The Best of Non-English Language Movies (World Cinema)
These are the best of movies I have seen, that belong to various Europian, Asian & South East Countries. Some of these are real eye openers and some show the culture of their respective country beautifully. Some are for just sheer entertainment and some are simply outstanding for their thought provoking subject matter.
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- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsRicardo DarínSoledad VillamilPablo RagoA retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsMasahiro MotokiRyôko HirosueTsutomu YamazakiSoon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsKim Yoon-seokHa Jung-wooSeo Yeong-hieA disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
- DirectorTetsuya NakashimaStarsTakako MatsuYoshino KimuraMasaki OkadaA psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
- DirectorLee Jeong-beomStarsWon BinKim Sae-ronKim Tae-hoonA quiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past takes on a drug-and-organ trafficking ring in hope of saving the child who is his only friend.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh BayatA 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.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunChoi Min-sikJeon Gook-hwanA secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter 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.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- DirectorUli EdelStarsMartina GedeckMoritz BleibtreuJohanna WokalekA look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorMajid MajidiStarsMohammad Amir NajiAmir Farrokh HashemianBahare SeddiqiAfter a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsJamal Udin TorabiEnayatullahImran ParachaA refugee family is trying to reach more peaceful lands illegally inside trucks.
- DirectorSiddiq BarmakStarsMarina GolbahariZubaida SaharKhwaja NaderAfter the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the restriction of women in public life, a pre-teen girl is forced to masquerade as a boy in order to find work to support her mother and grandmother.
- DirectorAnurag KashyapStarsManoj BajpayeeNawazuddin SiddiquiTigmanshu DhuliaA clash between Sultan and Shahid Khan leads to the expulsion of Khan from Wasseypur, and ignites a deadly blood feud spanning three generations.
- DirectorSujoy GhoshStarsVidya BalanParambrata ChattopadhyayIndraneil SenguptaA pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met him.
- DirectorAmrit SagarStarsManoj BajpayeeRavi KishanDeepak DobriyalBased on true facts, the film revolves around 6 brave soldiers who escape from the clutches of the Pakistan Army and risk death with honour and courage with sacrifice towards their journey home.
- DirectorStefan RuzowitzkyStarsKarl MarkovicsAugust DiehlDevid StriesowThe story of the Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history, carried out by Germany during World War II.
- DirectorRoland Suso RichterStarsHeino FerchNicolette KrebitzSebastian KochDuring the Cold War, Germany was divided into two states - East and West. This epic story tells about their dramatic connections.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
- DirectorWilson YipStarsDonnie YenSimon YamSiu-Wong FanDuring the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
- DirectorWilson YipStarsDonnie YenXiaoming HuangSammo Kam-Bo HungCentering on Ip Man's migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.
- DirectorShoaib MansoorStarsHumaima MalikManzar SehbaiShafqat CheemaA female convict on death row, her last wish is to tell her story to the media.
- DirectorShoaib MansoorStarsShaan ShahidFawad KhanIman AliA drama about three stories centered on the effects of extremism and 9/11 on Pakistanis.
- DirectorYilmaz ErdoganÖmer Faruk SorakStarsYilmaz ErdoganDemet AkbagAltan ErkekliLives of residents in a small, Anatolian village change when television is introduced to them.
- DirectorLevent SemerciStarsMete HorozogluIlker KizmazBirce AkalayStory of 40-man Turkish task force who must defend a relay station.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsUlrich MüheMartina GedeckSebastian KochIn 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.
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsMathieu AmalricEmmanuelle SeignerMarie-Josée CrozeThe true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn't paralyzed.
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
- DirectorDaniel AlfredsonStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceLena EndreLisbeth is recovering in a hospital and awaiting trial for three murders when she is released. Mikael must prove her innocence, but Lisbeth must be willing to share the details of her sordid experiences with the court.
- DirectorDaniel AlfredsonStarsNoomi RapaceMichael NyqvistLena EndreAs computer hacker Lisbeth and journalist Mikael investigate a sex-trafficking ring, Lisbeth is accused of three murders, causing her to go on the run while Mikael works to clear her name.
- DirectorDaniel MonzónStarsLuis TosarAlberto AmmannAntonio ResinesThe story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
- DirectorTolga ÖrnekStarsTaner BirselAli DüsenkalkarHalit ErgençIn the years of military coup, Turkey was unable to produce its own cars. But Pasha believed that Turkish people can produce their own cars so he ordered 2 cars. Gunduz and engineers with him must produce 2 cars in only 130 days.
- DirectorHoratiu MalaeleStarsMeda Andreea VictorAlexandru PotoceanValentin TeodosiuIn a small isolated village, in 1953, a wedding is interrupted by the news about the death of Stalin. Because any public celebration is forbidden, they decide to turn the happy event into a silent wedding.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYui NatsukawaYouA family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorRakeysh Omprakash MehraStarsAamir KhanSoha Ali KhanSiddharthThe story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsMikael PersbrandtTrine DyrholmMarkus RygaardThe lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsAksel HennieSynnøve Macody LundNikolaj Coster-WaldauAn accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsBaki DavrakGürsoy GemecCengiz DanerA Turkish man travels to Istanbul to find the daughter of his father's former girlfriend.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
- DirectorJuan José CampanellaStarsRicardo DarínHéctor AlterioNorma AleandroA dissatisfied 40-year-old, separated and without time for his own daughter and girlfriend must rethink his life when his father decides to marry his mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, by church.
- DirectorWolfgang MurnbergerStarsJosef HaderJosef BierbichlerBirgit MinichmayrPrivate Investigator Brenner is handling a case at the grill-station "Löschenkohl". There he finds - besides some chicken - also other meat...that doesn't belong in a good meal.
- DirectorFeo AladagStarsSibel KekilliNizam SchillerDerya AlaboraUmay is a young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life in Germany against her family's resistance. Her struggle initiates a dynamic that results in a life-threatening situation.
- DirectorStephan KomandarevStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicCarlo LjubekHristo MutafchievThe story of Alex, who, with the help of his charismatic grandfather, Bai Dan, embarks on a journey in search of his real self.
- DirectorCyrus NowrastehStarsShohreh AghdashlooJim CaviezelMozhan NavabiA story told by Zahra to a French journalist of her niece Soraya Manutchehri, a 35-year-old married woman, who received capital punishment and stoned to death because of false accusations in the remote village of Kuhpayeh, Iran, in 1986.
- DirectorOlivier NakacheÉric ToledanoStarsFrançois CluzetOmar SyAnne Le NyAfter he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
- DirectorRémy BelvauxAndré BonzelBenoît PoelvoordeStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJacqueline Poelvoorde-PappaertNelly PappaertA film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.
- DirectorPhilippe LioretStarsVincent LindonFirat AyverdiAudrey DanaBilal sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe and wants to get to England to see his love who lives there.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKen WatanabeKazunari NinomiyaTsuyoshi IharaThe story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoTakayuki YamadaYûsuke IseyaA group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
- DirectorHan-min KimStarsPark Hae-ilRyu Seung-ryongKim Mu-yeolA skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTakeshi KaneshiroFengyi ZhangThe first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTakeshi KaneshiroFengyi ZhangSecond and final part of epic tale about a legendary battle that changed the course of China history.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisAnanda GeorgeRay SahetapyA S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
- DirectorWen JiangStarsChow Yun-FatWen JiangYou GeIn 1920s China, a bandit arrives in a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, where he faces off against a tyrannical local nobleman.
- DirectorIlmar RaagStarsVallo KirsPärt UusbergLauri PedajaAn average Estonian high-schooler decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsDaniel AuteuilJuliette BinocheMaurice BénichouA married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.
- DirectorParesh MokashiStarsNandu MadhavVibhawari DeshpandeAtharva KarveIn 1913 India's cinema industry is born from Dadasaheb Phalke's efforts to make Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first feature-length B&W silent film.
- DirectorÇagan IrmakStarsÇetin TekindorFikret KuskanHümeyraThe family of a left-wing journalist is torn apart after the military coup of Turkey in 1980.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsJavier BardemBelén RuedaLola DueñasThe factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.
- DirectorWalter SallesStarsGael García BernalRodrigo de la SernaMía MaestroErnesto Guevara de la Serna, popularly known as Che, along with his friend Alberto Granado, decides to take a road trip across South America. His experiences on the journey transform him.
- DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica SancioTeacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorMike van DiemStarsPavlik Jansen op de HaarJan DecleirFedja van HuêtJacob Katadreuffe lives mute with his mother, has no contact with his father who only works against him and wants to become a lawyer, at all costs.
- DirectorDanis TanovicStarsBranko DjuricRene BitorajacFilip SovagovicBosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier becomes a living booby trap.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsTahar RahimNiels ArestrupAdel BencherifA delinquent Muslim man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss. But his gradual rise through the mob's ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsMads MikkelsenSidse Babett KnudsenRolf LassgårdA manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsBrigitte LinTakeshi KaneshiroTony Leung Chiu-waiTwo melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
- DirectorNae CaranfilStarsMircea DiaconuGheorghe DinicaMara NicolescuOvidiu, a high-school teacher looking for an extra buck, finds an unexpected way to earn easy money.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoKim Sang-kyungKim Roe-haIn a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsBirol ÜnelSibel KekilliGüven KiraçWith the intention to break free from the strict familial restrictions, a suicidal young woman sets up a marriage of convenience with a forty-year-old addict, an act that will lead to an outburst of envious love.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsRosario FloresJavier CámaraDarío GrandinettiTwo men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsKim Hye-jaWon BinJin GooA mother desperately searches for the killer who framed her son for a girl's horrific murder.
- DirectorAamir KhanAmole GupteStarsDarsheel SafaryAamir KhanTisca ChopraAn eight-year-old boy is thought to be a lazy trouble-maker, until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
- DirectorDurul TaylanYagmur TaylanStarsEngin GünaydinBinnur KayaSettar TanriögenA reckless electrician, who is struggling with debt, decides to kill his wife and use her savings as a way out. His plan takes an unexpected twist when his loving wife, comes back from the dead to be with her family.
- DirectorSergei BodrovStarsTadanobu AsanoAmadu MamadakovKhulan ChuluunThe story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.
- DirectorWen JiangStarsWen JiangKenya SawadaHongbo JiangVillagers in World War II China are unsure what to do with the two enemy prisoners who have been left in their care.
- DirectorJung Doo HongJee-woon KimStarsLee Byung-hunShin Min-aKim Yeong-cheolThings go wrong for a high ranking mobster when he doesn't follow his boss's orders.
- DirectorPark Kyung-JinJohn H. LeeKim Tae-WonStarsJung Woo-sungSon Ye-jinJong-hak BaekA young couple's enduring love is tested when 27-year-old Su-jin is diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsMoritz BleibtreuChristian BerkelOliver StokowskiFor two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeLee Byung-hunSong Kang-hoAfter a shooting incident at the North-South Korean border DMZ leaves two North Korean soldiers dead, a neutral Swiss and Swedish team investigates what actually happened.
- DirectorMarc RothemundStarsJulia JentschFabian HinrichsAlexander HeldA dramatization of the final days of Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous members of the German World War II anti-Nazi resistance movement, The White Rose.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia OrmondBenicio Del ToroOscar IsaacIn 1956, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsDemián BichirRodrigo SantoroBenicio Del ToroIn 1967, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara leads a small partisan army to fight an ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia, South America.
- DirectorRichard BerryStarsJean RenoKad MeradJean-Pierre DarroussinA retired mobster goes on a revenge spree after being left for dead with 22 bullets in his body by his former childhood friend.
- DirectorDenys ArcandStarsRémy GirardDorothée BerrymanStéphane RousseauDuring his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.
- DirectorJohnnie ToStarsAndy LauChing Wan LauYoYo MungPolice inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer-suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime Syndicates.
- DirectorPierre SalvadoriStarsAudrey TautouGad ElmalehMarie-Christine AdamJean, a shy waiter who works at a high-end hotel, is mistaken for a young millionaire by the beautiful and intriguing fortune hunter Irene.
- DirectorGuillaume CanetStarsFrançois CluzetMarie-Josée CrozeAndré DussollierAn accidental discovery near a doctor's estate stirs up some painful memories eight years after his wife's hideous murder, and now, things are bound to take a turn for the unexpected. Does the good doctor know more than he's letting on?
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoTadanobu AsanoYui NatsukawaThe blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
- DirectorKim NguyenStarsRachel MwanzaAlain Lino Mic Eli BastienSerge KanyindaSomewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.
- DirectorGurvinder SinghStarsSamuel JohnMal SinghSerbjeet KaurA day in the life of a family in a village in Punjab as they deal with social and labor trials and inequities, leading to a night of a lunar eclipse.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoKanako HiguchiMakoto ArakiMachisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.