Foreign films have a reputation for being slow, artsy and introspective, but the truth is the styles and subjects of foreign films vary as widely as the styles and subjects of American films. This gallery highlights some of the best foreign films I know for people who don’t like foreign films. Some of them are even in English and feature actors who are familiar to American audiences like Josh Hartnett, Andrew Garfield, Colin Farrell, Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes. Game of Thrones fans will recognize Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).
In honor of the start of Ebertfest and the recent death of Roger Ebert I encourage you to watch some movies outside of your usual comfort zone. If none of my picks for best foreign films interest you check out my recommendations for
- fascinating documentaries,
- guilty pleasure movies, or
- stick to the small screen with my gallery of the best cancelled TV shows. (I think Roger Ebert would approve since he and Gene Siskel make an appearance.)
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Enough with the previews. Here are my 17 best foreign films for people who don’t like foreign films.
Kim Z. Dale 