Great Unforgettable Non-English-Speaking Movies
by cherchezlapaix | created - 23 Mar 2013 | updated - 25 Mar 2013 | Publicbetween 1980 until 2012
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1. A Separation (2011)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 258,429 | Gross: $7.10M
2. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
Director: Juan José Campanella | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Carla Quevedo
Votes: 222,282 | Gross: $6.39M
3. Everybody's Fine (1990)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama
Matteo decides to take a trip across Italy to go visiting his five children.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Michèle Morgan, Valeria Cavalli, Marino Cenna
Votes: 4,430 | Gross: $1.75M
4. The Intouchables (2011)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot
Votes: 928,844 | Gross: $13.18M
5. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
R | 174 min | Drama, Romance
A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli
Votes: 282,733 | Gross: $11.99M
6. After the Wedding (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama
A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård, Neeral Mulchandani
Votes: 37,064 | Gross: $0.41M
7. 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: 410,301 | Gross: $11.29M
8. The Wave (2008)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
A high school teacher's experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.
Director: Dennis Gansel | Stars: Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich
Votes: 115,063
9. The Official Story (1985)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama, History
During the final months of Argentinian Military Dictatorship in 1983, a high school teacher sets out to find out who the mother of her adopted daughter is.
Director: Luis Puenzo | Stars: Norma Aleandro, Héctor Alterio, Chunchuna Villafañe, Hugo Arana
Votes: 10,854 | Gross: $0.03M
10. Himalaya (1999)
108 min | Drama
An aging chief's last stand, lessons for the new, and the education of a young chief-to-be played against harsh Nature in Nepal's Dolpo. When his son dies returning from Tibet's salt lakes,... See full summary »
Directors: Eric Valli, Michel Debats | Stars: Thilen Lhondup, Gurgon Kyap, Lhakpa Tsamchoe, Karma Wangel
Votes: 5,687 | Gross: $2.48M
11. Malena (2000)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, War
Amidst the war climate, a teenage boy discovering himself becomes love-stricken by Malèna, a sensual woman living in a small, narrow-minded Italian town.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Votes: 111,935 | Gross: $3.45M
12. Kolya (1996)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A confirmed bachelor is in for the surprise of his life when a get-rich-quick scheme backfires and leaves him with a pint-sized new roommate.
Director: Jan Sverák | Stars: Zdenek Sverák, Andrey Khalimon, Libuse Safránková, Ondrej Vetchý
Votes: 16,217 | Gross: $5.73M
13. Divided We Fall (2000)
PG-13 | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, War
In German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia), a childless couple agree to hide a Jewish friend at great personal risk of discovery and execution.
Director: Jan Hrebejk | Stars: Bolek Polívka, Csongor Kassai, Jaroslav Dusek, Anna Sisková
Votes: 5,388 | Gross: $1.32M
14. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Votes: 54,958 | Gross: $1.50M
15. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
R | 114 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lim Soo-jung, Yum Jung-ah, Kim Kap-su, Moon Geun-young
Votes: 68,247
16. The Memory of a Killer (2003)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Vincke and Verstuyft are the best detectives of the Antwerp police department. They are confronted with the murder on a leading executive and put all their effort to catch the murderer.
Director: Erik Van Looy | Stars: Koen De Bouw, Werner De Smedt, Jan Decleir, Laurien Van den Broeck
Votes: 10,628 | Gross: $0.33M
17. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980)
PG | 150 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three young provincial women come to Moscow in search of what people in all the capitals of the world are looking for - love, happiness and prosperity. Their destinies develop exactly as the character of each of the girls suggests.
Director: Vladimir Menshov | Stars: Vera Alentova, Aleksey Batalov, Irina Muravyova, Aleksandr Fatyushin
Votes: 14,281 | Gross: $2.50M
18. The Willow Tree (2005)
PG | 96 min | Drama
Youssef, a blind university professor, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal disease and must undergo treatment in France. Back home, will he find the life he had before?
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Parviz Parastui, Roya Teymourian, Soghra Obeisi, Mohammad Amir Naji
Votes: 4,526 | Gross: $0.03M
19. Children of Heaven (1997)
PG | 89 min | Drama, Family, Sport
After a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Mohammad Amir Naji, Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Nafise Jafar-Mohammadi
Votes: 80,662 | Gross: $0.93M
20. The Eighth Day (1996)
118 min | Comedy, Drama
An unusual and wonderful friendship develops between a busy but unhappy salesman and a resident of a mental asylum.
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne, Miou-Miou, Henri Garcin
Votes: 10,079 | Gross: $0.33M
21. Baran (2001)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance
In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Turkish worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both their lives.
Director: Majid Majidi | Stars: Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji, Hossein Mahjoub
Votes: 8,960 | Gross: $0.13M
22. The Tunnel (2001)
150 min | Drama, History, Thriller
During the Cold War, Germany was divided into two states - East and West. This epic story tells about their dramatic connections.
Director: Roland Suso Richter | Stars: Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Sebastian Koch, Alexandra Maria Lara
Votes: 6,407 | Gross: $0.01M
23. The Sea Inside (I) (2004)
PG-13 | 126 min | Biography, Drama
The factual story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought a 28-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera
Votes: 85,240 | Gross: $2.09M
24. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,744 | Gross: $2.73M
25. Under the Sun (1998)
130 min | Drama, Romance
Olof lives alone on a farm after the death of his mother. Unable to read and write, he is dependent on his younger friend, Erik. Olof advertises for a housekeeper, and Ellen arrives. During summer Olof's heart and Erik's desires develops.
Director: Colin Nutley | Stars: Rolf Lassgård, Helena Bergström, Johan Widerberg, Gunilla Röör
Votes: 2,995 | Gross: $0.29M
26. Downfall (2004)
R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler
Votes: 375,061 | Gross: $5.51M
27. Zelary (2003)
R | 150 min | Drama, Romance, War
A nurse is part of the resistance in 1940s Czech Republic. She is discovered and must find a place to hide. A patient whose life she saved, from a remote mountain village where time stopped 150 years ago, agrees to hide her as his wife.
Director: Ondrej Trojan | Stars: Anna Geislerová, György Cserhalmi, Ivan Trojan, Jaroslava Adamová
Votes: 3,748 | Gross: $0.33M
28. 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: 742,831 | Gross: $57.60M
29. Talk to Her (2002)
R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling
Votes: 117,462 | Gross: $9.36M
30. Nowhere in Africa (2001)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
Due to Hitler's threat, Walter Redlich, a Jewish lawyer, immigrates to Kenya with his wife Jettel and daughter Regina. Things take a turn when the family is ordered to move by the British officers.
Director: Caroline Link | Stars: Juliane Köhler, Merab Ninidze, Matthias Habich, Sidede Onyulo
Votes: 13,954 | Gross: $6.17M
31. The Unknown Woman (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Haunted by a horrible past, a young Ukrainian woman calculatedly insinuates herself into the life of a rich Italian family.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Kseniya Rappoport, Michele Placido, Claudia Gerini, Piera Degli Esposti
Votes: 16,026 | Gross: $0.02M
32. A Pure Formality (1994)
PG-13 | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Onoff is a famous writer who hasn't published any new books for quite some time and has become a recluse. When he is picked up by the police one stormy night, without any identification, ... See full summary »
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Roman Polanski, Sergio Rubini, Nicola Di Pinto
Votes: 12,559 | Gross: $0.20M
33. The Star Maker (1995)
R | 113 min | Drama, Romance
A photographer and the types of people he encounters.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Sergio Castellitto, Tiziana Lodato, Franco Scaldati, Leopoldo Trieste
Votes: 5,477 | Gross: $0.12M
34. Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007)
R | 126 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The story recounts the early life of Genghis Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world in 1206.
Director: Sergei Bodrov | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Amadu Mamadakov, Khulan Chuluun, Honglei Sun
Votes: 49,163 | Gross: $5.70M
35. Breaking the Waves (1996)
R | 159 min | Drama
Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr
Votes: 71,542 | Gross: $4.04M
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