The Best Foreign Films of 2008

Great Action, Horror and Independent Movies from World Cinema

Nov 5, 2008

The year's best foreign language movies, from award-winning French film The Class to remastered Kung Fu classic Ashes of Time Redux. World Cinema to rival Hollywood films

Modern foreign films have had a bumper year, with a number of outstanding contributions to the silver screen. Films from many different genres and many different countries make up this list of truly great foreign films. All are well worth checking out at the cinema or buying on DVD.

Female Agents (Les Femmes de l'ombre)

Despite the somewhat preposterous English title, Female Agents is a rollicking good spy film, with plenty of drama and punch. The cast, including Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu and Marie Gillain, are all superb, and the story of WW2 espionage is at times both brutal and thought provoking.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon)

Current Bond Baddie Mathieu Amalric came to prominence on the world stage with his remarkable performance as Jean-Dominique Bauby. Paralyzed, apart from his left eye, Bauby's true story of how he blinked out his memoirs is brought to life in this film which vividly imagines his interior world, and movingly portrays his struggles. The film captures the beauty of the world, and the humour that shines through in the darkest of places.

Couscous (La Graine et le mulet)

A wonderful foodie film which focuses on the family tensions of running a restaurant, and mixes in romance, regret, drama and comedy.

Mongol

An epic adventure based on the early life of Genghis Khan. Mongol is a story of love and of vengeance. A film that combines great beauty and harrowing violence.

Caramel (Sukkar banat)

Caramel follows the intertwining loves and lives of five Lebanese friends. Based in Beirut, the film is joyful, emotionally moving and laced with an undeniable feel-good factor. The Lebanon as ideal base for a chick flick – who'd have thunk? Yet Caramel out-classes anything Hollywood has thrown in the direction of the fairer sex this year.

The Class (Entre les murs)

The Class won the 2008 Palme d'Or with its gripping portrayal of life in a Parisian school. Starring Francois Begaudeau, and based on his own book, The Class actually dares to feature real classroom learning, achieving a level of realism which is usually wholly lacking in such films. Of all the remarkable French films released this year, The Class has been chosen as official Oscar submission for 2009.

Linha de Passe

Linha de Passe focuses on four brothers' attempts to escape poverty, through means such as football, religion and crime. Its tone is intensely humanistic, presenting a very different picture of Brazil from that seen in the favela films City of God and Elite Squad.

Jar City (Myrin)

An intriguing crime thriller filmed in a visually stunning manner. Bleak, washed out landscapes offer a hauntingly beautiful backdrop to this tangled murder mystery.

The Wave (Die Welle)

A liberalist teacher instructs his hip young class about the Nazi mentality that allowed Hitler to flourish. At first they are apathetic, because they feel the ground is well trodden and nothing like that would ever happen again. However, the social experiment they devise, the 'Wave' of the title, soon proves the power of fascism depends on presentation. The Wave quickly takes on a life of its own, sweeping the entire school, and running shockingly out of control. This film is based on a true story by Todd Strassers about a similar school experiment that actually took place, not in Germany but in Palo Alto, California. A sobering lesson.

Let's Talk About the Rain (Parlez-moi de la Pluie)

Let's Talk About the Rain is a film about the minutiae of life, but it's so expertly handled and delicately told, it's a real joy to watch. And funny too.

The Orphanage (El Orfanato)

A chilling, though at times beautiful, tale of a woman who returns to the abandoned orphanage where she grew up and encounters the ghosts of her past. Is the terror elaborated imaginings of a disturbed mind, or is it supernatural? The ambiguity is all part of the horror, and is expertly fleshed out by Bayona in a manner reminiscent of his producer Del Toro's own masterpiece Pan's Labyrinth. Check out the creepy trailer for The Orphanage here.

Ashes of Time Redux (Dung che sai duk redux)

A highly stylized and strangely slow moving Hong Kong action film, first released in 1994, but re-mastered since Wong's Western success with In the Mood for Love. The film is beautifully shot by the remarkable cinematographer Christopher Doyle (who also worked on the martial arts epic Hero), and focuses on grand themes; love, hate, jealousy and loss. The introspective story centres on a lovelorn swordsman who moves to the desert, not so much to forget but to make peace with his loneliness. With the emphasis firmly on characters, Ashes of Time is an unusual but welcome addition to the Kung-fu genre.

Further reading: More information, and links to some of the films mentioned in this article such as The Class, Pan's Labyrinth, Hero and Elite Squad, can be found in the Foreign Films Blog Round-up of 2008.

The copyright of the article The Best Foreign Films of 2008 in Foreign Films is owned by Michelle Strozykowski. Permission to republish The Best Foreign Films of 2008 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.