Best Foreign Films of the Decade

February 3, 2010 --

While I still have a few more 2009 releases to see before finishing my annual Top Ten List, that will not stop me from wrapping-up the decade just past (2000-09--I hate the phrase "the naughts") in film. For starters, here are the 15-Best Foreign Films of the Decade:


But First! I have to single out Europe for providing a steady stream of exceptional films, namely:
Germany -- The Educators, Goodye, Lenin!, A Woman in Berlin (and two movies I failed to see: Downfall, and The Baader-Meinhof Complex);
France -- A Very Long Engagement, La Vie en Rose, La Veuve de St. Pierre);
Scandinavia -- After the Wedding, Let the Right One In, Reprise, Saraband.

15. [3-way tie!] Each of these directors deserves recognition for their work this decade, so here are 3 representative samples: Amelie (FRA: Jean-Pierre Jeunet); In the Mood For Love (HK: Wong Kar-Wai); and Volver (ESP: Pedro Almodovar).

14. The Piano Teacher (2001 D: M. Haneke)
13. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring (Korea 2003)
12. A Secret (FRA 2008)
11. The Sea Inside (ESP 2004)
10. The Lives of Others (GER 2006)
9. Caché (2005 D: M. Haneke, again)
8. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (FRA 2007)
7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (CHN 2001)
6. City of God (BRA 2002)
5. Y tu Mamá, también (MEX 2001)
4. To be and to have (FRA 2002) -- the only doc. to make the list, it is far more insightful than the more-recent, much-heralded "The Class"
3. Amores Perroes (MEX 2000)
2. The Best of Youth (ITA 2003)

and the #1 Foreign Film of the decade is ....


1. PAN'S LABYRINTH (MEX/ESP 2006)