Don’t let the thought of subtitles put you off watching these films - these foreign movies rank up there with some of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Within minutes of starting these movies, you forget they even have subtitles and fall deeply under their captivating spell. Watching foreign movies allows you to experience life in another country, even if just for a while. I really hope you enjoy these foreign films and I can’t wait to hear your feedback!
The Hunt tops this list of amazing foreign movies, for every reason possible! The dreamy, Danish Mads Mikkelsen (who made it to the English-speaking film stage with his starring role as Le Chiffre in The Bond Movie, Casino Royale) plays a kindergarten teacher, Lucas, who is wrongly accused of sexually assaulting a child. Throughout the course of this film, we see the effects of false accusations on not only Lucas but everyone around him. This is a truly beautiful movie.
If you’re looking for a quirky French movie, then you’ve come to the right place! Amélie is the story of a girl who takes it upon herself to do wonderful things for other people after returning lost treasure to the gentleman who owned Amélie’s house before her. It is through these acts of kindness that she eventually falls in love.
This movie will tear you to pieces one minute, and have you smiling with joy the next. The Lives of Others is a German drama set in 1984. It is about a policeman who is assigned the job of secretly spying on a well-known writer and his lover, but who ends up becoming more and more captivated and intrigued by their lives.
There is no doubt that Pan’s Labyrinth is not for the faint hearted! This Mexican-Spanish movie is eerie, dark and chock-full of fantastical creatures. A young girl who is intrigued by fairy tales finds her way into a terrifying yet amazing world, where she is told that she is a princess. To prove her worthiness, however, she must perform three creepy tasks.
Man Bites Dog, set in Belgium, is a fictional documentary about a film crew who follow around a murderer in order to document his day-to-day life. However, everything becomes far more complex when the film crew begin to assist the killer in his activities, leaving them wondering what is right and what is wrong.
This Swedish film, definitely not to be confused with the American version, is completely thrilling. A young female hacker, Lisbeth, helps a journalist to find a woman who has been missing for forty years, in turn discovering a gruesome, dark string of murders and a twisted family history. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a movie that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
This is definitely a vampire movie done right. Dark and terrifying, young Oskar befriends a very pale, odd girl from next door - Eli. As the two grow closer and closer, Oskar, who is normally bullied and ostracised, realises that Eli is his only friend. He thinks she is beautiful, but there is far more hiding under the surface. Given the option between this film and the American version, this Swedish version wins every time.
I absolutely cannot wait to hear your feedback about these movies! I find that so many foreign films really capture something special. Not to mention that they add a whole new dimension to movie watching. What is your favourite foreign movie?