Movie Recommendations (Foreign)

Foreign movies have been around for many years, but most of the times they go unnoticed because they are not made by Hollywood.

While growing up, I was able to travel and visit different countries and make new friends, and the first thing I asked them was "recommend me a movie from your country and a dish".

With that said, here are a few movies that I've seen and that have even been nominated for various awards including an Oscar for best foreign film.

Here is my list, hope you enjoy the choices and like always, feel free to recommend one.

#1 - Life is Beautiful (Italy)

One of my personal favorites. A mix of comedy and drama surround this movie that stars Roberto Benigni, one of Italy's best actors. Beningi plays the role of a jewish man that falls for an italian woman during the 1930's german occupation. This movie does a great job telling a love/tragic story of how life was during that time, and that's one of the reasons why it won 3 Academy Awards for best Actor, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Foreign Film.

#2 - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (UK)

Another movie that takes places during the world war and the use of concentration camps by the Germans to "control" the jews. A young German kid befriends a jewish kid that's trapped inside a concentration camp, without knowing what exactly is going. An inspirational movie that tells how kids felt during that time and how innocent they were as far as the war.

#3 - Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico)

Guillermo del Toro puts Mexico on the movie map with this great film that takes place in a fascist Spain during the mid 1940's. A mix of fantasy and real life that involve a faun a fairy and a ruthless soldier, that combined make this a classic in the mexican film industry. The film won 3 Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Makeup.

#4 - City of God (Brazil)

I was in Brazil in the early 2000s and I saw that there were places that people were not allowed to visit, called favelas. Those places were apart from the world, not even police would dare to go in and I couldn't understand why, until a local told me to watch City of God. It is a strong movie, with violence and crime, but a real story at the end. The story centers on a favela in one of the most dangerous places in Brazil, where kids carry guns and drugs are moved around like candy. City of God is a very well directed movie, a film that you need to watch with an open mind and understand that we are lucky to be where we are right now.

#5 - Amelie (France)

France is one of the most interesting countries in the world, it has great food, music, scenery but it was also the place where video and photography was invented. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet puts France in the movie map with Amelie, the story of a young girl that decides to change the lives of those around her for the better, while struggling with her own isolation. Another great film that made it all the way to the Oscars, with 5 nominations and that shows that not only hollywood can produce great films but that there are great actors, stories and ideas outside the US.