Tyler's 101 Favourite Foreign Films

A short introduction:

The last list I've done was 6+ months ago. The initial list had about 600 titles. Narrowing down to 101 was a pain in the a** because I knew there would be an unusually large proportion of films from France and Japan (as I love a lot of movies from both these countries). Hence, I have tried to allocate as many slots to as many countries as possible. With this thread, I hope to share with you the joy of foreign language movies.

101. La Antena (Esteban Sapir, 2008)



100. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988)



99. Ten Canoes (Rolf de Heer, 2006)



98. Himalaya (Eric Valli, 1999)



97. My Life As A Dog (Lasse Hallstroem, 1985)



96. Long Arm Of The Law (Johnny Mak, 1984)

Oh good, I love having a list to read through. And I'm expecting this list, more than any other, to introduce me to a lot of films I've not heard of before.

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^Agreed. Looking forward to your picks

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Thanks for the kind comments.

95. The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (Lang, 1933)


94. No Man's Land (Tanovic, 2001)


93. Sholay (Sippy, 1975)


92. The Orphanage (Bayona, 2007)


91. The Scent Of The Green Papaya (Tran, 1993)


90. A Prophet (Audiard, 2009)


That concludes the 90-101 movies.

The Orphanage is a very unsettling horror film, which I saw when I was about 12 years old. I think it was the first foreign film I ever saw, and therefore I have a very special relationship with it. My favourite film on your list so far.

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

Yeah great to see The Orphanage in the list, one of the best horror films in a long time, amazing film.

89. Hana-Bi (Kitano, 1997)


88. Oldboy (Park, 2004)


87. Tale Of Tales (Norshteyn, 1979)



86. Yeelen (Cisse, 1987)


85. Bicycle Thieves (Sica, 1948)

84. Eternity And A Day (Angelopoulos, 1999)


83. Still Life (Jia, 2006)


82. The Man Without A Past (Kaurismaki, 2002)


81. Underground (Kusturica, 1995)


80. Au Revoir Les Enfants (Malle, 1987)

79. Cure (Kurosawa, 1997)


78. Days Of Being Wild (Wong, 1991)


77. Amelie (Jeunet, 2001)


76. Ringu (Nakata, 1998)


75. Cries And Whispers (Bergman, 1972)

Oo nice choice with the Bergman film.

74. Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki, 1999)


73. The Colour Of Paradise (Majidi, 1999)


72. The Marriage Of Maria Braun (Fassbinder, 1979)


71. Le Samourai (Melville, 1967)


70. Ghost In The Shell (Oshii, 1996)

I really need to watch Princess Mononoke. I've got it on DVD, but was put off a bit by the underdeveloped story of Ponyo (even though it may be the most beautifully animated film I've ever seen).

I did not like Ponyo. For Miyazaki, I highly recommend Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro (in order). These three are the stand-outs of all his movies.

Good Gad, so far, I've only seen about half of those films. Although you'll have to justify "Enter the Dragon" as a foreign film. I thought that came straight from Warner Bros. in Hollywood.

I'm with the dawg on this one. Dragon isn't a foreign movie in this context.

I guess you're right lol. What was I thinking?!? Thanks for pointing that out, I'll replace it with Ghost In The Shell.

69. The White Ribbon (Hanake, 2009)


68. The Elite Squad (The Enemy Within) (Padilha, 2010)


67. Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai, 2003)


66. The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (Liu, 1979)


65. The Battle Of Algiers (Pontecorvo, 1966)

Ohh.. I love Battle of Algiers.
But I haven't seen most of the movies mentioned here.

A little description would really help me spark my interest in some of them, atleast to get an idea of what the films are about. Sorry if it offends you in anyway, I know it's already a huge effort to make these lists.

Alright. I'll see what I can do for the subsequent movies.

64. The Skin I Live In

Almodovar is a rare breed of a director who can pull off the most absurd of situations. While most other directors would surely have dismissed such bizarre storylines, Almodovar would have created a suspenseful movie where every dialogue hints at a plot point later on. This is total cinema - one must remain alert for fear of missing something out.

63. The Lives Of Others

A movie which showed how the Eastern German police spied on political "enemies", with a heartbreaking conclusion.

62. Mother

The best Korean movie Ive seen of recent years. Its impossible to guess whats comin'. A film worthy of Hitchcock... with twists and turns and stunning performances all round.

61. The Hole

If there should be one, just ONE, Tsai Ming Liang movie that you have to see, that would be The Hole. Urban alienation. Absurdism. A bleak observation of city-dwellers of urban Taiwan, The Hole is about two residents connected only by a hole. The man spies on the woman living below. Its also a light-hearted musical with some catchy Grace Chang songs.

60. The House Is Black

A precursor to the Iranian New Wave, The House Is Black is a short film dedicated to lepers. Transcendental.