It is really easy to forget that Hollywood movies aren’t the only ones available to watch. Don’t get me wrong, blockbusters are great, but watching European movies is a whole different experience! The way these movies are made change from country to country, giving us the opportunity to see the world from another unique point of view.
So, if you want to get to know more European movies, here’s where to start.
5 European Movies You Should Get To Know
#1 Good Bye, Lenin! (Germany, 2003)
Image source: IMDb
Right before the fall of the Berlin’s wall, Mrs. Kerner (Katrin Sab) fell into a coma and when she finally woke up her beloved East Germany no longer existed. The doctors warned her son, Alexander (Daniel Bruhl), that Kerner wouldn’t survive another shock, so he had to make his mother believe that the world hasn’t changed at all. Alex then recreated the old East Germany inside his mother’s room, from food package to the daily news. Besides having a great plot, the movie brings a really interesting historic scenario.
#2 Suite Française (France/Belgium/UK, 2014)
Image source: IMDb
Another movie with a historical background, but this time it’s the World War II. Based on a homonymous novel, released in 2004, Suite Française shows what happens to Lucile Angellier’s (Michelle Williams) life after her husband is sent to the war and the Nazis occupy France. Bruno von Falk (Matthias Schoenaert) is is the German soldier that stays with Lucile and her mother in law is supposed to be their enemy, but Angellier just can’t dislike him. Originally written by Irène Némirovsky, a woman who actually lived during WWII, the plot raises the discussion of who is the real enemy during a war.
#3 The Party (UK, 2017)
Image source: IMDb
Janet (Kristin Scott Thomas) invites her closest friends to celebrate her new political post, but what’s supposed to be a nice evening just doesn’t go quite as planned. Each guest that arrives brings their own problems and the scene gets messier, contrasting with the clean concept of the movie: it has few scenarios, all within Janet’s house, and it was shot in black and white. The Party is full of British humor, great complex characters, irony and some critics on England’s government.
#4 Sweet Dreams (Italy/France, 2016)
Image source: IMDb
Massimo (Valerio Mastandrea) was only 9 years old when he lost his mother, but this sad event affects his whole life. Based on the autobiographical book Sweet Dreams, Little One (2012), written by Massimo Gramellini, the movie shows the journalist’s successful career, some of his war coverage memories and how he constantly thinks about his mother.
#5 The Devil’s Mistress (Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2016)
Image source: IMDb
During the Third Reich’s first years, Lída Baarová (Tatiana Pauhofová) was pursuing her acting career at Czech Republic, but she was soon invited to Berlin and became one of the biggest silver screen European stars, being considered the most beautiful women in Europe. Based on a true history, the movie focus on what end up being the downfall of Lída’s career: her affair with Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. The most interesting part is that Baarová didn’t fit in the Aryan race standards, but even the Fuhrer showed to have a romantic interest in her. Her life story can be considered an historical document, and can be a powerful tool for understanding how illogical Nazism was.