20 Best Foreign Movies on AMC+ Right Now

20 Best Foreign Movies on AMC+ Right Now

October 28, 2024

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With their experience as a joint cable network venture, it won’t be a surprise that AMC Networks eventually went into streaming with AMC+, initially as an add-on for Xfinity customers, then expanding to channels on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. While their library might not be as extensive as bigger sites, AMC+ still holds plenty of great films, some of which come from all over the world that may not be on top of the algorithm, but are worth a watch, all the same. So for current Xfinity subscribers, or for viewers wanting to explore what AMC+ has to offer, here’s some of the best foreign films available on their slate.

11. One Cut of the Dead (2017)

7.8

Country

Japan

Director

Shin'ichirō Ueda, Shin'ichiro Ueda

Actors

Ayana Goda, Donguri, Harumi Shuhama, Harumi Syuhama

Moods

Action-packed, Challenging, Grown-up Comedy

Another indie zombie movie? Far from it. One Cut of the Dead, written and directed by Shin’ichirô Ueda, became a global sensation following its small theatrical run in Japan for its creative and original screenplay. A hack director and film crew are shooting a low-budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility when they are attacked by real zombies. That’s all you need to know about the plot, as the film is full of surprises that will catch you off guard. Wondering how an independent film with a budget of just $25,000 was able to gross over $30 million worldwide? The answer lies in the film itself. 

12. Audition (1999)

7.8

Country

Japan

Director

Takashi Miike

Actors

Eihi Shiina, Fumiyo Kohinata, Jun Kunimura, Kanji Tsuda

Audition is not for the faint of heart. It’s shockingly violent and deeply unsettling, filled with sights and sounds that will haunt you for days on end. But there is grace to its terror; it’s profound and artistic in ways that elevate it from generic horror fare.

On a deeper level, Audition is about the destructive power of abuse, trauma, and loneliness, about how a society that neglects to recognize this eventually suffers from it. The revenge plot isn’t merely individual, as well, but a representation of the female subconscious: tired of objectification, eager for redress. And everything about the way the film is made, from the shaky camera and titled frames to the dramatic shadows and eerie lighting, reflects that imbalance. 

Audition may be chilling and gruesome, but it’s also smart and important, a psychosexual thriller that captures female anger well before it became the rage. 

13. The Ciambra (2017)

7.8

Country

France, Germany, Italy

Director

Jonas Carpignano

Actors

Damiano Amato, Francesco Papasergio, Iolanda Amato, Koudous Seihon

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Dark

This fiery coming-of-age drama has an unlikely origin story: director Jonas Carpignano was first introduced to the sprawling Roma clan that makes up most of the movie’s cast when one of them stole his car while he shot another film. The charismatic Amato family made such an impression on him that he decided to center a movie around their real lives, naming it for the insular neighborhood they live in on the outskirts of a Southern Italian town.

The Amatos are part of a much-maligned ethnic minority, but not the only one in the film. The Ciambra pokes at the idea of solidarity between the Amatos and local African migrants: while his elders are quick to reject the idea, plucky 14-year-old Pio (Pio Amato) flits across these invisible borders and bonds with Ayiva (Koudous Seihon). But Pio is desperate to win the respect of the men in his family, who might then allow him to take part in their criminal exploits — a crisis point The Ciambra chronicles with raw emotion. This is a movie whose grit and bleakness often recall the uncompromising gaze of neo-realist classics, as a child is heartbreakingly forced to declare his allegiances in the dog-eat-dog world his elders can’t imagine an alternative to.

14. Poison for the Fairies (1986)

7.8

Country

Mexico

Director

Carlos Enrique Taboada

Actors

Ana Patricia Rojo, Anna Silvetti, Arturo Beristáin, Carmela Stein

Moods

Dark, Depressing, Intense

For better or worse, friendship can be the most important relationship a child can have, especially when they move into a new school. Poison for the Fairies takes a look at an unusual friendship, one that’s forged not by regular schoolgirl hobbies, but by witchcraft, spells, and superstition. It’s incredibly unnerving how Flavia and Veronica’s dynamic gets, as each morbid claim gets questioned but is never fully explained, as each unanswered question slowly adds to the terror, and as each boundary gets pushed because of those few moments of calm. But it’s also incredibly tragic, considering the ways Flavia and Veronica are characterized. Writer-director Carlos Enrique Taboada makes it all the more creepy by centering the camera through their eyes, by capturing the uncertainty of this terrible friendship.

15. Two Days, One Night (2014)

7.7

Country

Belgium, France, Italy

Director

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Actors

Alain Eloy, Baptiste Sornin, Batiste Sornin, Ben Hamidou

Moods

Character-driven, Original, Touching

This movie originally caught my eye for all the attention it got at the Cannes festival, but I assure you, all of the hype is more than warranted. Two Days, One Night takes you on an emotional journey with Sandra, recovering from depression and ready to get back to work, when she discovers that her co-workers, having to choose between receiving a bonus and Sandra keeping her job, hold her fate in their hands. And thus, barely convinced herself and with her husband as her only support, she sets out on an unlikely mission to convince the people to vote against the bonus so that she still has a salary.

This movie will strike a chord for anyone who has encountered depression or even simply tried to understand the abstract concept that it is. Marion Cotillard flawlessly portrays through Sandra the desperate struggle of having to put up a fight despite the utter hopelessness that she finds herself drowning in. At strife with herself, watching her try even though every cell in her body has given up, is gut-wrenching and awe-inspiring at the same time. Before long Sandra’s fight on the lay-off and on her own hopelessness seem to blur together. Whether she wins, is what keeps you hooked to the very end.

16. The Innocents (2021)

7.7

Country

Denmark, Finland, France

Director

Eskil Vogt

Actors

Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Irina Eidsvold Tøien, Lisa Tønne

Moods

Challenging, Dramatic, Raw

The Innocents is a Norweigan thriller that follows four kids who discover they have supernatural powers over the summer. They play around and experiment in the woods nearby, but what begins as harmless fun quickly develops into something much more disturbing and sinister.

This unnerving film, a blend of fantasy and horror, doesn’t waste time explaining the origins of its mysticism. Instead, it goes straight into action—bending, twisting, and splitting open anything and anyone that gets in its way. This kind of rawness is shocking given the age range of the characters, but it also works to subvert what we’ve come to expect from kids, youth, and goodness. The Innocents isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you can manage some bloody and unhindged scenes, then it’s sure worth checking out. Directed by Eskil Vogt, co-writer of critically-acclaimed films like Thelma and The Worst Person in the World.

17. Huesera: The Bone Woman (2023)

7.6

Country

Mexico, Peru

Director

Female director, Michelle Garza Cervera

Actors

Aida López, Alfonso Dosal, Emilram Cossío, Enoc Leaño

Moods

Dark, Discussion-sparking, Original

Huesera: The Bone Woman might not be the scariest film horror fans would see, but it does strike at the heart of the scary experience of motherhood. Through eerie sounds of breaking bones and weirdly contorted hands at the edge of beds, the film depicts new mother Valeria being haunted by the titular spirit, despite her prayer to the Virgin Mary. Valeria pleads for her husband and family to listen, though each time she does becomes proof of her faults as a mother. The terror in newcomer Natalia Solián’s face makes it all feel believable, but it’s the folk-inspired imagery of first-time feature director Michelle Garza Cervera that turns this film into a feminist masterpiece.

18. The Taste of Things (2023)

7.6

Country

Belgium, France

Director

Tran Anh Hung

Actors

Benoit Magimel, Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire, Emmanuel Salinger, Frédéric Fisbach

Moods

Heart-warming, Lovely, Romantic

If it’s true that to cook is to love, then Dodin and Eugenie must be enraptured by one another. They use the exquisite language of food to express their feelings for one another, and watching their exchange, you can’t help but feel honored, if not embarrassed, to witness such an intimate and love-filled act. Food is everywhere here, delicately prepared and sumptuously consumed, but the film is more than just a glorified Food Network program. It’s a painting come to life, a love letter to craft, and a beautiful example of a life fully lived.

19. Ringu (1998)

7.5

Country

Japan

Director

Hideo Nakata

Actors

Daisuke Ban, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Hitomi Satô

Moods

Dark, Gripping, Slow

Despite being remade, parodied, and absorbed into pop culture over the years, the original Ring defiantly marches to the beat of its own drum. Focused entirely on building a slow-burn mystery instead of dispensing scares, the film provides ample space for a number of interpretations: on the spread of technology, the erasure of traditional beliefs, or even motherhood. It’s all relentlessly quiet and extremely creepy, the tension building with the same energy as ghost stories told around a campfire. And while famous for its eerie images and the rules surrounding its cursed videotape, Ringu also serves as a reminder that great horror should compel the audience to keep on watching, even if they already know exactly what awaits them if they do.

20. Beyond the Hills (2012)

7.3

Country

Belgium, France, Romania

Director

Cristian Mungiu

Actors

Adrian Acuta, Alexandra Apetrei, Alina Berzunteanu, Andreea Bosneag

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Depressing

In modern day Europe, demonic possession seems to be a thing of the past, something most likely to be attributed to mental illness, and something that can be dealt with through modern medicine, not exorcism. Still, exorcisms are conducted in certain areas in the continent, and some instances don’t go the way they should. Inspired on the real life Tanacu exorcism, Beyond the Hills doesn’t depict the event through a horror or melodramatic lens– instead the film is stoic, naturalistic, with long single takes that linger uncomfortably and repetitively. As Alina pleads to Voichița to help her, to choose her and their bond, Voichița grapples with wanting the modern yet isolating freedom she knows Alina has found elsewhere, while still wanting the refuge religious tradition has granted her, but also has made her dependent on. It does take a while to reach its conclusion, but Beyond the Hills is a deeply unsettling and striking movie to watch.

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