WATCH THE WORLD

Our goal is to open up the world to everyone through film. Everyone should travel if they can (the world is amazing), but it costs time and money which we don't always have. That's where FilmRoot comes in. We bring the world of films to your couch, so you can travel wherever you want to without the flight fees.

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.

Latest Posts

10 Must See World Films on Amazon Prime UK

Watch the World with Amazon Prime UK – 10 Must See World Films Available for Free!

All of the following World Films are available to watch with an Amazon Prime UK membership. If you don’t have a membership you can always make the most of the free trial and watch as many of the films below before the trial runs out 😉 Just click here to sign up for a free trial!

10. Motorcycle Diaries (South America)

If you haven’t seen Motorcycle Diaries you’re in for a treat. It’s one of the best road trip movies out there and perfect to watch if you want to go to South America. Plus, it’s got the legendary revolutionary Che Guevara. Night in sorted!

9. Train to Busan (South Korea)

Hot off of the press, Train to Busan is one of Amazon Prime UK’s most recent additions. If you like zombies you’ll love this film. If you’re not bothered about zombies but love a great action movie, you’ll also love this film. It’s a win-win.

8. The Salesman (Iran)

Also recently added, Iranian film The Salesman won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Film at last year’s Oscars. If you missed the free viewing that the Mayor of London held in Trafalgar Square, no worries, as you can now watch it for free on Amazon Prime (with the free trial).

7. Son of Saul (Hungary)

You can also watch another Oscar winner. This one follows a Jewish worker in the Auschwitz prison camps during WW2. It’s harrowing, but brilliantly well made. Read more about it here.

6. The Assassin (Taiwan)

There’s also plenty of Cannes Film Festival winners available to watch. Hou Hsiao-hsie won the best director prize for this beauty, a martial arts film set in 9th century China. Films don’t get much prettier than this.

5. Cell 211 (Spain)

For a bit more grit, check out this prison drama. A new prison officer gets trapped on the wrong side of the prison bars during a prison riot. Can he play the part of a prisoner for long enough to escape? This one is perfect for an easy night in.

4. Dheepan (France)

Here’s another Cannes winner. Dheepan took the famed Palmes D’or at the 2015 Cannes film festival and tells the story of three Tamil refugees who flee the war ravaged Sri-Lanka for a new life in Paris.

3. Mustang (Turkey)

If you love coming-of-age films as much as I do you will love this film. It has all the qualities of a classic family film but with a bit more grit. A nominee at Cannes and the Academy Awards go watch this one now. Feel free to read more about the film here.

2. Toni Erdmann (Germany)

Toni Erdmann is one of the world’s great comedies. It will teach you never to lose your sense of humour or take life too seriously. Watch it for plenty of surprises that you never saw coming! It also features the world’s most embarrassing dad.

1. Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia)

This is perhaps the best film available to watch on Amazon Prime UK full stop. It’s a beautifully shot film set deep in the Amazon jungle that delves into the biggest themes including (but not limited to) Life and Death, Civilization, and Religion. You will come out of it a wiser person 😉

Where to Watch these films?

Well this is just a taster of some of the best world films on Amazon Prime UK. There are many more world films available on the platform, so go ahead and start your free trial by clicking on the banner below. (Remember to cancel it if you don’t want to be charged after the free trial).

We will be back with the best world films on Netflix UK in the next few weeks.

What Did You Do In The War Thanasi? (Greece)

What Did You Do In The War Thanasi? Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Time for a Greek comedy! What Did You Do in the War Thanasi is all about the extremely energetic and slapstick Thanasi. As much as he tries not to, you just know that trouble is going to end up finding him. For a fun and easy night in, watch this film with a free trial on Amazon Prime Video.

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Why Watch this Film?

For something light and funny (something we need more of on FilmRoot)
It’s our first Greek film set in Greece (see The Lobster for more Greek films)
If you liked Life is Beautiful or Closely Watched Trains and want to see another WW2 comedy
Experience some Greek humour (the main character is extremely energetic and melodramatic)

The Breakdown

It’s WW2 and the Nazis and Italians have occupied Greece. A bunch of the locals are queuing up for some rations; a big bowl of gruel. Back at home a family is listening to the forbidden BBC radio news trying to give the Greeks hope that the occupation will end.

From what you can see, the occupation looks brutal. Locals are scavenging for any food on the streets and people are starving (like the people in Germany as you’ll see in Little Dieter Needs to Fly). In addition, the German and Italian military occupation is obvious. Guards are watch the streets from watch towers whilst soldiers chase and shoot Greek rebels.

Thanasi, our protagonist, is our comic hero. He tries to avoid all association with the Greek resistance for fear of being caught by the Nazis. Typically, as this is a comedy, he always ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time (kind of like Forrest Gump’s knack for ending up in famous historical moments).

Conclusion

What Did You Do in the War Thanasi is one of the best war comedies I have seen. It is driven by Thanasi’s constant high energy and melodrama (a bit like Guido in Life is Beatiful). Well worth a watch if you are looking for a good Greek film or a nice comedy.

Mardan (Iraq) – A Sombre Film Set in Kurdish Iraq

Mardan Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Most of you know that Iraq has had one of the most traumatic modern histories. But when you think of why, you’d probably think of the Iraq War. So when I tell you this is a sombre Iraqi film you’d also probably think that it is about the Iraq War. But you’d be wrong. Unlike Ahlaam, Mardan is set in Kurdish Iraq, and follows the traumatic life of a border patrol guard.

Why Watch Mardan?

To see a Kurdish Iraqi film (for an Arabic Iraqi film, check out Ahlaam)
If you are up for a solemn (but well made) movie
To see the beautiful and wild mountain scenery of Iraq
For another story with a traumatic childhood (which reminded me of the Kosovan short film Shok)

The Breakdown

Mardan starts with an extreme close up of half a man’s face. The camera is focused on one of the man’s watery eyes. He is crying.

A traumatic flashback to his childhood shows us why he is crying. It should be an innocent memory of him and his brother playing by the river. But some military men raped and killed his brother, giving him a burden he has had to carry for his whole life.

Surprisingly, the introduction is the only place where the military is shown, apart from the border patrol. Instead, the film focuses on Mardan and how he deals with his harrowing childhood memory. He doesn’t seem like the nicest guy – he accepts bribes and appears pretty grumpy, but the film implies that his background is to blame for this.

His only shot at redemption is by helping a family find their relative. But don’t expect a Hollywood ending. This film is more about the journey and character development than any climactic ending.

Conclusion

Mardan is not the film you want to watch after a long day at work. It is solemn and does not offer any respite. It is a well made film, but you’d only want to watch it if you want to see a bit of life in Kurdish Iraq, some Iraqi scenery, or if you are into sombre films.

Umbango – Your Chance to See a South African B Movie

Umbango Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The framing is off, the characters are melodramatic, and the dialogue is cheesy at best. Welcome to the South African B-movie Umbango. It’s one of hundreds of films produced at the height of the apartheid for African audiences. By the early 1990s most of these films had disappeared, but luckily for you, Umbango is one of a few that have been recovered.

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Why Watch Umbango?

To see an authentic Zulu film (not counting that Michael Caine film)
It’s a classic B-movie – perfect to laugh at
Find out what kind of films were made under the apartheid
For an alternative to the polished South African films such as Tsotsi or District 9

The Breakdown

The opening introduces us to Kay Kay, a bandit chilling by a camp fire out in the wild. Another traveler joins him by the fire and pledges his loyalty to Kay Kay. They fulfill the typical bad-guy and silly side-kick role.

There are two things you’ll notice in this film:

The production quality is pretty terrible. The camera framing is all over the place, the colour contrasts are often completely washed out, and the sets are obviously fake. You have to accept that this is a B-movie to enjoy the little things.
The humour is very different to what you’re used to. It seems to be parodying the western genre as well as some South Africans (although I cannot confirm this). The characters also find calling their enemy ‘smelly’ hilarious. There’s a scene where the bad guy calls his nemesis ‘smelly like a jackal’ and ‘smelly as a skunk’ as if it’s the funniest thing in the world.

As long as you accept the poor production quality and can laugh at the strange humour, you’re in for a treat.

Conclusion

Watch Umbango to get an idea of what films were made for South African audiences under the apartheid. Whilst it is obviously a B-movie, it is still a lot of fun to watch!

Eldorado XXI – Peru’s Modern Version of the American West

Eldorado XXI Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

The American West is still alive today in Peru. Migrants from across the country are flocking to the highest settlement in the world for their ‘American dream’ (their rags to riches story). However, the only thing most people find is an incredibly harsh landscape. Check it out below.

Why Watch Eldorado XXI?

You’re into ‘Slow Film‘ and want to see more!
To see a film from Peru – and our first feature from this diverse South American country on FilmRoot
Experience a little of Peruvian mountain life
If you’re fascinated by the American West and the Gold Rush

The Breakdown

ElDorado XXI starts with a 25 minute still shot of miners walking up and down a mountain in the darkness. All you can make out is the vague silhouette of their bodies and the mountain from their headlamps. Whilst we watch these miners ramble up and down in the dark we hear the story of one of them.

One of them arrived at Rinconada (the mine) a few months ago after they hit bankruptcy in the city. They heard the rags to riches stories of people finding gold at the Rinconada mine and followed their version of the ‘American dream.’

Unfortunately for them, finding riches was not as easy as in the stories they had heard. They were homeless for parts and had to spend months away from their children, left with relatives in the city. The only thing they could do was work for longer and pray for luck.

That’s when you hear some strange stories about superstitions and rituals that some of the miners use to help their luck. Sacrificing Alpaca fetuses apparently bring luck, but a human fetus would ‘be more effective’. Welcome to the Peruvian wild west!

Conclusion

Eldorado XXI gives you an idea of what life is like in the Peruvian mountains – the modern equivalent of the American wild-west. People flock to this beautiful landscape in search of quick riches, but most of them never strike gold. You’ll see the life and community these migrants have formed and hear of the weird rituals that they try to boost their luck. Well worth a watch.