Foreign Language Films To Watch
During the Critics Choice Awards, the nominated foreign language films are as follows: “A Hero,” “Drive My Car,” “Flee,” “The Hand of God,” and “The Worst Person in the World.” If you are looking to expand your film knowledge, these foreign-language films may be a good place to start. Most importantly, they are the highest-ranked foreign-language films for the year.
A Hero
This Iranian film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi follows Rahim Soltani. The character gets released from prison for two days to settle a debt. Rahim acquires a handbag with gold coins that he attempts to sell in order to settle his debt but finds the gold has lost its value. He returns the bag to its original owner and people praise him for this selfless action. He soon becomes a local celebrity and the prison starts to arrange for Rahim’s release. Through some negative actions including a fight with the man he owes, Rahim finds himself back in prison.
The film has received awards from quite a few different organizations. Many praise the director Farhadi for portraying the weighty themes seen throughout the film. While it didn’t win a Critics Choice Award, this is still a good place to start when it comes to foreign language films to watch. Here is the trailer.
Drive My Car
This Japanese film won the Critics Choice Award for “Best Foreign Language Film.” Following Yusuke Kafuku, who is an actor and director, he receives an offer to produce “Uncle Vanya” in Hiroshima. This news comes shortly after his wife’s unexpected death and ends up accepting the offer for production. In Hiroshima, he faces some haunting mysteries that his wife left behind.
Nominations for this Japanese drama include four Oscars and 68 award wins. Here is the trailer for “Drive My Car.”
Flee
This Danish animated film follows the story of a man under an alias name. He shares his past about fleeing his home country in this docudrama. The film’s premiere was at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021. Since its release, the film has received praise for its many aspects including plot, animation, and representation. Here is the trailer.
The Hand of God
Director Paolo Sorrentino portrays a young Fabietto, played by Filippo Scotti, in 1980s Naples. The character pursues his love for football in this Italian drama as family tragedy strikes. Through this content, Fabietto starts to pursue his future as a filmmaker, which is unpromising at first.
Nominations include one Oscar, but the film has won 13 different awards. Here is the trailer for “The Hand of God.”
The Worst Person in the World
This modern drama follows the life of Julie as she searches for love and purpose in Oslo, Norway. This film offers culturally relevant aspects as it pertains to the political world, most notably in gender politics. Because of the actress’s performance, this is a good film to watch as Renate Reinsve, who plays Julie, holds the viewer’s attention.
The film was nominated for two Oscars and has 19 awards wins overall. Here is the trailer.