WORLD CINEMA - ONE FILM PER COUNTRY
Ongoing list to attempt a diverse experience. As for 'big movie countries' like the USA I've picked the specific title more or less randomly (among my highest votes of course). As for smaller ones, each the best (in some cases: only one) I've seen.
Sorted alphabetically by country. In case of multiple eras for the same region (e.g. USSR -> Russia) the entries are arranged in historical order, beginning with the actual situation (e.g. to find USSR you don't skip to 'U', but to 'R' for Russia).
The note of each entry is as follows:
Current, common name of the country
→ OFFICIAL NAME OF THE COUNTRY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS PRODUCED
optional: (date of era)
Population: estimated or census (date)
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(below this line only information about the film - NOT the country)
In case of an error, please send me a PM!
Sorted alphabetically by country. In case of multiple eras for the same region (e.g. USSR -> Russia) the entries are arranged in historical order, beginning with the actual situation (e.g. to find USSR you don't skip to 'U', but to 'R' for Russia).
The note of each entry is as follows:
Current, common name of the country
→ OFFICIAL NAME OF THE COUNTRY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS PRODUCED
optional: (date of era)
Population: estimated or census (date)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(below this line only information about the film - NOT the country)
In case of an error, please send me a PM!
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42 titles
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.AUSTRALIA
→ COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
Population: 22,556,732 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: English
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.AUSTRIA
→ REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA (2nd, 1945 - present)
Population: 8,356,707 (2009)
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Also involved: none
Language: German
My vote: 9/10 - DirectorRémy BelvauxAndré BonzelBenoît PoelvoordeStarsBenoît PoelvoordeJacqueline Poelvoorde-PappaertNelly PappaertA film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.BELGIUM
→ KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
Population: 10,827,519 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: French
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorSrdjan VuleticStarsSasa PetrovicDaria Lorenci FlatzDamir SavicTaxi driver Fudo wants a happy life with his wife an son. But he has debts. He decides to plan a last coup with his gangster friends.BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
→ BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (1992 - present)
Population: 4,613,414 (2009)
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Also involved: UK | Slovenia | Serbia | Germany
Language: Serbian
My vote: 7/10 - DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.BRAZIL
→ FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF BRAZIL
Population: 190,732,694 (2010)
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Also involved: France
Language: Portuguese
My vote: 7/10 - DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsPeter WellerJudy DavisIan HolmAfter developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.CANADA
→ CANADA
Population: 34,347,000 (2010)
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Also involved: UK | Japan
Language: English
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorAndrés WoodStarsMatías QuerAriel MatelunaManuela MartelliTwo 12-year-old Chilean children from different social classes become friends in 1973. They both discover each other's world as political tensions in their country increase.CHILE
→ REPUBLIC OF CHILE (after military dictatorship, 1980 - present)
Population: 17,094,270 (2010)
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Also involved: Spain | UK | France
Language: Spanish
My vote: 9/10 - DirectorAng LeeStarsChow Yun-FatMichelle YeohZiyi ZhangA young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.CHINA
→ PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (1949 - present)
Population: 1,338,612,968 (2010)
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Also involved: Taiwan | Hong Kong | USA
Language: Mandarin
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorJoshua MarstonStarsCatalina Sandino MorenoGuilied LopezOrlando TobónA pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately-needed money for her family.COLOMBIA
→ REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA
Population: 45,586,233 (2010)
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Also involved: USA | Ecuador
Language: Spanish | English
My vote: 5/10 - DirectorJan SvankmajerStarsKristýna KohoutováCamilla PowerA surrealistic revision of Alice in Wonderland.CZECH
→ CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1918 - 1993)
Population: 13,607,385 (1991)
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Also involved: Switzerland | UK | West Germany
Language: Czech
My vote: 7/10 - DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsMads MikkelsenLeif SylvesterAnne SørensenTonny is released from prison - again. This time he has his mind set on changing his broken down life, but that is easier said than done.DENMARK
→ KINGDOM OF DENMARK
Population: 5,557,709 (2010)
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Also involved: UK
Language: Danish | Serbo-Croatian
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorOlli SoinioStarsSoli LabbartKari SorvaliMikko KivinenFINLAND
→ REPUBLIC OF FINLAND (1918 - today)
Population: 5,374,781 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: Finnish
My vote: 7/10 - DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean-Marc BarrJean RenoRosanna ArquetteThe rivalry between Enzo and Jacques, two childhood friends and now world-renowned free divers, becomes a beautiful and perilous journey into oneself and the unknown.FRANCE
→ FRENCH REPUBLIC (5th, 1958 - present)
Population: 65,447,374 (2010)
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Also involved: USA | Italy
Language: French | English | Italian
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.FRANCE
→ FRENCH REPUBLIC (3rd, 1870 - 1940)
Population: 35,565,800 (est)
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Also involved: none
Language: French
My vote: 7/10 - DirectorWenzel StorchStarsJürgen HöhneJasmin HarnauHolger MüllerCaptain Gustav commands a floating snail boat in an odd world.GERMANY
→ FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (1991 - present)
Population: 81,757,600 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: German
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.GERMANY
→ WEIMAR REPUBLIC (1918–1933)
Population: 62,411,000 (1925)
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Also involved: none
Language: German
My vote: 9/10 - DirectorDennis IliadisStarsKaterina TsavalouDanae SkiadiIoannis PapazisisLeaving behind a hard life with their families, two young girls end up in a brothel, fall in love and support one another against the adversities and violence of the night.GREECE
→ HELLENIC REPUBLIC (1975 - present)
Population: 11,305,118 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: Greek
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsLeon LaiMichelle ReisTakeshi KaneshiroThis Hong Kong-set crime drama follows the lives of a hitman, hoping to get out of the business, and his elusive female partner.HONG KONG
→ HONG KONG (crown colony until 1997)
Population: 7,055,071 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: Cantonese
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorNimród AntalStarsSándor CsányiEszter BallaZoltán MucsiA tale about a strange young man, Bulcsú, the fellow inspectors on his team, all without exception likable characters, a rival ticket inspection team and racing along the tracks - and a tale about love.HUNGARY
→ REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY (3rd, 1989 - present)
Population: 10,005,000 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: Hungarian
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorBaltasar KormákurStarsHilmir Snær GuðnasonVictoria AbrilHanna María KarlsdóttirWill the 30 y.o. Hlynur ever move out of his mother's apartment in Reykjavík? Social welfare keeps him passive but things change when his mother's Spanish friend, Lola, arrives and stays through Xmas and New Year's Eve.ICELAND
→ REPUBLIC OF ICELAND (1944 - present)
Population: 318,006 (2010)
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Also involved: Denmark | France | Norway | Germany
Language: Icelandic
My vote: 9/10 - DirectorSanjay Leela BhansaliStarsAmitabh BachchanRani MukerjiShernaz PatelThe cathartic tale of a young woman who can't see, hear, or speak, and the teacher who brings a ray of light into her dark world.INDIA
→ REPUBLIC OF INDIA (1950 - present)
Population: 1,189,830,000 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: Hindi | English
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorJoko AnwarStarsFachry AlbarMarsha TimothyArio BayuThe life of a successful sculptor is turned upside down when he begins receiving mysterious messages from someone who asks for his help.INDONESIA
→ REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA (1949 - present)
Population: 238,000,000 (2009)
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Also involved: none
Language: Indonesian
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorJohn BoormanStarsBrendan GleesonAdrian DunbarSean McGinleyThe real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the I.R.A., the U.V.F., and members of his own team.IRELAND
→ REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (1949 - present)
Population: 4,470,700 (2010)
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Also involved: UK
Language: English
My vote: 8/10 - DirectorMichele SoaviStarsRupert EverettFrançois Hadji-LazaroAnna FalchiA cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.ITALY
→ ITALIAN REPUBLIC (1946 - present)
Population: 60,418,711 (2010)
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Also involved: France | Germany
Language: Italian
My vote: 10/10 - DirectorPerry HenzellStarsJimmy CliffJanet BartleyCarl BradshawWishing to become a successful reggae singer, a young Jamaican man finds himself tied to corrupt record producers and drug pushers.JAMAICA
→ JAMAICA (1962 - present)
Population: 2,847,232 (2010)
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Also involved: none
Language: English
My vote: 8/10