Even though Hollywood may be the centre of the world’s film industry, amazing movies continue to be produced every year in many other nations. These movies should be treasured because many of them don’t receive the same attention as their Hollywood counterparts.
Even though we are rapidly approaching the fourth quarter of 2022, it is important to highlight the numerous foreign films that were released last year, whether it be due to the fact that foreign films occasionally have delayed release dates in countries with larger populations, the need to find something novel and unconventional in contrast to the typical Hollywood blockbuster, or simply the desire to honour the cinematic traditions of various parts of the world.
‘7 Prisoners’ — Brazil
A group of lads are kidnapped and subjected to forced labour and human trafficking in the moving movie 7 Prisoners. The story centres on Mateus (Christian Malheiros), a young child who battles his captors and attempts to escape from this way of life.
The experience of seeing these folks struggle to survive and consider their morality in order to get out of this nightmare circumstance is actually terrible in the movie. Even though the movie is quite dull, it delivers a very essential message.
‘A Cop Movie’ — Mexico
The movie A Cop Movie, as its name suggests, is about police officers, but it also explores police corruption via the perspectives of two cops. This highly experimental documentary blurs the distinction between fact and fantasy.
Alonso Ruizpalacios, the director of this movie, has experimented with many different genre subversions in his previous works. His movies A Cop Movie and Museo completely recreate the heist genre and documentary film, respectively. It’s a fantastic movie that expresses real-life events and situations by fusing fictional and visual storytelling.
‘A Hero’ — Iran
Asghar Farhadi, who has produced a number of outstanding Iranian movies including The Salesman and A Separation, is currently working on his newest movie, A Hero. The protagonist of this movie tries to solve his money problems during his two-day prison break. However, things don’t always turn out as expected.
It’s a highly compelling movie with lots of character. We empathise with the people in the movie and follow them on their arduous emotional journey out of their sad circumstance.
‘Compartment nom. 6’ — Finland
A Finnish student and a husky Russian miner are forced to share a small cabin on a train from Moscow to the Arctic Circle in the short but powerful novel Compartment No. 6.
This is essentially the Before Sunrise of the twenty-first century, sharing the characteristics of two strangers who meet on a train and start to develop a personal bond. Compartment nom.6 does an amazing job of creating likeable, memorable people. The profound relationship between these two persons perfectly captures the entirety of the human experience.
‘Drive My Car’ — Japan
Drive My Car, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature for its meticulously planned journey, is a truly methodical moving experience. The movie depicts the straightforward yet compelling tale of a famous theatre director who, after the passing of his wife two years earlier, decides to take up the helm of a brand-new theatrical show.
Because it is such a fantastic character study, investigating the dynamic and relationship developed between the two characters, the length of the movie is completely warranted.
‘Hive’ — Kosovo
Blerta Basholli’s directorial debut, Hive, is incredibly stunning and tells the tale of a lady whose husband goes lost in a war and how she struggles to care for her family while also dealing with the consequences of defying social norms.
The movie does an excellent job of examining how different groups view traditional gender roles and the sad risk of people defying social norms. Through the performances and direction, this fantastic movie conveys a lot of character and cultural information.
‘Întregalde’ — Romania
Not everyone will enjoy watching Întregalde because it is a highly tense and stressful movie. The movie follows a team of aid workers who are delivering supplies in a remote area of Romania. However, when they try to assist a lost local in finding his house, things start to go south.
The movie has a fantastic sense of atmosphere and a strong focus on its environment and characters. This movie’s conflict is heavily influenced by human dynamics as well as the weather and surroundings, and it makes excellent use of its setting to build tension. It’s a terrific experience that deserves more recognition because it’s so real.
‘One for the Road’ — Thailand
Like Drive My Care, One for the Road is a buddy-road-drama movie (albeit One for the Road came out before Drive My Car). Although the design and atmosphere are similar, the tale being presented is very different. Two buddies who are travelling through Thailand are the subjects of this movie; one of the characters has terminal lung cancer and desires to heal fences with his former partners.
It’s a moving movie about a road journey that has a well-known idea at first but quickly becomes much more intimate and compelling. The movie is vibrant and vivacious from beginning to conclusion.
‘The Worst Person in the World’ — Norway
One of the more well-liked foreign movies from 2021 is The Worst Person in the World, and for good reason. It is an intimate tale of the hardships a young woman named Julie has as she looks for love, work, and a feeling of belonging in the world.
With fantastic characters, editing, and storytelling, it’s a really simple movie to get lost in. Some incredibly significant facets of life are discussed in the movie. Many individuals can find themselves identifying with it since it is so powerful and relatable, whether they are living through it or just thinking back on that period of their lives.
‘Titane’ — France
Titane is a horribly jumbled combination of numerous cruel and bizarre moments. The reputation of this movie as one of the worst movies from 2021 will surely be what you experience when you see it. Although the plot is ridiculous and unusual, it is yet profoundly significant in its own peculiar way.
Despite being presented as a gory, swirling mystery, Titane has a lot of real themes to offer. Anyone who enjoys interpretation, subtext, and unique horror should see it. When a movie wins the Palme d’Or and concurrently has a psychotic reputation, you know it’s great.
