Top 25 Foreign Language Films of the last 20 years
by Ivan_Ignatenko | created - 07 Oct 2010 | updated - 15 Jul 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Hairdresser's Husband (1990)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Antoine has always been fascinated by a hairdresser's delicate touch, the beguiling perfume and the enticing figure of a woman with an opulent bosom. After all, he always knew he would marry one, completing his idealised love fantasy.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena, Roland Bertin, Maurice Chevit
Votes: 10,356 | Gross: $1.16M
2. Toto the Hero (1991)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Thomas believed he was switched at birth with Alfred. Feeling cheated, Thomas spent his life plotting revenge against Alfred, his perceived lifelong adversary who he felt stole the privileged life that should have been his.
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Michel Bouquet, Mireille Perrier, Jo De Backer, Thomas Godet
Votes: 6,339 | Gross: $1.23M
3. A Heart in Winter (1992)
105 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Stéphane is an emotionally distant but professionally dedicated violin restorer whose cold heart is tested when his employer's new girlfriend, a beautiful violinist, falls for him.
Director: Claude Sautet | Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart, André Dussollier, Elizabeth Bourgine
Votes: 10,635 | Gross: $1.67M
4. La Cérémonie (1995)
Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A newly hired maid for a rich countryside family befriends a post-office clerk who encourages her to rebel against her employers.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel
Votes: 13,797 | Gross: $0.08M
5. An Affair of Love (1999)
R | 80 min | Drama, Romance
A woman puts an ad in a magazine looking for a man to fulfill her fantasy of a stringless, anonymous pornographic affair.
Director: Frédéric Fonteyne | Stars: Nathalie Baye, Sergi López, Jacques Viala, Paul Pavel
Votes: 5,729 | Gross: $0.35M
6. The Aura (2005)
Not Rated | 134 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A deluded taxidermist plans the perfect crime.
Director: Fabián Bielinsky | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Manuel Rodal, Dolores Fonzi, Mariana Malamud
Votes: 14,725 | Gross: $0.06M
7. The Fencing Master (1992)
88 min | Drama, Fantasy, History
A fencing master in pre-revolution Spain is hired to teach fencing to a beautiful young woman. Although he has never taught a woman before, he is fascinated by her and agrees. She wishes to... See full summary »
Director: Pedro Olea | Stars: Omero Antonutti, Assumpta Serna, Joaquim de Almeida, José Luis López Vázquez
Votes: 779
8. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 166,643 | Gross: $2.73M
9. A Pure Formality (1994)
PG-13 | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Onoff is a famous writer who hasn't published any new books for quite some time and has become a recluse. When he is picked up by the police one stormy night, without any identification, ... See full summary »
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Roman Polanski, Sergio Rubini, Nicola Di Pinto
Votes: 12,551 | Gross: $0.20M
10. Devotion (2003)
92 min | Drama, Thriller, Mystery
In total despair, Anja is about to throw herself from a bridge. At that very moment, Henry drives past in his car. Thinking she's a prostitute, he invites her home with him. She pretends to... See full summary »
Director: Igor Zaritzky | Stars: Annett Renneberg, Simon Böer, Tomek Piotrowski, Sophia Littkopf
Votes: 628
11. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,932 | Gross: $15.14M
12. My Favorite Season (1993)
Not Rated | 127 min | Drama, Romance
Old woman Berthe leaves her house to live in her daugter Emilie's one. Emilie and her brother Antoine have fallen out three years ago and have not seen each other since, but Emilie invites ... See full summary »
Director: André Téchiné | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Daniel Auteuil, Marthe Villalonga, Jean-Pierre Bouvier
Votes: 2,229 | Gross: $0.76M
13. Three Lives and Only One Death (1996)
123 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
Take a walk into the dreamlike world of filmmaker Raul Ruiz as he takes us to Paris for a twisting ride. Four strangely symmetrical stories unfold involving love, lust, crime, and time.
Director: Raúl Ruiz | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Galiena, Marisa Paredes, Melvil Poupaud
Votes: 1,540
14. Tous les matins du monde (1991)
Not Rated | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
Director: Alain Corneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu
Votes: 7,936 | Gross: $3.09M
15. Love Torn in a Dream (2000)
120 min | Drama, Fantasy
Coming to you as if from a dream half-remembered, two oneiric fantasies by the great Chilean fabulist Raúl Ruiz. First, a great guide - with pages torn out - for beginners, this picture has... See full summary »
Director: Raúl Ruiz | Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Elsa Zylberstein, Lambert Wilson, Christian Vadim
Votes: 381
16. Tango (1993)
88 min | Comedy, Crime
Vincent, a stunt pilot, is acquitted of murdering his wife and her lover. However, a few years later, L'Elegant, the Judge in the case, comes to blackmail him. The Judge's nephew, Paul, is ... See full summary »
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Richard Bohringer, Thierry Lhermitte, Miou-Miou
Votes: 1,371
17. Deep Crimson (1996)
114 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The life of a man who preys on unsuspecting women for a living is changed when he finds an accomplice in the woman who loves and controls him.
Director: Arturo Ripstein | Stars: Regina Orozco, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Sherlyn, Giovani Florido
Votes: 2,073
18. Wild Target (1993)
87 min | Comedy, Drama, Crime
Into the solitary life of middle-aged hitman Victor Meynard come two people: Antoine, a youth who becomes Victor's apprentice; and Renée, a bold thief Victor's been hired to kill because ... See full summary »
Director: Pierre Salvadori | Stars: Jean Rochefort, Marie Trintignant, Guillaume Depardieu, Patachou
Votes: 879
19. Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995)
106 min | Drama
When Nelly, a woman being just divorced, meets by chance M. Arnaud, a mature salesman just retired, begins a strange and special relationship between the two personalities.
Director: Claude Sautet | Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Serrault, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Claire Nadeau
Votes: 5,061 | Gross: $0.86M
20. The Horseman on the Roof (1995)
R | 118 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In a time of war and disease, a young officer gallantly tries to help a young woman find her husband.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Olivier Martinez, Juliette Binoche, Pierre Arditi, François Cluzet
Votes: 6,390 | Gross: $1.88M
21. La fille sur le pont (1999)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
One night, a fading entertainer intervenes when a woman contemplates suicide, beginning a strange, unpredictable relationship.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Vanessa Paradis, Daniel Auteuil, Frédéric Pfluger, Dimitris Georgalas
Votes: 14,356 | Gross: $1.71M
22. Rendez-vous in Paris (1995)
98 min | Comedy, Romance
Three stories of love and coincidence around the theme of dates in Paris.
Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Clara Bellar, Antoine Basler, Mathias Mégard, Judith Chancel
Votes: 2,507 | Gross: $0.73M
23. Nine Queens (2000)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps (the "nine queens").
Director: Fabián Bielinsky | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Graciela Tenenbaum, María Mercedes Villagra
Votes: 57,065 | Gross: $1.22M
24. A Self-Made Hero (1996)
Not Rated | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
Set in France at the end of World War II Albert Dehousse finds out his father wasn't a war hero and his mother is a collaborator. He leaves his wife and goes to Paris. Gradually he ... See full summary »
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Anouk Grinberg, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jean-Louis Trintignant
Votes: 3,271 | Gross: $0.07M
25. Daddy Nostalgia (1990)
PG | 105 min | Drama, Romance
A retired English businessman has just been through heart surgery but it has, apparently, done little to relieve his constant pain or improve his long-term survival prospects.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Jane Birkin, Odette Laure, Emmanuelle Bataille
Votes: 847 | Gross: $1.11M
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