10. Let The Right One In (2008, Sweden)
AKA: Låt den rätte komma in It takes a lot to be surprised by a vampire movie in this modern age. The story of the blood sucking undead monster has been told and retold so many times in Hollywood that it has become somewhat of a joke - a sparkling in the sunlight sort of joke at that. So leave it to Europe to turn the genre on its head and leave us all feeling a little hot under the collar with this brave and terrifying look at the Vampire legend. It's hard to say too much about the plot without giving too much of the twist away but it centres of the relationship between a young boy who is hideously bullied at school and the young girl who has moved in to the flat next door. She is a strange character who lives with an older man and is never seen during the day time. Eventually the truth about the girl comes to light but instead of becoming a blood thirsty run of the mill horror the film instead downplays the horror and focuses on the relationship - friendship or otherwise - between the boy and girl and explores the idea that friendship is the strongest bond of all no matter who - or what - you are.
9. La Dolce Vita (1960, Italy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHpCgL4jZZU Federico Fellini's near three hour portrait of the rampant decadence and hedonism of 1960s Rome as told through the jaded eyes of a journalist. This exquisite commentary is presented as a week in the life of a roaming paparazzo (a word that made its way into our vernacular because of La Dolce Vita) and examines in close detail the people he encounters with a critical, journalistic eye. Critics have claimed La Dolce Vita is a modern retelling of the biblical book of Daniel in which stories of apocalypse and Revelation are told and presents the gorgeous Anita Ekberg as the Whore of Babylon with other symbolic references popping up throughout the film. As a result the Catholic Church were outraged and tried to have it banned and if that isn't reason enough to watch a movie then I don't know what is.
8. Spirited Away (2001, Japan)
AKA: Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi There's no denying My Neighbour Totoro is Studio Ghibli's finest hour but Spirited Away is the one Ghibli film you really should make sure you see if you never watch another. It contains all of the magic and fantasy elements that made Totoro so great but is the one film the studio made - with Disney in tow no less - that cemented them as the masters of their craft outside of their native Japan. Spirited Away is the most universally recognised and successful Ghibli film ever made and cemented their reputation as a worldwide leader in the medium of animation. Like many Ghibli films before it Spirited Away tells the tale of a young girl who finds herself in a magical world inhabited by sprites and spirits. Unlike the loveable Totoro many of the spirits here aren't quite so friendly and mean to do the young girl harm if she is detected. The living are not welcome in this particular world so it is up to a young man named Haku to help her navigate this foreign land until she can escape and return to her parents. There's no denying a lot of the things that happen in Spirited Away are hard to understand - giant babies, dragons killed by paper planes etc -but in the dreamlike world the characters inhabit you don't feel the need to question any of this. That's why Spirited Away is so great - if you question nothing you will understand everything.
7. City of God (2002, Brazil)
AKA: Cidade de Deus City of God is not a film about violence or loss of youth. It is a portrait of young people doing whatever they can to make it through the day in a world that owes them nothing and takes from them everything. It is brutal and extreme at times but the threat of violence is not the forefront of the story it is instead an ever present spectre hovering over the lives of the central characters. Watching City of God is not unlike watching a documentary. This is even more the case when you take into consideration that only one cast member had any previous acting experience. Fernando Meirelles decision to use local untrained actors in the roles makes the plight of the slum youths all the more harrowing and touching and you genuinely fear for their lives when they find themselves in perilous situations where the only way out is to fight. A TV series and movie - both called City of Men - followed but it is City of God that remains the most iconic film to ever come out of Brazi that has often been imitated but never duplicated.
6. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2009, Sweden)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A1PCKZfoLA
AKA: Män som hatar kvinnor The entire Millennium Trilogy remains essential viewing even now but it is this, the first instalment, that is the most impressive of the trio. A disgraced journalist and a challenging young woman find their lives intrinsically linked when they are forced together to try and find a missing woman. At first it is a relationship of convenience - she is a hacker and therefore useful to him - but before long it becomes apparent she has more than a few demons of her own and the journalist will be dragged into a deep dark hole alongside her as things spiral further and further out of control. Män som hatar kvinnor is a brutal film at times - as are its two sequels - and even the strongest of people may struggle with some of the rape scenes. However at no point is any of this exploitative but instead important moments in the complicated plot. You'll fall in love with Naoomi Rapace one moment and then fear her the next but one thing is for sure after sitting down and watching this you will never forget her.