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Use our World Map to find the best films from each country, choose a continent below to explore the best films from each continent, or simply scroll down to see our latest posts featuring films from around the world. Or, if you're up for a challenge, work your way up to the top of our Film Difficulty Rankings to become a World Film expert.
In Kareem Mortimer’s Cargo a faltering fisherman turns to crime to pay for his mounting debt. This thriller presents a very different view of the Bahamas than the clear oceans the tourist board presents but is slowed down by a number of characters and clichéd subplots. However, if you’re a fan of slow thrillers or want to see the dark side of the Caribbean, this is worth a watch.
When you think of The Bahamas, you think of pristine beaches and crystal clear sea. It’s what the tourist board promotes to potential visitors year round. The picturesque islands are also what we’ve seen in films shot in The Bahamas such as the James Bond franchise. However, whilst the beaches are visible in Kareem Mortimer’s Cargo, the film focuses on the daily strife the locals and immigrants face. There’s no sign of tourists or an easy life.
It follows Kevin, a fisherman living in the city with his wife and aging mother. He’s had a privileged upbringing at a private boarding school, so he pays for his son to have the same privilege. However, the fees of the school, alongside the need to bring in support at home to take care of his mother dealing with dementia, pushes him into an insurmountable mountain of debt. Instead of pulling his son out of private school (and kicking his gambling habit), he assumes a life of crime to get his way out. Problem is, as per other ‘resorting to crime’ film plots, Kevin gets sucked in by the money, becomes a different person and gets a few more problems to add to those he started with. In this case it’s new girlfriends and dependents.
One thing that stands out with Kevin is that he’s white in a country that is 90% Black. Alongside the other white characters in this film – the School Bursar, Banker, and opportunistic Crime Lord – Kevin appears to live a privileged life. He has a nice house, sends his kid to private school, and has a car. In contrast, the main Black characters live in makeshift houses, struggle to get their kids an education, and use public transport. Even though his fishing isn’t bringing in enough money to pay his bills, he still finds himself in a better position than the Black characters of the movie. His failures are a sign of the total lack of opportunity in The Bahamas as it shows that both the privileged and unprivileged are struggling to get by.
Whilst Cargo highlights the inequality and lack of opportunity in The Bahamas well, Kevin’s slow spiral from friendly fisherman to “the devil” features too many subplots and characters. The three women in his life each come with their own story, slowing down the pace of the movie when it could do with a bit more energy. The clichéd conclusions of one of them feels like the over dramatic teen-orientated PSA’s that encourage you to not do drugs. The human-trafficking parts of the film are gripping, but are unfortunately never the film’s focus. This is all about Kevin and his ever increasing subplots.
What to Watch Next
Whilst Cargo focuses on the trafficker, there are a lot of great movies that focus on the people being trafficked. Some notable examples are:
Sin Nombre– that takes place on the infamous “la Bestia” train
If you’re looking for a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the tropics you’ve come to the right place. Shakirah Bourne’s A Caribbean Dream captures the magic of the original with mischievous fairies and pantomime humor and adds its own touch with the lush setting and Bajan music. The acting and editing is B-movie level, but if you’re not expecting anything exceptional, you’ll have a good time in its short run time.
A Caribbean Dream reminded me a bit of an English pantomine. The acting isn’t high quality, neither are the makeup or effects. However, this is fine if you go into the film expecting B-movie quality. Like when you watch a B-movie action or horror – you expect cheesiness so you can laugh with it – do the same for this one, after all, this is how Shakespearean plays were performed in Elizabethan times.
A Caribbean Dream borrows a lot from its source material. If you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream you’ll recognize most of the lines in this film. It uses the original ‘older’ English verse more than contemporary Bajan language. You’ll also recognize all of the main characters from the original as they’ve all been copied into this adaptation along with the silly comedy.
Despite the old verse, the film does bring the 16th Century text up to the present. Situating it in Barbados’ tropical setting works well as the lush green rainforests match the fairy magic. It’s also nice to hear Bajan carnival music to break up the long pieces of Shakespearian dialogue.
Overall, the adaptation works fairly well. The problems with the script stem mostly from the film’s faith to the original. It doesn’t work especially well with the short run time, which makes it feel like you’re watching the play on fast-forward, or the many characters, as there’s not much time for creative development. So, if you’re unfamiliar with the original text you might get a bit lost with all the different people and fairies. The faith to the original text also feels unnatural in the modern context, especially as some scenes feature regular Bajan conversation. It would have been nice to see more of a break with the original text to make the film more distinct. It feels like the director was afraid of doing the Shakespeare a disservice and held back from making something truly unique.
What to Watch Next
If you’re looking for more Shakespearian film adaptations you’ve got plenty of choice. Romeo + Julietand 10 Things I Hate About You are two that are contemporary to when they were filmed (like A Caribbean Dream). You also have a bunch of Midsummer Night Dream adaptations to check out. Or you could try Clueless, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.
Cinemas were open for most of 2021 which meant two things for us:
That we could watch films on the big screen
That we also missed a lot of films on the big screen to look after an extra family member and play it safer with the quarantine
Therefore, most of the inclusions on this list are thanks to the ever improving international slates of streaming services like Mubi, Netflix, and Hoopla, as well as the accessibility of a lot of festival films this year. 2022 is looking like it will be a repeat, with streaming services continuing to diversify their international releases and festivals (see Sundance and Rotterdam) sticking to a digital only schedule to prevent the spread of the ever evolving COVID virus. However, before we get into 2022, here’s 30 of the best international films of 2021. Some names you’ll recognize, some you may not, but the good thing about pretty much all of them is that they’re mostly available to watch or have 2022 release dates.
30 Best International Films of 2021
(In a fairly flexible order)
30. Tote Abuelo (Mexico)
In her debut feature, Maria returns to her ancestral home in Chiapas to reconnect with her estranged grandfather. The slow pace of the documentary matches both the slow straw-hat making process, as well as Maria’s patient questioning that slowly unlocks her grandfather’s stories. Tote Abuelo is a humble, heart-warming documentary that depicts the passing of family history (positive and negative) from one member to another.
29. The Pink Cloud (Brazil)
If there’s ever a movie that perfectly envisions the pandemic and quarantine, it’s The Pink Cloud. Made before COVID times, it follows Giovanna and Yago as their one night stand turns into a lifetime stuck together indoors as a poisonous cloud descends on the world. It’s probably one of the best portrayals of a relationship in lockdown.
Dogs are everywhere. Before the pandemic, ownership seemed to be rising. Everyone either had a dog or knew someone who did, whether it was a neighbor or a colleague who brought their dog into work. Now, since the onset of the pandemic, they’ve become even more popular. It’s within this context that The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet is set, a perfectly relevant, quietly funny Argentinian satire along the lines of Martin Rejtman.
If you’re a secret fan of love triangles but actually an art-house film snob, Paris 13th District is for you. You have your art-house credentials, with Jacques Audiard directing and Celine Sciamma writing, as well as a smooth black and white film. But you also have a light, free-flowing script with lots of sex that doesn’t slow down, making it an easy watch for anyone wanting to tune out.
In the city of Zinder, Niger, in the heart of the Sahel, young people form gangs to deal with the lack of work and prospects. These groups called “Palais” come from the Kara Kara district, historically home to lepers and outcasts. Zinder-born director and activist Aicha Macky returns to her hometown to tell the story of this disenfranchised youth. It’s an intimate tribute to the youth of her country which offers a hopeful portrayal of those marked by the neighborhood they were born into.
In Hive, a struggling widow starts making Ajvar to get by. Setting an example for self sufficiency, the town’s widows flock to her to share their grief and start healing. However their independence faces backlash from the patriarchy. This drama features an inspirational story about a group of entrepreneurial women fighting the odds to overcome the patriarchy and the trauma from the Kosovo war.
Bendskins fits Wanuri Kahui’s ‘Afro-Bubblegum’ movement perfectly. The three stories of motorbike taxi drivers in Cameroon are fun, frivolous, and fierce. They depict ‘normal’ modern African experiences instead of the typical stories of poverty, disease, or war. It also features a bunch of homages to some of the most iconic African films such as Touki Bouki and Quartier Mozart. So if you’re looking for an easy-going dramedy set in Yaounde, check out Bendskins.
23. Writing With Fire (India)
If you’re looking for an inspirational documentary that features a group of trailblazing women in India, watch Writing with Fire. It follows a group of Dalit women – Dalits being the lowest caste in the Indian caste system – that start a newspaper in Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s largest and most politically important states. The newspaper, Khabar Lahariya, stands out from others both because its written only by women and because of the emphasis on seeking out the truth no matter the stakes. It’s a great documentary for anyone interested in learning a bit about the current state of India and how to run a newspaper. It’s no surprise it’s on the Academy Award’s Best Documentary shortlist.
If you’re looking for a provocative transcendental film that captures a mother’s existential crisis you’ve come to the right place. Beginning uses slow pacing and a classic film look to shock Yana’s humble existence within a Jehovah’s Witness community in rural Georgia to the core. As her peace is shockingly disrupted, she’s forced to reevaluate her life as a mother as part of her remote community.
A Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown after the death of his grandmother. Unlike the urban jungle of New York, his hometown in Michoacán is surrounded by the Monarch Butterflies he studies. His isolation abroad forces him to contemplate his new identity, displayed on screen in vivid magical scenes and memories. Son of Monarchs is a brilliant character study of a lonely scientist abroad conveyed through his symbolic relationship with butterflies.
If you’re looking for a satire of Liam Neeson’s Taken franchise, look no further than Riders of Justice. It features Mads Mikkelsen as a soldier that returns home to console his daughter after his wife dies in a train crash. He gets embroiled in a revenge plot with a bunch of misfits that convince him the crash was planned. It humorously explores the one-dimensional male-leads in the slew of 21st Century revenge movies with the help of a group of nerds.
19. Taming The Garden (Georgia)
Taming the Garden is a slow documentary about a billionaire’s project to create a garden of the grandest trees in his country. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire, and former Prime Minister of Georgia, is the invisible villain of this film, as we follow his construction teams uproot trees from around the country to be transported across the seas to his home. The focus is not on his garden though, but the sublime images of the trees being transported; the huge efforts of the construction teams and the locals caught in-between.
If you’re looking for an observational documentary that follows a political activist trying to change a corrupt system by running for government whilst showing the effects this has on their family, Softie is the film for you. Boniface “Softie” Mwangi was drawn to political activism during his time photographing the post election violence in 2007. Now, he’s running for office in a regional Kenyan election. To succeed, he has to radically change a democracy tainted by corruption, violence, and mistrust.
In a collection of stylized vignettes, Roy Andersson captures the banal endlessness of humanity. The scenes vary from the everyday, such as a woman waiting at a train station thinking she’s been forgotten, to the brutally unforgiving, such as a man about to face a firing squad. It bundles historical scenes with others that could fit in our lives. In just under 80 minutes, these vignettes capture the absurdity of life.
16. Just Don’T Think I’ll Scream (France)
This is what happens when you lock a filmmaker in a room with a bunch of films and not much else. Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream is the documentary diary of Frank Beauvais, who moved to the country in search of love, but instead became lost in a kind of mid-life crisis. He documented his experiences in a voice-over supported by an incredible puzzle of images from the 4-5 films he watched per day during the 6 months he was alone for.
15. Days (Taiwan)
Slow film isn’t for everyone, but Tsai Ming-Liang’s Days is a great film to meditatively watch. It forces you to watch an excessive amount of dead time as characters go about their chores (you’ll never flash wash a salad again) and literally stare into the horizon. The reward for your patience is an erotic ending with a memorable musical conclusion.
14. Azor (Argentina)
Azor is Heart of Darkness style journey into the underworld of Swiss Banking in Argentina. Instead of a physical jungle, Yvan has to navigate the corrupt upper echelons of Argentinian society to find his missing colleague. Azor is one of the best written films of 2021, interpreted brilliantly by debut filmmaker Andreas Fontana.
13. El Planeta (spain)
Spanish language films are a gold mine for deadpan humor and El Planeta is no different. It follows a mother-daughter double team grifting their way through life in a contemporary Spain with apparently little opportunity (even the successful people have made it abroad). Watch for the muted laughs, kooky clothing, and to see a triple-threat debut director.
12. Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungary)
After setting a date with a Hungarian neurosurgeon in Budapest, Marta flies home after twenty years in the United States to meet him. She goes all in on their relationship but is met with confusion as the ‘love of her life’ ghosts her; both standing her up at her date and claiming that they’ve never met. The film converts Marta’s uneasiness into images as she, the other characters, and the audience all question her memory and what is real.
11. Faya Dayi (Ethiopia)
Faya Dayi is a trip of an Ethiopian documentary. It’s a fully immersive sensory experience into the highlands of Harar, Ethiopia with the help of Khat. The style accentuates our senses, making us feel like we’re there, but dulls our understanding of the plot (which is left vague). Instead of a linear, easy to follow narrative, we’re given a handful of strands to grasp at, until we give up trying to follow them and surrender to the meditative, poetic style. Watch this film in a dark room with a good sound system or headphones and drift along with it.
In All Hands on Deck, Felix persuades a friend to road-trip with him from Paris to the sunny South of France to surprise his dream girl who he shared a great date with a week earlier. The summer-time vibes set the foundation for the warm dramedy, which is taken to even warmer heights with the buddy-movie tropes, karaoke, and laid-back comedy. It’s a film that goes with the flow and will make you happy – a perfect movie to feel the summer whatever time of year.
9. Ascension (China)
No film can avoid a point of view, but Ascension avoids obvious political bias by observationally shooting a wide range of images of Chinese society without commentary. From workers toiling away in factories to influencers planning their next social media post, Ascension captures a selective cross-section that illuminates the growing class divides in China and the widening distance between the country and Communism.
8.What Do We See When We Look At The Sky (Georgia)
What Do We See When We Look at the Sky is an enchanting summer romance along the quirky lines of La Flor, Whistler, and Amelie. After a chance encounter in the Georgian town of Kutaisi, pharmacist Lisa and footballer Giorgi set a plan for a date by the riverfront. However, as their appearance is magically transformed the next day, they lose both their job skills and their ability to recognize each other. As with true love, even with the change, they’re never far from each other in their wandering. If you’re looking for a slow dreamy romance by the river front, try this one.
7. The New Girl (Argentina)
The New Girl is an engaging coming of age story, as well as a worker protest movie like Made in Bangladesh and Salt of the Earth. It follows a transient migrating to an industrial region of Argentina to live and work with her brother. It highlights the privilege of crime – contrasting her experience stealing out of need vs. her brother’s smuggling to get rich. Plus there’s a union at the heart of the narrative to add to the anti-capitalist thread of the movie. It packs a lot into its relatively short run time (only 79 minute).
Paolo Sorrentino has a gift at making Italian city life look amazing and full of mad stories. This time, instead of Rome (see The Great Beauty), he dives into his own memories growing up in Napoli. The spontaneity and life of The Hand of God channels the spirit of Fellini whilst the richness colors and expansive shots of the city show Sorrentino’s mark. It’s a beautifully shot, lightly tragic, autobiography set in 1980’s Napoli.
5. Wheel of Fortune & Fantasy/Drive My Car (Japan)
Ryusuke Hamaguchi had not one, but two of the best films of 2021. Wheel of Fortune & Fantasy had the more intriguing stories (split into three parts), but Drive My Car had the benefit of time to fully build out another brilliant Haruki Murakami film adaptation (also see Burning). Both films are film drama at its best – you just get to pick if you’d rather short stories imbued with unlikely coincidences or a long brooding drama to fully immerse yourself in.
4. Landfall (Puerto Rico)
Landfall is a political documentary imbued with anger at the current state of Puerto Rico. It captures life in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, choosing to depict the current post-Hurricane tragedies instead of the actual Hurricane, and setting them within the history of U.S. imperialism. In doing so, Landfall presents a searing critique of disaster capitalism (see Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine) and the U.S. stranglehold on Puerto Rico and its ineffectual politicians.
In Pebbles one angry father takes his young son out of school to visit his mother’s village. However, when they find out his mother has already left, they begin a long walk home under the burning sun. It’s simple storyline is hard to look away from as the camera brilliantly captures both the inhospitable landscape as well as the tension between the unpredictably violent father and his cautious son. So, if you’re looking for a film which compacts pure cinematic energy with a hot and arid environment in 75 minutes, you need to watch this film.
2. Sugar Daddy (Canada)
Musical Dramas Ema and Sound of Metal were amongst our favorite films from last year and Sugar Daddy felt more explosive than both of them. It follows a struggling artist that turns to a paid dating service to fund her music career. The standout is the lead actor, Kelly McCormack (who’s also the writer and producer behind the project), who gives one incredible performance. The music, craziness, and spiral of the lead make this film captivating. The only thing that we’d change is the misleading title.
The Disciple is our favorite film of 2021. It follows a struggling Indian classical musician in training with an aging guru from a rare musical lineage. His journey is presented as a leap of faith in his existential search for meaning. It’s presented patiently with long musical takes cut with some memorable nighttime shots of Sharad biking home listening to his prized philosophical musings from his enigmatic hero. This film is a must watch as long as you’re ready to spare a bit of time to fully immerse yourself in Indian classical music.
HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMS OF 2021:
I’m Your Man (Germany), Nayattu (India), A Cop Movie (Mexico), Aurora (Costa Rica), Identifying Features (Mexico), Liborio (Dominican Republic), State Funeral (Ukraine), The Last Shelter (Mali), The Woman Who Ran (South Korea), Hit the Road (Iran)
If you think we’ve missed a film from a list that you think is one of the best international films of 2021, please get in touch on Twitter or by email.
If you’re looking for a provocative transcendental film that captures a mother’s existential crisis you’ve come to the right place. Beginning uses slow pacing and a classic film look to shock Yana’s humble existence within a Jehovah’s Witness community in rural Georgia to the core. As her peace is shockingly disrupted, she’s forced to reevaluate her life as a mother as part of her remote community.
Beginning follows Yana, a failed TV actress that has been ‘saved’ from the entertainment industry by her religious husband. She’s taken on some of the responsibilities that are expected of a mother in a Georgian Jehovah’s Witness community but always looks like an outsider within an outcast community. As religious extremists infringe on their world and corrupt, power hungry detectives stalk the group, Yana’s small bubble begins to collapse with shocking consequences.
The most noticeable feature of Beginning is the film’s look. It’s grounded in the foundations of transcendental film, using takes that linger longer than you expect. These long takes force you to watch minute of ‘dead time’ in which the character’s aren’t doing much. It’s also shot on 35mm at a 1:33 aspect ratio, which eschews width and the modern look of digital film for the narrower and grainier classic film. The character this adds to the film heightens the dramatic long takes by eliminating the distractions of a widescreen aspect ratio whilst giving the film a more epic, classical look. The long takes and film style both set up the shocking images that are scattered through the film (such as the church on fire). Within the context of the high amount of ‘dead time’ and narrower, grainier film, these images are even more of a surprise. They look more powerful, like a piece of classical art in an empty museum. Beginning practices serenity to make these few chaotic moments feel even more disruptive.
The film’s style mimics Yana’s inner self. Her life is mostly peaceful; working with the kids in the community and raising her son. This is emphasized in the many moments of peace on screen – such as a very long shot of her lying, eyes shut in the woods. However, these serene moments are punctuated by moments of chaos that cast doubt on her otherwise serene life, signifying her existential crisis. Despite her family ties, she appears more and more uncomfortable with her life as an outsider living within an outsider community. The uncertainty surrounding the terrorist attacks isolates the community even further from Georgian society whilst the suspicious detective isolates her even more from her family. She’s questioned by her husband and feels more distant from her son as he grows to resemble him. In her existential crisis, the chaotic moments, emphasized by the film’s style, offer her a twisted olive branch to free herself from both the community and her family.
What to Watch Next
If you’re looking for more brooding films that patiently unravel, check out Oliver Laxe’s Fire Will Come. It features the return of a notorious arsonist to his small hometown in Galicia where he is treated with scorn whilst he tries to adapt to his new life. You could also try Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev, a slow burn thriller that captures another mother uncertain about motherhood and her role within her family.
Or for more great films from Georgia, try Taming the Garden. It’s a slow paced documentary that highlights the wealth inequality in the country through a billionaires tree theft.
In 2019, only 5 of Billboard’s top 100 DJs were Women
Women make up less than 3% of the technical and production roles in the music industry
In the World’s top 150 clubs, the annual percentage of Female DJs is 6%
Underplayedexplores how gender disparity and lack of diversity in electronic music happens, through the lens of the Female pioneers, next-generation artists, and industry leaders who are overlooked and/or tokenized instead of nurtured. It highlights a problem that is not only implicitly enforced in electronic music, but across all creative industries, especially the film industry.
Lack of Diversity in the Film Industry
Almost every year the Academy Awards faces scrutiny for its lack of diversity. The #OscarsSoWhite hashtag from 2015 prompted the Academy to diversify its voting body. The 2021 ceremony showed some promise with 9/20 actors going to People of Color and (an improved) two Women taking the 5 slots for Best Director with Chloe Zhao ultimately winning. However, based on the predictions for 2022, it looks like 2021 was an abnormality, rather than a sign that the Academy Awards are moving in the right direction. Just 4 out of the 30 contenders Variety have predicted for Best Picture are directed by Women (all of them are white) and just a handful are films directed by People of Color. Even the critics’ best of the year lists are all skewed towards white men, with 9/30 of Metacritic’s top films of the year directed by Women and 6/30 by People of Color. Instead, this year’s predictions are a list of familiar names: Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, Aaron Sorkin, Adam McKay. They’re all easier to recognize because they’re who the film industry have celebrated and facilitated. Nominating their films are a less risky choice than nominating a brilliant debut film by a Woman and/or Person of Color that is often less supported by studios, cinemas, and audiences. These big names are also being floated this year, because they had the luxury to delay their releases to a year in which cinemas were open (and not closed because of the pandemic) – which could mean that the diversity at the 2021 awards was just an anomaly.
Just as it’s easy for electronic music festivals to keep slotting in the same famous male DJs into their lineups, it’s easy for critics and film Awards voters to pick the same familiar names – which are mostly white men. This is not because white men are the only people making films – they’re not – as per the Hollywood Diversity Report pictured below, 25% of the top 185 performing films of 2020 were directed by People of Color and 20% by Women. These figures are by no means where they should be, the film production industry should obviously put more Women and People of Color in all positions until they’re proportionally represented, but it gives us, the audience a chance to help.
The Importance of Diversifying Your Media Consumption
We have to acknowledge that we are also part of the problem. If we care about fixing it, we need to diversify our media consumption by matching our consumption with the population ratios we live in. This means choosing to watch one film directed by a Woman for every film we watch directed by a man and four films directed by People of Color for every ten films we watch.
Outside of U.S. films, it also means we should watch more international films, after all the U.S. makes up under 5% of the world’s population. Watch more films from Africa and the ‘Global South‘ (not my favorite term but one that gives an idea of which countries are underprivileged socioeconomically). The ‘Global South’ makes up roughly 75% of the world’s population but rarely make critics best of the year lists or receive awards nominations.
The hope is, that in diversifying our media consumption, we’ll change our favorite films. Watching more films from Women and People of Color gives them a chance to feature in our best of lists. It also alters the diversity of the films we talk about, and puts us in a position to critique any lackluster attempts of Award Ceremonies, Film Festivals, and Movie Theaters to represent the country and world we live in. We can put pressure on them to change, and level the playing field for all and open the door to everyone now and in the future.
So next time you’re browsing the streaming platforms, or trying to find a film to watch at the cinema, pick a film that isn’t directed by the white male director you’re already familiar with. Diversify your viewing habits. And if you think you’re already doing a good job, check the films you’ve watched in the past month or year – it doesn’t hurt to take a look. I for one, was way off track, which I’ve finally adjusted this year. Not only does it feel good supporting a wider range of filmmakers, but as an added bonus, a more diverse slate of films boosts your own film credentials by exposing you to a wider range of perspectives and film styles.
Diversifying your viewing habits supports diversity in the industry and makes you a better film watcher.
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