is about an all girl rock band performing at their school festival. It was pretty good. I also saw a Korean romantic comedy called My Little Bride (2004 - trailer). I thought it was sweet but it was also very Asian in its perspective.

I started watching Asian foreign films because I'd run out of English-language movies I was interested in. At first I stuck to Asian action movies, but I've graduated to comedies and romance films, too.

EDIT: if you don't mind stretching back a couple of decades, I suggest Europa Europa (1990 - trailer) about a Jewish boy hiding within the Hitler Youth during the Second World War.

Infernal Affairs , the film Martin Scorsese based The Departed on, set in Hong Kong.

City of God, Brazil film amazing.

The Seventh Seal is a fantastic Swedish film from the 1950's. If you like art films it's really good. Also referenced in quite a few films and tv episodes.

I love foreign films. Buckle up for my list.

First of all, my "big three" are The Lives of Others, Pan's Labyrinth, and Amelie. Three of the greatest films ever made.

Anything Kurosawa is amazing. My favorites are Ran, Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, and Rashomon. A normal person would say Seven Samurai is the best, but Rashomon is my favorite.

Next, Bergman. Bergman is the best. Watch The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Wild Strawberries.

Almodovar isn't as revered as the previous two, but I like him. His movies deal with pretty mature subject matter, so make sure to read descriptions before diving in, as the film may not be for you. All About My Mother and Broken Embraces are probably his best movies. The Skin I Live in is his newest, and it's pretty popular. Bad Education is great, but not for everyone.

Spanish-Language films are my favorites, so I'll continue. Amores Perros is superb, watch it. If you've ever seen Vanilla Sky, it sucks, and you should watch Open Your Eyes. Penelope Cruz plays the same character in both movies. A fairly recent movie that I enjoyed was Even the Rain, I recommend it, it has Gael Garcia Bernal. Search for movies with Gael Garcia Bernal in them, and you can't go wrong, all of them are good.

Gosh, I'm forgetting so many. There are a few to get you started, though.

@PenguinDust said:

Micmacs (2009) is a French film that was very good. Comedic, but with some emotion, too. trailer here.

I came in here to recommend this. I watched the other day for the second time, it's brilliant.

Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran 
@BoG: Beat me to the Kurosawa list; my fav is Yojimbo but have not seen Rashomon 
Edit: Also Pan's Labyrinth, The Killer, Hard Boiled are also awesome.

Run Lola Run.

kung fu hustle, i was just watching it and it's hilarious

Das Boot is pretty much still unparalleled amongst submarine films; I'd even say it's the best naval war movie ever made. It still sends shivers down my spine, even after all this time.

EDIT: Did not see the end of your post there, the movie's from 1981 (not new). Ah well, still worth a watch.

Seven Samurai is amazing.

Stalker is one of my top three movies ever. it's super great

@Jay_Ray said:

Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Ran
@BoG: Beat me to the Kurosawa list; my fav is Yojimbo but have not seen Rashomon

Whooooooa. Rashomon is fantastic. I think it's only 90 minutes long, so it shouldn't be a huge deal just watch it quickly some time. It's the story of a rape told from four different perspectives. It's like nothing else from it's time. It's just... brilliant. Oh gosh, I could really talk about the movie all day.

kung fu hustle, i was just watching it and it's hilarious

@Ubertron986 said:

Run Lola Run.

Its a good film but very overrated. I've watched it in every film class I've taken but only because it has great editing. That is about the only reason to watch this movie.

Old Boy

I Saw the Devil

13 Assassins

What about The Science of Sleep?

I'm gonna go with films that are (a) not recent and (b) in black and white.

Man Bites Dog is an old fave, as is La Haine.

Also, both the Tetsuo films, the first one especially. Man, I gotta watch those films again (and drag my girlfriend into their mess this time).

@EVO said:

What about The Science of Sleep?

Nope, haven't seen it.

@H2Oyea said:

@EVO said:

What about The Science of Sleep?

Nope, haven't seen it.

Check it out.

I find it very difficult to recommend a "foreign" film to an american since that means like 2/3 of the movies I've seen, but I'll throw Irreversible out here. That'll kill your soul. Watch Zulawski's Possession too.

Favorite that I can think of right now is either Oldboy or I Saw the Devil. For some more recommendation: No Mercy, The Man From Nowhere, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Ip Man, Trollhunter, The Chaser, and Dead Snow. Those are all I can think of right now. Pretty sure they're all on Netflix Instant.

The Seventh Seal

Band of Outsiders

Irreversible

Certified Copy

The Yellow Sea, The Man from Nowhere, Downfall, The Chaser, Memories of Murder, and I Saw the Devil are all films that I can recommend without reservation. I wish I could be of more assistance, but I haven't been watching many foreign films of late.

@EVO said:

@PenguinDust said:

Micmacs (2009) is a French film that was very good. Comedic, but with some emotion, too. trailer here.

I came in here to recommend this. I watched the other day for the second time, it's brilliant.

If any of you liked Micmacs be sure to see his other films Amelie, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children. All of them are brilliant.

I'll also add Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Motorcycle Diaries, Let The Right One In, anything in the past two and a half decades by Almodovar, Grave of the Fireflies and anything by Miyazaki if you want something animated, Picnic at Hanging Rock (Australian in English), Whale Rider, The Devil's Backbone, Downfall, The Sea Inside, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Open Your Eyes. Didn't include British films but I can add those if you want.

@Raven10 said:

@EVO said:

@PenguinDust said:

Micmacs (2009) is a French film that was very good. Comedic, but with some emotion, too. trailer here.

I came in here to recommend this. I watched the other day for the second time, it's brilliant.

If any of you liked Micmacs be sure to see his other films Amelie, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children. All of them are brilliant.

Seen em. Jeunet is one of my favourite directors.

I'm also throwing out In the Mood For Love, if you've seen my previous suggestion.

Girl with the dragon tattoo

There is only one sugguestion for Trollhunter? I AM DISAPPOINTED IN ALL OF YOU!!!

@buzz_clik said:

Also, both the Tetsuo films, the first one especially. Man, I gotta watch those films again (and drag my girlfriend into their mess this time).

What's the second one like? I've seen the first and it was too much even for me, who has a pretty high tolerance for fucked up movies.

@SJSchmidt93 said:

Girl with the dragon tattoo

Watch the American one, Swedish one was meh compared to Fincher's work

In Bruges.

@EVO: It's pretty much a retread of the first film, only this time its in colour and is a little more slick (to its detriment, IMO). I still love 'em as companion pieces, but the original is still the one to watch.

I first saw that film when I was a teenager, really into industrial music and drawing fucked up shit. I rented the VHS of Tetsuo, went home to watch it (I think my parents may have even been out of town) and HOLY METAL HELL DID THAT FILM MAKE ME ALL EXCITED AND ANTSY AND SHIT. As soon as it finished I rewound it and watched it again.

I happen to think Timecrimes is easily one of the best time travel movies made in the last decade. It's on Netflix Instant, too, if you roll that way.

Troll Hunter is pretty amazing

A Serbian Film...

WATCH IT NOW!

Battle Royale, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Waltz with Bashir, Lebanon, Hard Boiled, The Killer those are just what comes to mind.

@buzz_clik said:

As soon as it finished I rewound it and watched it again.

Really? Wow. I went through a similar phase in my teenage years, tracking down the most fucked up movies I could get my hands on. I think that ended with Tetsuo.

EDIT: Wait, I bought Anti-Christ not long ago.

@Raven10: I've seen Ameile and Delicatessen, but I still need to check out City of Lost Children. I'll have to add it to my Netflix list tomorrow.

Oh and I forgot to mention in my earlier post the Russian supernatural thrillers, Night Watch (2004 - trailer) and its sequel Day Watch (2006 - trailer)

No man´s Land , Heart of Glass , Brazil , Amores Perros , El espinazo del Diablo (Devil´s backbone) , Seventh Seal , Persona , Nosferatu (either Murnau´s or Werner Herzog´s) Stroszek , Woyzeck , Avalon , Sky Crawlers (altho it is anime but is awesome , if you like Mamoru Oshi work ... as in Ghost in the Shell) Jin Roh , Akira ..... ok Im vearing into anime territory ..... er going back ,  any of Akira Kurozawa´s work , Mad Max 1 , Mad Max 2 the Roadwarrior , Barry Lyndon (yes it is a Kubrick film but not many see it and it is awesome). And my personal fav but hard to find The Passion of Joan Ark by Carl Theodor Dreyer ... is a silent film but has a lot more intercuts than many modern films , also the cinematography is really amazing , also it is a very potent film , altho do try to watch it with Voices of Light soundtrack .... and I found the film in youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLBn9KK2Ss0 .... altho I I have it ... its one of my fav possesions.

The City of Lost Children.

A nightmarish journey!!!

The first two that came to mind were Let The Right One In and Battle Royale.

The Raid: Redemption is a sweet action movie.

Are Australian movies classed foreign? because I would like to recommend "Chopper"

The Secret in Their Eyes is a good one. Ok lets see what else hasn't been said.

Nobody has said Mother yet which I also liked. What else...

I thought The Good, The Bad and The Weird was a lot of fun. And?

Someone said In Bruges but I loved that movie so I'll second it. Also do British films count as foreign? If so Attack the Block.

Il Postino (The Mailman), an Italian film that's about one mailman taking advice from a legendary poet in Italy to be with a girl he loves. The other foreign film I think of is Afghan Star, a documentary about these contestants in an Afghanistan TV singing competition and the challenges each of these singers face, especially being singers in a singing show aired in a country ruled by the Taliban.