Recommended Foreign Language Films and TV Series

I’ve reviewed a number of foreign language films and TV shows here on Old Ain’t Dead. This is a summary post helping you find them all. I’ve categorized them by language. Some of these may have gone from the various streaming services, check the date of the review if it isn’t where I say it is. Last updated 8/23/2019.

I’ve stopped updating this page, because not many people use it. You can find all the foreign TV series I’ve review using the foreign TV series tag search or the foreign films tag search. If you’re specifically looking for Spanish language content, I have a special category just for Spanish.

Spanish

• XXY is from Argentina. It’s the story of an intersex teen. Sensitively done.
• The Invisible Guardian is a thriller from Spain about a police woman who returns to her hometown on a case. The crime and her life intersect.
• The Lighthouse of the Orcas is a about a real park ranger who made friends with whales. There’s an autistic boy in the story.
• Cable Girls is a TV series about women who worked as telephone operators in 1920s Madrid. Soapy but empowering.
• The Time in Between is a sweeping saga of a seamstress who becomes a Spanish spy for the English in WWII.
• Juana Ines tells the story of the famous Mexican nun, Sor Juana. This is a fictionalized version of her life.
• Sunday’s Illness brings unexpected pain to the reunion of an adult child with her long lost mother.
• Thi Mai is a funny and heartfelt story about adopting a Vietnamese child.
• Grand Hotel is a telenovela so popular the series is being remade in several countries besides Spain.
• La Niña tells a true story about child soldiers in Colombia.
• Morocco: Love in Times of War is about Spanish Red Cross nurses in Morocco in the 1920s.
• Fugitiva shows an abused wife and mother who stages a fake kidnapping to escape her abuser.
• From Colombia, Always a Witch (Siempre Bruja) is about a time traveling witch.
• A sci-fi mystery is the theme in Mirage (Durante la Tormenta) about a mother and her child.
• Famous Mexican singer Chavela tells her story in this documentary.
• Four sisters go home to Madrid for their mother’s funeral in Despite Everything (A pesar de todo).
• A classic romantic comedy is found in In Family I Trust (Gente que viene y bah), from Spain.
• High Seas (Alta mar) uses interesting female characters to take us on an exciting journey.
• Learn the true story of the illegal marriage of Elisa y Marcela.
• A great cast couldn’t quite lift Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) to above average.

My friend Ingrid at Second-Half Travels has a list of 20 Spanish-Language TV Shows on Netflix in March 2018, if you need more Spanish suggestions.

Portuguese

• The Second Mother from Brazil is a story of class, motherhood, sacrifice, and modern São Paulo.
• Aquarius is about a woman who refuses to move out of her apartment to make way for a high rise. A fabulous Sonia Braga stars.
• Most Beautiful Thing (Coisa Mais Linda) features bossa nova, love, and women finding their power.

My language-learning friend at Second Half Travels has a great list of the 13 Best Brazilian Movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

French

• Dalida is a biopic about the famous Egyptian/French singer.
• Summertime is a lesbian love story set in the French countryside.
• Divines is a dynamic tale about teens in a Paris suburb.
• No Second Chance is a series based on a mystery novel by Harlan Corben.
• The New Girlfriend is a story about grief told through a lens of sexual fluidity.
• Queen to Play is about a French woman who becomes a champion chess player. It’s set in Corsica.
• Female Agents takes 5 women agents and puts them in danger right before D Day.
• The Mantis is a TV series about a serial killer and her copycat.
• The Disappearance is a TV series in the vein of The Killing.
• Witnesses is a TV series featuring a female cop who resorts to some unorthodox methods of crime solving.
• A few comments on Blue is the Warmest Color mixed in with some other stuff.
• I Am Not and Easy Man gives a gender swap story some new twists.
• From the Land of the Moon tells the story of a woman whose entire life is a fantasy.
• A lovely film about educating problem teens is Bad Seeds (Mauvaises herbes).
• Juliette Binoche stars in Let the Sunshine In (Un beau soleil intérieu).
• There’s suspenseful and binge-worthy drama in the TV series Black Spot (Zone Blanche).
• From Belgium, this police thriller deals with cyber crime: Unit 42 (Unité 42).
• There are 7 seasons of this story of the German occupation of France: A French Village (Un village français)

Italian

• Me, Myself and Her is a lesbian love story.
• Love is Not Perfect is about a woman who can’t decide between the love of a man and the love of a woman.

German

• Phoenix is a World War II story about a woman who returns from a concentration camp. There’s a gaslighting aspect to the tale.
• Dark is a German mystery series with a bit of supernatural, time-travel magic thrown into the excitement.
• Babylon Berlin puts you into Berlin in 1929 with brilliant, atmospheric settings and scenes.
• Charité is the first season of a story about real doctors at a Berlin hospital.
• In Charite at War, doctors and nurses struggle to save lives under the Nazis as the story of this Berlin hospital continues.

Russian

Detective Anna features an eager young woman who solves crimes better than the police.

Also check out the list of Best Russian TV Shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime from Second Half Travels.

Dutch

• Tabula Rasa deals with mental illness in a tense thriller from Belgium.
• The Oldenheim 12 (De 12 van Oldenheim) upsets an entire village when 12 people mysteriously disappear. From The Netherlands.

Hungarian

On Body and Soul is a love story that takes place in a slaughterhouse. Sounds grim, but it’s beautiful.

Georgian

My Happy Family is about one woman’s desire for a room of her own when her family is too much with her.

Polish

• The Innocents is in Polish, French and Russian. It’s about a group of nuns who were raped in WWII and are ready to give birth. A French doctor helps them.
• Ultraviolet is a mystery series about a group of internet savvy folks who start solving cases for the police.
• The Art of Loving: Story of Michalina Wislocka tells the story of Polish sexologist Michalina Wislocka.
• Cold War is the story of two lovers who begin and end in Poland, with many stops and separations along the way.

Icelandic

• And Breathe Normally (Andið eðlilega) is a quiet and warm story about two women dealing with border issues.
• Woman at War tells a very serious story in a whimsical way.

Swedish

• A Man Called Ove tells the story of a curmudgeon you learn to love.
• Annike Bengtzon, Crime Reporter is a series of six films based on best selling crime novels.
• Rebecka Martinsson is an eight part series of mysteries about a lawyer, also based on best selling novels.
• 30 Degrees in February is a series about Swedes who go to Thailand for various reasons. It’s a mix of Swedish, Thai, and English.
• A young girl is accused of murdering several classmates in Quicksand.
• It’s a bit silly, but The Simple Heist has a favorite actress.

Norwegian

Thelma is the story of a young woman with supernatural powers.

Finnish

• Deadwind (Karppi) features a female cop in a complex Nordic noir series.
• Another noir series from Finland featuring a quirky male cop: Bordertown (Sorjonen).

Danish

• Dicte is a series about a female reporter who gets involved with investigating crimes.
• Rita is a teacher and a rebel of the highest order. One of the all-time best series ever, in any language.
• The Rain carries a virus that can kill you. Don’t get caught in the rain!

Welsh

• Hinterland is a Welsh/English TV series about a cop living in a remote part of Wales. The version we see in the U.S. is all in English, but a Welsh version is available. It was filmed twice, once in each language.
• Keeping Faith also has a Welsh and an English version. This series follows the mysterious disappearance of a woman’s husband.

Arabic

• Sand Storm is about a Bedouin family in Southern Israel.
• Fatima is about a Moroccan woman struggling to make a life for herself in France. It is in both Arabic and French.

Syrian

The White Helmets is a documentary about rescue workers in areas of Syrian bombing.

Marathi

1000 Rupee Note is set in India. It is about a woman who receives a rupee note so large she can’t spend it anywhere because no one can make change.

Hindi

• Parched is about a group of Indian women who want to free themselves from the rules of the patriarchy. There’s a mix of Hindi and English.
• Margarita, with a Straw is about an Indian girl who goes to New York to college. It is a mix of Hindi and English.
• Soni is a young woman police officer working in Delhi.
• Period. End of Sentence. is winner of the Oscar for short documentary.

Urdu

Dukhtar is set in Pakistan. Both Urdu and Pushto are spoken in this film about a woman who fights to save her young daughter from a forced marriage.

Tibetan

The story of one Tibetan refugee in India is The Sweet Requiem.

Korean

The Handmaiden is a Korean remake of Fingersmith. It’s mostly in Korean with some Japanese as well.

Japanese

• Sweet Bean is about an older woman who teaches life lessons and the trick of making bean paste. Delightfully lovely film.
• A Whale of a Tale is a documentary about a Japanese fishing village.

Amharic

Difret tells the story of a 14 year old Ethiopian girl and the young female lawyer who represents her in her struggle to be free. Based on a real court case and very inspirational.

Igbo

From Nigeria, Lionheart is partly in Igbo and partly in English. It’s about a woman who runs a family transportation business.