1. The Crucified Lovers (近松物語)
In 17th century Kyoto, Osan is married to Ishun, a wealthy miserly scroll-maker. When Osan is falsely accused of having an affair with the best worker, Mohei, the pair flee the city and declare their love for each other. Ishun orders his men to find them, and separate them to avoid public humiliation.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
2. Solaris (Солярис)
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.
It has an average vote of 7.8 on TMDB.
3. Ivan's Childhood (Иваново детство)
In WW2, twelve year old Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev works for the Soviet army as a scout behind the German lines and strikes a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers.
It has an average vote of 7.857 on TMDB.
4. Mirror (Зеркало)
A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
5. Stalker (Сталкер)
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
It has an average vote of 8.2 on TMDB.
6. Andrey Tarkovsky. A Cinema Prayer (Андрей Тарковский. Кино как молитва)
An account of the life and work of Russian filmmaker Andrey Tarkovsky in his own words: his memories, his vision of art and his reflections on the fate of the artist and the meaning of human existence; through extremely rare audio recordings that allow a complete understanding of his inner life and the mysterious world existing behind his complex cinematic imagery.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
7. Satantango (Sátántangó)
Inhabitants of a small village in Hungary deal with the effects of the fall of Communism. The town's source of revenue, a factory, has closed, and the locals, who include a doctor and three couples, await a cash payment offered in the wake of the shuttering. Irimias, a villager thought to be dead, returns and, unbeknownst to the locals, is a police informant. In a scheme, he persuades the villagers to form a commune with him.
It has an average vote of 8.143 on TMDB.
8. The Inner Scar (La cicatrice intérieure)
A composition of symbolic, surreal and almost mystic images.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
9. Kansas City
A pair of kidnappings expose the complex power dynamics within the corrupt and unpredictable workings of 1930s Kansas City.
It has an average vote of 6.3 on TMDB.
10. A Spicy Kraut (Einmal Hans mit scharfer Soße)
Hatice has a problem: she desperately needs a man. Because her younger sister Fatma is pregnant and must marry immediately. However, that is only allowed when Hatice is under the hood, as the old Anatolian tradition, to which the father Ismail firmly clings. But where should Hatice find a groom so fast? Because a Turk may not be under any circumstances, which may blaze in the German man already a bit Turkish fire. And so Hatice goes in search of her "Hans with hot sauce".
It has an average vote of 5.6 on TMDB.
11. Nostos: The Return (Nostos: il ritorno)
At the end of the war, Odysseus, the wandering hero, with his companions begins his sail back home to the Mediterranean. The conclusion of his adventure is delayed by many natural obstacles and he takes an internal journey of fleeting memories of his childhood, his parents, love for a beautiful girl, nostalgia for the past, regret for what he did, and the deep silence that envelops everything. He confronts the most terrible loneliness following a shipwreck in which all the comrades perish.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
12. The Priest and the Girl (O Padre e a Moça)
In a small town in Minas Gerais, the arrival of a young priest causes a commotion in the conservative atmosphere of the place, aggravated by the sudden attraction this priest feels for a beautiful girl. This forbidden love affair soon turns into an unbridled passion.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
13. The Funeral
After the funeral of one of their own, a criminal family decides to embark on an emotionally unnerving journey in an attempt to exact bloody revenge.
It has an average vote of 6.8 on TMDB.
14. At Land
A woman lies on the sand, left there by the tides and waves . She reaches up across tree roots and makes a difficult climb. Only to discover herself climbing horizontally along a long dinner table as bourgeoise black-tie guests chat and drink and smoke, oblivious to her. At the top of the table, a man is playing chess but abandons the game. Fascinated, she gazes at board, the pieces moving unaided. The woman chases a pawn as it falls to the floor. Falls down a waterfall. Is lost.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
15. Me Too (Я тоже хочу)
Five passengers - the Bandit, his friend Matvei, Matvei's old father, the Musician, and a young woman - race along an empty road in a big black jeep, searching for the Belfry of Happiness which, according to hearsay, lies somewhere between St. Petersburg and the town of Uglich, near a deserted nuclear power station. The Belfry takes people, but it does not take everyone. Each of the five passengers believes that he or she will be chosen.
It has an average vote of 5.7 on TMDB.
16. Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville)
A former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison. He gets help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
17. News from Home (News from Home)
Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman lives in New York. Filmed images of the City accompany texts of Akerman's loving mother back home in Brussels. The City comes more and more to the front while the words of the mother, read by Akerman herself, gradually fade away.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
18. Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie
Marcel Ophuls' riveting film details the heinous legacy of the Gestapo head dubbed "The Butcher of Lyon." Responsible for over 4,000 deaths in occupied France during World War II, Barbie would escape—with U.S. help—to South America in 1951, where he lived until a global manhunt led to his 1983 arrest and subsequent trial.
It has an average vote of 7.133 on TMDB.
19. Irezumi (刺青)
A mysterious tattoo artist puts his masterpiece, a human-faced spider, on a kidnapped woman's back. She and her lover are then forced into a conspiracy-born nightmare, where they face the danger of becoming the very evil they seek to escape. With each new bloody incident, the spider's face seems to redden with ever-growing hunger.
It has an average vote of 6.9 on TMDB.
20. Captain Abu Raed
Abu Raed is an old airport janitor who has always yearned to travel the world but has never been able to afford it. One day, he finds an old discarded pilot's hat, and discovers a calling: a group of children in his poor neighborhood assume he's an airline captain and beg him to share stories of the world outside of Amman, Jordan. Through imaginary tales, a friendship forms, and Abu Raed is soon faced with the grim realities of the children's home life. Thus he takes it upon himself to make a difference in their lives.
It has an average vote of 7.7 on TMDB.
