Top 10 Best Foreign Language Films

Akira Kurosawa's three-and-a-half-hour epic about villagers hiring ronin to defend against bandits invented the modern action ensemble film. Its influence extends from The Magnificent Seven to Star Wars to every team-assembly movie ever made.

Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian love letter to cinema follows a filmmaker remembering his childhood friendship with a projectionist in a Sicilian village. Its final montage of censored kissing scenes is the most emotionally overwhelming sequence in film.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's whimsical French comedy about a shy Parisian waitress who secretly improves the lives of those around her became a global phenomenon. Audrey Tautou's luminous performance and the film's candy-colored Paris charmed millions.

Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language dark fantasy set during the Franco dictatorship blends brutal historical reality with haunting fairy tale imagery. The Pale Man sequence alone cemented it as one of the most visually inventive films of the century.

Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund's Brazilian crime epic chronicles two decades of gang violence in a Rio de Janeiro favela with kinetic energy and devastating humanity. Its non-professional cast delivered performances of astonishing raw power.

Edward Yang's Taiwanese family drama spans three generations over a single eventful summer in Taipei. At three hours, it unfolds with the novelistic depth and quiet observation that only the greatest filmmakers can sustain.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's German drama about a Stasi agent surveilling a playwright in 1984 East Berlin is a shattering portrait of totalitarianism and conscience. Ulrich Muhe's restrained lead performance is quietly devastating.

Ang Lee's Mandarin-language wuxia epic brought martial arts cinema to mainstream Western audiences and earned ten Oscar nominations. Its rooftop fight sequences and Yo-Yo Ma's cello score created poetry out of combat.

Park Chan-wook's Korean adaptation of Sarah Waters's Fingersmith is an erotic thriller of labyrinthine plot twists and stunning visual elegance. Its three-part structure continuously recontextualizes everything the audience thought they knew.

Akira Kurosawa's three-and-a-half-hour epic about villagers hiring ronin to defend against bandits invented the modern action ensemble film. Its influence extends from The Magnificent Seven to Star Wars to every team-assembly movie ever made.

Giuseppe Tornatore's Italian love letter to cinema follows a filmmaker remembering his childhood friendship with a projectionist in a Sicilian village. Its final montage of censored kissing scenes is the most emotionally overwhelming sequence in film.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's whimsical French comedy about a shy Parisian waitress who secretly improves the lives of those around her became a global phenomenon. Audrey Tautou's luminous performance and the film's candy-colored Paris charmed millions.

Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language dark fantasy set during the Franco dictatorship blends brutal historical reality with haunting fairy tale imagery. The Pale Man sequence alone cemented it as one of the most visually inventive films of the century.

Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund's Brazilian crime epic chronicles two decades of gang violence in a Rio de Janeiro favela with kinetic energy and devastating humanity. Its non-professional cast delivered performances of astonishing raw power.

Edward Yang's Taiwanese family drama spans three generations over a single eventful summer in Taipei. At three hours, it unfolds with the novelistic depth and quiet observation that only the greatest filmmakers can sustain.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's German drama about a Stasi agent surveilling a playwright in 1984 East Berlin is a shattering portrait of totalitarianism and conscience. Ulrich Muhe's restrained lead performance is quietly devastating.

Ang Lee's Mandarin-language wuxia epic brought martial arts cinema to mainstream Western audiences and earned ten Oscar nominations. Its rooftop fight sequences and Yo-Yo Ma's cello score created poetry out of combat.

Park Chan-wook's Korean adaptation of Sarah Waters's Fingersmith is an erotic thriller of labyrinthine plot twists and stunning visual elegance. Its three-part structure continuously recontextualizes everything the audience thought they knew.