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

Song of the Sea

Song of the Sea Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

Are you looking for a beautiful animation that carries an important, digestible message? Well you’ve come to the right place. Song of the Sea is Europe’s answer to Studio Ghibli and Pixar. It is a beautiful kids movie that adults will enjoy more because of it’s great storytelling. It is an ode to a disappearing culture, that only we can preserve.

Why Watch Song of the Sea?

If you like Miyazaki’s fantastic animated films
For an introduction to Irish Mythology
You like seals
So you can listen to some Irish!
For a commentary on Religion, Culture, and language – you didn’t think this was just a pretty little animation did you?

The Breakdown

Come away our human child, to the waters and the wild.

The opening lines of Song of the Sea set the scene for a mythology covered film. Up in a lighthouse on a craggy island rock a mum and her son paint the walls of a room. They are painting it for the new baby, and they paint the walls with scenes from Irish myths. As a present for his efforts, the mum gives her son a musical shell which carries the song of the sea…

There is so much to see and interpret from Song of the Sea that you could write a few essays on what how you make sense of it. One thing I noticed was the subtle contrasting portrayals of Christianity and Irish Culture. The contrast is shown through the lighthouse on a remote island by the coast, and in the grandma’s house in the city. Whilst the walls of the Lighthouse are painted with scenes from Irish mythology, the walls of grandma’s house are covered with pictures of family and images of Jesus and the Cross. In the lighthouse, the mother and son sing in Irish, whilst in the city, the grandmother listens to dull ballads.

Likewise the city is shown as oppressive and dirty compared to the freedom of the country. Whilst the cars of the city spew black smoke and almost run over the kids, there are no cars to ruin the picturesque island in the sea. In addition, all the rocks, trees, and fields in the country are beautifully patterned with spirals and circles (Irish patterns which appear a lot in the film), to contrast with the rigid straight lines of the city. The city’s inhabitants have forgotten about Ireland, and only the kids from the country can revitalise Irish culture by singing in Irish and embracing Irish culture.

Conclusion

In the same way as a Miyazaki film, Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea stretches the creative boundaries of animation. However, Song of the Sea is not just a beautiful kids movie, it is an ode to Irish Culture. It holds the Irish language, song, and mythology. It shows us the importance of culture and our role in preserving it (see Embrace of the Serpent). So help out Irish culture and watch this film.

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

Wild Tales Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

I was sitting near an Argentinian when I first saw this film in the cinema. He was completely wrapped up in this brilliant set of sketches from Damian Szifron. He was laughing throughout, as well as cursing and cheering on the characters on screen. However, he wasn’t alone. I was also laughing, cursing, and cheering with the rest of the audience. You don’t have to be Argentinian to enjoy this one, you just have to have a little bit of a sense of humour (the darker your humour the better).

Why Watch Wild Tales?

To see Argentina through a series of short stories
You will be laughing, surprised, shocked, feeling guilty, and more.
To see some great camera angles (think of the car trunk shot in Pulp Fiction)
Produced by the Almodovar, highly rated on iMDB, and nominated for an Oscar, this film has some cred (if you don’t trust me).

The Breakdown

The first short film starts with a waist-down shot of a woman rolling a wheeled suitcase to an airport desk. To her surprise, the airline staff offer her a free flight for no extra miles. She boards the plane and starts chatting to a music critic next to her. After a while they realise that they have a mutual connection, Pasternak, the woman’s ex-boyfriend who was heavily critiqued for his music by the music critic. To which more and more people chime in saying they know him. Why are they all on the same flight? Coincidence?

One thing you can’t miss in this film is the camera framing. The film is shot from a bunch of different angles and positions that are both cool and a good fit. For example, the story set in the restaurant when the chef and waitress are arguing about the customer in the kitchen. The lighting is low and moody, the colours are strong but not warm, and there are two heavily lit pass through windows to the kitchen. As the waitress runs back to the kitchen to argue with the chef, we see a shot of them from the restaurant, one framed within each of the two pass through windows as if they are portraits. It sort of shows that they are both individuals and not in agreement, and that the chef is going to do what she wants regardless of what the waitress says.

Also, look out for other cool camera positions. One of my favourites was in the last sketch ‘Until Death Do Us Part.’ The director attaches a camera to the outside of kitchen door with the camera pointing back into the kitchen through a glass window. As a result, we can see the characters running to the door, pushing it open, and then see which direction they choose to go in the hall. The camera position allows us to see all the above without a single cut, making the shot feel more natural.

Conclusion

The sketches in Wild Tales look great, are acted well, are gripping, and are hilarious. What more could you want from a movie? Well, actually, in addition to the above, the film is a surprisingly good portrait of Argentine society. It depicts corruption, classism, and injustice in addition to all the vengeance and violence. This film is a winner!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – The Vampire Western

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

This film is like nothing I have ever seen. Who thought you could mix the Western genre with Vampires and end up with a decent film about Female empowerment. Add in the fact that it is shot in black and white film and in Farsi and you’ve found the most unique film out there to brag to your friends about. In case you’re still doubtful, I suggest you check out this film as soon as you can and make up your own mind.

Why Watch A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night?

Whilst there are a load of Farsi Vampire Western films, this one really stands out!
To see an old woman in a cowboy shirt dancing with a balloon.
For some bad-ass female empowerment!
For an example of a great foreign language film from the U.S.
Black & White films can still look cool (see Polish Academy-Award winner Ida and Embrace of the Serpent for more evidence)

The Breakdown

A man is smoking a cigarette by a fence. He leans towards a gap in the fence, looking to see if anyone is around. He finishes his cigarette, squashes it under his foot and disappears through the gap in the fence. A few seconds later he reappears carrying a cat and walks off. (And that is how you get yourself a pet cat).

Whilst the cat-stealing man takes the opening scene, the real star of the show is the main girl (she never reveals her name). She could well be a feminist icon. In contrast to the macho man (described in the next paragraph) she is a quiet girl who does what she wants. No one can control her, even though our macho man thinks he can. She’s a Vampire/Western superhero sticking up for prostitutes and deconstructing male power.

Our macho man, on the other hand, is an iconic idiot. He has a broken heart tattooed on the back of his neck, a goatee and a Fu-Manchu esque motorbike moustache. Don’t worry, you don’t even have to feel bad at judging his appearance as he is a moron. After his tells his prostitute to get lost without paying her, he encounters our heroine and takes her to his apartment. Here, he does the most obnoxious mating ritual you will see on film. First he snorts a few lines of cocaine. Then he opens a silver briefcase and counts out his stacks of cash. Next, he closes the case and picks up two dumbbells to do a few biceps curls. Finally, he does a few semi-erotic dance moves in front of our motionless (presumably shocked) heroine.

Conclusion

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is one of the most unique foreign films you will see. I haven’t seen anyone mix genres like Ana Lily Amirpour does in this film (Vampire and Western). However, if you liked this film, I’d suggest you check out the Iranian horror film Under the Shadow. Or if you’re looking for great Vampire films, check out What we do in the Shadows.

Tsotsi

Tsotsi Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Are you here for an introduction to the slums of South Africa? Well Tsotsi is a great place to start as the film is easy-to-watch, entertaining, and emotional (all the criteria for a fantastic Hollywood film). It is also a great pairing for City of God – a Brazilian great with more good music and great editing!

Why Watch Tsotsi?

To hear some great South African tunes
As it’s THE Foreign Language Academy Award winner from 2005
To see a little bit of Johannesberg
To get under the skin of a baby-faced thug (Tsotsi is slang for thug)

The Breakdown

Two guys are playing craps in a cluttered slum house. One of them rolls a four and a five and the players start arguing over whether it is a 9 or an 11. Another observer settles their argument whilst Tsotsi stares out a window at the end of the room. At this point, the banging South African music starts and Tsotsi and his crew leave the house and parade around the slums. These guys are the slum thugs of Johannesberg and we are going to hitch a ride with them into the city.

Right from the start we see the difference between the slums and the city. The slums are crowded, with shacks stacked on top of other shacks and no electricity or running water, except for a little tap that the community queues for. In contrast, the city is mostly clean and built up, especially in the wealthy suburbs which Tsotsi and his crew go and visit. The suburbs even have trees, cars, and gated houses. It is a completely different world.

Also pay attention to the editing, particularly when Tsotsi and his gang arrive in Johannesberg station looking for a target. The camera fixes Tsotsi’s face in the middle of the screen and cuts to see what he is looking at. The camera switches from Tsotsi to commuter, from Tsotsi to family, from Tsotsi to a man handing over money. Boom, here is his target. Now the camera cuts between Tsotsi’s face and the same man who he saw handing over money. The camera gets closer to Tsotsi and his chosen victim between the cuts as Tsotsi closes in on his target. The editing makes it clear that he isn’t there to just people watch.

The Conclusion

The slums are a part of Johannesberg, and to ignore them is to ignore Johannesberg. Similarly, to ignore the people that live in the slums is to ignore your fellow citizens. For this reason, Tsotsi is an important story. At the beginning we see and judge a ruthless criminal that needs to be punished. However, by the end we may change our mind with a little more understanding.

Desierto

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Did you enjoy Gravity or The Revenant? Then maybe this film is for you. This all action, no dialogue thriller draws a lot from the horror genre to bring you a film heightened by recent events (think Trump). It will keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the end and will scare you from attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border from outside of your air-conditioned car for life!

Why Watch Desierto?

It is Mexico’s foreign language entry for the 89th Academy Awards
Are you scared of Trump’s America!
To see how barren the U.S.-Mexico borderlands are
Pure action thriller and no dialogue (think of Gravity)

The Breakdown

Desirto opens with an expansive shot of the dimly lit desert. The sun slowly rises from behind some mountains in the distance revealing the scorched landscape in front of us. A small truck drives through this beautiful, barren wasteland. In the back of the truck is a handful of hopeful migrants looking for better lives in the U.S. We are not told anything about them and we can only judge them based on their appearance. For them, this horror movie is about to start as the truck grinds to a halt… their only means of getting through the desert has broken down!

There is probably only 20 lines of dialogue in this film, less if you remove character’s talking to themselves. Just like Gravity, another film scripted by Cuaron, Desierto is pure action from the start. However, luckily for Cuaron, no dialogue is needed to explain the characters because Trump’s America gives them authenticity, making them even more scary. The whisky drinking white man with the confederate flag is now a much more real and much more scary prospect. Combine that with the racist rhetoric used by Trump and you think, maybe this film could happen in real life!

In Desierto the yellows of the barren deserts and rocky outcrops dominate from the opening scene. The director excludes most signs of life from the film to emphasise the emptiness of the desert. The only animals that are living in this environment are rattlesnakes, a symbol of living death. The hostility of the environment makes us feel that we are not welcome there, that we are intruding on someone else’s land. And this feeling of intrusion is an important first stage of the horror genre. (e.g. Texas Chainsaw Massacre where hitch-hikers ‘intrude’ on Leatherface’s land).

Conclusion

Desierto is an interesting addition to the horror genre because it creates a horror out of an often debated political issue: illegal immigrants. This association, and the current zeitgeist in America, gives this film an extra layer which is lacking in the dialogue.