10 Noteworthy Foreign Films That Won An Oscar

June 24, 2023
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The film is an art that portrays scenarios that are meaningful to human lives. 

It can cover a lot of realities and even fantasies in this world—and this deserves an Academy Award, most popularly known as The Oscars, to honor the effort and message of the overall film. 

The Oscars began on May 16, 1929, and until now, people are still looking forward to every award they can hand in annually.

Foreign films are getting recognized as much as English films today, and this shows that people have rich and diverse perspectives towards the film industry. Furthermore, films represent the beauty and creativity of the human mind that deserves to be appreciated as time passes. 

Receiving an Oscar is already too much because of its good recognition in the film industry. In this post, we will cover ten excellent and noteworthy foreign films well-recognized by the Oscars.

Why Are The Oscars Important?

The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, hold a special place in the hearts of movie lovers worldwide. 

This prestigious awards ceremony is considered to be one of the most critical events in the film industry, and for a good reason. 

Here are just a few reasons why the Oscars are so important:

Holds A Recognition of Excellence

The Oscars allow the film industry to acknowledge and celebrate the best work of the year. 

Winning an Oscar is often seen as the ultimate validation of an actor, director, or other film professional's hard work and talent. 

It also honors films in various corners of the world, primarily through its international feature film category that celebrates motion picture arts—no matter the artist, no matter the country. 

Boosts Box Office and Careers

Winning an Oscar can significantly impact the box-office success of a film and the careers of the winners and nominees. 

Being associated with an Oscar-winning film can also enhance the reputation of studios and production companies.

Impact on the Film Industry: The Oscars can influence the film industry in many ways, from inspiring future filmmakers and actors to setting trends in fashion and style. 

The awards also promote diversity and inclusion in the industry, with nominees and winners from various backgrounds and cultures.

Signifies Cultural Significance

The Oscars have become a cultural phenomenon, with millions of viewers watching the ceremony and discussing the winners and nominees. 

The awards provide a platform for important social and political issues, with winners using their speeches to advocate for the causes they believe in. 

More importantly, their foreign language film category has been recognizing only foreign film outputs outside the Hollywood limelight.

Overall, the Oscars are important because they celebrate the best-submitted films of the year and significantly impact the film industry and popular culture. 

Whether you're a film buff or enjoy watching red-carpet fashion, there's no denying the importance and influence of the Academy Awards.

10 Oscar-Winning Titles To Watch

Another Round - 2020

A Danish drama-comedy film, Another Round, is about a group of teachers who also happen to build a beautiful yet reckless type of friendship. 

There is a Danish alcohol standard that they usually follow, and it is refreshing to see this kind of authentic culture inside a film. 

But of course, it also shows the drama side of their lives and how they make an experiment out of alcohol. 

They even tried to drink almost every day and agreed to change their drinking schedule. 

The climax is great, and the actors, especially Mads Mikkelsen as the leading actor, delivered the film fantastically so that people who watch this can make their lives better for a while. 

The art direction is also worth mentioning. 

The film won the Best International Feature Film, and its Director, Thomas Vinterberg, won the Best Director. 

Don't say that we didn't warn you about how good this film is because of its drama and comedy genre.

Drive My Car - 2021

For a more sense of drama and grief, here is Drive My Car by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, which won the Best International Feature Film. 

This film lasted for 3 hours, so you can imagine the long time of getting to know the lives of Kafuku and Watari while overcoming the feelings of guilt and trauma that they portrayed in the film.

This film consists of betrayal and recovery as they uncover different scenarios that make the film more devastating. 

But the flow is also good because of the profession of Kafuku, a theater director, and this helped him overcome his grief and somewhat made it his therapy. 

Watari, his chauffeur, also accepted her life without her mom and soon built a beautiful relationship with Kafuku.

Overall, the film gives a heavy emotion of understanding and living through their pain. 

Grief is a long process to take and remove in life, just like how Watari drives his car while both are healing in their pain.

The Artist - 2011

A film made by French production, The Artist is a silent film that features black-and-white scenes that can fill adults with nostalgia. 

This film shows a lot of boom in the entertainment industry in the first part but slowly turns to the most incredible plot as with any other movie. 

The plot is full of struggles and pain as the movie star, George Valentin, slowly loses his fame and power in his known industry. 

His journey goes on as he walks along the streets, looking at people that once knew and smiled for him when he was still a star. 

This film also talks about a dancer named Peppy and his loyal dog Uggie who did not leave his side when he became a nobody.

A fresh, authentic film like The Artist deserves 5 Academy Awards, and one of them is the Best Picture award. 

Black Orpheus - 1959

If you are a fan of Greek mythology, then Black Orpheus is a perfect Brazilian film for you. This film is about a couple named Orpheus and Eurydice who are found traveling to various places and somewhat enjoying the Carnival season. 

But to much surprise, they are running from a hitman who is seen dressed like Death—with his mask and costume.

Their soundtrack is also superb, thanks to the Brazilians who composed the songs. 

The portrayal of Greek mythology is also excellent, even in modern times. They have managed to steal the attention of many, thanks to the powerful joint force of romance and music.

This film received the 1960 Best Foreign Language award. 

Roma - 2018

Are you eyeing a Latin drama film? Mexico is this film's submitting country, and it received Best Foreign Language Film and has a take on Alfonso Cuaron's life in Mexico. 

Alfonso Cuaron is both the writer and director of this beautiful film, so you can now feel the authenticity and sincerity of how this film works for society.

A love of Cleo, the middle-class family's loyal housekeeper, is much felt when she supports the whole family while supporting her own. 

This film is about sacrifices and how a person can handle their life and work despite the many circumstances happening in their lives. 

Different emotions can run while watching this impressive film. Undoubtedly, this won an Academic Award, which also shows how it is vital for people to recognize their humble beginnings. 

This film also teaches us to remember the people with us and does not leave us throughout life's most challenging time.

Talk to Her - 2002

A Spanish film like Talk to Her is about romance, or you can simply say drama. 

This is because the film shows how much a man can take, or is willing to take, to devote his love to a woman. 

Two men are involved in this film, and two women are lying in hospital beds because of a coma. 

These two men are seen as loving deeply and unconditionally these two women who are not connected with them. 

There is a lot of crying and feelings of helplessness that will make this film leave you devastated.

This film lets us experience how strange yet powerful love can be when people willingly hope for the better, even as hard as it may seem, just for the sake of their love. 

Talk to Her won Best Original Screenplay and is one of the best films of the 2000s.

Mon Oncle - 1958

A pure comedy French film is about to start here, so be ready to make your bellies hurt because of too much laughter. 

This film deserves an Academy Award because of its underlying message of living a humble and simple life, despite the slow modernization taking its place. 

This is not just the lesson shown in the film because that has a deeper meaning.

The leading actor in the film also observes traditional norms and actions. He noticed how people changed throughout time, and the factor affecting this is the developing technologies in their time. 

There is still a lot to take from this film, but you will know how wonderful and eye-opening it is after watching it.

La Vie en Rose - 2007

Follow the life of Edith Piaf, starting from the streets where she was found up to the time of her glory. 

This biographical French film has a lonely start and eventually leads to different obstacles that Edith has to experience before reaching her most significant achievement in life. 

Things happened in her life, there were many ups and downs, but she didn't let these make her down. 

Her beautiful voice saved her, and she became an outstanding singer. 

She learned a lot and improved her diction because she was taught to do so. 

She believed in herself and looked at how she became an inspiration to other people.

This film also includes drugs and alcohol, which is deeply sad for the life of Edith when she became dependent on these two. 

But her battles made her stronger until the last breath she took before leaving her career and life. 

The film received the Best Actress award, and Edith must have been the proudest woman.

Parasite - 2020

A fantastic thriller and drama film by Bong Joon-ho has already impacted society with its great message about family status and inequality in this world—and can arguably be some of the best motion pictures produced in recent years. 

This South Korean film is fantastic and mind-blowing because of the incredible way the poor family did to get into the lives of the wealthy family. 

There are many twists and turns in the plot, all of which contribute to the film's overall success.

The takeaways from the film are so powerful, and there will be days that you will be questioning what type of society we have once you finish watching this remarkable film. 

The film also gets darker as it deeply explains the situation the poor family is experiencing when they discover what the wealthy family is doing.

To add up to its remarkable capability, Parasite is the first South Korean film to win the Best Picture Award. 

Marie-Louise - 1944

This is a French film that won Best Original Screenplay. 

The film revolves around a girl who eventually became a young woman who was transferred to Switzerland because of the Second World War.

A warm, wealthy family took her, but this did not stop the trauma she experienced from her past experiences.

The problem started when she hesitated about going home because she was already living the best life with her family. 

The challenges started, and it took a lot of time before she returned to her senses. 

Overall, the film is excellent, and this situation can still be mirrored in today's society. 

Conclusion

We have witnessed how awesome and meaningful these films can get because of the experiences and realizations they set for us to see. 

What makes these films even great is that most are set in the past decades, when life was not complicated, and problems were easy to fix and address. 

This point also shows that what society has in the past can still be reflected today. 

There are still ongoing issues that we have to face because of the lack of communication and actions of the people. 

Films are one great way to express life and how people usually do what they have to do for them to "live" their lives.

Actors bring out the best in the film, as well as how beautiful and profound the messages it shares with us. 

Films that are found in this list might not be considered without them. 

This is the perfect time to raise and discover all the foreign language films out there because most are hidden gems waiting for us to focus on.

Written By
Jasmin

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