25 Movies to Watch if You Would Love to Get Into International Cinema (Modern and Classic)

The general concept of “film” encompasses how a moving picture can evoke a feeling that’s, in many cases, ineffable. A certain frame can be distinguished as anywhere from heartbreaking to petrifying; but primarily, it symbolizes how our subconscious perception of an image can formulate our own organic opinions. And, the international principles of cinema contain styles that are constantly pushing the boundaries of the art-form and truly deserve to be known. Considering the previous concept, below I have compiled a list of films (along with their director and year of release) that entail fantastic cinematic experiences for anyone seeking international movies as a platform to explore.

1-9 (Primary Films)

10-19 (Intermediate Films)

20-25 (Challenging Films)

1. Yi Yi (Edward Yang: 2000)
2. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger: 1948)
3. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy: 1964)
4. Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica: 1948)
5. Fanny & Alexander (Ingmar Bergman: 1982)
6. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut: 1959)
7. La Strada (Federico Fellini: 1954)
8. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro: 2006)
9. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean: 1962)
10. Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa: 1952)
11. Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho: 2003)
12. L’Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni: 1960)
13. Tokyo Story (Yasujirō Ozu: 1953)
14. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa: 1950)
15. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini: 1957)
16. Vivre Sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard: 1962)
17. Beau Travail (Claire Denis: 1999)
18. Caché (Michael Haneke: 2005)
19. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu: 2007)
20. A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson: 1956)
21. Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh: 1996)
22. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini: 1960)
23. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer: 1928)
24. Ivan’s Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky: 1962)
25. Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard: 1967)