Beginner Friendly Foreign Films (List)

We live in a wonderful time. Finding films of nearly any kind is nothing more than a few quick searches from the comfort of our homes. This opens so many film options, and I hope foreign films begin to shine in secondary markets. Most people who get heavily into the history of cinema would no doubt come in contact with Tarkovsky, Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini and countless others, but my goal was to find easily accessible films for people venturing into foreign film for the first time. Films that closely resemble domestic films in heart and execution, but are set in beautiful new locations.

Some people are put off by subtitles, but truly after a few minutes I barely notice I am reading them anymore. Give it a try!

      The Hunt (2013) – Denmark – Rated R (On Netflix)

IMDB(8.3/159k) RT(94% Fresh)

Dir: Thomas Vinterberg      

Writer: Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkropp

The Hunt is the tale of a teacher and father as he experiences custody battles, career troubles, and accusations. Mads Mikkelsen (Recently on the Hannibal TV show) is fantastic in this film. His character seems so genuine that you naturally want to watch him. The directing and cinematography are beautiful and haunting, with the writing in this film feeling crisp and intense without seemingly unrealistically contrived. The realistic element of the story is truly what brings it so much character, because this is not some far-fetched tale, but one seeded in reality, with potentially devastating results.  

    Amelie (2001) – France – Rated R (On Netflix)
  
      IMDB(8.4/515k) RT (89% Fresh)

Dir.: Jean-Pierre Jeunet     

Writer: Guillaume Laurant(Scenario&Dialogue),

Jean-Pierre Jeunet  (Scenario)

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz,  Rufus

Amelie, played by Audrey Tautou, is a charismatic and energetic young heroine who lives in a world of whimsy and takes us for the ride. She has an imagination and she is hilarious, but at our core we are all like her sometimes. The film is beautiful and quirky; the characters feel like friends or relatives you have been around before. To me this film is life affirming and it really feels great once it’s over and you have had a moment to reflect.

Cinema Paradiso (1988) – Italy – Rated R (On Netflix) 

IMDB (8.5/145k) RT (90% Fresh)

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore     

Writers:  Giuseppe Tornatore (Story, Screenplay)
, Vanna Paoli(Collaborating writer), and Richard
Epcar (English Version)

Starring : Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili

This is a film for the film lovers. It starts with a child happening across a film one night in his local theater, and beginning a journey of life, love, and cinema. This film reminded me of a time when I was small watching my favorite movies (at the time) and just purely enjoying them. The childhood heroes and villains from that time sticking with you seeming larger than life, because they were at the time. This is about a man and a woman in Italy, but the joys and pains they feel are universal. The ensemble in this film is great and the story although long feels like a fairy tale about movies. It is full of depth, but never confusing. It captures great moments of growing up, love, and pain while always having the sanctuary of film. This film leaves you with a great feeling at the end, and you feel like it was a story that could have been yours, but with slightly different details. 

    The Lives of others (2006) – Germany –Rated R

            
     IMDB (8.5/253k) RT (93% Fresh)   

    

     Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck     

     

     Writer: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

      

     Starring : Uleixh Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch

   

     The Lives of Others is an enthralling surveillance thriller set in Germany during the last decade of the German Democratic Republic. It follows a government surveillance agent as he monitors a couple whose lives begin to impact him in ways he didn’t think possible.  Firstly this movie is beautifully shot and directed, and feels at different times sparse and living. The director shows a great picture of solitude and longing with passion and great pacing. This film is exciting and overall just a treat to watch. The performances are fantastic and by the end you feel like you know each of the main players as they seamlessly fall into their roles.  This film also highlights an interesting time in world history, but instead of facts they show you the world completely driven by the people living there. 

      A Separation (2011) – Iran – Rated PG-13

        

     IMDB (8.4/147k) RT (99% Fresh)

     

     Dir.:Asghar Farhadi   

      

     Writer: Asghar Farhadi

       

     Starring: Peyman Mooadi, Leila Hatami,

     Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi

    

     A Separation won the Academy award for Best Foreign Language film of the year in 2012, and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay as well. It was also nominated or won nearly every award its release year. After seeing it you will know why. This film reminded me of old cinema that relied on tight writing and directing instead of generic thrills of any kind. This film has a terrific and complex screenplay that plays more like a mystery than a drama. The new world surrounds you completely with Farhadi’s direction, and you see the little differences. The cast was fantastic. Every one of them carried different and many times incompatible problems with a realness that is missing from many films. These characters aren’t good and bad. They all do things like we would. Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we have regrets, and sometimes we just do the best we can in a bad situation. The film is a drama but because of the fast paced script it doesn’t drag at all as the new information is found in a perfect way that leads you to the end smoothly.

       

      Each of these films has differences in the settings and cultures, but each one of them is so familiar in their heart. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did. 

     z