60 Best Foreign Movies on Plex Right Now

60 Best Foreign Movies on Plex Right Now

October 27, 2024

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When you can stream films for free, all in exchange for a few ads, it can be hard to believe that this wouldn’t come with some drawbacks, like only having a few films available in the library. Yet, the streaming service Plex is able to do this, being the first and only streaming platform to offer movies, shows, and live TV together for free. Some of the films in their library come from all over the world, so for viewers wanting to watch something outside their comfort zone, without having yet to shell out some money, here’s some of the best foreign films available to stream on Plex:

51. We Are the Best! (2013)

7.1

Country

Denmark, Sweden

Director

Lukas Moodysson

Actors

Ann-Sofie Rase, David Dencik, Emrik Ekholm, Felix Sandman

Moods

Feel-Good, Sweet, Uplifting

We Are the Best! is one movie that may be overlooked largely by viewers, though it perfectly captures counterculture, and relates to the misfit young and old. The movie is an adaptation of Moodysson’s wife Coco’s graphic novel “Never Goodnight”. Set in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982, Klara (Mira Grosin) and her best friend Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) are junior high teenage girls who believe in their heart that punk rock is alive and well. With both of their home lives not so pleasant, the girls spend their time at the local youth center while taking up the time slot in the band room to get revenge on the local metal band. That’s when they find themselves starting a punk band without even knowing how to play an instrument. We Are the Best! is a fun and deeply sincere exploration of adventure, friendship, love, and betrayal in adolescence.

52. Timecrimes (2007)

7.1

Country

Spain

Director

J.T. Petty, Nacho Vigalondo

Actors

Bárbara Goenaga, Candela Fernández, Juan Inciarte, Karra Elejalde

Moods

Thought-provoking, Thrilling

A man accidentally gets into a time travel machine and travels one hour back in time. He finds himself stuck in a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences, with unusual and thrilling moments at every corner. Similarly to Primer, this movie goes to prove that with intelligence and attention to detail, you don’t need a big budget to create an unforgettable story. Great acting, great story-line, and a great thriller.

53. Queen of Hearts (2019)

7.1

Country

Denmark, Sweden

Director

Female director, May el-Toukhy

Actors

Carla Philip Røder, Elias Budde Christensen, Ella Solgaard, Frederikke Dahl Hansen

Moods

Weird

This Danish film which was the country’s submission to the Oscars is about a delicate subject. A lawyer who specializes in defending children, and who is used to developing closeness with her clients including meeting with them in her home, starts having an affair with her teenage step-son.

There is inherent tension to this obviously very explicit plotline: how would a serious, non-erotic (or not-only-erotic) movie like this one portray such attraction. And of course, afterwards, what are the implications?

54. Becoming Astrid (2018)

7.1

Country

Denmark, Germany, Sweden

Director

Female director, Pernille Fischer Christensen

Actors

Alba August, Björn Gustafsson, Eric Ericson, Henrik Rafaelsen

Moods

Inspiring, Lovely, True-story-based

This Swedish movie is the story of Astrid Lindgren, one of the most translated children book writers of all time. Her work of over 100 books includes Pippi Longstocking and The Brothers Lionheart.

Away from the quiet existence of the characters she would later create, Astrid had a turbulent life. Her troubles start when she falls for the editor of the paper she worked at when she was young, a man 30 years her senior. This results in an unwanted pregnancy and Astrid is pushed to immigrate.

55. Dragon (2011)

7.1

Country

China, Hong Kong

Director

Peter Chan, Peter Ho-Sun Chan

Actors

Donnie Yen, Ethan Juan, Hua Yan, Jiang Wu

Moods

Action-packed, Character-driven, Dark

Being named after the genre, Wu xia, the title replaced in English as Dragon, would understandably follow its conventions with dramatic action in ancient China. The plot roughly follows a typical wuxia thread, where a hidden master is revealed, leading to plenty of exciting adventures, and they seek justice in order to return to a state of peace. But the way Dragon approaches this plot is exciting, as the film mixes in the investigation of a murder mystery, with a determined detective suspecting the master through his knowledge of the body, through an eclectic mix of forensics, medicine, and Qi acupuncture. And as the detective is consistently challenged by the former fighter, it’s clear how difficult it can be to master the body, especially after going through trauma and violence and self-doubt. The threads in the film are familiar, but Dragon understands what makes these threads work, and the way these are woven together makes for a good movie to watch.

56. Esteros (2016)

7.0

Country

Argentina

Director

Papu Curotto

Actors

Blas Finardi Niz, Esteban Masturini, Felipe Titto, Ignacio Rogers

Moods

Romantic

Esteros revolves around the childhood friends Matías and Jerónimo, who reach adolescence and experience sexual attraction to each other before being separated by circumstance. When they meet again ten years later, they explore their long-repressed feelings for each other. 

This moving and emotionally satisfying love story is shot against the backdrop of the Argentinian countryside whose glories are beautifully captured throughout the movie. The performance of the two leads is excellent and the chemistry between them is almost palpable. 

57. The Legend of Hei (2019)

7.0

Country

China

Director

MTJJ, Mtjj Mutou

Actors

Chen Siyu, Ding Dang, Hao Xianghai, Li Lu

Moods

Action-packed, Discussion-sparking, Emotional

With a forest home destroyed, leaving an adorable cat spirit child displaced, The Legend of Hei seemed like a Studio Ghibli-esque tale, at least in themes, child protagonist, and fantasy flying. There’s charming moments where Hei appreciates the day-to-day– moments where he diligently learns his powers, enjoys the simple human pleasures present in the modern world, and of course, feels at home in the stunning natural spirit places. However, it’s not quite Ghibli as there are plenty of wuxia-inspired fight scenes, with as many flying kicks involved. That being said, there is a pro-peace message here, that at face value, is probably a good message for children, but this film’s peace comes without clear details about Hei’s displacement, or the general condition of the spirit world at large. The Legend of Hei’s charming animation is lovely, but this push for peace could have been more meaningful if it also considered justice.

58. XXY (2007)

7.0

Country

Argentina, France, Spain

Director

Female director, Lucía Puenzo

Actors

Ailín Salas, Carolina Peleritti, Carolina Pelleritti, César Troncoso

Moods

Challenging, Discussion-sparking, Raw

Some bigots like to equate genitals to one’s gender and sexual orientation, but in practice, it’s not always a straightforward equation, especially for the rare, but natural, occasion when people are born with both male and female sex organs. XXY isn’t the first film to discuss the intersex experience, but it’s one of the first features that managed to be critically acclaimed. Unlike some of its predecessors, XXY is much more grounded, taking place in the modern era, and is mostly centered on Alex’s gender and sexual exploration. The film isn’t a perfect depiction– at the time, intersex wasn’t even the most common term, and sex-reassignment surgery was often the default action– but there is a lot in the film that dared to question certain ideas, such as having to choose only between a binary. Not many intersex films were created after this, in part due to how rare intersex is, and how broad the term encompasses multiple conditions, but XXY stands out all the more because of it.

59. Blood Tea and Red String (2006)

7.0

Country

United States of America

Director

Christiane Cegavske, Female director

Actors

Christiane Cegavske

Moods

Challenging, Discussion-sparking, Quirky

Blood Tea and Red String is cryptic as hell. There’s no dialogue, the film was in production for around 13 years, and the stop-motion animated rats and bat-crow creatures fight over a stuffed human-like doll and her bird-bodied child, spilling some tea and sewing her together with help from frog priests and a spider woman that keeps spinning her web. Whether the film is an allegory for class struggle and the inherent destructiveness of art, or is a straightforward Alice-in-Wonderland-esque fairytale with goth and medieval motifs is up to the viewer, but either way, the symbolism of Blood Tea and Red String is interesting enough to watch and try to make your own conclusions.

60. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)

7.0

Country

France

Director

Christophe Gans

Actors

Bernard Farcy, Charles Maquignon, Edith Scob, Émilie Dequenne

Moods

Action-packed, Dramatic, Gripping

Much like its monster, Brotherhood of the Wolf is quite a hard movie to pin down. It’s an unscary French creature feature but it’s a rather refreshing period drama romance, made much more action-packed courtesy of a randomly placed, supposedly Iroquois, talented martial artist. Yet somehow, it works. Perhaps it works because it was released ahead of many other early aughts action horror films, and perhaps, at CGI’s infancy, it’s a bit easier to suspend disbelief over the wolf, but the wacky experimentation writer-director Christophe Gans brings in depicting this historical beast is just so entertaining to watch. Brotherhood of the Wolf is just pure bonkers.

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