Woman at War (2018) - 101 min

Country: Iceland
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Cast: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir & Jóhann Sigurðarson.
Halla is a choir director who lives alone in an apartment and her inspiring personalities are Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Sometimes, she acts as a vigilante superhero who cuts the power supply of a particular aluminum plant.
Geirharðsdóttir’s splendid performance makes the movie an enjoyable one to watch. A trio of Icelandic folk musicians and traditional Ukrainian singers appears on several scenes to guide the viewer what's going to happen next. It was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards and Jodie Foster is set to direct and star in an English-language remake of this Icelandic movie. Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson captures some breathtaking visuals of Iceland Landscapes and No matter what, The visuals of Icelandic films always look damn beautiful. Overall, It’s an intriguing attempt from the director and a well-crafted piece of work.
Verdict: Good

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) - 115 min

Country: Israel
Director: Ronit Elkabetz & Shlomi Elkabetz.
Cast: Ronit Elkabetz, Menashe Noy, Sasson Gabai & Simon Abkarian.
Set entirely within the courtroom Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem unfolds the story of an Israeli woman, who attempts to obtain a divorce from a religious court. Unfortunately, In Israel, divorce can only be granted when both agree to it.
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the third film in a trilogy by Elkabetz and her brother. The trilogy is not interconnected, so you can watch it in any order and the first two film names are To Take A Wife (2004) and 7 Days (2008) for reference. Without wasting any time, the film opens with a courtroom scene and you need to spend two hours of screen time in that small courtroom. The favorite shot of the movie will be the window shot and the best way to express the situation of Viviane Amsalem. It was selected as the Israeli entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Overall, Ronit is incredible as Viviane and check it out if you like courtroom dramas.
Verdict: Good

The Great Buddha+ (2017) - 102 min

Country: Taiwan
Director: Huang Hsin-yao
Cast: Cres Chuang, Bamboo Chen, Leon Dai & Na Dow.
Pickle works as a night security guard at a factory and To make ends meet, he also plays drums for a band. His only friend, Belly Button visits him on his night shifts to talk and watch car dash-cam videos of the factory's owner.
“The life of the rich is so colorful!” 
With a single shot, the movie 'Pariyerum Perumal' shows us the caste difference between two people. Like that scenario, In 'The Great Buddha +' the world of rich and poor is lensed in two colors. The car dash-cam footage is shown in color, meanwhile, the life of Pickle & Belly Button is shot in black and white. This is the debut feature film of Taiwanese director Huang Hsin-yao and an extended version of his 2014 short movie “The Great Buddha”. His observations on economic disparity are evident from the beginning and his voiceover helps to add empathy for the poor. Overall, It's an art-house movie that serves up a voyeur’s dream and a thought-provoking one if you look deep into the plot.
Verdict: Good

A Twelve-Year Night (2018) - 102 min

Country: Uruguay
Director: Álvaro Brechner
Cast: Antonio de la Torre, Chino Darín, Alfonso Tort, César Troncoso & Soledad Villamil.
A 12-Year Night is based on a true story, taken from Mauricio Rosencof and Eleuterio Fernadez Huidobro’s memoirs Memorias del Calabozo. The story took place during Military dictatorship reigned over Uruguay, where three prisoners spent more than 4,000 days in prison.
You can call this movie an emotional journey of three prisoners and the focus of the film was mainly on the individuals. It shows some violent methods conducted by the military junta in the prison cells. The incredible performance by the lead cast defines the movie and the role of Mauricio Rosencof was played by Chino Darin, the son of famous actor Ricardo Darin. It was Uruguay’s entry for the 91st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. Overall, Alvaro Brechner film is an exceedingly satisfying movie with solid acting and impressive cinematography. It is still playing on Netflix if you like to watch it just go through the site.
Verdict: Good

Tanna (2015) - 100 min

Country: Vanuatu
Director: Martin Butler & Bentley Dean
Cast: Marie Wawa & Mungau Dain.
Tanna tells the love story of a girl, Wawa who falls in love with the village chief’s grandson, Dain and both belong to the same tribe. Due to an ongoing tribal war, a peace deal is made between the two tribes.
Based on true events, the story took place on the island of Tanna, in the South Pacific. The narrative of Tanna looks familiar with the forbidden love theme. Directors Martin Butler and Bentley Dean manage to bring the feel of Yakel village by showing their day-to-day life activities and the visuals immerse us in the film’s unique environment. Tanna was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. The actor who played Dain's character died due to an infection in his leg on January 5, 2019. Overall, If you like to experience a culture that you may not have encountered before and willing to spend time with the Yakel villagers, Tanna is worth treasuring.
Verdict: Good

The Patience Stone (2012) - 102 min

Country: Afghanistan
Director: Atiq Rahimi
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Hamid Djavadan, Massi Mrowat & Hassina Burgan.
The story of a woman who lives with her paralyzed husband and two young daughters somewhere in Afghanistan. With bombs often exploding nearby, she needs to protect her family at any cause.
The title refers to a magical black stone from Persian mythology which hears everything you confide to it. First time in 10 years of marriage she can talk about anything that comes into her mind like childhood memories, sexual secrets and how she feels about him. It is based on director Atiq Rahimi’s own novel which won France's most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt. It was Afghanistan’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2013 Academy Awards. Golshifteh Farahani's astonishing performance makes you believe everything she talks about herself. Overall, It's an enrapturing monologue from Atiq Rahimi and stays focused to hear every secret.
Verdict: Good

On Body and Soul (2017) - 116 min

Country: Hungary
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Cast: Géza Morcsányi & Alexandra Borbély.
Endre is finance manager at an urban abattoir and Maria joins the office as new government quality inspector. Their personalities differ, but something else is common between them. When someone stoles the supply of animal from the slaughterhouse, their relationship status also starts to change.
On Body and Soul starts and ends with a dream. I don't know how they come up with such interesting concepts. The scene that I liked the most will be the psychologist interviewing Endre and the way he tries to justify his actions were nicely executed by the director, Enyedi. The visuals also look rich especially the shots of the deer in the forest. This romance story will be incomplete without solid chemistry. Both Alexandra Bórbely & Géza Morcsányi handles the part with ease and they look solid in the screen. Overall, It's an intriguing movie for me and watched twice without getting bored.
Verdict: Great

Shoplifters (2018) - 121 min

Country: Japan
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast: Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Kairi Jō, Miyu Sasaki & Kirin Kiki.
Shibata family lives with a grandma-like figure named Hatsue, who receives a small pension and the remaining family members also contribute to the family one way or another. Intentionally or unintentionally, they kidnap a little girl Yuri who has been abandoned.
Kore-eda shows the labor conditions of Japanese working-class people with a heartfelt story in it.  Shoplifters put forward some serious topics like terrible biological parents vs loving parents and also questioning family bond. Sometimes you feel sorry for them and in the end, you could say their journey together through life is special. All the lead actors performed extremely well in the movie and a glimpse of grandma's smile is enough to measure the depth of a particular scene. It won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Overall, It's an engrossing experience and it's hard to choose sides when you are fully immersed in the plot.
Verdict: Great

Beauty and the Dogs (2017) - 100 min

Country: Tunisia
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Cast: Mariam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli & Mohamed Akkari.
Mariam is a student who’s attending a university party with her friends. At the club, she runs into the handsome stranger, Youssef. They decide to go for a walk outside and Next shot, Mariam is running down the street with Youssef at her heels.
Based on a real-life incident in 2012, the movie is divided into chapters, recalling Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible. Mariam Al Ferjani is utterly compelling from the moment she smiles and she nicely adjusted her state of mind according to the situations. Youssef character also plays a vital role in the movie and You can't start a fire without a spark. The international title says a lot about the movie, A beautiful woman meets all these dogs. It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards and was a huge commercial success in Tunisia. Overall, It's an uncompromising vision of a corrupt society and Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania shows us how far a woman goes to defend her rights.
Verdict: Good

Birds of Passage (2018) - 126 min

Country: Colombia
Director: Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra
Cast: Carmiña Martínez, Natalia Reyes & José Acosta.
Rapayet wants to marry a woman called Zaida from a Wayuu family. They ask dowry from him and To make quick money, he decides to try his luck on illegal drug trading. Ursula, mother of Zaida is a respected woman who controls the family decisions.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the dance sequence in which a woman is introduced to inform people that she is ready to get married. Set in northern Colombia in the years between 1968 and 1980, Film mainly focuses on the lifestyle of the Wayuu family. The film follows a five-act structure - Wild Grass, The Graves, Prosperity, The War and Limbo. Filled with an immersive background score, "Birds of Passage" is an epic crime film with violent outrages and was selected as the Colombian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. The title refers to the role of birds in the symbolic life of the Wayuu people which I guess. Overall, It offers a good viewing experience and worth a try if you like foreign movies.
Verdict: Good

Capernaum (2018) - 126 min

Country: Lebanon
Director: Nadine Labaki
Cast: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Bankole & Kawthar Al Haddad.
Zain, a lone son among a large family of daughters is serving a five-year sentence for stabbing a man. One day, he decides to sue his parents for giving birth to him.
The title means “Chaos” and  Most of the film takes place in flashback, to find out how Zain ends up in jail. One of the best moments of the film was the closing statement given by Labaki. The middle section of “Capernaum” chooses the patience level of a viewer, whether he is willing to watch it fully or run away from the reality of injustice meted out to lead characters presented in the movie. Zain and Yonas's combination scenes show the shocking experience of a one-year-old child wander around the streets and at the same time Labaki uses that opportunity to tell more about her land. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Overall, Nothing more to say, it's a must-watch and one of the most remarkable movies I’ve ever seen.
Verdict: Great