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Col Needham's Top 25 International Movies from the Last 25 Years

I am the Founder and CEO of IMDb and in honour of our 25th anniversary here are my favourite international movies (non-English language) from 1990 to 2014. One movie per year and in chronological order.

This is a companion list to my Top 25 Movies from the Last 25 Years list and my Top 25 Hidden Gem Movies from the Last 25 Years list
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Created byCol Needham
5,935 visits
25items
List order
  • Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)

      1. Cyrano de Bergerac

    • 1990
    • 2h 17m
    • PG
    • 79Metascore
    7.5 (28K)
    Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
    DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsGérard DepardieuAnne BrochetVincent Perez
  • Gong Li in Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

      2. Raise the Red Lantern

    • 1991
    • 2h 5m
    • PG
    • 81Metascore
    8.1 (38K)
    A young woman becomes the fourth concubine of a wealthy man and soon realizes there's fierce competition for his attention and the associated privileges.
    DirectorYimou ZhangStarsGong LiJingwu MaSaifei He
  • Chow Yun-Fat in Hard Boiled (1992)

      3. Hard Boiled

    • 1992
    • 2h 8m
    • R
    • 86Metascore
    7.7 (61K)
    A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
    DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatTony Leung Chiu-waiTeresa Mo
  • Juliette Binoche in Three Colors: Blue (1993)

      4. Three Colors: Blue

    • 1993
    • 1h 38m
    • R
    • 87Metascore
    7.8 (119K)
    After losing her family in a car accident, a woman attempts to erase her past and live in total isolation until unexpected human connections force her back toward the living.
    DirectorKrzysztof KieślowskiStarsJuliette BinocheZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie Delpy
  • Irène Jacob in Three Colors: Red (1994)

      5. Three Colors: Red

    • 1994
    • 1h 39m
    • R
    • 100Metascore
    8.0 (117K)
    A model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
    DirectorKrzysztof KieślowskiStarsIrène JacobJean-Louis TrintignantFrédérique Feder
  • Underground (1995)

      6. Underground

    • 1995
    • 2h 47m
    • Not Rated
    • 79Metascore
    8.0 (65K)
    Two underground black marketeers, Marko and Blacky, sell weapons to the Communist resistance in wartime Belgrade, living the good life along the way.
    DirectorEmir KusturicaStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicLazar RistovskiMirjana Joković
  • Kim Bodnia, Zlatko Buric, Laura Drasbæk, Slavko Labovic, and Mads Mikkelsen in Pusher (1996)

      7. Pusher

    • 1996
    • 1h 50m
    • Not Rated
    • 72Metascore
    7.3 (53K)
    A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.
    DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsKim BodniaZlatko BuricLaura Drasbæk
  • Penélope Cruz in Open Your Eyes (1997)

      8. Open Your Eyes

    • 1997
    • 1h 59m
    • R
    7.7 (76K)
    A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.
    DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsEduardo NoriegaPenélope CruzChete Lera
  • Franka Potente in Run Lola Run (1998)

      9. Run Lola Run

    • 1998
    • 1h 20m
    • R
    • 79Metascore
    7.6 (218K)
    After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
    DirectorTom TykwerStarsFranka PotenteMoritz BleibtreuHerbert Knaup
  • Marisa Paredes and Cecilia Roth in All About My Mother (1999)

      10. All About My Mother

    • 1999
    • 1h 41m
    • R
    • 87Metascore
    7.8 (111K)
    A comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, an overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
    DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela Peña
  • Gael García Bernal in Amores Perros (2000)

      11. Amores Perros

    • 2000
    • 2h 34m
    • R
    • 83Metascore
    8.0 (273K)
    An amateur dog fighter, a supermodel, and a derelict assassin, all separately struggling to find love, find their lives transformed by a devastating car wreck in Mexico City.
    DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsEmilio EchevarríaGael García BernalGoya Toledo
  • Paz Vega in Sex and Lucía (2001)

      12. Sex and Lucía

    • 2001
    • 2h 8m
    • TV-MA
    • 65Metascore
    7.0 (41K)
    Various lives converge on an isolated island, all connected by an author whose novel has become inextricably entwined with his own life.
    DirectorJulio MedemStarsPaz VegaTristán UlloaNajwa Nimri
  • Irreversible (2002)

      13. Irreversible

    • 2002
    • 1h 37m
    • Not Rated
    • 51Metascore
    7.3 (165K)
    Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order.
    DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert Dupontel
  • Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard in Love Me If You Dare (2003)

      14. Love Me If You Dare

    • 2003
    • 1h 33m
    • R
    • 45Metascore
    7.5 (75K)
    As adults, best friends Julien and Sophie continue the odd game they started as children -- a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring and outrageous stunts. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the fact that they are truly meant for one another.
    DirectorYann SamuellStarsGuillaume CanetMarion CotillardThibault Verhaeghe
  • Audrey Tautou and Gaspard Ulliel in A Very Long Engagement (2004)

      15. A Very Long Engagement

    • 2004
    • 2h 13m
    • R
    • 76Metascore
    7.6 (78K)
    Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
    DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouGaspard UllielJodie Foster
  • Lee Yeong-ae in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)

      16. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

    • 2005
    • 1h 55m
    • R
    • 75Metascore
    7.5 (94K)
    After being wrongfully imprisoned for thirteen years and having her child taken away from her, a woman seeks revenge through increasingly brutal means.
    DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsLee Yeong-aeChoi Min-sikYea-young Kwon
  • François Cluzet in Tell No One (2006)

      17. Tell No One

    • 2006
    • 2h 11m
    • Not Rated
    • 82Metascore
    7.5 (62K)
    An accidental discovery near a doctor's estate stirs up some painful memories eight years after his wife's hideous murder, and now, things are bound to take a turn for the unexpected. Does the good doctor know more than he's letting on?
    DirectorGuillaume CanetStarsFrançois CluzetMarie-Josée CrozeAndré Dussollier
  • Timecrimes (2007)

      18. Timecrimes

    • 2007
    • 1h 32m
    • R
    • 68Metascore
    7.1 (77K)
    A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
    DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara Goenaga
  • The Class (2008)

      19. The Class

    • 2008
    • 2h 8m
    • PG-13
    • 92Metascore
    7.5 (38K)
    Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
    DirectorLaurent CantetStarsFrançois BégaudeauAgame Malembo-EmeneAngélica Sancio
  • Noomi Rapace in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

      20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    • 2009
    • 2h 32m
    • R
    • 76Metascore
    7.8 (232K)
    Influential industrialist Vanger's niece Harriet disappeared under mysterious circumstances 40 years ago. As a last attempt at solving the case, he hires investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist.
    DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa Fröling
  • Javier Bardem in Biutiful (2010)

      21. Biutiful

    • 2010
    • 2h 28m
    • R
    • 58Metascore
    7.4 (99K)
    A man dying of cancer tries his best to leave the world on his own terms.
    DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsJavier BardemMaricel ÁlvarezHanaa Bouchaib
  • Leila Hatami and Payman Maadi in A Separation (2011)

      22. A Separation

    • 2011
    • 2h 3m
    • PG-13
    • 95Metascore
    8.3 (280K)
    A married couple have to decide whether to improve their daughter's life by moving abroad or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent with Alzheimer's disease.
    DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh Bayat
  • Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in Rust and Bone (2012)

      23. Rust and Bone

    • 2012
    • 2h
    • R
    • 73Metascore
    7.4 (73K)
    Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
    DirectorJacques AudiardStarsMarion CotillardMatthias SchoenaertsArmand Verdure
  • The Past (2013)

      24. The Past

    • 2013
    • 2h 10m
    • PG-13
    • 85Metascore
    7.7 (53K)
    An Iranian man deserts his French wife and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife's request for a divorce.
    DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsBérénice BejoTahar RahimAli Mosaffa
  • Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night (2014)

      25. Two Days, One Night

    • 2014
    • 1h 35m
    • PG-13
    • 89Metascore
    7.3 (53K)
    A factory worker has only two days to change her colleagues' minds when she discovers that they have opted for a fiscal bonus in exchange for her dismissal.
    DirectorsJean-Pierre DardenneLuc DardenneStarsMarion CotillardFabrizio RongioneCatherine Salée

This list was created by a member of the IMDb community and has not been reviewed or verified by IMDb.

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