You know what doesn’t
get enough attention? European cinema. There were so many good movies that came
out in Europe this decade that may not have even gotten a theater release in your
city. So, here’s what you should keep an eye out for when you’re browsing
Netflix (or your other streaming service of choice). Here are the 12 best
European Movies of the 2010s.
1. The Hunt
This is a Danish drama
starring Mads Mikkelsen. In my opinion, that’s all I have to tell you about it
to convince you to watch it, but if not — here we go!
Mads Mikkelsen won the
Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role as a kindergarten
teacher whose whole life is made extremely complicated by the fact that one of
his students has a crush on him. It’s as weird as it sounds. Viewer discretion
is definitely advised. Nevertheless, I recommend this movie (and would be very
wary of any lists that don’t include it as one of the best films of the
decade).
2. Heat Singers
I have a bias with this
movie, but if this list was ordered, I’d put it at the #1 spot. This is a
Ukrainian movie about the choir of a municipal heating company. As the heating
season starts in the winter, the members of the choir have to balance their
passion (song) with their job (keeping people warm). Sounds ridiculous, right?
It is.
Oh, and have I mentioned
it’s a documentary? Because it’s a documentary. At some point during the movie
you think you’re watching a Parks and Recreations or Office-type documentary.
You’re not. As someone who lives in Ukraine I can guarantee that the things
shown in this movie are definitely true, which makes everything even funnier.
3. The Square
What happens when you
make a pretentious artsy film about a pretentious artsy world? You get The
Square — a movie about the curator of an art museum. The film is satirical, and
it really tears the “art world” apart in the jokes it makes about it.
This movie won the Palme
d’Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Foreign
Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.
4. Personal Shopper
You know what I like
about Kristen Stewart? She did her thing in a world-hit Twilight series and has
since dedicated her acting career only to playing roles that she finds interesting.
Her role (and her acting) in Personal Shopper is very interesting.
Stewart plays an
American living in Paris, serving as a personal shopper for a celebrity. Pretty
straight forward, right? But then you find out that she is also trying to communicate
with her dead twin brother. And that’s when you realize that you’re watching a
supernatural thriller, and understand that you’re in for a ride!
This is somewhat a slow
movie, but worth every second of your time!
5. Holy Motors
This is probably the best
weirdest movie on the list that I have seen. It’s about an actor who is acting,
but there is no audience. It’s difficult to describe the plot of the movie, but
it revolves around an actor who seems to be acting/improvising his way through
#RealLife. It’s as strange as it sounds, but it’s also much much better than it
sounds. If you’re into seeing actors do their thing and do it well — this movie
is for you.
At some point, the plot
seems almost secondary to the incredible transformations of the lead actor
Denis Lavant.
6. Raw
This is not for the
faint of heart. This French-Belgian horror drama is about a vegetarian’s first
year at a veterinary school. Essentially, the entire movie is about the
juxtaposition of someone’s vegetarian diet and raw animal meat. And then the
main character tastes meat for the first time and things get very dark very
quickly from that point on.
Definitely stay away
from this if you are squeamish when it comes to blood.
7. The Lobster
This is probably my
favorite European movie of the 2010s. It’s so depressing, yet incredibly
humorous. In a world where everyone must have a loving partner, people who
can’t find one are sent to special retreats as a “last chance” effort. If they
fail — they get turned into an animal.
You might think this is
a weird premise (and it is!), but the movie itself is even weirder. If you see
one movie from this list — make it this one!
8. The Great Beauty
This Italian drama will
definitely give you something to think about. It follows an old writer who used
to be a #PartyAnimal but decides to calm down and look for true beauty after
his 65th birthday. This movie will make you think about the things in life that
make it worth living, the importance of taking time to enjoy beauty while
you’re young, and how devastating it can be when one of your closest friends
are mean to you.
9. Intouchables
Something many “Best
European Films” have in common is that they’re serious and sometimes difficult
to watch. Intouchables is the opposite of that. This is a very heartwarming
French comedy about a delinquent-presenting caretaker for a differently abled,
posh, and rich French man. They come from very different worlds, but their
relationship with each other changes them both.
This is the movie I
watch any time I’m sad and want to feel better. It’s amazing.
10. Amour
This French, German, and
Austrian co-production of a French-language movie about love between two old
people is the sweetest (and saddest) movie I’ve seen in the past decade. It won
the Palme d’Or of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and the Best Foreign Language
Film Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards.
The movie starts with a
heartbreaking scene of a dead woman adorned with cut flowers, and it only gets
more romantic and more tragic from there.
11. Youth
The best thing about
Youth is the sound design. The whole film is about a composer who refuses to
pay (or conduct) his most famous musical composition. Nevertheless, the whole
movie seems to hint at the fact that his entire life is still dedicated to
music, and his dedication to music is just a facet for his never-ending love
for his wife. The movie is set in a Swiss resort (populated mostly by old
people, famous people, and old famous people), and each small interaction
between its visitors seems to say something profound about life, love, and
fame.
12. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
When I talked about The
Hunt I said that Mads Mikkelsen is reason enough to watch it.
When it comes to A
Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence I think that the name should be
all it takes.
This movie is basically a short collection of loosely-related stories. It’s a comedy-drama that’s the third installment of director Roy Andersson’s “Living” trilogy. It centers on the ideas of love and the general idea that “life is ridiculous”.
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