This is a list for everyone who may not have exposure to international films, but who are interested in expanding their horizons. List any and all that you feel are worthwhile along with their corresponding country. I will do my best ot keep the list of films/countries updated as the suggestions come in. I am going to start with a few countries, but, do not let that stop you if you wish to suggest a film from a country not yet listed.
This is not intended to be a list of every film from every country, but instead a list of films that may be off users' radar and particularly outstanding. For example, there would be no need to include films like Seven Samurai or Mad Max on this list.
In order to make this managable in the editing department, please post in the following format:
Shinchin no samurai (Seven Samurai) -- Original Title followed by English title in parenthises. This way we can keep the list uniform without too much work on my part keeping the list updated
As the list gets populated, I will begin to add blurbs on each film so you know if it is something you would be interested in. Please feel free to give any suggestions you have regarding this thread
AustraliaRomper Stomper -- skinhead drama. early Russell Crowe
The Dish -- Comedy focusing on a group of scientists manning a remote satellite dish
The Proposition -- The middle brother must kill his older brother to save his younger one
Undead -- meteors turn a town into undead; there are survivors of course
BelgiumC'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) -- movie within a movie - camera crew follows serial killer
Calvaire (The Ordeal) -- Along the same lines as Stephen King's Misery
Aaltra -- Bickering farmers get more than they bargained for
Crazy Love -- Deruddere film in which a 12 year old boy matures and learns the nuances of love
Les Lèvres rouges (Daughters of Darkness) -- From Kumel: lesbian vampires. what more could you want?
Malpertuis (The Legend of Doom House) -- Euroshock horror from Kumel
Monsieur Hawarden -- Kumel drama dealing with the personal demons of a transvestite
De Zaak Alzheimer (The Memory of a Killer)De Witte van Sichem (Whitey)Brussels by NightToto le héros (Toto the Hero)La CaptiveJeanne Dielman 23 Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles La promesse (The Promise) -- won , best foreign film: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
L'Enfant (The Child) -- won Golden Palm in Cannes
Le fils (The Son) -- nominated for a Golden Palm in Cannes
Rosetta -- won Golden Palm, won also in Chicago, best foreign film
Bosnia-HerzegovinaNo Man's Land -- Film dealing with the war in Bosnia. Eye opening.
BrazilCidade de Deus (City of God) -- The different paths taken by 2 boys from the same voilent neighborhood
CanadaGinger Snaps -- Solid werewolf flick
China (to include Taiwan and Hong Kong)Wo de fu qin mu qin (The Road Home) -- At his father's funeral, a man recalls how his mother and father met
Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs Trilogy) -- Glossy police/mob drama
Guizi lai le (Devils on the Doorstep) -- A town is charged with keeping 2 POW's for a year
Dongdong de jiaqi (A Summer at Grandpa's)Xiao cheng zhi chun (Spring in a Small Town)Tong nien wang shi (A Time to Live, a Time to Die)Huozhe (To Live)Fengkuei-lai-te jen (The Boys from Fengkuei)Chung hing sam lam (Chungking Express)Da hong deng long gao gao gua (Raise the Red Lantern)Kekexili (Kekexili: Mountain Patrol)Chou tin dik tong wah (An Atumn's Tale)Tian mi mi (Comrades: Almost a Love Story)Kong que (Peacock)Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine)Hsia nu (A Touch of Zen)Hong ying tao (Red Cherry)Lanse da men (Blue Gate Crossing)Lan feng zheng (The Blue Kite) Sun faa sau si (BioZombie)Fa yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love) - My favorite and best Wong Kar Wai movie IMO
Xiao ao jiang hu zhi dong fang bu bai (Swordsman II) - Movie that made Brigitte Lin a household name in Asia
Ying xiong (Hero) - Beautifully shot and choreographed. I can't wait for this to come out in high def one day
Sha po lang (SPL) - Best realistic martial arts combat ever captured in film, enough said!
Ying hung boon sik (A Better Tomorrow) -- Woo/Yun-fat classic and film that started a new genre of HK gangster film
Dip hyut shueng hung (The Killer) - Best John Woo and Chow Yun-fat film!!!
CzechoslovakiaMarketa Lazarova -- War with religious overtones in medieval Czechoslovakia
DenmarkHäxan (Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages)I Kina spiser de hunde (In China They Eat Dogs)Pusher TrilogyFinlandTalvisota (The Winter War)Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier)Äideistä parhain (Mother of Mine)Jadesoturi (Yù wu shì / Jade Warrior)Lupaus (Promise)Häjyt (The Tough Ones)
FranceLe Pacte des loups (Brotherhood Of The Wolf)Le Rivières pourpres (The Crimson Rivers)Indigènes (Days Of Glory)DelicatessenDobermannIrreversibleLa HaineUn long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement)Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amelie)DivaLes Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows)Banlieue 13 (District B13)La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children)RenaissanceImmortel (ad vitam)GermanyAguirre - Der Zorn Gottes (Aguirre - The Wrath Of God)Anatomie (Anatomy)Das Boot Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (Christiane F.) Downfall (Der Untergang)Die Nacht der lebenden Loser (Night Of The Living Dorks )NosferatuDer Krieger und die Kaiserin (The Princess And The Warrior)Lola rennt (Run Lola Run)Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl)Spione (Spies)Stalingrad Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum)Lautlos (Soundless)The TunnelNirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa)Das Leben des Anderen (The Lives of Others)Good Bye Lenin!HungaryKontrollKatonak Csillagosok (The Red and the White)Sorstalanság (Fateless)IndiaLagaan: Once Upon a Time in IndiaApu TrilogyDevdasItalyDellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man)Romanzo criminale (Crime Novel)Estate violenta (Violent Summer)La Ragazza con la valigia (Girl with a Suitcase)Cinema ParadisoIl Gattopardo (The Leopard)Canone inverso - Making Love
JapanShurayukihime (Lady Snowblood) -- Old school female samurai film. well worth the money
Suna no onna (Woman in the Dunes)Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited Away)CasshernAkage (Red Lion)Tasogare seibei (Twilight Samurai) -- Amazing samurai film, a MUST see
Kakushi ken oni no tsume (The Hidden Blade) -- companion to the above. almost as good
Mibu gishi den (When the Last Sword is Drawn)VersusWild ZeroRitana (Returner) -- terminator meets BTTF. solid sci-fi
Azumi -- very strong. lots of well choreographed, stylistic fighting
Battle Royale -- social satire, children thrust into a "game of death"
Goyokin -- great, and often overlooked samurai film
Shimotsuma monogatari (Kamikaze Girls)Ao no hono (The Blue Light)Ôdishon (Audition)Ju-On (The Grudge)Ringu -- inspired the American remake, and much better than the remake
Zatoichi -- Well done film based on the old school Zatoichi films
KazakhstanGibil Otrara (The Fall of Otrar)KoreaTaegeukgi Hwinalimyeo (Brotherhood)SomeBin-jip (3-Iron)Jigureul jikyeora! (Save the Green Planet)Ahobsal insaeng (When I turned 9)Dalkomhan Insaeng (A Bittersweet Life)Baram-ui Jeonseol (Dance with the Wind)Wang-ui Namja (King and the Clown)Muyeong-geom (Shadowless Sword)Welcome to Dongmakgol ClassicNae Meorisok-ui Jiwugye (A Moment to Remember)Palweol-ui Christmas (Christmas in August) Beomjoe-ui Jaeguseong (The Big Swindle)Gong-gong-ui Jeok (Public Enemy)OldboyBoksuneun Na-ui geot (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance)Chinjeolhan Geum-ja ssi (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)Jang-hwa Hong-ryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters) OasisSwiri (Shiri)Yeopgijeok-in Geu-nyeo (My Sassy Girl)Chin-gu (Friend)MusaGongdong gyeongbi Guyeok JSA (Joint Security Area)Gyoemul (Host)SilmidoFallanSeopyeonjeMexicoAmores Perros (Love Dogs)El Topo (The Mole)Santa Sangre (Holy Blood)El MiriachiNetherlandsDe Dominee (The Preacher)Spoorloos (The Vanishing)De Tweeling (Twin Sisters)SimonSoldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange)Turks Fruit (Turkish Delight)Zwardboek (Black Book)De Jurk (The Dress) -- van Warmerdam film follows the life of a dress and everything it encounters
Grimm -- van Warmerdam film in which an abandoned brother & sister find themselves in bizarre situations
Kleine Teun (Little Tony) -- An illiterate man's wife hires a tutor for him, and he falls in love......
Dorp aan de river (Doctor in the village) -- Rademakers film: doctor ostracized after a patient commits suicide
De Aanslag (The Assault) -- Rademakers: A man who's parents were killed by Nazis in WWII discovers all isnt as it seems
Als twee druppels water (Like Two Drops of Water) Rademakers: details cigar makers role in WWII resistance
Fanfare -- Haanstra comedy in which 2 rival brass bands will do anything to win a contest
Glas (Glass) Oscar winning Haanstra documentary on glass making
Alleman (Everyman) -- Oscar nominated Haanstra documentary about the netherlands of yore
De vierde man (The Fourth Man)Abel (Voyeur)De Noorderlingen (The Northerners)Ober (Water)AntoniaMiraNew ZealandBraindead (Dead Alive) -- super gory horror/comedy by Peter Jackson
Whale RiderNorwayVinterkyss (Kissed By Winter)PeruPantaleón y las visitadoras (Captain Pantoja and the Special Services)Días de Santiago (Days of Santiago)PhilippinesJose RizalPolandKrzyzacy (Knights of the Teutonic Order)Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie (The Saragosa Manuscript)Komornik (The Collector)RussiaNochnoi Dozor (Night Watch) -- The first in a blockbuster vampire triligy
Dnevnoy Dozor (Day Watch) -- second in the trilogy, some found it better, but i disagree
Ballada o soldate (Ballad of a Soldier)Russkiy kovcheg (The Russian Ark)Zerkalo (The Mirror)Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (The Barber of Siberia)SenegalMoolaadéSouth AfricaDust Devil -- creepy film about a demonic spirit of the desert
Tsotsi (Thug)Shaka ZuluYou Must Be Joking!Y
esterday (2004)PaljasGums and NosesFiela se Kind (Fiela's Child)Dollars and White PipesStanderBopha!Animals Are Beautiful People (Beautiful People)Amandla! A Revolution in Four Part Harmony A Case of MurderThe Gods Must Be CrazySpainEl Espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive)El Espinazo del diablo (The Devil's Backbone)Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes)El Verdugo (Not On Your Life)SwedenFanny & AlexanderJungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)Skenbart - en film om tåg (Illusive Tracks)ThailandBeautiful BoxerBangrajanSuriyothai (The Legend of Suriyothai)Khun krabii hiiroh (Sars Wars)Maha'lai muang rae (The Tin Mine)TurkeyHababam sinifi Gönül yarasi (Lovelorn)Iklimler (Climates)United KingdomShaun of the Dead -- zombie horror/comedy
Dog Soldiers -- solid werewolf flick
The Third Man Billy Liar Hell Drivers Late Night Shopping Alfie The Man Who Would be KingFollowing -- Nolan film about a man who follows people as a hobby
The Descent -- cave expidition becomes 5 women's worst nightmare
Evil AliensDead Man's Shoes -- My personal favorite revenge flick. A man avenges his mentally challenged brother
The BusinessThe Football FactoryLayer Cake -- Daniel craig is a drug dealer. incredibly slick film
SeveranceVietnamXich Lo (Cyclo) -- Young man who runs a bike taxi service becomes criminal
Mùi du du xanh - L'odeur de la papaye verte (The Scent of Green Papaya) -- girl's life in Vietnam
Mua he chieu thang dung (Vertical Ray of the Sun) -- The lives of 3 sisters in Vietnam
Mua len trau (Buffalo Boy) -- Drama centering on a young buffalo herder
YugoslaviaUnderground -- The underground manufacture of weapons in Belgrade in WWII