Top 100 Foreign Language Films ( edited May -02 ) Last Update: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Rank | Title | Director | Year | Comment | |
1 | Rosetta | Dardenne | 1999 | Some of the most gut wrenching personal scenes ever filmed… Cinema verite with discreet political undertones. | |
2 | In the Mood For Love | Wong Kar-Wai | 2000 | I feared I was becoming obsessed watching it sooo many times… I love everything about this film… the heavily stylization, the acting, the music, the noodles… etc. | |
3 | Mirror | Tarkovsky | 1975 | Short comments cannot convey…. So I won't bother. | |
4 | Jalsaghar | Ray | 1958 | ...profound and magnificent exploration of one man's obsolescence in a modern developing society in 1920's India | |
5 | Summer | Rohmer | 1986 | Rohmer captures the essence of a woman… with absolute perfection. | |
6 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | Dryer | 1928 | So perfectly made, I have trouble assuming it is not the REAL trial of Jeanne D'arc... | |
7 | L'avventura | Antonioni | 1960 | The whole world looked differently after seeing this film. Everything was "profound" and "elegant". | |
8 | A Man Escaped | Bresson | 1956 | see L'avventura comment above... | |
9 | Bicycle Thief | de Sica | 1948 | What to watch when you need to put your life in perspective. | |
10 | Cinema Paradiso | Tornatore | 1989 | The film buffs film… perhaps the greatest ending of a film ever. | |
11 | Juliet of the Spirits | Fellini | 1965 | Fellini's perfect bridge from accessible to art infused… | |
12 | Ordet | Dryer | 1955 | Theological resolve in the face of personal tragedy… | |
13 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Demy | 1964 | Unique, color infused… and very, very French. | |
14 | Children of Paradise | Carne | 1945 | Absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word… | |
15 | Vive L'amour | Tsai | 1994 | A virtual silent film on urban alienation… | |
16 | The Scent of Green Papaya | Tran Anh Hung | 1993 | The perfect Cinderella tale… some of the best tracking shots that I can remember. | |
17 | Beau Pere | Blier | 1981 | Morality vs. desire from an everyday man… loved the slow pans. | |
18 | Irma Vep | Assayas | 1996 | The "coolest" film ever made ? | |
19 | The Lovers on the Bridge | Carax | 1991 | Been a while since I have seen it, so could be too high… or too low. Anyway, I loved just about everything about this film… although perhaps the ending was rushed… | |
20 | Nights of Cabiria | Fellini | 1957 | Best facial expression conveying depth of emotion since Passion of Joan or Arc… Masina alone is worth this ranking… | |
21 | Autumn Sonata | Bergman | 1978 | Most unforgettable modern soliloquy's in cinema history. | |
22 | Red | Kieslowski | 1994 | To R1 DVD some day ? Chilled to the heart. | |
23 | The Cranes are Flying | Kalatozishvili | 1957 | Variety and never over-used camera techniques support a wonderful and touching story… | |
24 | Chung King Express | Wong Kar-Wai | 1994 | I found this so fun… and happy... and mysterious. "Cool" would be the best description… | |
25 | Chloe in the Afternoon | Rohmer | 1970 | Morality dealt with as a true life human drama… nothing like it, except other Rohmer films. | |
26 | Andrei Rublev | Tarkovsky | 1969 | The most classic mediation on art and the artist ever put on film… | |
27 | Diary of a Country Priest | Bresson | 1950 | My first Bresson and so far my most memorable. | |
28 | A Tale of Winter | Rohmer | 1992 | Does life always come down to a few missed/or made chances ? | |
29 | Pickpocket | Bresson | 1959 | A sleazy subject matter raised to the level of artistic poetry... | |
30 | Comrades: Almost a Love Story | Chan | 1996 | Love, Cultural melding, lost identities… a personal fav. | |
31 | L'Appartement | Mimouni | 1996 | A most intricate puzzle pieced together whilst honoring Hitchcock… one of the best French films of the 90's… | |
32 | The Woman Next Door | Truffaut | 1981 | Eerie jealous passion… caught in Truffaut's own unique way… | |
33 | Il Grido | Antonioni | 1957 | Excellent portrayal of alienation ( see Vive L'Amour #13 ).. Use of the rural countryside as a foil... | |
34 | The 400 Blows | Truffaut | 1959 | Truffauts most personal film… unforgettable final scene. | |
35 | The Aviator's Wife | Rohmer | 1980 | If I could articulate why Rohmer's films are so enjoyable for myself, perhaps I wouldn't like them as much… | |
36 | Not One Less | Zhang | 1999 | For those who doubt the meaning of commitment and resolve… | |
37 | High and Low | Kurosawa | 1963 | A lesson in "framing" for the budding director/cinematographer… | |
38 | The Vertical Ray of the Sun | Tran Anh Hung | 2000 | Some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen in a film, expressed with familial bindings. | |
39 | Decalogue | Kieslowski | 1987 | Why can't all direction be this good ? | |
40 | La Promesse | Dardenne's | 1996 | Truth, honesty, morailty, maturity… magnificent. | |
41 | Woman in the Dunes | Teshigahara | 1964 | Underrated film… strangely compelling with a consistent flow. Sensual and poetic, encapsulating themes of captivity very adeptly… | |
42 | El | Buñuel | 1952 | My favorite Buñuel… stabs ( as usual ) at sex, the rich, death and religion. | |
43 | L'Humanite | Dumont | 1999 | Stop and smell the roses… | |
44 | Le Grande Illusion | Renoir | 1937 | “It is magnificent, a French officer said in 1856, watching the Light Brigade throw itself into the Russian guns, but it isn't war. What it is, he might have added, is a grand illusion.” | |
45 | Tokyo Story | Ozu | 1952 | Classic film embodies Asian family philosophy vs. modern values. | |
46 | Solaris | Tarkovsky | 1972 | Confrontation of ones own desires… | |
47 | Mouchette | Bresson | 1967 | Artistic, real, heartfelt… all wrapped up perfectly… | |
48 | Taste of Cherry | Kiarostami | 1997 | Suicidal philosophy at its most sincere. | |
49 | Seventh Seal | Bergman | 1957 | My favorite opening scene ever… chess with Death! | |
50 | Day of Wrath | Dryer | 1943 | Dryer classic… 'nuff said. | |
51 | Mother and Son | Sokurov | 1997 | Chilling in its intimacy | |
52 | The Eel | Immamura | 1997 | Communication dealt with on multiple levels… | |
53 | King of Masks | Wu Tian-Ming | 1996 | Great film for adults and children alike… shame the DVD is P+S! | |
54 | Jean de Florette | Berri | 1986 | "Mans inhumanity to man" is a prevalent theme regardless of time period or location... | |
55 | The Hole | Tsai | 1998 | Weird and wonderful… from start to finish. | |
56 | The Circle | Panahi | 2000 | Simple and powerful story of 8 oppressed women coping in Iranian society. | |
57 |
8.5 |
Fellini | 1963 | Unique and pristine… stylish indulgent masterpiece… | |
58 | Stalker | Tarkovsky | 1979 | Haunting journey into one's own desires... | |
59 | Pather Panchali | Ray | 1955 | Artistic, balanced… timeless. | |
60 | The 47 Ronin | Mizoguchi | 1941 | As powerful as it is subtle… | |
61 | Under the Sand | Ozon | 2000 | Modern classic… Tour-de-force performance from Rampling. | |
62 | School of Flesh | Jacquot | 1998 | Eroticism dealt with gentle delicacy… Huppert is so good… | |
63 | Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud | Sautet | 1995 | Rare modern excellence with one of the screen's most desirable sirens… and above all a very French film. | |
64 | Small Change | Truffaut | 1976 | Makes one appreciate the miracle of children… | |
65 | The Earrings of Madame De… | Ophüls | 1953 | Elaborate camerawork backed with grace and dignity... | |
66 | Vagabond | Varda | 1985 | Gut wrenching realism… | |
67 | Manon des Sources | Berri | 1987 | Emmanuelle Béart's bare bum… need I say more ? | |
68 | My Night at Mauds | Rohmer | 1969 | Makes you just want to curl up with this film like it was a good book.. | |
69 | Un coeur en Hiver | Sautet | 1993 | Haunting portrayal of self-imposed loneliness… extremely well made film. | |
70 | Pauline at the Beach | Rohmer | 1983 | A typical Rohmer… beautiful women filmed simply and directly without overuse of cinematography adaptations… | |
71 | Night and Fog | Resnais | 1955 | The practical tracking shots and mono-tone narration only heighten the human realism… shots we can never forget. | |
72 | Los Olvidados | Buñuel | 1950 | Shocking imagery of hopeless poverty-stricken youths… sad. | |
73 | Days of Being Wild | Wong Kar-Wai | 1991 | Undeveloped passion in a quite elegant film… repressed emotion. | |
74 | Babette's Feast | Axel | 1987 | Wonderful Scandinavian film which tends to make me hungry… | |
75 | Battleship Potemkin | Eisenstein | 1925 | Montage cinema by its inventive innovative master.. | |
76 | Mississippi Mermaid | Truffaut | 1964 | What price love ? | |
77 | The Double Life of Veronique | Kieslowski | 1991 | Life as a parable of duality… | |
78 | A Good Marriage | Rohmer | 1982 | Strong desire, even for a sexy beautiful woman, doesn't always get you what you want in life… | |
79 | Leila | Mehrjui | 1996 | Rohmer-like cultural exploration of oppressed women... | |
80 | The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz | Buñuel | 1955 | Humor, elegance, satire, suspenseful… all rolled into one. | |
81 | Double Suicide | Shinoda | 1969 | Pristine and poetic all at once… | |
82 | Rebels of the Neon God | Tsai | 1992 | Tsai captures suppressed emotion as well as anyone in cinema… | |
83 | Cyclo | Tran Anh Hung | 1995 | Graphic and heartfelt…. | |
84 | L'ennui | Khan | 1998 | Fascinating dissertation on "jealousy" and "obsession'… | |
85 | Boyfriends and Girlfriends | Rohmer | 1987 | Rohmer realism with real people in real relationship quandaries | |
86 | Insomnia | Skjoldbjærg | 1997 | Modern day "Crime and Punishment"… | |
87 | White | Kieslowski | 1994 | Too long since I have seen it to make any comments... | |
88 | An Affair of Love | Donteyne | 1999 | VERY modern themes of urban alienation... | |
89 | Love Letter | Iwai | 1995 | Catharsis… the coping of death, with romantic interludes… | |
90 | That Obscure Object of Desire | Buñuel | 1977 | The game of love, filled with more psychological pathologies than can fit in this little box… | |
91 | La Collectionneuse | Rohmer | 1967 | Rohmer embodies French spirit/attitude so well… | |
92 | Ikiru | Kurosawa | 1952 | Must see again… quite sure will rise in my estimation upon rewatching. | |
93 | Blood of Poet | Cocteau | 1930 | Touches on the potential of the "then" new medium... | |
94 | Confidentially Yours | Truffaut | 1983 | Fun gangster spoof that holds great re-watchabaility… | |
95 | L'Enfer | Chabrol | 1994 | Expert build on a mediation of insane jealousy… | |
96 | The Sacrifice | Tarkovsky | 1985 | Faith and mortality are but a few of this masterpiece's subtle contexts… | |
97 | A Single Girl | Jacquot | 1995 | Modern cinema verite capturing and holding your attention… | |
98 | M | Lang | 1931 | The most "ahead of its time" film I can think of ? | |
99 | Children of Heaven | Majidi | 1997 | Compelling Iranian cinema that puts values in perspective… | |
100 | Where is My Friends Home | Kiarostami | 1987 | See "Children of Heaven" above… |