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

Whale Rider

Click on the poster to watch for £2.50 on Amazon or find this film on Netflix!

Whale Rider Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

Are you fed up with reading subtitles? Well here’s your chance for a break. Whale Rider is a beautiful film from New Zealand showcasing the Maori people and culture. It is your chance to learn about the indigenous people of New Zealand and how they are adapting their traditions and culture to the modern world. Do your part and watch this film to support Maori heritage.

Why Watch Whale Rider?

This is your chance to learn some Maori mythology
Learn a bit about Maori culture and it’s plight in New Zealand
See a chubby uncle whip out his Taiaha routine
The girl who played Paikea became the youngest nominee of the Best Actress at the Academy Awards (until Quvenzhane Wallis)
It’s a beautiful foreign film and easy to watch – it’s mostly in English and it is currently on Netflix!

Breakdown

The film starts with the birth of Paikea, the granddaughter of the village chief and direct descendant of Paikea, the whale rider who rode to New Zealand from Hawaiki. However, the opening scenes are traumatic. Paikea is born but her twin brother, the first born male son, is lost along with their mother. Her dad is obviously distraught, having lost his wife and son. His father Koro tells him that he can always make another one. Too soon!

Grandfather Koro is the chief of the village of Whangara. He is growing older and older and only desires a true heir. His son has rejected his calls for a son and Paikea cannot carry his lineage as a female. He is desperate to keep the tribal traditions alive but is too stubborn to adapt to the new world. The locals don’t take him seriously either. One kid farts at a school Maori dance and all the village laughs out loud, except for Koro. But don’t feel sorry for him, because he chooses to ignore the signs. In his stubbornness to adapt he is turning his tradition and culture into history.

The Maori culture is also threatened by the town they live in. As one boy says “this place is a dump.” And he’s right. The town has nothing to offer the kids; no opportunities, only poverty. The dads are absent, chasing opportunities in other places where they can find jobs. In the town, the only person you see working is the school teacher. So what’s the solution? It’s awareness. The film shines a light on the poor living conditions – something that we had no idea about. Just as In Vanda’s Room depicts the poverty in Lisbon or how Tsotsi shows the slums of Johannesberg.

Conclusion

Whale Rider is a beautiful film full of emotion. Plus it is easy to watch, at times reminding me of a great Disney film. However, it also has a lot of depth. It teaches us about Maori culture and the state of the Maori people today in New Zealand. It revives the myths and culture like Song of the Sea and shines a light on the indigenous situation like Smoke Signals. A must watch for all.

If you want to see more about indigenous people of Australasia check out Rabbit Proof Fence!

The Merchant of Four Seasons (Germany)

The Merchant of Four Seasons Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

For ‘real’ German cinema, look no further than here. For this is the New German Cinema of the 1960s-1980s, a cinema where commercial interests were kicked out of the window. In The Merchant of Four Seasons, you will see the real Germany of the 1950s in it’s grim glory. You’ll see everything commercial films won’t show you: class prejudices, domestic violence, and depression. Watch this film if you’re intrigued!

Why Watch The Merchant of Four Seasons?

You want to see the bleakness of humanity
To see something from the New Wave of German cinema (1970s) by one of it’s leaders: Fassbinder
Was life good in Germany in the 1950s?
For some 70s film cinematography: quick zooms and close ups

The Breakdown

The film starts with Hans (our protagonist) arriving home in the middle of the night. He has just come back from Africa where he spent 7 years with the French Foreign Legion. Instead of being pleased to see him, his mother tells him off for turning up in the middle of the night. She tells him “the good die young, and the bad always come back.” What a lovely mother! What has he done to deserve this?

We learn that Hans is a fruit salesman and doesn’t earn much money. However, before you start feeling sorry for him, he is an alcoholic and a wife beater as well. So much so, that his wife nearly leaves him after he comes back from the pub drunk and beats her. Is Hans a really bad guy or someone who has been forced down a bad path? The film argues both. West Germany in the 1950s looks bleak and without much opportunity, but Hans’ alcoholism and violent nature does not help him.

More important than Hans is the story of Irmgard, Hans’ wife. She is threatened and beaten by her husband, looks after the kid by herself, and is asked how much she costs when walking along the street. She is treated as a maid and a sexual object. Irmgard’s position as the ‘German woman’ of the 1950s shows the absence of equality and respect for women at the time.

Conclusion

Fassbinder’s portrait of post-war Germany is very negative. He doesn’t seem to think much of human nature and portrays life in West Germany as pretty grim. Both the protagonists are in positions they didn’t want to be in. For a gritty look at life in post-war Germany watch this. However, if you do not want to see class prejudices, domestic violence, infidelity, family discord, depression and self-destructive behaviour, watch something else.

Silvered Water, Syria Self Portrait (Syria)

Silvered Water Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

How much do you know about the Syrian Civil War? Here’s an opportunity to learn how the crisis started and to see footage made by different sides of the crisis. Silvered Water is made from 1001 images shot by the Syrian people across the opening years of the Civil War. You will be presented with an array of evidence so you can debate the Syrian crisis with your friends and family.

Why Watch Silvered Water?

You want to know a bit more about why the Syrian refugee crisis started
Witness revolution and war from first hand mobile footage
Unlike some films, nothing is hidden from Silvered Water – the violence, the torture, the dead bodies are all real
To see how important film is in documenting history

The Breakdown

This film is a compilation of 1001 images shot by Syrian men and women. It starts with footage of a dripping water tap surrounded by rubble. Next we are shown a newborn baby being washed and a man in underwear crouched in a corner. The half-naked man is beaten and tortured. He is the one that wrote “Topple the Regime” in graffiti. The authorities tell his parents to “forget about him,” to “go make another one,” and if they can’t to “send their women to him”. This is the start of the Syrian crisis.

Silvered Water is a documentary of the Syrian crisis as recorded on the mobile phones of the population. Nothing is spared from the camera as phone cameras explore dead bodies lying in the street. The close-ups of the wounded and the deceased may seem a bit over-the-top just like a gory Tarantino film. However, this is real life, the camera focuses on the violence as if in disbelief of what is happening in Syria. The gore is shown as it is part of life in Syria, and it must be shown to shock people around the world into awareness.

The amazing part of Silvered Water is that it is constituted from footage of both sides of the crisis. Everyone is making their ‘movie’ of the events. As a result, Silvered Water, is a combination of the cinema of the murderer, the victim, the poetic, the realist, and more. It documents the perspectives of the nation.

Conclusion

The makers of Silvered Water want people to watch this film to then talk and debate about it. The narrator describes an acquaintance who asked for his help in setting up a film club. To start a film club, all you need is to watch a film and then talk and debate. Silvered Water is not meant to be watched alone. The makers want as many people watching it to then talk about the issues together.

The directors also imply that everyone should add their story or opinion to the film’s thread of images. They have documented the cinema of the murderer, the victim, the poetic, and the realist, but we must add the final piece.

Which Country Has the Best Films?

Finding The World’s Best Films

I have given every film I have watched since 2013 a ranking out of 100. Each ranking is takes into account the story, the cinematography, the editing, the acting, and more. So to find out which country makes the world’s best films, I have singled out the top three rated films from each country, and taken their average score. Of course, the rankings will change as you recommend me more films to watch. Unfortunately, a lot of countries are currently missing, so please help me out.

If you think a country is too low, recommend me their best films to help them move up the rankings. Also if you can’t see a particular country, let me know which films I have missed! I know every country has good films, the difficulty is finding them – so thanks for the help!

Find the List Here – Who is in the Top 5?

Closely Watched Trains (Czechoslovakia)

Closely Watched Trains Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Ever seen Fawlty Towers or Arrested Development? This Czechoslovakian comedy set in the Nazi occupation has a similar tone to these two classic comedies. Instead of a Hotel or a Banana Stand (see above) this film has a rural train station. It’s run by a chubby conductor who keeps a pigeon coop, an very old man, a horny guy who has sex on shift, and our man Milos. This oddball combination make this film one to watch!

Why Watch Closely Watched Trains?

This is a great place to start if you haven’t seen a Czech film before
You like the style of Wes Anderson or the humour of Arrested Development
If you are a history fan – this film is set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in WW2
It won the best Foreign Film Academy Award back in 1968

The Breakdown

This film starts with a shot of adolescent Milos standing in a shirt and boxer shorts in a plain bedroom. A narrator starts telling us about Milos’ family. The camera cuts to a picture of Milos’ uncle, a hypnotist whom the whole village was a con artist. He became famous for trying to hypnotise the Nazis into turning their tanks around. He obviously failed.

After we hear about Milos’ uncle, the camera turns to another family picture hanging on the wall to tell us another family story. We hear the stories of three of Milos’ family members through a montage of old photos. The camera ends on Milos’ shoes and tracks up his body as his mum says “what a looker”. A hat floats onto Milos’ head as magical music plays.

The style of the opening reminded me of the slow pans and fixed image montages used by Wes Anderson. Even the voice over narrations, quirky comedic tone, and close ups of props must have influenced Wes Anderson.

The story follows young Milos as he starts work at a quiet railway station in rural Czechoslovakia. At first the signs of the Nazi occupation are limited to the speeches of the regional councillor who stops by the station every other day. Otherwise life at the station is pretty normal. Milos spends a lot of time fawning over a local girl while his colleague womanises whilst on duty.

However, as the narrative progresses, the signs of the Nazi occupation gradually become more prominent. Milos’ political awareness grows alongside his sexual progression, both symbols of becoming a man.

Conclusion

As you will see, Closely Watched Trains, has a lot more substance than the comedic combination that carries the opening 30 minutes. It portrays the life of thousands of young kids that grew up during the war time period across Europe. This film is entertaining, stylish, and deep, which make it a must see film from the Czech New Wave.