195. The bus (1976)

Country: Turkey
Directed by Tunc Okan

Many years passed since I watched this film but still I remember its vivid effort to depict the strong cultural shock that many immigrants faced back then going to the West -something that in many cases still remains the same- but also its intention to deal with most of their other issues as xenophobia, discrimination, exploitation, failed expectations etc. One of the most direct and universally valid films about immigration, 'The bus' may have a lot of weak sides but is worth satching because it captures quite well the traumatic experience of migration from the immigrants point view

194. Loot (2012)

Country: Nepal
Directed by Nischal Basnet

A mixture of action movie and musical, inspared both from Hollywood and Bollywood, 'Loot' is a decent effort of modernizing the commercial Nepalese cinema: the dialogues are realistic, the acting not that bad, the plot thick with twists. Still the standards of the film remain low, especially comparing with the most films of this 1001 list, but we have to remember how low was its budget and mostly how is in general the quality of Nepalese cinema with almost non existent artistic tradition

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/oRjjJ5LkGPY

193. Kwaidan (1964)

Country: Japan
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

Four Japanese ghost folk stories narrated by one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time is just an ideal condition for anyone who likes this particular genre. 'Kwaidan' will not let you disappointed: it's made with great attention, with importance given to every detail, with elegance and a masterfull visual style with exceptional usage of colors, with powerfull use of the music and sound. A haunting film, that is better to watch in a big screen to maximize its effect , 'Kwaidan' may is not the best work of Kobayashi, may it look a bit old fashioned with the today's standards but still is a great work reflecting the genious of its director

192. Little girl of Hanoi (1973)

Country: Vietnam
Directed by Hai Ninh

Made during the Vietnam war to encourage the north Vietnamese people who were fighting against the American imberialism, 'Little girl of Hanoi' stands out not only because it documents a crucial historical period- a lot of the footage of the film is real scenes , for example, from bombarded Hanoi - but also because is very beautiful visualy, very universal in its anti-war thesis, very optimistic and humanistic although it deals with inhuman deppressing conditions. The director explains: “On December 27 [1972] when I was standing in a deep crater on Kham Thien, a well-known street in Hanoi, I saw a dead pregnant woman holding her six-year-old daughter in her arms. My desperation reached its peak here. I felt I was falling into a deep abyss. But then there was a miracle. The girl was saved and brought up by neighbors who had suffered similar fates. This gave me a faith in man and made me believe that violence and crime could not destroy the compassion and charity of Hanoians. It was this that inspired me to make The little girl of Hanoi in 1974. I wanted to bid farewell to all those unknown people who laid down their lives, to convey my pain as an insider, as one who had witnessed those events. My work is a wreath offered at their funeral, a joss stick that I have lighted for their souls.”

You can watch the full movie, without English subtitles here: https://youtu.be/xclOnreuBIw

191. Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)

Country: India
Directed by Ritwik Ghatak

I never liked much the melodramas and the stories of people who sacrifice themselves for their loved ones, a very common pattern of movie plot in most cinematographies of countries with strong family ties and relations. However, this film of Ritwik Ghatak elevates this story in a much higher lever. The film is so beautiful, so bittersweet emotional, so captivative, so fine on details that you end up spellbound from the experience of watching it. It is not a perfect film without weak sides but once more is obviously a work of a genious, a definition of how cinema should be

190. Karamay (2010)

Country: China
Directed by Xu Xin

This 6 hours running time momumental documentary is a masterpiece of the kind and deserves a lot of  praise and admiration. Although its theme is about a fire 'accident' in some provincial Chinese city that took more than 300 lives , mostly of children,  through the witnesses of their parents who remained behind we get precious informations and eye opening comments for the whole social structure and order in China, the oppressive bureaucratic nature of the goverment, the school system and the propaganded values that are incorporated to it. In any case the common individual appear too small and deffendless when is trying to stand against an ultra powerful state. Have in mind that 'Karamay 'is among the most heartbreaking films of all time

You can watch the full film here: https://youtu.be/nkO0oobweGA and https://youtu.be/JYRRw_5G8Eg

189. Only yesterday (1991)

Country: Japan
Directed by Isao Takahata

In 'Only yesterday' nothing over dramatic happens, the main character is just a simple girl with a normal  ,without much ups and downs, life, a sort of ordinary childhood and dreams that are nor ambitious or complicated. Maybe, because she is nothing of exaordinary but she is common and real with exaordinary way , we feel that we can identify ourselves with her so much and the film comes to be so touching,  having a very strong emotional impact to almost everyone who watches it. A beautiful, nostalgic, gentle animation, a great of work of art where every detail has importance, 'Only yesterday' is one of the finest works of studio Ghibli

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/OqsdbvLy0yo

188. The apple (1998)

Country: Iran
Directed by Samira Makhbalmaf

I don't know if I could call such a simple made film a masterpiece or its 17 year old director a genious but ' The apple' is certainly one of my most favorite movies of Iranian cinema and I felt very greatful that I watched it.
This semi-documentary, where a story is recreated with the same people who lived it in the reality, has a dim, shocking theme that most of directors would choose to depict as a tragedy but Makhbalmaf instead makes a hymn to the life , to the beauty of existence and a testament of faith for the human kind. One of the rare films that give a big smile to your face anytime.

You can watch the full movie with Spanish subtitles here: https://youtu.be/oEu7yQuvpfU

187. Alone (2007)

Country: Thailand
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom

'Alone' is not that famous and not much appreciated as the previous movie of the director's duo 'Shutter'  but , in my opinion, is more interesting and imaginative than it. The atmosphere is solid, the flow just right, the terror convincing, the plot twist surprising. Moreover, the film gives you a really weird, dark, disturbing feeling: during you watch it you feel that something is freakish, abnormal, displaced and painfull

186. I saw the devil (2010)

Country: South Korea
Directed by Kim Jee-woon

Normally I should refuse to mention such a brutal , exploitative and sadistic film in this list as the depiction of violence seems to be the only reason of its existence. However, the sadism of the film works in many levels in a way that 'I saw the devil' ends up been almost an essay about the deepest and ugliest side of the human nature. Not only the main character-good guy comes to enjoy to torture getting revenge , but the viewers of the film too ,as the plot unrolls , they are craving as well for more tortures and more depiction of pain. To watch the film gives you a guilty pleasure: you end up been beast like the ones in the film. Needless to say that technically the film is flawless, but is questionable if this covers the feeling of emptiness that gives you

You can watch the full movie with spanish subtitles here: https://youtu.be/H2urkBmYXTs

185. Confessions of a dog (2005)

Country: Japan
Directed by Ken Takahashi

Even if the ending of the film is very simplistic and old fashioned no one can deny that generally 'Confessions of a dog' is an interesting movie , very pleasant to watch, with its 190 minutes of duration to pass in no time. The main theme of the film is police corruption,  in a system rotten to the core, that is exposed here from the basis to the top without hesitation: Japan with its surface of order and civilization seems to remain a place where the public is cheated, the law is not imposed to everybody, police is the dominant mafia group and money always talks

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/kOsrZe8M95Q

184. Chants of lotus (2007)

Country: Indonesia
Directed by Upi Avianto, Nia di Nata, Lasja Fauzia, Fatimah Dony

A very brave omnibus film, directed by four female directors, unique in the Indonesian film production of recent years, that presents various social issues from the women's perspective as women are always much more exposed , often marginalized and victimized in the country's patriarchic society. Is not a surptise that it cencored heavily by the "cultural" autorities. The film is bold and dark , exposing a dim reality without sugaring the pill. If some hope comes out of the film it comes from the strength of its women characters who, more or less, find the power to stand against their exploiters and fight

You can watch the full movie, without subtitles, here : https://youtu.be/rsItCOsp_4Q

183. Butterfly dress pledge (1974)

Country: Japan
Directed by Shuji Terayama

One of my favorite shorts of the director, this film, even if in some moments looks a bit pretendious, is incredibly powerful , with unforgetable images and a poetry that is directly connected with the subconscious. Terayama is the best on exposing the animal nature of human existence and the its contradiction with the civilization and the social norms: at the end the guilty pleasure of our desires became sad, grotesque and nightmarish. However, regarding the film you can have as many interpretation you want as it is an unclassified explosion of the director's imagination

You can find the movie here: https://youtu.be/cBVVnJJZWVo

182. Rashomon (1950)

Country: Japan
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

What you can write for a legendary film as Rashomon when already are written for it hundreds of thousands of articles! Personally I agree that is a masterpiece, I think that it deserves all this fame and I am impressed that 65 years later it remains powerful and fresh , capturing the attention of audiences with different backgrounds and preferences

181. Salween (1994)

Country: Thailand
Directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol

One of my favorite Yukol movies 'Salween' stands out combining really well action, melodrama, humanism, politics, lyricism. Moreover is directed with a realistic , convisting way although it has a strong epic tone. The best example of old school Thai action cinema that I watched so far

180. Children of the beehive (1948)

Country: Japan
Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu

Although I am not a fan of Hiroshi Shimizu I can't deny that he is a leading figure of Japanese cinema and various of his movies they could be easily a part of any list with the best Japanese movies of all time. The comment of Mizoguchi that he and Ozu worked hard to make great movies but Shimizu was a genious is enough to show how well respected the director is by the people who know about cinema. 'Children of the beehive' is one of his best films, where he depicts the the tragic conditions of living in the post war Japan , in a film filled with emotion, humanism and the usual optimism of the director

You can watch the full movie here : https://youtu.be/SnfqnVMlZXY