Best International Movies 2023

Critics Consensus: With a gripping story and impressive practical effects, Talk to Me spins a terrifically creepy 21st-century horror yarn built on classic foundations.

Synopsis: When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Otis Dhanji, Alexandra Jensen

Directed By: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Critics Consensus: A smart, solidly crafted procedural that's anchored in family drama, Anatomy of a Fall finds star Sandra Hüller and director/co-writer Justine Triet operating at peak power.

Synopsis: For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz

Directed By: Justine Triet

Critics Consensus: Soulfully exploring thought-provoking themes through a beautifully animated lens, The Boy and the Heron is another Miyazaki masterpiece.

Synopsis: From the legendary Studio Ghibli and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) comes a new critically-acclaimed fantasy adventure. After losing his mother during the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Luca Padovan, Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Critics Consensus: With engaging human stories anchoring the action, Godzilla Minus One is one kaiju movie that remains truly compelling between the scenes of mass destruction.

Synopsis: Japan is already devastated by the war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster.

Starring: Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka

Directed By: Takashi Yamazaki

Critics Consensus: A quirky tale of star-crossed lovers, Fallen Leaves is a life-affirming gem from Finnish filmmaker Kaurismäki.

Synopsis: In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a local karaoke bar. However, the pair's path to happiness is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Alina Tomnikov

Directed By: Aki Kaurismäki

Critics Consensus: Elevated by a remarkable Franz Rogowski performance, Passages adds another smart, deeply humanistic film to director/co-writer Ira Sachs' estimable filmography.

Synopsis: Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with PASSAGES, a fresh, honest and brutally funny take on messy, modern relationships, starring... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Erwan Kepoa Falé

Directed By: Ira Sachs

Critics Consensus: A hard-hitting horror film whose surface-level frights are just as engaging as its thematic concerns, When Evil Lurks marks a viscerally unsettling addition to the possession horror canon.

Synopsis: When brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomón) discover that a demonic infection has been festering in a nearby farmhouse -- its very proximity... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Silvina Sabater, Virginia Garófalo

Directed By: Demián Rugna

Critics Consensus: Gently devastating in its compassion, Monster is a masterpiece of shifting perspectives that surprises to the end.

Synopsis: When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sakura Andô, Eita Nagayama, Soya Kurokawa, Mitsuki Takahata

Directed By: Hirokazu Koreeda

Critics Consensus: Suzume sees director Makoto Shinkai falling just a bit short of the bar set by previous outings -- but when the results are this visually thrilling and emotionally impactful, it's hard to find much fault.

Synopsis: 17-year-old Suzume's journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu when she encounters a young man who tells her, "I'm looking for a door." What... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Hakuo Matsumoto II

Directed By: Makoto Shinkai

Critics Consensus: 20 Days in Mariupol offers a grueling but vital look at the devastating impact of war.

Synopsis: As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka

Directed By: Mstyslav Chernov