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Top 25 International Movies

Writer: goldenstateservicesj
goldenstateservicesj
Feb 23, 2024
2 min read

Almost all of my favourite movies are American-made, which would be true for you and virtually anyone living in North America. But we’ve all seen good international movies, and this week I decided to compile my top 25.

NOTE: You will see Canada included, and it does seem funny to count it as international (or even stranger, under the old moniker “foreign films”), but where this is a list of movies made outside of the United States, I couldn’t possibly exclude the coolest of them all.

  1. City of God (2002), Brazil

  2. Rashomon (1950), Japan

  3. The Grand Seduction (2013), Canada — If you like a good comedy, you have to see this one!

  4. Amores Perros (2000), Mexico

  5. Cinema Paradiso (1988), Italy

  6. Bicycle Thieves (1948), France

  7. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Mexico

  8. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Italy

  9. Roma (2018), Mexico

  10. Parasite (2019), Korea — I’ve seen so many good Korean films, I was a bit surprised to see this was the only one I had on here. 

  11. Flee (2021), Denmark

  12. Capernaum (2018), Lebanon — If in life we had “required viewing,” I think this would have to be on everyone’s list. Especially for those of us in the west. 

  13. Das Boot (1981), Germany

  14. All Quiet on the Western Front

  15. The Rocket (2005), Canada — Such a good biopic on the career of Maurice “Rocket” Richard.

  16. The Battle of Algiers (1966), Italy — For an international movie this old and in black-and-white, this one is surprisingly captivating.

  17. Joyeux Noël (2005), France

  18. The Wages of Fear (1953), France

  19. The Fall (2006), India

  20. Wild Tales (2014), Argentina — A collection of short stories. This would be a great one for someone who isn’t sure they’d enjoy watching a foreign language film with English subtitles, where each story is under an hour. The opening one is amazing!

  21. Children of Heaven (1997), Iran

  22. Incendies (2010), Canada

  23. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Italy

  24. Downfall (2004), Germany

  25. Life is Beautiful(1997), Italy

Congratulations . This is your week. 


Best Actress:

Ahn Seo-hyun as Mija in

Best Actor: Song Kang-ho as Det. Park Doo-man in

Best Quote: “Would you wear a shoe on your head? Of course you wouldn’t wear a shoe on your head. A shoe doesn’t belong on your head. A shoe belongs on your foot. A hat belongs on your head. I am a hat. You are a shoe.” – Tilda Swinton as Minister Mason in

It looks like Italy has the most commanding presence in my list with 5 movies, including 3 in the top 10. Canada, France, and Mexico are all tied for second with 3 each. And a quick shout out to 2023: Both 20 Days in Mariupol and Society of the Snow are great movies. The former is highly relevant to us all today and frankly could be a life-changer. 

I’ve heard so many of you say multiple times throughout the year that you can’t wait to hear my Oscar picks. Whether or not I’d heard those statements in my dreams or in real life is irrelevant. The good news is, I’m going to make them next week. That’s right, you only have a week left to wait. You’re welcome.

 
 
 

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