My Favorite Foreign Films

This is admittedly a not very thorough list. I'm constantly trying to find more of the great foreign films, but as I continue my search, this is my growing list:

1. Cinema Paradiso(1989) Directed by Giuseppie Tornatore
   One of the two or three best family movies ever made. All except the most cynical of movie lovers will enjoy this wonderful tribute to the movies. The final montage sequence is perhaps my favorite moment in film

2. Wild Strawberries(1957) Directed by Ingmar Bergman
   A chilling examination of a man facing his past. Bergman's smooth shifting of time and mood is brilliant. The dream sequence is among the greatest moments in cinema.

3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000) Directed by Ang Lee
   A brilliant movie with the best action scenes ever filmed and aghast an action movie with a good story.

4. Belle de Jour(1967) Directed by Luis Bunuel
   Catherine Deneuve is fabulous as a frustrated housewife who needs more excitement. Does she take it too far or not?

5. Breathless(1959) Directed by Jean Luc Godard
   A fabulous, fun tribute to Bogart. The storytelling moves rapid and smooth with jump cuts guiding the way.

6. The 400 Blows(1959) Directed by Francois Truffaut
   Truffaut's semiautobiographical film is mesmerizing in the minute details that Truffaut brought to the film. A child deviant in the making has never been so sympathetic.

7. The Bicycle Thief(1948) Directed by Vittorio De Sica
   Groundbreaking film has a very simple story, but is told with such style and grace that films so caught up on virtuoso techniques look far inferior.

8. M(1931) Directed by Fritz Lang
   Peter Lorre's best role is chilling and breathtaking as a child murderer. Lang not only makes us feel for the children, but also for Lorre. A great humanist film.

9. La Strada(1954) Directed by Federico Fellini
   Fellini's great road picture is much more narrative than some of his later, convoluted works. Giulietta Masina's performance gives the film a heart with her wonderful, understated performance.

10. Jules and Jim(1962) Directed by Francois Truffaut
    Truffaut's story of friends and lovers is a mesmerizing look at not only flamboyance, but also desperation.

11. 8 1/2(1963) Directed by Federico Fellini
    If I understood more of what I saw, it would be ranked higher. Fellini's film is more a dream than a narrative. Drifting through the mind of Marcello Mastroianni is as wonderful...and confusing a journey as you can take.

12. The Rules of the Game(1939) Directed by Jean Renoir
    Renoir's look at the French class system is equal parts satire, farce, and horror.

13. Run Lola, Run(1999) Directed by Tom Tykwer
    High energy film has more visual inspiration than the first six months of most years' films. A great look at what if.

14. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1919) Directed by Robert Weine
    A visual masterpiece of German expressionism that even today, stretches the limits of set design.

15. La Jetee(1964) Directed by Chris Marker
    The short film that influenced "12 Monkeys" is a fascinating trip through flash-forwards and backwards told through still photographs and voice over.

16. The Grand Illusion(1937) Directed by Jean Renoir
    Renoir's WW I classic is a shot at the aristocrats told through classic, simple storytelling.