Seven Best Foreign Language Movies of 2016

7. Neon Bull (Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro)

This little known Brazilian film is also one of the quietest on this list. Scenes play out in long static or panning shots. The dramatic arc of the film is hidden well in its subtext as a girl looks for a father figure in her life, her mother tries to find direction in her life, and her friend (the possible father figure for the girl) looks hard to find success in fashion design.

If you're looking for a quiet film where the characters aren't superheros or even larger than life, this is the film for you.

6. Fire at Sea (Italy, Gianfranco Rosi)

I've seen handful of documentaries this year and this is one that I connected to the most. Following the life of people on the island of Lampedusa (approx 150 miles south of Sicily), we witness the effects the thousands of refugees have on the island as they make an effort to start a new life in Europe.

Fire at Sea brings a new perspective to a story that has been heavily covered in the news and a part of that is the humanity, director Gianfranco Rosi, brings to it.

5. A War (Denmark, Tobias Lindholm)

Denmark have given us one of the best war movies in years and one of the best court procedurals in the last several years. Unlike most contemporary war films, this one has characters that feel like that they will live down the road from you. They aren't the ones that created in the screenwriter's head to cinematic value.

The film also features some great war scenes considering their budget and the size of the Denmark film industry compared to the American one.

4. Julieta (Spain, Pedro Almodovar)

Mr Almodovar strikes again with another melodramatic piece that features scale in time and vision but it remains very personal one for its characters. Many tropes of Almodovar's cinema is present and for anyone who is a fan, they will like it and I think anyone who isn't familiar with Almodovar can start here.

The film also features two great performances as the titular character from Emma Suárez (old) and Adriana Ugarte (young).

3. The Handmaiden (South Korea, Park Chan-Wook)

I don't think there has ever been a better Korean-lesbian-erotic-thriller. Some parts of the movie may come off as cheesy but Park Chan-Wook is well in control of his craft and it only adds to this film. It's border line exploitation or feminism but the film walks the line to come out on top to give us equal parts of each.

Unfortunately the film won't get nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar but it should be nominated for categories like cinematography and production design.

2. Elle (France, Paul Verhoeven)

There aren't many movies that don't want you to sympathise with the main character with success but it's done very well here. Elle is the victim of rape (it's not a spoiler since it's the first scene) and we follow her on her quest to find out who it was. By the time the credits roll, you'll be so far down the rabbit hole in terms of Elle's life you won't be the same afterwards.

Much of the films success is thanks to it's lead performance from Isabelle Huppert. She never lets her character be any less than three dimensional and she truly understands the subtext but she never plays it.

1. Toni Erdmann (Germany, Maren Ade)

Many critics have said this already but I'll say it again. "A three hour long German comedy may seem like a daunting task but Toni Erdmann deserves to be seen and it's not a daunting task. From the beginning it seems like that this movie has the directon of a comedy but as it progresses we realise that it's a drama between the lead father-daughter relationship.

The three hour run time feels like two hours, the movie has the best comedic timing I have seen in years and it's lead relationship speaks beyond the father-daughter one.

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What were your favorite non english movies of 2016? Let me know!