100 Best Foreign Movies on Hoopla Right Now

100 Best Foreign Movies on Hoopla Right Now

April 1, 2025

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Being linked with your library card, Hoopla is better known for its audiobooks. However, avid readers might be surprised that Hoopla provides access to plenty of classic films for free, as long as you have your library card or university log-in.

What’s great about Hoopla is that the selection isn’t just limited to Old Hollywood movies– Hoopla also includes plenty of foreign films in their library as well. We’ve previously listed the best movies on their platform, but if you’re looking to watch something outside your comfort zone, here’s the same list, but with foreign films.

91. Soul Mate (2016)

7.2

Genres

Drama, Romance

Director

Derek Tsang, Derek Tsang Kwok-Cheung

Actors

Cai Gang, Cindy Yao, Li Ping, Liu Beige

Moods

Emotional, Slice-of-Life

Soul Mate has a familiar premise, has a standard love triangle, and at times, goes through the same formulaic story beats that any moviegoer would recognize. However, what makes the film unique is that it’s not focused on which character should get the guy, but on the friendship between two women and what’s really driving them apart. In director Derek Tsang’s capable hands, we learn about their dynamic in fragments and through crucial moments. Gorgeous cinematography and editing turn memories golden in nostalgia. But it’s ultimately Zhou Dongyu and Sandra Ma’s performances that solidify the friendship. Theirs is a study of contrasts between the independent yet freeloading Ansheng versus the stable but yearning Qiyue. It’s the actresses who prove that the real soul connection can be found between these two women instead.

92. Last Days at Sea (2021)

7.2

Genres

Documentary

Director

Female director, Venice Atienza

Actors

Cleofe Betonio, Cresente Betonio, Emibie Paño, Florecita Paño

Moods

Character-driven, Discussion-sparking, Lovely

A great example of a documentary that covers a marginalized community without imposing the gaze of a detached, “superior” filmmaker, Last Days at Sea chronicles daily life in a Filipino fishing town but remembers to contrast its images of hardship with the care of a community. There are times when the film’s director, Venice Atienza, might insert herself into the picture a little too much, but for the most part this movie feels uniquely co-authored by the people it follows on screen. A subtle sadness permeates through every interaction, as memories are brought up of those who used to live here, and as those who remain acknowledge that everyone is fated to leave the warmth and safety of the town at some point—an injustice if ever there was one.

93. 20,000 Species of Bees (2023)

7.2

Genres

Drama

Director

Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, Female director

Actors

Ane Gabarain, Itziar Lazkano, Martxelo Rubio, Miguel Garcés

Moods

Discussion-sparking, Lovely, Touching

As far as LGBTQIA+ stories go, 20,000 Species of Bees isn’t the best at talking about its themes of identity and acceptance in a way that doesn’t come off as clunky. But even with its on-the-nose dialogue and inconsequential subplots, director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren gives everything the warmth and the softness it needs to feel sincere despite everything. And no matter what, the film is always drawn back to the lead performance by Sofía Otero, who provides such a vivid image of this young trans girl’s interior life that the world around her character begins to feel either more suffocating or more beautiful to behold.

94. Two of Us (2020)

7.2

Genres

Drama, Romance

Director

Filippo Meneghetti

Actors

Aude-Laurence Clermont Biver, Barbara Sukowa, Denis Jousselin, Eugenie Anselin

Moods

Challenging, Character-driven, Dramatic

The Two of Us could have been a sweet romantic drama all about lifelong devotion regardless of the circumstances, but instead, first time director Filippo Meneghetti makes it feel more like an unsettling thriller that captures the paranoia and near insanity it feels to be closeted– with Nina having to beg Mado to tell her family, having to hide in what has become her own home, and having to bargain and manipulate her way to Madeleine’s side. Two of Us is quite a stunning debut with such a unique depiction of a lesbian relationship.

95. Heidi (2015)

7.2

Genres

Adventure, Drama, Family

Director

Alain Gsponer

Actors

Anna Schinz, Anuk Steffen, Beth Armstrong, Bruno Ganz

Moods

Easy, Feel-Good, Heart-warming

Where The Secret Garden championed the restorative powers of tending to a garden as well as one’s thoughts, Swiss novel Heidi touched on similar themes a few decades before, celebrating instead the natural beauty of the Alps mountainside, and the titular character bringing back joy and hope to her family. The film remains faithful to the novel, playing out the book’s events with a more sleek look and even more stunning landscapes of the Swiss Alps. While previous generations would inevitably compare the version of their time to this latest version, 2015’s Heidi is a decent adaptation, recreating the classic tale for today’s kids.

96. Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013)

7.2

Genres

Action, Comedy, Drama

Director

Sion Sono

Actors

Akaji Maro, Akihiro Kitamura, Akira Yamamoto, Daisuke Kuroda

Moods

Action-packed, Challenging, Character-driven

Sure, it takes a special type of crazy to try to make it in the movies, especially if you’ve been at it for ten years without any sort of premiere, but the strangely persistent four-man production of Why Don’t You Play in Hell? takes this to even crazier heights, involving a yakuza gang war and potentially their lives. Writer-director Sion Sono infuses his signature gore with much more playful comedy, slinging together chaotic action scenes through the pure power of cool, and the entire roster’s enthusiasm for cinema is just so infectious, it’s compelling to watch, even when the plotlines don’t fully mesh well. Why Don’t You Play in Hell? is such a fun tribute to gritty action filmmaking.

97. The Call (2020)

7.1

Genres

Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller

Director

Lee Chung-hyun

Actors

EL, Jeon Jong-seo, Jo Kyung-sook, Jun Jong-seo

A woman loses her phone on her way back to her countryside childhood home. Once there, she connects an old landline in hopes of finding her lost mobile, only to start receiving weird calls that seem to be from 20 years ago.

On the other side of the receiver is a girl who seems to be in danger. The Call is thrilling, sometimes scary, but also brilliantly shot, and its plot is so expertly woven. It’s a proper movie-night movie.

98. Be with You (2018)

7.1

Genres

Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Director

Jang-Hoon Lee, Lee Jang-hoon

Actors

Bae Yoo-ram, Gong Hyo-jin, Hyeon-soo Kim, Ji-seob So

Moods

Character-driven, Emotional, Heart-warming

When a woman that looks like the love of your life randomly shows up at an empty train station, but strangely has no memory of you, maybe you should try to confirm their identity first– doppelgangers do exist, after all. But aside from this detail, there’s a certain charm in the way Be With You unfolds, as the family gets a second chance to cherish a loved one, and as Woo-jin indulges in sharing their love story, a story that Woo-jin understandably doesn’t want to forget. Be With You doesn’t reinvent the entire genre, and it would inevitably be compared to the 2004 Japanese original, but this Korean remake does it so well, celebrating the way love transcends lifetimes.

99. Shun Li and the Poet (2011)

7.1

Genres

Drama

Director

Andrea Segre

Actors

Andrea Pennacchi, Giuseppe Battiston, Marco Paolini, Rade Serbedzija

Moods

Raw, Slice-of-Life, Slow

Life can get tough if you move to another country. You have to adjust to the language, to the culture, and to the community you choose to move to, and that’s just if you decided to make the move intentionally. But some of these difficulties can be made much easier to bear with a good friend. Shun Li and the Poet is centered on a friendship between two immigrants in a Venetian island town, and although they come from other sides of the world, the kindnesses they share as strangers, and the intimacy they keep when they share more of their life stories, prove to be lovely. It might be a tad slow for some viewers, but the contemplation and celebration of their shared humanity makes for a lovely watch.

100. Violent Cop (1989)

7.1

Genres

Action, Crime, Thriller

Director

Takeshi Kitano

Actors

Akira Hamada, Bang-ho Cho, Hakuryu, Ittoku Kishibe

Moods

Depressing, Gripping, Intense

It won’t be a surprise that a movie titled Violent Cop would have a police officer smacking people left and right. But upon its release, Violent Cop surprised viewers when comedian Beat Takeshi took it upon himself to direct a moody, serious neo-noir where blood splatters come sparingly, knives are drawn on occasion, and the camera is much more interested in lingering between the men inflicting violence rather than flashy choreography– and somehow end up with a pretty solid effort. The film does have a somewhat familiar plot, but its bleak, depressing portrayal of how mundane violence has become makes Violent Cop such a brutal debut to watch.

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