Recently, the Guardian released a countdown of the 100 best movies worldwide since 2000. Only one Indian film made the cut. Gangs of Wasseypur (GoW) – Anurag Kashyap’s two part crime film – has been ranked at number 59. Although GoW may not be a perfect film to watch with your family, here are some foreign films of cinematic excellence which you can binge-watch together over the weekend.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Ranked at 98, this comic book-turned-movie by Christopher Nolan has been called as the “genre masterpiece: fatalist, bracing and forever the legacy of Heath Ledger, posthumously awarded an Oscar for his terrifying performance.”
Capernaum (2018)
At number 71, this film follows a 12-year-old Lebanese boy, who takes his parents to court for their ill-treatment of him. The newspaper called it a “highly original and affecting film.” It further mentioned the movie as a “sprawling drama that functions both as an excoriating treatise on the nature of poverty in Lebanon.”
Paddington 2 (2017)
Featuring Hugh Grant, Paddington 2 has been placed at number 69. Following the life of a bear, known as Paddington, it has been adjudged as the “unthinkable”. It has also been stated as a “classic yet more charming, inventive and across-the-generations entertaining” film.
The Incredibles (2004)
The Incredibles has been rated as Pixar’s best ever film at number 64. It has further been acclaimed that “only Pixar could make a superhero movie for kids about a midlife crisis.” The animated film follows Mr Incredible, living in the suburbs with his family, stuck in a boring job and the events that follow.
Leave No Trace (2018)
Leave No Trace revolves around a father and his daughter, who lead a peaceful life in the woods in Portland, Oregon. Their life changes after a fateful incident occurs. Placed at 57, it took director Debra Granik eight years to make the movie. The website calls it “worth the wait: a brilliantly moving eco drama”.
Gravity (2013)
One of the most inspiring movies of all time, Gravity stands at 32. Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, it is an “astoundingly good” and “spectacular thriller” by Alfonso Cuarón. The movie is about two astronauts and the classic fight for survival theme but with a twist.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel at number 27 is well-deserved. Wes Anderson’s “glorious 1930s confection is a delight with a hard nugget of politics at its core,” reads the website. The drama/comedy film stars Ralph Fiennes, who plays the charming concierge M Gustave, who has been wrongfully framed for murder.
A One and a Two (Yi Yi, 2000)
Ranked at number 26, Edward Yang’s final directorial film “is a delicate domestic miracle: the story of one family seen through the perspectives of the father, the son and the daughter. A wedding begins proceedings, a funeral ends them. The stuff in the middle is the everyday, dissected with rare beauty and gravity.”
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Spirited Away (2001)
These Japanese animation movie by Hayao Miyazaki ranks at number 22. It has been called as a “wondrous animation, the greatest success of a spectacular run from Japan’s Studio Ghibli.” The film follows a 10-year-old girl, whose family stumble upon a haunted place, thus encountering a variety of mysterious circumstances.
Boyhood (2014)
Ranked at number 3, director Richard Linklater’s story, Boyhood is based on the story of a child’s life between the ages of six and 18. It “is a vindication of artistic ambition in an age of cinematic snacking.” Featuring Ellar Coltrane as the protagonist, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke as the parents, the movie “provides its audience with an intimacy and an investment like no other. This is cinema as gentle revolution.”
