International movies and television shows might've been having their moment in recent years, but global movies have been prominent for many years. While many have struggled to go beyond the barrier of subtitles, some of the most beloved movies in cinema’s history have come from other countries. Whether it’s the French New Wave, directors like Jean Luc-Godard, or a Korean movie like Parasite that smashed barriers and records alike with non-Korean audiences, movies have had a special way of making people from all over the world be seen and feel not so different from someone on the other side of the world.
The 2010s were a special time for international movies, introducing some of the most iconic directors globally and continuing to give a spotlight to some of the auteurs of the genre who’ve been favorites at film festivals. While some may remember it as the decade where movies like Parasite had their historic run, many other movies slipped through the cracks. These are 10 movies that deserve more attention from the 2010s.
10 The Assassin (2015)
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien came out with The Assassin in 2015, adding to an already impressive filmography. Set in China during the waning years of the Tang Dynasty, Weibo has become independently ruled by a military governor. An assassin (Shu Qi) has been given orders to take down any corrupt officials in government by her master, a nun. But when she displays mercy, she’s put to the ultimate test throughout the course of the movie.
Why It’s Great
Hou is known as one of the greatest Taiwanese filmmakers in contemporary Taiwanese cinema, and The Assassin does the wuxia genre very well. Although the film suffers from some pacing issues throughout, the visuals and wuxia elements make it captivating on-screen.
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9 Timbuktu (2014)
Released in 2014, Timbuktu is the product of a collaboration between Mauritania and France. Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, the film went on to be well-known in film circuits and even landed an Academy Award nomination. The film focuses on a cattle herder and his family, and they live in a village outside of Timbuktu. They live quiet lives, but as recent events, where Sharia law is being imposed start to occur, it can shatter everything.
Why It’s Great
Few movies take place in Sub-Saharan Africa and get the attention that Timbuktu received. Blending a tragedy with the overarching story of the region, this is a movie that grapples with the past and present in such a beautiful manner.
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8 Dheepan (2015)
Dheepan won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, and tackles a subject few films have touched upon recently. Its main character is a Tamil Tiger, but when the Tigers lose the Sri Lankan Civil War, he has to move to a refugee camp. From there, he moves to France at the chance of finding freedom, but in order to do so, he assumes the identity of a dead man and must pose with strangers. He has to claim they are his family, and together, they start new, but difficult, lives in France.
Why It’s Great
Dheepan addresses the subject of refugees after the Sri Lankan Civil War, which is a topic very few films have gone into in recent years, let alone literature and television shows. The movie is a harrowing look into life as a refugee in Europe, and the devastating consequences of what it means to leave behind a region in conflict to circumstances that might be just as bad at times.
Stream on The Criterion Channel
7 Right Now, Wrong Then (2015)
Hong Sang-soo has become one of the best known Korean directors, as every time he comes out with a new movie, it has a tendency to be at every major festival. In 2015, it was Right Now, Wrong Then. A film director travels to the suburbs of Suwon in order to screen one of his movies, but meets a striking young woman. They go out together, but halfway through the movie, we go back in time and the plot completely changes.
Why It’s Great
Hong is known for a certain style of movie, and Right Now, Wrong Then does just what he’s known for. With characters debating art, philosophy, and life, the inverted style of the movie takes these conversations and amplifies them to the next level technically.
Rent on Prime Video
6 A Touch of Sin (2013)
One of the most famous filmmakers in contemporary China is Jia Zhangke, and A Touch of Sin, a movie he came out with in 2013, is incredible to watch. Split into four different story lines, the film delves deep into what it means to live on the fringes of contemporary Chinese society, and what exactly being sinful might be like through the lens of four completely different characters.
Why It’s Great
Not only are the visuals and cinematography in A Touch of Sin breathtaking throughout, but the storyline is as well. Each of the four characters introduces a haunting story about what caused them to reach a breaking point and become sinful, potentially ruining their lives in the act.
Stream on AMC+
5 A Separation (2011)
A Separation
- Release Date
- March 15, 2011
- Director
- Asghar Farhadi
- Cast
- Peyman Moaadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini, Sarina Farhadi, Merila Zare'i
- Main Genre
- Drama
Asghar Farhadi won the Academy Award for his movie A Separation, which landed in theaters in 2011. Focusing on a couple in Tehran with an 11-year-old daughter, they struggle with deciding to leave Iran or take care of the husband’s father. When the wife files for divorce, it becomes a deeper point of conflict between the couple, and their daughter gets stuck in the middle of the fighting.
Why It’s Great
A Separation continues the Iranian tradition of working within realism, as the situation its characters face is one many ordinary Iranians grapple with. The film boasts some incredible acting and moments throughout its runtime, making it searing to watch the relationship as it falls apart on-camera.
Rent on Prime Video
4 Poetry (2010)
Lee Chang-dong has been one of the most celebrated directors in contemporary Korean movie history, and his 2010 movie Poetry demonstrates why he’s done so well blending his background as a writer with filmmaking. The film is about an elderly woman named Mi-ja who’s beginning to experience Alzheimer’s. She enrolls in a poetry class once she realizes she’s forgetting basic words, but when her grandson is involved with the rape of a classmate, her life becomes even more complicated.
Why It’s Great
Poetry is a haunting movie, and a reminder of the beauty of everyday things. Whether it’s Mi-ja holding up an apple, mouthing useless vowels to a word she can no longer remember, she writes poems about the objects she will soon forget. It’s hard not to cry after watching this movie.
Rent on Prime Video
3 Tomboy (2011)
Celine Sciamma released Tomboy in 2011, and it is one of her most memorable early movies. The film is about Laure, who was born a girl, but when their family moves into a new apartment building, they present themselves as a boy. Everyone their age believes they are a boy, and they are able to reinvent themselves as Mickaël, even kissing a girl they like in the process.
Why It’s Great
There’s a lot of care and tenderness in a movie like Tomboy, which could go terribly wrong without that considering its subtexts. This is a movie about a child who doesn’t want to conform to a single gender, making it such a unique coming-of-age movie for its protagonist.
Stream on The Criterion Channel
2 Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
The director of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is Nuri Cilge Beylan, whose Turkish films are works of art and have been widely recognized. This movie is on a group of men roaming the Turkish countryside in search of a murder victim. Armed with the knowledge given to them by the perpetrator, their search becomes a wild goose hunt.
Why It’s Great
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a master of subtlety, and his movies reflect that craft. This film utilizes the harsh rural setting, along with day and night, to create a movie that is extremely nuanced, evoking a sense that Ceylan truly is an auteur.
Stream on MUBI
1 Capernaum (2018)
Nadine Labaki gained global acclaim from festivals and nods from Western awards with Capernaum. Set in the capital city of Beirut, its protagonist is Zain, a 12-year-old trying to sue his parents for giving birth to him. They kick him out of their home after neglecting Zain, and befriends an Ethiopian migrant worker with a son after wandering the city’s slums.
Why It’s Great
Capernaum shows Beirut through the eyes of a boy that was forced to grow up too quickly, the camera trained on how gritty his surroundings and life have become. Zain is portrayed by a Syrian refugee who actually lived in these slums, elevating the melodrama elements and upping the stakes on a personal level with his acting.
Stream on Starz
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