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Foreign-Language Movie Reviews
Choosing the right foreign-language movie to watch can be a challenge. Reviews can help you decide which classic movie is right for you. Here are a variety of reviews of foreign-language movies.
'4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days' DVD Review
Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a powerful Romanian film that combines elements of dystopian thriller, realist drama and character study. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
'Diva' DVD Review
A visual delight, Diva[/] was innovative when it was released in 1981 and is still fun to watch today.
'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' DVD Review
This is an emotionally engaging and often cinematically dazzling adaptation of Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir.
'La Vie en Rose' DVD Review
Actress Marion Cotillard gives a powerful performance in this French-language biopic about iconic singer Édith Piaf.
The Lives of Others DVD Review
This German-language drama won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
'Pierrot le fou' DVD Review
Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Pierrot le fou features eye-popping primary colors and a pair of charismatic, good-looking stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina.
'Summer Palace' DVD Review
This is a Mandarin-language film about a willful, passionate young woman grappling with her feelings toward a man she falls madly in love with.
High and Low (Criterion Collection) DVD Review
High and Low (1963) is a dark crime drama set in 1962 Yokohama. The plot was based on Ed McBain's novel King's Ransom, a police procedural.
The Threepenny Opera (Criterion Collection) DVD Review
The Threepenny Opera was a big hit on the Berlin stage, and in 1930 the process of adapting it for the screen began. The movie version, which was released in 1931, is a masterpiece.
Throne of Blood (Criterion Collection) DVD Review
The plot of Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood (1957) is a streamlined and tweaked version of the one in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The movie contains a stunning combination of music, sound effects and richly textured visual imagery.
The Lives of Others DVD Review
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Lives of Others is a suspenseful, psychologically intense drama. It is set in the Cold War era and centers around an operative for the Stasi, East Germany's repressive internal security police.
The Host DVD Review
This is an unconventional creature feature about an ugly monster that emerges from the river in Seoul and begins gobbling up people. Read a review of this horror movie on DVD.
A Very Long Engagement DVD Review
Based on the novel by Sébastien Japrisot, A Very Long Engagement (2004) is a French-language drama about an incident involving soldiers at the front during World War I.
After the Wedding DVD Review
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, After the Wedding is an absorbing Danish-language melodrama that packs an emotional wallop.
Amelie DVD Review
A capsule review of this foreign-language movie on DVD.
Apu Trilogy DVD Review
I know of no other collection of films that gives such an unforgettable portrayal of the sweep of life from childhood to adolescence to marriage. Read a review of the Apu Trilogy on DVD.
Au hasard Balthazar DVD Review
If you're interested in cinema as art, rather than as entertainment, then you'll certainly want to see Robert Bresson's French-language Au hasard Balthazar (1966). Read a review of this movie on DVD.
Boudu Saved From Drowning DVD Review
This one of the relatively few movies that not only makes me chuckle while I'm watching it, but makes me smile every time I think about it later.
Breathless DVD Review
Read a review of this foreign-language movie on DVD.
Carmen DVD Review
This is a crowd-pleasing screen adaptation of Georges Bizet's 1875 French-language opera. Read more...
City of God DVD Review
The Portuguese-language drama City of Godderives its title from the name of the Rio de Janeiro slum in which the film is set. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
Downfall DVD Review
Downfall was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
Fanny and Alexander DVD Review
I've heard Bergman films compared to musical compositions, and many of his movies are small and somewhat similar to chamber pieces. Read a review of this foreign-language movie on DVD.
Grand Illusion DVD Review
Jean Renoir's masterpiece of world cinema is a lyrical film with an unconventional narrative structure.
La Bête humaine DVD Review
La Bête humaine(1938) is sometimes described as being a precursor to Hollywood film noir, and that description is helpful as a shorthand for the movie's generally dark tone.
La Dolce vita DVD Review
A review of Fellini's La Dolce vita on DVD.
La Marseillaise DVD Review
This film is about the part of the French Revolution taking place when the title song first became popular.
La Traviata DVD Review
This is one of cinema's greatest combinations of filmmaking and musical performance. Read a review of this foreign-language movie.
Monsieur Ibrahim DVD Review
A review of this movie on DVD.
Mouchette (Criterion Collection) DVD Review
Robert Bresson (1907-1999) was a French filmmaker whose legacy includes Pickpocket (1959) and Au hasard Balthazar (1966), titles that often appear in lists of the greatest movies of all time. But Bresson made several other films that are extraordinary, including Mouchette (1967).
Pulse DVD Review
The Japanese-language Pulse is a psychological horror film, but it's very different from mainstream American horror movies. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
Rashomon DVD Review
I think this classic of world cinema is one of the greatest movies of all time. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
The 400 Blows DVD Review
This lyrical and accessible movie appears on most lists of great films. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
The 400 Blows DVD Review
Read a review of this foreign-language movie on Criterion Collection DVD.
The Barbarian Invasions DVD Review
This movie won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
The Battle of Algiers DVD Review
Read a review of this foreign-language movie on DVD.
The Crime of Padre Amaro DVD Review
Nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category, this movie is a melodrama that stars Gael García Bernal. Read a review of this movie on DVD.
The Decalogue DVD Review
When I reflect on all the movies and television programs I've viewed at home over the years, the DVD version of The Decalogue (1989) ranks high among the very best. Read a review of Krzysztof Kieslowski's drama cycle on DVD.
The Leopard DVD Review
Ivana Redwine reviews Luchino Visconti's masterpiece.
The Magic Flute DVD Review
Although the Swedish director is famous for his melancholy movies, here he has created a cheerful one. Read a review of The Magic Flute on DVD.
The Motorcycle Diaries DVD Review
Read a review of this movie on DVD.
Three Colors DVD Review
I think Kieslowski’s Three Colors trilogy is an innovative masterpiece of world cinema that works both intellectually and humanistically.
Ugetsu DVD Review
I remember seeing the title Ugetsu monogatari (1953) on various lists of great films for years. Now I am thrilled to own the Criterion Collection two-disc DVD set containing the movie under the shorter title Ugetsu.
Wings of Desire DVD Review
I think this film is an imaginative masterwork of world cinema. Read a review of this foreign-language movie on DVD.
Y tu mamá también DVD Review
I loved this high-spirited, unusual, and fun art-house movie, which I found to be artistic, cinematic, and thought-provoking.