Throughout the year, we cover films and TV from across countries and languages, championing cinema outside the narrow view of Hollywood. We’ve pulled together a list of our top international movies of 2023. From action to romance, dystopian science fiction, and the horror of motherhood, we’ve looked across genres to pull together a top international movies list for 2023 that has a little something for everyone.
To make this Top 20, international movies had to be released to United States audiences in the calendar year of 2023 in either theater (limited or wide releases) or streaming, with no limit on how long the film ran in theaters. This last piece is to consider that US theaters don’t often give international films the time they deserve in the cinema. To rank the titles, we polled our writers and assembled the list, taking into account the rankings of films on our other EOY lists and where the titles showed up on our writers’ rankings.
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Here are our top international movies of 2023 and where to watch them.
20. The Blue Caftan
Director:Maryam Touzani
Writer: Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch
“Directed by Maryam Touzani, The Blue Caftan is an emotionally bruising drama about a trio of either lost or dying souls. The film centers on the relationship between Halim and Mina, who runs a traditional caftan store in Morocco and has had to hire a young man as their new apprentice. Despite their deep love for one another, there’s also a mutual understanding of Halim’s sexuality, which flourishes with his burgeoning relationship with the apprentice. As Mina’s health deteriorates from an ongoing battle with cancer, the story pivots as it captures the day-to-day empathy and endless compassion of these characters and how they move and grow through one another. Touzani’s direction is patient in capturing the longing gazes of the film’s characters, and the vibrancy of the colors of the tangerines to Mina is so often drawn. Lubna Azabal is extraordinary as Mina, possessing a strong, silent strength that becomes the backbone of this emotionally tumultuous film.” —Allyson Johnson
19. 20Days in Mariupol
Director: Mstyslav Chernov
“Assembling all this pain and suffering so it can be presented to the viewer in a way that is clear and manageable is no easy task. Chernov’s work with the camera manages to keep each moment as clear as possible, while 20 Days in Mariupol pulls the viewer from place to place as the world shrinks around them. There is a clear respect for the people on camera, as the film strives to share the events of the unfolding calamity while avoiding being inconsiderate of those living it.” —Charles Hartford
18. Fallen Leaves
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Writer: Aki Kaurismäki
“The twists and turns of Fallen Leaves aren’t so out of the ordinary, but they’re so exaggerated by the perplexity of its main characters as to constantly invite big laughs and unsure snickers in equal measure. Whether you’re laughing at Ansa and Hollopa or with them is perhaps unclear most of the time. But you’re laughing, and you’re greatly appreciating the love they find in this cold, poor, lonely world.” —Jason Flat
17. Anatomy of a Fall
Director: Justine Triet
Writer: Justine Triet, Arthur Harari
“…Much of Anatomy of a Fall’s power also lies in its subtle, metatextual take on the nature of artistic intent (an element that is reinforced by having the actors and characters share the same first name). As Sandra’s novel becomes a key element of the prosecution’s case, she claims “a novel is not life.” Yet, Anatomy of a Fall, like the most resonant of art, reflects life back at us at every opportunity, cheekily doing exactly what her protagonist challenges. Does Triet want audiences to take stock of art as a reflection of reality? The answer is as ambiguous as the film’s titular ‘murder.'”
16. The Teacher’s Lounge
Director: Ilker Çatak
Writer: Johannes Duncker, Ilker Çatak
“When investigating allegations of theft in the teachers’ lounge, Carla, a new and idealistic teacher, soon finds herself in the middle of a tornado of accusations, assumptions, and paranoia that puts her mental well-being at risk and, maybe most importantly, her students’ future. Aided by an outstanding Leonie Beneschi in the lead role, The Teachers’ Lounge is a masterclass in anxiety-inducing directing. Still, it’s also a smart, thought-provoking school thriller in which a teacher does everything in her power to protect her students, much to the chagrin of a system that seems much more interested in maintaining its reputation than building a better society.” —Ricardo Gallegos
15. Blue Giant
Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
Writer: NUMBER 8, Yuzuru Tachikawa
Animation Studio: Shogakukan
“Blue Giant is an animation marvel. Sharp, gorgeous, and just vaguely nostalgic, the film is a gorgeous exploration of the way music can be a guiding force to unlocking your identity, connection with others, and finding a freedom that you thought was impossible. Electric, kinetic, and somehow always intimate, Blue Giant’s animation captures the emotion that comes with creating music, but more specifically, how Jazz can distill the chaos of life into a triumph of spirit… Blue Giant is written, animated, and composed by people who don’t just love jazz but know the absolute emotional resonance that lies inside every improvised note. It is, unequivocally, one of the best films of the year, animated or otherwise.” — Kate Sánchez
14. Plan 75
Director: Chie Hayakawa
Writer: Jason Gray, Chie Hayakawa
“Plan 75, for all of how it seeks to wound you, still shows pieces of the world that remain thoughtful. While those in the film may see the elderly characters as statistics, the filmmakers don’t. The result is a tender, melancholy, and breathtaking piece of fiction that captures the essence of finding joy in blink-and-miss moments while hollowing you out. Music, laughter, and shared company all culminate in snapshots of a person’s life that are cherished by the individual, even if outsiders regard them as inconsequential. If Plan 75 does something right (and it does many), it reminds us that every person is affected by a multitude of moments that carry them until their final breaths, no matter how insignificant or grand they’re perceived by someone on the outside looking in.” —Allyson Johnson
13. Saint Omer
12. Return to Seoul
Director: Davy Chou
Writer: Laure Badufle, Davy Chou, Violette Garcia
“Return to Seoul is an exceptionally well-depicted and emotional journey of reconciling with birth parents and their country, language, culture, and choices. But Freddy isn’t the self-destructive person she is because she was adopted. If this weren’t the journey she was on, struggling along the way, bringing other people down around her, and finding emptiness in the results, she would still be who she is. Just with a different story. But Return to Seoul is even more impactful because it forces us to reckon with the fact that no amount of answers and time can guarantee we’ll ever understand why people are how they are—why they hurt themselves and hurt others with them.” —Jason Flatt
11. Of an Age
“Of an Age is as real, swooning, and heartbreaking a romance as you’ll find in film. The decades-long relationship between Kol and Adam is tensely characterized by claustrophobic cinematography and the colorfully visual passage of time. But at its climax lives some of love’s greatest and hardest lessons about patience and acceptance.” —Jason Flatt
10. Afire
Director: Christian Petzold
Writer: Christian Petzold
“Often hilarious with a wicked sense of humor, Afire crafts tension despite the initial, tranquil. With a trio of terrific performances from Schubert, Uibel, and Beer, the film might not be Petzold’s finest, but it displays his continual gravitation towards stories of those caught in unmoving, transitional stasis of being. Emboldened with unlikely elements and particular personalities that bristle and interrogate our lesser qualities, the film directs the human condition while shooting the landscapes to best capture the impenetrable forces of nature of fire and sea. Afire questions the damage wrought by self-importance and blind ego with wit and visual wonder.” —Allyson Johnson
9. Huesera
Director: Michelle Garza Cervera
Writer: Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo
“Huesera is a visceral look at motherhood and the forces that propel women to and through it. It unpacks the struggle to define yourself outside of motherhood and the process of realizing it’s not who you are. Beautiful and terrifying, Cervera’s feature film debut is a foundation-shattering experience as a horror fan and Mexican American woman who is subject to many of the patriarchal and sexist pressures that encase your identity in motherhood only. In addition to the maternal horror subgenre, it crafts peace from terror and acceptance through unrelenting body-breaking pain.” —Kate Sánchez
8. Forgotten Love
Director: Michal Gazda
Writer: Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz, Mariusz Kuczewski, Marcin Baczynski
“It’s a movie that burns nice and slowly over more than 120 minutes. Despite how its premise may sound on paper, it is one of 2023’s best romances by a landslide. The four main characters are each deeply realized, and the various types of relationships at hand are all elevated by one another at every turn. The amnesiac doctor of it all, who can’t help but keep trying to help people, just makes everything all the more charming.” —Jason Flatt
7. Sisu
Director: Jalmari Helander
Writer: Jalmari Helander
“With Finnish chanting echoing in hammer drop moments and a rousing score to accompany it, holistically, SISU’s action is a phenomenon. Not to mention the absolute mayhem and visceral violence of body parts exploding, skin tearing, and so much more, this is a film for the action lover, the grindhouse lover, and it makes good on its promise to be unrelenting even in its even-handed pacing… SISU captures the brutality of action cinema, the pay-off of a slowed Western pacing, and wraps it all in a story we can all get behind – killing Nazis.” — Kate Sánchez
6. Concrete Utopia
Director: Um Tae-hwa
Writer: Um Tae-hwa (based on a webtoon by Lee Shin-ji)
“South Korea’s entry into the 2024 Oscars, Concrete Utopia, is an emotional force of a film. Not concerned with the disaster itself or the spectacle of CGI it could employ to focus on the moment of tragedy, the film offers epic landscapes but always keeps an intimate eye on the people in the high rise. Director Um Tae-hwa hones in on the people and highlights the ways in which humanity is deeply flawed and how those flaws shine brightly when there are decided hierarchies, even in a world where you’ve lost everything. And even then, while Um Tae-hwa’s narrative is based on us versus them, he never loses sight of investigating who gets to choose which side of the apartment door you fall on.” — Kate Sánchez
5. The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Animation Studio: Studio Ghibli
“The Boy and the Heron is a mature, solemn, and bizarre meditation on loss and legacy, one that deems death to be a transitory act, a new beginning—and in that way, nothing really starts or ends. Instead, filmmaking—and life, for that matter— becomes a cyclical experience, which makes this potential swan song utterly fitting for an enduring artist like Miyazaki.” — Prabhjot Bains
4. Passages
Director: Ira Sachs
Writer: Mauricio Zacharias, Ira Sachs, Arlette Langmann
“In Passages, Sachs, along with his formidable cast, delivers a story of searing want and destructive egos. Shot with an often cold and brittle glow, the story understands that any stability found within the three is momentary at best. There is no peace to be had when there’s someone like Rogowski’s Tomas in the midst, and the film captures that insatiable need with a fluid direction that painstakingly watches as relationships crumble, reassemble, and blow over again. Alluring, wound taut, and shot with a gaze that understands the compelling nature of the characters, Passages is one of the best films of the year.” — Allyson Johnson
3. Suzume
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Writer: Makoto Shinkai
Animation Studio: CoMix Wave Films
“Suzume may be one of the oddest films that Shinkai has made. “Teen falls in love with a chair” isn’t necessarily a normal synopsis. But in truth, it carries the heart and strength of his previous films. It is about remembering in order to move forward and taking the step to close the doors to our grief in order to start new, lest ignoring their presence wreaks havoc on our bodies. Not subtle in the slightest but better for it, Suzume shines as brightly as anything in the Shinkai filmography.” — Kate Sánchez
2. Monster
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
Writer: Yûji Sakamoto
“The cast possesses rare integrity and calmness, as Ando, Nagayama, and the boys never overaccentuate the tragedy of their situations, bringing forward earnest, lived-in performances that are truly relatable. It doesn’t take long to invest in these characters. However, the story they’re in can sometimes be a little far-fetched, emphasizing its mystery at the cost of its sharp commentary. Nonetheless, Monster is a rare film that teems with humanity, using its narrative structure to uncover something prescient and devastating about modern morals.” — Prabhjot Bains
1. Godzilla Minus One
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Writer: Takashi Yamazaki
“Godzilla Minus One is a reminder to audiences why we fell in love with this kaiju, but also the universe in which it resides. It’s not enough to have flashy monsters just smashing each other to bits. Without the proper balance, the lessons these creatures carry on their scaly backsides can’t be properly conveyed to audiences. In Godzilla Minus One, we are reminded to take courage, find our motivation to live, and ultimately, to persevere against even the most impossible of obstacles.
As it stands, Godzilla Minus One will win the hearts of fans everywhere. Not just for Godzilla, but for the human characters within that reminds us why it is important to infuse soul into a kaiju or monster film. If able, viewers should aim to see the film in theaters to capture the full breadth of the sound design, score, and visuals to create that wholly immersive experience.” — Sarah Musnicky
And there you have it: 20 fantastic international movies that left a mark on our team in 2023. Did your favorite make it onto our list of top international movies of 2023? Let us know on social media: @butwhythopc.
