7 Samauri, I am not fluent in Japanese but was conversational. That movie illustrates the Japanese and their system of honor, which can be very odd and flexible.
Two from me that haven’t yet been mentioned (as far as I can see)
Dark Water: A beautiful Japanese horror that was released at a similar time to Ringu, but didn’t get an English language remake.
City of God: A stunning portrait of gang rivalry in Rio de Janiero that bears repeat viewings.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
I admit that the list of foreign made films I am familiar is quite small.
Fantastic Planet.
I have two:
The City of Lost Children (French)- Pan’s Labyrinth (Spanish)
The Lives of Others.
Oh. Uh. Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice (1972) Hanzo the Razor: The Snare (1973) Hanzo the Razor: Who’s Got the Gold? (1974)
They’re, uh, something. I think that they’re probably part of the reason that I really got into shibari. The films are graphically, cartoonishly violent, misogynistic, as close to pornographic as you can get in ‘mainstream’ Japanese cinema, and there’s just something about them. My partner HATES them, so use your best judgement before attempting to watch them.
I’ve really enjoyed Parasite, I didn’t scroll to read everyone’s answers but didn’t see that one mentioned
Confessions. The soundtrack is odd, but the rest makes up for it. One of the very few movies that I think is better than the book.
RRR was pretty fun
Shall We Dance?
The Iranian movie Bachcha-e-Aasmaan (English name: Children of Heaven).
Italian movie Cinema Paradiso. This movie is the embodiment of my love for cinema.
Both of them feel so raw and genuine it makes me come back to them time and again.
Hero (2002)
Drunken Master (1978)
Shaolin Soccer (2001)
Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979)
Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
All Quiet on the Western Front
(The 2020 Netflix version)
Pan’s Labyrinth for me
I love it because it’s one of the few dark fantasy movies natively made in Spanish. The dead fascists are a bonus.
One of my favorite details that is easy to miss if you aren’t a native speaker is that Pan speaks in medieval Spanish because he’s ancient. It honestly almost sounds like French







