Films let you spend two hours inside someone else’s life, often in a place you may never visit. World cinema shows daily routines, family structures, humor and conflicts that news reports and travel guides rarely capture.
“The one-inch barrier of subtitles”
When Parasite won the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film in 2020, director Bong Joon-ho said that once audiences overcome “the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles”, they will be introduced to many more amazing films. A few weeks later, Parasite became the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A few traditions to explore
- Japan: Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Rashomon), Yasujirō Ozu (Tokyo Story) and the animated films of Studio Ghibli; Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
- India: Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy, starting with Pather Panchali (1955), as well as India’s huge popular cinema in Hindi and many regional languages.
- Iran: Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi, whose A Separation (2011) won the Oscar for best foreign-language film.
- South Korea: Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook and Lee Chang-dong.
- Nigeria: Nollywood, one of the most prolific film industries in the world by number of films produced.
- Mexico: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
What films can and cannot teach
A film offers one perspective, shaped by its director, budget and audience. Some international films are made with festival or foreign audiences in mind. Watching several films from the same country, including popular comedies and not just prize-winning dramas, gives a fuller picture.
How to start
- choose one country and watch three films from different decades;
- read about the context after watching;
- watch with subtitles rather than dubbing when possible, to hear the actors’ real voices;
- look at your country’s submissions for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film for ideas.
Cinema always reflects its society, as explained in cinema and society, and the history it chooses to tell, as discussed in film and our view of history.
