Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film has compiled its list of the top 101 foreign-language films of all time. To create this list, members were asked to come up with their Top 25 foreign language films of all time. Foreign films in English (UK, Canada, Australia) were not counted. Chlotrudis will create separate lists for those films. After receiving all of the lists, numerical values were assigned to each of the rankings, and each movie was given a point total. The number of lists a movie appears on is also a factor. A total of 369 films were represented on the individual lists. Films from 30 countries are represented in the final cut, spanning 8 decades of cinema. Several Chlotrudis members are well on their way to seeing all the films on the list. “If this isn’t a list that you should bring to your video store, I don’t know what is,” says Allison DaSilva, one of CSIF’s Board of Directors.
We hope you enjoy our list of the 100 Best Foreign Language films.
| 01 | In the Mood for Love | Wong Kar Wai | Hong Kong/France/ Thailand |
2000 |
| 02 | Run Lola Run | Tom Tykwer | Germany | 1998 |
| 03 | Wings of Desire | Wim Wenders | West Germany/France | 1987 |
| 04 | Amélie | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France/Germany | 2001 |
| 05 | After Life | Hirokazu Koreeda | Japan | 1998 |
| 06 | The Seven Samurai | Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1954 |
| 07 | Spirited Away | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 2001 |
| 08 | All About My Mother | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain/France | 1999 |
| 09 | M | Fritz Lang | Germany | 1931 |
| 10 | Nights of Cabiria | Federico Fellini | Italy/France | 1957 |
| 11 | The Grand Illusion | Jean Renoir | France | 1937 |
| 12 | Raise the Red Lantern | Zhang Yimou | China/Hong Kong/Taiwan | 1991 |
| 13 | Rashômon | Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1950 |
| 14 | La Dolce Vita | Federico Fellini | Italy/France | 1960 |
| 15 | The Bicycle Thief | Vittorio De Sica | Italy | 1948 |
| 16 | Cinema Paradiso | Giuseppe Tornatore | Italy/France | 1989 |
| 17 | Y tu mamá también | Alfonso Cuarón | Mexico/USA | 2001 |
| 18 | Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain | 1988 |
| 19 | Breathless | Jean-Luc Godard | France | 1960 |
| 20 | The City of Lost Children | Marc Caro; Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France/Germany /Spain |
1995 |
| 21 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Jacques Demy | France/West Germany | 1964 |
| 22 | The Seventh Seal | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden | 1957 |
| 23 | Hero | Zhang Yimou | Hong Kong/China | 2002 |
| 24 | Chungking Express | Wong Kar Wai | Hong Kong | 1994 |
| 25 | Blue | Krzysztof Kieslowski | France/Poland/ Switzerland/UK |
1993 |
| 26 | Beau Travail | Claire Denis | France | 1999 |
| 27 | Jules et Jim | François Truffaut | France | 1962 |
| 28 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Ang Lee | Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/China | 2000 |
| 29 | The Tin Drum | Volker Schlöndorff | West Germany/France/ Poland/Yugoslavia | 1979 |
| 30 | Amores Perros | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Mexico | 2000 |
| 31 | Beauty and the Beast | Jean Cocteau | France/Luxembourg | 1946 |
| 32 | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | Luis Buñuel | France/Italy/Spain | 1972 |
| 33 | The 400 Blows | François Truffaut | France | 1959 |
| 34 | La Strada | Federico Fellini | Italy | 1954 |
| 35 | The Fast Runner | Zacharias Kunuk | Canada | 2001 |
| 36 | What Time Is It There? | Tsai Ming Liang | Taiwan/France | 2001 |
| 37 | Ikiru | Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1952 |
| 38 | The Conformist | Bernardo Bertolucci | Italy/France/West Germany | 1970 |
| 39 | The Piano Teacher | Michael Haneke | France/Austria | 2001 |
| 40 | Black Orpheus | Marcel Camus | Brazil/France/Italy | 1959 |
| 41 | The Vanishing | George Sluizer | Netherlands/France | 1988 |
| 42 | Delicatessen | Marc Caro; Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France | 1991 |
| 43 | Italian for Beginners | Lone Scherfig | Denmark/Sweden | 2000 |
| 44 | The Marriage of Maria Braun | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany | 1979 |
| 45 | Pather Panchali | Satyajit Ray | India | 1955 |
| 46 | Audition | Takashi Miike | South Korea/Japan | 1999 |
| 47 | Yi Yi | Edward Yang | South Korea/Japan | 2000 |
| 48 | Diva | Jean-Jacques Beineix | France | 1981 |
| 49 | Life is Beautiful | Roberto Benigni | Italy | 1997 |
| 50 | My Life as a Dog | Lasse Hallström | Sweden | 1985 |
| 51 | The Princess and the Warrior | Tom Tykwer | Germany | 2000 |
| 52 | Scenes from a Marriage | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden | 1973 |
| 53 | Monsieur Hire | Patrice Leconte | France | 1989 |
| 54 | Blue Angel, The | Josef von Sternberg | Germany | 1930 |
| 55 | Red | Krzysztof Kieslowski | Poland/France/ Switzerland | 1994 |
| 56 | Double Life of Veronique, The | Krzysztof Kieslowski | France/Poland/Norway | 1991 |
| 57 | Ran | Akira Kurosawa | Japan/France | 1985 |
| 58 | Talk to Her | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain | 2002 |
| 59 | Hairdresser’s Husband, The | Patrice Leconte | France | 1990 |
| 60 | To Live | Zhang Yimou | China/Hong Kong | 1994 |
| 61 | Cries and Whispers | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden | 1972 |
| 62 | Orpheus | Jean Cocteau | France | 1949 |
| 63 | Princess Mononoke | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 1997 |
| 64 | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring | Kim Ki-Duk | South Korea/Germany | 2003 |
| 65 | My Neighbor Totoro | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 1988 |
| 66 | Cría cuervos | Carlos Saura | Spain | 1976 |
| 67 | Aguirre: The Wrath of God | Werner Herzog | West Germany/Peru/Mexico | 1972 |
| 68 | Celebration | Thomas Venterberg | Denmark/Sweden | 1998 |
| 69 | Purple Noon | René Clément | France/Italy | 1960 |
| 70 | Triplets of Belleville, The | Sylvain Chomet | France/Belgium/ Canada/UK |
2003 |
| 71 | Boot, Das | Wolfgang Petersen | West Germany | 1981 |
| 72 | Like Water for Chocolate | Alfonso Arau | Mexico | 1992 |
| 73 | Rififi | Jules Dassin | France | 1955 |
| 74 | Road Home, The | Zhang Yimou | China | 1999 |
| 75 | Lilya 4-Ever | Lukas Moodysson | Sweden/Denmark | 2002 |
| 76 | Contempt | Jean-Luc Godard | France/Italy | 1963 |
| 77 | Through a Glass Darkly | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden | 1961 |
| 78 | Whisper of the Heart | Kondo Yoshifumi | Japan | 1995 |
| 79 | Shoot the Piano Player | François Truffaut | France | 1960 |
| 80 | Band of Outsiders | Jean-Luc Godard | France | 1964 |
| 81 | Central Station | Walter Salles | Brazil/France | 1998 |
| 82 | King of Hearts | Philippe de Broca | France/Italy | 1966 |
| 83 | Vertical Ray of the Sun, The | Anh Hung Tran | Vietnam/France/ Germany | 2000 |
| 84 | Barbarian Invasions, The | Denys Arcand | Canada/France | 2003 |
| 85 | Scent of Green Papaya, The | Anh Hung Tran | France/Vietnam | 1993 |
| 86 | Color of Paradise, The | Majid Majidi | Iran | 1999 |
| 87 | L’avventura | Michelangelo Antonioni | Italy/France | 1960 |
| 88 | Cleo from 5 to 7 | Agnès Varda | France/Italy | 1961 |
| 89 | Persona | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden | 1966 |
| 90 | Antonia’s Line | Marleen Gorris | Netherlands/Belgium/UK | 1995 |
| 91 | Rome, Open City | Roberto Rossellini | Italy | 1945 |
| 92 | 8 1/2 | Federico Felinni | Italy/France | 1963 |
| 93 | Faithless | Liv Ullman | Sweden/Italy/Germany/ Finland/Norway | 2000 |
| 94 | Kiki’s Delivery Service | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | 1989 |
| 95 | Seven Beauties | Lina Wertmüller | Italy | 1976 |
| 96 | Amazing Couple, An | Lucas Belvaux | France/Belgium | 2002 |
| 97 | Claire’s Knee | Eric Rohmer | France | 1970 |
| 98 | Diabolique | Henri-Georges Clouzot | France | 1955 |
| 99 | Dreamlife of Angels, The | Erick Zonca | France | 1998 |
| 100 | 3-Iron | Kim Ki-duk | South Korea | 2004 |
| 101 | Babette’s Feast | Gabriel Axel | Denmark | 1987 |