My Top 30 Favorite Non-English Language Films
by smuckuss | created - 18 May 2011 | updated - 15 Jan 2015 | PublicThis is a list based on opinion, of my favorite foreign language films.
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1. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite 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.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,118 | Gross: $33.23M
2. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,399
3. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,738 | Gross: $2.12M
4. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
PG | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wei Zhao, Yat-Fei Wong, Man-Tat Ng
Votes: 89,157 | Gross: $0.49M
5. REC (2007)
R | 78 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Pablo Rosso
Votes: 196,604
6. House (1977)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Horror
A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ôba, Ai Matsubara
Votes: 33,713
7. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When 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.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,039 | Gross: $57.60M
8. Dead Snow (2009)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.
Director: Tommy Wirkola | Stars: Jeppe Beck Laursen, Charlotte Frogner, Jenny Skavlan, Geir Vegar Hoel
Votes: 70,007 | Gross: $0.04M
9. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A 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.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,300 | Gross: $11.49M
10. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
R | 126 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
Ernesto 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.
Director: Walter Salles | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna, Mía Maestro, Mercedes Morán
Votes: 104,769 | Gross: $16.78M
11. Troll Hunter (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.
Director: André Øvredal | Stars: Otto Jespersen, Robert Stoltenberg, Knut Nærum, Glenn Erland Tosterud
Votes: 79,533 | Gross: $0.25M
12. The City of Lost Children (1995)
R | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 71,656 | Gross: $1.51M
13. City of God (2002)
R | 130 min | Crime, Drama
In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen
Votes: 800,898 | Gross: $7.56M
14. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Not Rated | 144 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin
Votes: 146,160 | Gross: $0.13M
15. Armour of God 2: Operation Condor (1991)
PG-13 | 80 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Jackie is hired to help the UN find Nazi gold hidden in Sahara. He's accompanied from Spain by 2 (later 3) cute women. As there are others wanting the gold, lots of kung fu fighting and comedy follows.
Director: Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Carol 'Do Do' Cheng, Eva Cobo, Shôko Ikeda
Votes: 22,670 | Gross: $10.44M
16. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,161 | Gross: $0.55M
17. The Lives of Others (2006)
R | 137 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
In 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.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Votes: 410,409 | Gross: $11.29M
18. Wasabi (2001)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
In Japan for the funeral of his long-lost love, a tough French detective learns that he also has a teenage daughter and that her life is in danger from the Yakuza.
Director: Gérard Krawczyk | Stars: Jean Reno, Ryôko Hirosue, Michel Muller, Carole Bouquet
Votes: 42,779 | Gross: $0.08M
19. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,094 | Gross: $10.06M
20. And Your Mother Too (2001)
R | 106 min | Drama
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ana López Mercado
Votes: 128,870 | Gross: $13.62M
21. [Rec]² (2009)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
In order to ascertain the current situation inside, a supposed medical officer and a GEO team step into the quarantined and ill-fated apartment building.
Directors: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza | Stars: Jonathan D. Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Óscar Zafra, Ariel Casas
Votes: 78,514 | Gross: $0.03M
22. The Machine Girl (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Maimed while seeking revenge, a girl becomes stronger than ever.
Director: Noboru Iguchi | Stars: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Nobuhiro Nishihara, Kentarô Shimazu
Votes: 10,693
23. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
R | 99 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Wah Yuen, Qiu Yuen, Siu-Lung Leung
Votes: 150,817 | Gross: $17.11M
24. Suspiria (1977)
R | 92 min | Horror
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé
Votes: 105,395
25. CJ7 (2008)
PG | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A poor Chinese laborer learns important lessons after his son gets a strange new toy.
Director: Stephen Chow | Stars: Stephen Chow, Yuqi Zhang, Jiao Xu, Lei Huang
Votes: 17,224 | Gross: $0.21M
26. Zebraman (2004)
115 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A down-and-out school teacher receives the calling to become the real life personification of an old television superhero, Zebraman.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Shô Aikawa, Kyôka Suzuki, Atsuro Watabe, Yui Ichikawa
Votes: 3,662
27. [REC] 3: Genesis (2012)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A couple's wedding day turns horrific as some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness.
Director: Paco Plaza | Stars: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez, Àlex Monner
Votes: 38,113 | Gross: $0.01M
28. The Science of Sleep (2006)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A man entranced by his dreams and imagination is love-struck with a French woman and feels he can show her his world.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, Alain Chabat
Votes: 70,887 | Gross: $4.66M
29. RoboGeisha (2009)
TV-MA | 102 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
After receiving robotic implants, two sisters compete as assassins.
Director: Noboru Iguchi | Stars: Aya Kiguchi, Hitomi Hasebe, Takumi Saitô, Etsuko Ikuta
Votes: 2,680
30. Micmacs (2009)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Nicolas Marié, Yolande Moreau
Votes: 31,268 | Gross: $1.26M
31. La haine (1995)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Votes: 196,371 | Gross: $0.31M
32. The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Kenji Sawada, Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinji Takeda, Naomi Nishida
Votes: 10,023
33. The Raid: Redemption (2011)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah
Votes: 217,023 | Gross: $4.11M
34. Taxi! Taxi! (2013)
93 min | Comedy, Drama
"Taxi! Taxi!" is a social comedy set in the metropolitan city-state of Singapore, told through the encounters of two characters who are in what is widely perceived as the most sociable ... See full summary »
Director: Kelvin Sng | Stars: Gurmit Singh, Mark Lee, Chua Jin Sen, Jazreel Low
Votes: 92
35. Tôkyô zonbi (2005)
Not Rated | 103 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A horror-comedy about two blue-collar factory workers (who happen to be jiu-jitsu experts) dealing with a ravenous, flesh-eating zombie uprising in Tokyo.
Director: Sakichi Sato | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Shô Aikawa, Erika Okuda, Arata Furuta
Votes: 2,107
36. The Horde (2009)
Not Rated | 90 min | Action, Horror
An end of the world battle between gangsters, cops and zombies.
Directors: Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher | Stars: Claude Perron, Jean-Pierre Martins, Eriq Ebouaney, Aurélien Recoing
Votes: 16,390
37. Flu (2013)
Not Rated | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Chaos ensues when a lethal, airborne virus infects the population of a South Korean city less than 20 kilometers from Seoul.
Director: Kim Sung-su | Stars: Jang Hyuk, Soo Ae, Min-ah Park, Yoo Hae-jin
Votes: 14,610
38. A Town Called Panic (2009)
TV-PG | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Cowboy and Indian's only wish was to come up with a brilliant idea for Mr Horse's birthday, but when their plan ends up in utter disaster, they'll need to travel the world and back to make things right again.
Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar | Stars: Stéphane Aubier, Jeanne Balibar, Nicolas Buysse, François De Brigode
Votes: 8,712 | Gross: $0.17M
39. The Host (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Votes: 132,687 | Gross: $2.20M
40. Supercop (1992)
R | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A Hong Kong detective teams up with his female Red Chinese counterpart to stop a Chinese drug czar.
Director: Stanley Tong | Stars: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang
Votes: 24,266 | Gross: $16.27M
41. Chennai Express (2013)
Not Rated | 141 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A man travelling to Rameswaram via Chennai express for his late grandfather's ashes immersion finds himself in trouble after helping a don's daughter and her cousins board the train.
Director: Rohit Shetty | Stars: Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, Sathyaraj, Nikitin Dheer
Votes: 63,570 | Gross: $5.31M
42. Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
R | 92 min | Horror
A mysterious and vengeful spirit marks and pursues anybody who dares enter the house in which it resides.
Director: Takashi Shimizu | Stars: Megumi Okina, Misaki Itô, Misa Uehara, Yui Ichikawa
Votes: 48,052 | Gross: $0.33M
43. Ringu (1998)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Mystery
A reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.
Director: Hideo Nakata | Stars: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yûko Takeuchi, Hitomi Satô
Votes: 77,470
44. The Perfect Stranger (2011)
92 min | Comedy, Drama
The mysterious arrival of a foreigner to a small village in a Mediterranean island, awake the sudden interest from a diverse group of residents, who will appear unexpectedly in the ... See full summary »
Director: Toni Bestard | Stars: Colm Meaney, Ana Wagener, Carlos Santos, Natalia Rodríguez
Votes: 329
45. Alien vs. Ninja (2010)
80 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A comet crashes into a Japanese forest and a group of mighty ninjas must fight a group of killer Aliens before they reach their village and kill everyone.
Director: Seiji Chiba | Stars: Masanori Mimoto, Shûji Kashiwabara, Donpei Tsuchihira, Mika Hijii
Votes: 2,328
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