Foreign Films You Can Watch for Free
Stuck at home? Want to find an interesting film for a movie night? Look no further! This list of foreign films you can stream for free is here to help you enjoy some gems of international filmmaking. And did I mention that you can watch them for free? (Score!)
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Why You Should Watch Foreign Films
Have you ever stopped to evaluate just how easy it is for you to grasp a filmmaker’s intent and story in your own culture and language? Do you have that same feeling when you encounter foreign films? Most likely not.
Foreign films are different–often quite different. And there are two main reasons why I think it is good to watch them (at least occasionally):
- Firstly, international movies are like a portal into another mind. They give us a glimpse of something that springs from the heart of another culture, a separate history. And that is a beautiful and wonderful thing to happen because it helps us to understand and to sympathize with other human beings.
- Secondly, watching a foreign film is an exercise in dealing with broken expectations–the kind of thing that happens when two cultures collide. It is usually at the end of an foreign movie that the differences in cultural art strike me. The endings often are not neatly tied up. The feelings I expect are not there. This gives me pause to recognize my own culture and to see more deeply.
How to get Foreign Films you can watch for Free
Finding a good foreign film to watch might be easy or hard, depending on your expectations. Since foreign films are not usually marketed within the USA or advertised widely, the easiest way to discover great international movies is to find curated lists (like this one!).
If you live internationally (or don’t) and want to watch movies but either don’t have access to Amazon Prime or other streaming services or don’t want to spend the money for monthly fees, you are in luck! You can easily stream films through Hoopla.
How Can You Stream Movies for Free?
One of the best ways to watch films online without paying monthly fees is to use Hoopla, a service offered through local libraries in the USA. And this service offers streaming of many international movies.
What is Hoopla?
Hoopla is an online streaming and public library lending service. Through it, patrons of local libraries can borrow eBooks, movies, and audiobooks.
Who Can Use Hoopla?
Any patron who has a local library card can use Hoopla, as long as their library is enrolled in the service.
How Do You Use Hoopla?
To access Hoopla, first go to your local library’s web page. From there, click on the Hoopla icon or link. Register for an account on your library’s site or Hoopla (or both). And then you should be able to easily access all the content of the streaming service.
If you do not find Hoopla listed on the website, contact your library and ask if they are enrolled in the service.
Can You Use Hoopla Outside of the USA?
We do. (Shh! Don’t tell.) To make the Hoopla service work in other countries, however, you will need either a VPN or to block sharing your location on your browser before you access Hoopla. Because it is tied with a specific location in the USA, it does not work internationally without these special things (at least in our experience).
Foreign Films You Can Watch for Free
And now for our list of great international movies…
Bride and Prejudice
Setting: India
Language: English, with some Hindi
Length: 111 minutes
A musical Bollywood film retake on Pride and Prejudice, this film is delightful for fans of Jane Austen and aficionados of Indian culture.
Potentially Troublesome Content: A sexualized scene at an outdoor party, where the lyrics to the song and the dancing are explicit. A man tries to take advantage of a younger sister in the family, though nothing sexual is shown.
Seraphine
Setting: Mid-20th-century France
Language: French
Length: 125 minutes
The historical story of a mid-20th-century maid-turned-artist in France. Her techniques, tools, and personality are all unique.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Seraphine appears nude from the chest up in one scene as she enjoys the cool river water. Her benefactor appears in several scenes with his male lover, but nothing sexual is shown. A mental asylum and various cases of mental insanity are depicted.
Hutsulka Ksenya
Setting: Ukraine
Language: Ukrainian/Russian
Length: 90 minutes
Members of an extended family venture to their home country of Ukraine with opposing motives–to find a bride for a nephew or to spoil the nephew’s chances at a great inheritance. At the small cottage hotel where they stay, the Ukrainian culture is strong, and the movie features a costumed musical band and a legendary figure.
Potentially Troublesome Content: The legend surrounding this story and fueling its events is somewhat scary for young viewers. In addition, one female character runs off in the woods with a “cowboy” because he is wild and daring and, while nothing happens explicitly between them, young children might not quite understand this.
Monsieur Lazhar
Setting: French-speaking Montreal
Language: French, with English subtitles
Length: 94 minutes
An Albanian man assumes a classroom in a school troubled by a teacher’s recent suicide. He helps the students in various ways, bringing out some of the deepest feelings and pain that the children are experiencing.
Potentially Troublesome Content: The main thrust of the storyline centers around the suicide of a teacher. Thus, the movie is not suitable for young children or very sensitive young adults. Other troublesome content involves use of a cuss word or two.
In Harm’s Way
Setting: WWII China
Languages: English, Chinese, Japanese
Length: 97 minutes
A stranded WWII US army pilot finds himself in the countryside of China, hunted by Japanese soldiers. A poor widow and her child assist him, risking their own lives for his safety.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Violence and killing. Attempted rape.
Life Is Beautiful
Setting: WWII Italy
Language: Italian
Length: 116 minutes
This film won multiple awards–and for good reason. Its depiction of a man’s profound love for his wife and son is poignant, touching, and timeless.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Violence and death. A brief sexual verbal exchange but no visual acts.
Ida
Setting: Post-WWII Poland
Language: Polish
Length: 80 minutes
Ida, a novice about to take her vows, goes on an errand from her mother superior to find her only living relative, an aunt. The aunt reveals some surprising information to Ida, and the two set off to solve a family mystery. Shot in black and white, the film wrestles with the messiness of life after the war in Poland and the frustrating lack of answers with which humanity coexists. The cinematography is beautiful, with artistic framing and angles.
Potentially Troublesom Content: As with many films on this topic, there is some objectionable material for young audiences (mention of murder, a skull, drinking and smoking, suicide, sex that doesn’t show on screen, some nudity).
Frantz
Setting: Post-WWI Germany and France
Languages: French and German
Length: 113 minutes
Anna, a German woman grieving the loss of her fiance in the War, finds herself wrapped up in an intriguing web of feelings when a young Frenchman mysteriously seeks out her German family. Though the director shot the majority of the film in black and white, some scenes suddenly burst with color, emphasizing the life bubbling up in the characters’ grieving hearts.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Because the storyline centers on war-time France and Germany, it depicts war violence and death in some scenes, as well as attempted suicide.
Lost in Thailand
Setting: China, Thailand
Language: Chinese
Length: 105 minutes
As the highest-grossing domestically produced film in China, Lost in Thailand scores high in comedy, making it easy to believe that it did so well in China’s movie theaters. I first watched it with my Chinese language teacher during a week of classes, which is a testament to how popular it has been.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Swear words are interspersed throughout the movie, as well as sexual innuendos. In one scene, a man hires two “ladyboy” prostitutes. No explicitly sexual act is shown (that I remember), but the group does jump on the bed.
Ahista Ahista
Setting: Delhi, India
Language: Hindi
Length: 122 minutes
Ankhush scrapes by as a witness for couples signing their legal marriage certificates. When a young woman named Meghda is left stranded while awaiting her fiance, Ankhush rushes to the rescue and ends up helping her much more than he ever anticipated.
Potentially Troublesome Content: Throughout the movie, various men comment sexually about Meghda or other women.
Final Thoughts
Whether you watch these movies alone or with a friend or your entire family, I hope you enjoy the cultural elements and the glimpses into others’ minds and histories.
When did you watch your first international movie? And what was it? Share in the comments! I always love discovering more foreign films to watch!