79 Movies (and counting!) about Culture

I had a little brainstorm the other day when I was browsing Netflix.

How about creating a list of movies about culture?

It’ll be our little summer project.

What do you say? Will you help me?

C’mon, you know you want to.

Scroll down to see what I’ve come up with so far.

Full disclosure: Some of the films I’ve seen; some I haven’t. And some I saw so long ago that I’m not even sure they should be on this list.

Here’s the criteria:

• Culture, cultural identity, cultural exploration or travel must be central to the film’s plot.
• Only cinema films will be included. No TV movies.
• The film can be in any language but it must be available with English subtitles or voice-over.
• The film can be a fictionalized story or a documentary. An asterisk (*) denotes a documentary.
• A double asterisk (**) means the film includes negative portrayals or reinforce stereotypes about a culture or country. So take what you see and hear with a grain of salt.

It’s Showtime!

1. Amistad
2. Babel
3. Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (France)
4. Bell Epoque (Spain)
5. Bend it Like Beckham (England)
6. Blue Collar and Buddha
7. Born in Absurdistan
8. Born in East L.A.
9. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
10. Cambodian Donut Dreams
11. Cinema Paradiso (Italy)
12. City of God (Cidade de Deus)
13. City of Joy
14. Crash
15. Crossing Delancey
16. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
17. The Cup
18. Daughters of the Dust
19. Days of Glory
20. Dim Sum
21. Do the Right Thing
22. Double Happiness
23. The Edge of Heaven (Germany & Turkey)
24. East is East
25. El Norte
26. Eve’s Bayou
27. Flirting
28. Frida (Mexico)
29. The Gods Must Be Crazy (Africa)
30. Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle (United States)
31. Heidi
32. Hotel Rwanda
33. In America
34. In the Time of Butterflies
35. Joy Luck Club
36. King of Masks
37. Kite Runner
38. Koran by Heart
39. Koyaanisqatsi* – No narrative, but shots of different cultures and environments set to music
40. Lean on Me
41. “Like Water for Chocolate” (Mexico)
42. Local Hero
43. Lone Star
44. Maria Full of Grace
45. Memoirs of a Geisha (Japan)
46. My Family (Mi Familia)
47. The Milagro Beanfield War
48. The Mission
49. Mississippi Masala
50. Monsoon Wedding
51. Moonstruck
52. Moscow on the Hudson
53. The Motorcycle Diaries
54. My Beautiful Launderette (England)
55. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (United States, Greece)
56. Once were Warriors
57. Picture Bride
58. Quinceañera(Latino, United States)
59. Rabbit-proof Fence
60. Raise the Red Lantern (China)
61. Real Women Have Curves (Latino, United States)
62. Remember the Titans (United States)
63. Seven Years In Tibet
64. Slumdog Millionaire (India)
65. Stand and Deliver
66. Strange Brew
67. The 7Up series (follows a group of English children from age 7 until adulthood)
68. This is England
69. Tompopo (Japan)
70. Tortilla Soup
71. To Sir With Love
72. The Story of the Weeping Camel
73. The Visitor (United States)
74. The Wedding Banquet
75. The World’s Fastest Indian (New Zealand)
76. Whale Rider (New Zealand)
77. Witness
78. Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona (Spain)
79. Yentl

Now It’s Your Turn

Got any other movies to recommend that give a glimpse into another culture or country? Share your ideas — add the film’s title and the culture or country it’s about (if it’s not obvious) — in the comments box, please! Bonus: If you know the year the film was released, please include that too.

Tagged as: movies