Soah
My Favorite Foreign Films
Run Lola Run
(Lola rennt)
Every second of every day, you're faced with a decision that can change your life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1998
- Director Tom Tykwer
- Cast Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król
- Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Amélie
(Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain)
A whimsical love letter to contemporary Parisian life in the form of an eccentric romantic comedy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany • 2001
- Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- Cast Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Jamel Debbouze, Claire Maurier, Isabelle Nanty
- Genre Comedy, Romance
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Beaches of Agnès
(Les Plages d'Agnès)
Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda turns the camera on herself.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2008
- Director Agnès Varda
- Cast Agnès Varda, André Lubrano, Blaise Fournier, Vincent Fournier, Rosalie Varda, Mathieu Demy
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel, DocAlliance Films, Kanopy
Daisies
(Sedmikrásky)
Decadence and destruction!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Czechoslovakia • 1966
- Director Věra Chytilová
- Cast Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová, Marie Češková, Jiřina Myšková, Julius Albert
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV
Tampopo
(タンポポ)
Two Japanese truck drivers help a widowed restaurant owner learn to cook amazing ramen noodles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1985
- Director Juzo Itami
- Cast Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho, Rikiya Yasuoka, Hyôe Enoki
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube
Battleship Potemkin
(Броненосец Потёмкин)
Revolution is the only lawful, equal, effectual war. It was in Russia that this war was declared and begun.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Soviet Union • 1925
- Director Sergei Eisenstein
- Cast Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov, Mikhail Gomorov, Aleksandr Levshin
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Klassiki, Max Amazon Channel, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Hoopla, Public Domain Movies, JustWatchTV
Honeyland
Hatidze Muratova, one of the last "bee hunters" in Europe, raises bees based in a sustainable and minimally invasive manner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Macedonia • 2019
- Director Tamara Kotevska
- Cast Hatidzhe Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Mädchen in Uniform
Girls in a boarding school in Germany fall in love and revolt against their oppressive principle.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1931
- Director Carl Froelich, Leontine Sagan
- Cast Emilia Unda, Dorothea Wieck, Hedwig Schlichter, Hertha Thiele, Ellen Schwanneke, Annemarie von Rochhausen
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Anti-Hero(ines)
Fleabag
All hail the hot priest!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2016
- Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- Cast Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson, Hugh Dennis
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Run Lola Run
(Lola rennt)
Every second of every day, you're faced with a decision that can change your life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 1998
- Director Tom Tykwer
- Cast Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król
- Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Daisies
(Sedmikrásky)
Decadence and destruction!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Czechoslovakia • 1966
- Director Věra Chytilová
- Cast Ivana Karbanová, Jitka Cerhová, Marie Češková, Jiřina Myšková, Julius Albert
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(Män som hatar kvinnor)
Only those discarded by society can uncover its most ugly truths
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Denmark, Germany • 2009
- Director Niels Arden Oplev
- Cast Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson, Peter Haber
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Available on Fandor, fuboTV, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Amazon Video, Crackle, Plex, Plex Channel
Titane
A near-fatal car crash leaves a girl with physical and emotional trauma that shapes her future — and her fetishes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2021
- Director Julia Ducournau
- Cast Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh, Mara Cissé, Marin Judas
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, Kanopy
Raw
(Grave)
When vegetarian Justine is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life, unexpected consequences occur.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Italy • 2016
- Director Julia Ducournau
- Cast Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Perfect Blue
(パーフェクトブルー)
A retired pop singer starts to lose her hold on reality when she is stalked by an obsessive fan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1998
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ōkura, Yōsuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya
- Genre Animation, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Wasp
A short film about a singer mother and her four children.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2003
- Director Andrea Arnold
- Cast Natalie Press, Danny Dyer, Jodie Mitchell, Molly Griffiths, Kaitlyn Raynor, Danny Daley
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Chungking Express
(重慶森林)
Two tales of love and loss told in sequence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1994
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Valerie Chow, Piggy Chan
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
(Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios)
Spanish icon of cinema Pedro Almodovar's jaunty feminist masterpiece.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 1988
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, María Barranco, Rossy de Palma, Kiti Mánver
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
A lonely widowed housewife cares for her apartment and teenage son, and uses sex work to make ends meet.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Belgium, France • 1975
- Director Chantal Akerman
- Cast Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Henri Storck, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Yves Bical
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, TCM, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A lonely vampire preys on the depraved residents of Bad City — but finds love in another tortured soul.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, United States • 2014
- Director Ana Lily Amirpour
- Cast Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo
- Genre Horror, Romance, Western
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Cats in Cinema
Kedi
This documentary looks at the thousands of free-roaming cats in Istanbul, Turkey, showing the city through their perspective.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey, United States • 2017
- Director Ceyda Torun
- Cast Bengu, Deniz, Duman, Gamsiz, Aslan Parcasi, Psikopat
- Genre Documentary
- Available on YouTube Premium, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Kiki's Delivery Service
(魔女の宅急便)
A young witch goes on fantastic adventures as she runs her own delivery service.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1989
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keiko Toda, Mieko Nobusawa, Kôichi Miura
- Genre Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
When the Cat Comes
(Až přijde kocour)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Czechoslovakia • 1963
- Director Vojtěch Jasný
- Cast Jan Werich, Emília Vášáryová, Vlastimil Brodský, Jiří Sovák, Vladimír Menšík
- Genre Fantasy, Comedy
- Available on Criterion Channel
House
(ハウス)
A group of Japanese schoolgirls discover there is more to their vacation house than meets the eye.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1977
- Director Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
- Cast Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matsubara, Mieko Satoh
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Two Evil Eyes
(Due occhi diabolici)
Two horror tales based on the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, United States • 1990
- Director George A. Romero, Dario Argento
- Cast Adrienne Barbeau, Harvey Keitel, Ramy Zada, E.G. Marshall, Madeleine Potter, Bingo O'Malley
- Genre Horror
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Night Flight Plus, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Kanopy
The Rabbi's Cat
(Le Chat du rabbin)
A rabbi in 1920s Algeria attempts to teach his cat about religion after it gains the ability to speak.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2011
- Director Joann Sfar
- Cast François Morel, Hafsia Herzi, Maurice Bénichou, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Daniel Cohen, François Damiens
- Genre Animation, Comedy
- Available on OVID, Fandango At Home, Apple TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
A Cat in Paris
(Une vie de chat)
A girl's cat lives a double life working with a burglar, putting the girl in danger.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2010
- Director Jean-Loup Felicioli
- Cast Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Bernadette Lafont, Oriane Zani, Patrick Ridremont
- Genre Animation, Comedy
- Available on Fandango At Home, Apple TV, Tubi TV, Hoopla
A Street Cat Named Bob
A recovering drug addict meets a stray ginger cat. His life will never be the same.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2016
- Director Roger Spottiswoode
- Cast Luke Treadaway, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt, Anthony Stewart Head, Caroline Goodall, Beth Goddard
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy
La Dolce Vita
(La dolce vita)
A paprazzo's search for love and happiness through booze and sex.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1960
- Director Federico Fellini
- Cast Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux, Magali Noël, Alain Cuny
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
A Whisker Away
(泣きたい私は猫をかぶる)
A magical mask gives Muge the power to turn into a cat and spend time with her crush.
- Japan • 2020
- Director Tomotaka Shibayama
- Cast Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Kouichi Yamadera, Hiroaki Ogi, Minako Kotobuki
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance, Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The Third Man
Hunted by men ... Sought by WOMEN!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1949
- Director Carol Reed
- Cast Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee, Paul Hörbiger
- Genre Thriller, Mystery
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, IndieFlix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee
The Strange Little Cat
(Das merkwürdige Kätzchen)
In this family apartment, the mundane is not what it seems.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2013
- Director Ramon Zürcher
- Cast Anjorka Strechel, Jenny Schily, Matthias Dittmer, Luk Pfaff
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Slow-Burns
Memories of Murder
(살인의 추억)
A daring, nuanced story of the investigation around the man reported to be South Korea’s first serial killer, who was uncaught at the time of the film's release.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2003
- Director Bong Joon-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roe-ha, Song Jae-ho, Park Hae-il, Go Seo-hee
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Tubi TV
Audition
(オーディション)
She always gets her part.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1999
- Director Takashi Miike
- Cast Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura, Tetsu Sawaki, Renji Ishibashi, Miyuki Matsuda
- Genre Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Shudder, Screambox, Fandor Amazon Channel, Screambox Amazon Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, AsianCrush, AMC+ Amazon Channel, ARROW, Shudder Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Tubi TV, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Kanopy
Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
A lonely widowed housewife cares for her apartment and teenage son, and uses sex work to make ends meet.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Belgium, France • 1975
- Director Chantal Akerman
- Cast Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Henri Storck, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Yves Bical
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, TCM, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
In the Mood for Love
(花樣年華)
Longing and loneliness collide in this understated romance.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, China • 2000
- Director Wong Kar-wai
- Cast Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan, Kelly Lai Chen, Siu Ping-Lam, Mama Hung
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
45 Years
How well do we know those we love?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2015
- Director Andrew Haigh
- Cast Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells, David Sibley, Richard Cunningham
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(Män som hatar kvinnor)
Only those discarded by society can uncover its most ugly truths
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Denmark, Germany • 2009
- Director Niels Arden Oplev
- Cast Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Andersson, Peter Haber
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Available on Fandor, fuboTV, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Amazon Video, Crackle, Plex, Plex Channel
Decision to Leave
(헤어질 결심)
A detective investigating a mysterious death finds himself both suspecting and falling for the dead man's wife.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2022
- Director Park Chan-wook
- Cast Park Hae-il, Tang Wei, Lee Jung-hyun, Park Yong-woo, Go Kyung-pyo, Kim Shin-young
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
The Passion of Joan of Arc
(La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)
The 15th-century teenage warrior Joan of Arc takes on the French church.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1928
- Director Carl Theodor Dreyer
- Cast Maria Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz, Antonin Artaud, Michel Simon
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
The Vanishing
(Spoorloos)
Has anyone seen this woman?
- ✭ ✭
- Netherlands, France, West Germany • 1988
- Director George Sluizer
- Cast Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gène Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus, Pierre Forget, Bernadette Le Saché
- Genre Horror, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Caché
All the moments they thought nobody was watching, caught on tape.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Austria, Germany • 2005
- Director Michael Haneke
- Cast Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Annie Girardot, Bernard Le Coq, Daniel Duval, Maurice Bénichou
- Genre Mystery, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
(Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)
Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino, Christel Baras, Armande Boulanger
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy
Cure
(キュア)
A detective and a psychologist must solve a series of murders, but this killing spree is beyond both their fields.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yukijiro Hotaru, Yoriko Douguchi, Denden
- Genre Crime, Thriller, Horror, Mystery
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video