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10 of the Best Foreign Films on Netflix You Need to Watch Right Now

Watch the world with Netflix. Here’s 10 of the best foreign films on Netflix you need to watch right now!

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As you’ll know if you have Netflix, there’s a lot of content! So it takes a lot of browsing to find good foreign films. Plus, the other problem is the Netflix reviews. When Adam Sandler films are the highest rated films on the entire platform, you know Netflix reviews can’t be trusted. So when you think you’ve found a good foreign film to watch with 4.5 stars, you may have ended up with a cheesy comedy!

That’s where we come in, we’re here to help you find the best foreign films on Netflix. We’ll save you browsing time and make sure you end up with a gem. Here’s 10 of our favourite foreign films on Netflix UK (hopefully some of them will be available elsewhere as well).

10. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (New Zealand)

This feel good comedy from Taika Waititi is the perfect film for a family night in. It stars Sam Neill (from Jurassic Park fame) and newcomer Julian Dennison, playing a grumpy old man and a juvenile delinquent respectively. You’ll get a sense of the fun in the trailer below. For more fun from Taika Waititi check out What We Do in the Shadows.

9. The Square (Egypt)

If you’re up for a thrilling political documentary, check out The Square. It documents the Arab Spring movement from the Tahir Square in Cairo, Egypt. You’ll feel like you’re right there. Perfect if you’re up for learning a bit about contemporary history.

8. Elle (Netherlands)

Do you want to be thrilled? Then watch Elle. In the opening minutes, Michele is raped by a masked assailant. She decides not to report it. I’ve cut the trailer below, but feel free to click through to watch the full trailer if you don’t mind spoilers. Just watch it – you won’t be bored!

7. Ip Man (Hong Kong)

If you’re into martial arts films, you can’t go wrong with Ip Man. Firstly, the action is quality. Secondly, there’s actually a half decent story-line. Lastly, it’s got Donnie Yen.

6. Son of Saul (Hungary)

If you want a more gritty version of Schindler’s List, this might be just what you are after. It follows a day and a half in the life of a Hungarian member of the SonderKommando (prisoners that were forced to dispose the gas chamber victims). If you don’t like the sound of that, at least watch the trailer below to get a taster for the incredible cinematography. More analysis here.

5. Let the Right One In (Sweden)

Who said you can’t make romantic horror films? Director Tomas Alfredson obviously doesn’t see any problems in mixing genres. It’s clever and original. So check it out if you dare!

4. District 9 (South Africa)

One of my personal favourites. District 9 is another genre masher; a science fiction film shot like a documentary. It explores humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation in an alternate 1982. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. If you’ve already seen it and didn’t think much of it, trust me and watch it again. You’ll also notice the direct influence it had on Arrival.

3. Under the Shadow (Iran)

Who’s up for another psychological thriller? This beauty starts in 1980s war-torn Iran. Everyone is evacuating Tehran as Iraqi missiles start landing all across the city. All except for Shideh and her young daughter who have been left alone in a spooky tenement building as her husband is away fighting in the war. Being alone like that in the middle of a war will affect your mind!

2. The Great Beauty (Italy)

The Great Beauty is Sorrentino’s tribute to Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. So much so it feels like an update of the classic – a contemporary ode to the city of Rome. Let it’s stream of consciousness style carry you along. Perfect for a relaxed night in.

1. City of God (Brazil)

Can anyone really argue with City of God at number one? It’s entertaining, brutal, and brilliantly shot. It’s also probably the most gripping film about drug-wars in the Rio de Janeiro favelas ever made. Also, the perfect film to watch if you’ve already finished watching Narcos. (For more post-Narcos suggestions check out this list). It also has one of the worst trailers out there (you can blame the early 00s for that).

If you think we’re missing some of the best foreign films on Netflix, leave us a comment!

Also if you’ve got Amazon Prime, check out 10 of the Best World Films you can watch right now on Amazon Prime!

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I’m No Longer Here – Losing Your Identity in a Foreign World

I’m No Longer Here Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you’re looking for an entry point into the Cholombiano sub culture of Monterrey, you’ve come to the right place. I’m No Longer Here has the cumbia music, the dance crews, the slang, and the unique haircuts. The narrative bounces between Monterrey and New York as it follows Ulises from leading a crew in his Mexican hometown, to his new exile in New York to escape the gangs he was mistakenly mixed up in. In New York, he never fits in. He’s only at peace when he’s listening to cumbia or dancing. Otherwise, he’s alone in a world where local Latinos make fun of him and where the Americans that like him can’t communicate with him. Tune in for the music, dancing, and ‘fish out of water’ immigrant experience.

From: Mexico, North America
Watch: Trailer, Netflix
Next: Wild Style, Los Lobos, Sin Nombre
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Free World Films: Films You Can Watch On YouTube

Free World Films

You have no excuses now. Here are a list of free world films  that you can watch on YouTube right now. Enjoy!

 

We’ve split these free world films by continent so you can target the countries that are missing from your personal film map or if you want to visit a country on film 🙂 We will keep updating this as we go along, please let me know if you’ve found more great world films on YouTube, or if any of the links below aren’t working by commenting in the comment box below or emailing me here.

Europe
Africa
North America
South America
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Simshar – A Local and International Tragedy at Sea

Simshar

Simshar Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

In Simshar, 11 year old Theo’s first trip with his Maltese fisherman family goes terribly wrong when the ship sinks far from land in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, Alex a medic on a Turkish merchant vessel that rescues a group of migrants in trouble gets stuck on the ship as the surrounding countries wage a bureaucratic war over who should take them in.

From: Malta, Europe
Watch: IMDb, JustWatch, Kanopy
Next: The Black Pin, The Courtyard of Songs, The Insult

Simshar Breakdown

There’s plenty going on in Simshar. Perhaps too much. Instead of focusing on the Simshar incident or the migrant crisis, it tries to connect both in two separate stories. However, their connection never feels strong enough to make Simshar a compelling melodrama or political drama.

Instead of being a movie that examines the migrant crisis through the Simshar incident, this movie is a dramatized depiction of the Simshar incident featuring another narrative tied to the migrant crisis. Whilst they both are related to the sea and Malta, the director doesn’t nearly do enough to tie the two stories. It feels like the migrant crisis pieces are included to make the film more relevant to the political climate in which it was made.

Even the dates of the film feel off. Whilst the Simshar incident happened in 2008, the migrant crisis didn’t fully explode until slightly later in the 21st century. This is not to say that there weren’t African migrants traversing the Mediterranean in 2008 – there were – but it was not nearly as well covered in European news in 2008 as in 2014 when this film was made. Making this movie about an international immigration crisis, and not just about a fishing tragedy, probably made Simshar a lot more marketable on the film festival circuit than if it just focused on the fishing tragedy.

However, if you’re into Mediterranean melodrama, the Simshar incident narrative might appeal to you. It’s sepia tinted scenes backed by a slightly whimsical accordion soundtrack evokes a romanticized depiction of Maltese life. It almost feels a bit nostalgic too, as if it’s looking fondly back on a time in Malta before the migrant crisis and foreign rules (fishing restrictions) threatened it. The no-nonsense Maltese family that clings onto their way of life despite national and international fishing restrictions runs against the change caused by the migrant crisis.

The romanticized portrayal of Maltese life feels slightly problematic in contrast with the underdeveloped migrant characters in the migrant crisis narrative. The Maltese characters are given screen time to build their characters through dialogue and actions, whereas the migrants are only spoken to. It means that viewers naturally sympathize with the traditional Maltese people and not the migrants as they’re actually humanized on screen. This is most evident in a scene in which one black migrant shouts “you don’t know what we’ve been through” to white Maltese hecklers. We, like the Maltese characters don’t know what they’ve been through, and unfortunately the film never tries to answer this either. As a result, Simshar’s attempt to cover the migrant crisis, whilst also dramatizing the Simshar incident feels half hearted, leaving both narratives feeling flat.

What to Watch Next

If you like warm portrayals of quaint Southern European life, check out Cinema Paradiso and The Courtyard of Songs. Both fully immerse the viewer without trying to make political statements. Or if you’d really like to see film that does manage to integrate a political statement into a small town Mediterranean film, try the gentrification narrative of Montenegro’s The Black Pin.

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Ashakara – A Togolese Post-Colonial Pharma Heist Movie

Ashakara

ASHAKARA FILM DIFFICULTY RANKING: 2

An African doctor finds a miracle cure to a deadly virus and decides to mass produce the drug at low cost in Africa. However, a pharmaceutical multinational finds out and sends an agent to Africa to sabotage his plans to maintain their position in the industry. Ashakara is an entertaining pseudo-heist movie that pits African medicine against the imperial nature of the big pharmaceutical companies and capitalism.

From: Togo, Africa
Watch: IMDb, Kanopy
Next: Black Girl, Coming from Insanity, In Search of Voodoo

The Breakdown

Ashakara starts with multiple narratives featuring different characters with different intentions regarding the new miracle cure. There’s the African doctor who wants to spread the miracle cure across Africa; a foreigner that has been sent to the country by a big pharmaceutical company to sabotage to ensure their continued profitability worldwide; as well as the African doctor’s assistant who wants to sell the secret recipe of the miracle cure for instant riches. Each party represents a different part of Post-Colonialism: the Doctor represents Africa’s hope for true independence from continued European imperialism, represented by the foreigners of the big pharmaceutical company, whilst the doctor’s assistant represents the global net of capitalism that drives greed and corruption. It’s a film that emphasizes African sustainability, both in the power of African medicine vs. ineffectual western medicine (the prison guard’s constant headaches and the rare disease are only cured by the African fetishist), and the community driven financial support available in tontines vs. the predatory nature of the money lender and big pharma company representing global capitalism. Capitalism and Imperialism drive the villains in this movie.

The initial exposition phase is livened up by the upbeat Togolese music layered in the film and stock shots of the busy Togolese capital city. It imbues the film with energy to keep viewers attentive (including a few musical interludes added for extra effect). The musical presence fades as Ashakara moves into the second half of the movie as the action kicks in to keep the viewers attention.

Ashakara also includes a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey in the European pharmaceutical agent’s portable artificial intelligence system named VAL (a riff on HAL). The agent carries VAL around in a case throughout the movie and uses it to connect with his demanding boss back in Europe. He also uses it to solve the crime and win his independence from his boss. It’s a surprise Sci-Fi addition to this heist movie that makes the European Pharma company seem even more villainous and perhaps compares Europe’s treatment of Africa as an ‘conquerable area’ to the Space colonization in 2001.

If you’re looking for an African film with plenty of Pro-African themes mixed with a few sci-fi and Voodoo elements backed by African music, dance, and dress, you need to watch Ashakara. It manages to pull together a number of narratives and characters into an entertaining heist movie that pits European imperialism and capitalist greed against indigenous African medicine and culture.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for more Post-Colonialist African movies, check out Black Girl from Senegal – one of the most famous films from the continent – or The Burial of Kojo from Ghana if you’re looking for something a bit more experimental.

Or if you’d like to see more films that celebrate indigenous medicine over Western medicine watch Embrace of the Serpent which follows a shaman in the Amazon or In Search of Voodoo to find out more about Voodoo culture in Benin.

Lastly, for more African heist thrillers, go seek out Coming from Insanity from Nigeria.