Films Don't Have to Be in English! Quiz

Answer: German

'The Lives of Others' was directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and released in 2006. It is set in the 1980s in East Berlin and shows the lengths to which the secret police go in their observations of citizens under suspicion.

'Fox and His Friends' is one of many films released in the 1970s by prolific director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It tells the story of a working class man being taken advantage of by those in the upper class after he wins the lottery. Fassbinder himself plays the title role.

Tom Tykwer's 'Run Lola Run' was released in 1998, and plays out a series of different scenarios for Lola, who has to come up with an awful lot of money in only 20 minutes.

Answer: Arabic

As Arabic is spoken in many different countries, these three films are not all from the same place. 'Paradise Now' was directed by the Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. 'The Insult' prominently features a Palestinian character, but was written and produced in Lebanon, whilst 'Adrift on the Nile' is (perhaps unsurprisingly) from Egyptian director Hussein Kamal.

Answer: Korean

Korean cinema has a long and rich history, but its popularity in the West really exploded after the release of Park Chan-wook's revenge mystery 'Oldboy' in 2003 (even prompting an American remake). Park also directed 'The Handmaiden', released in 2016 and based on the novel 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters.

'Memories of Murder' was written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, also known for 'Snowpiercer' and the Netflix-produced 'Okja', a film whose lack of theatrical release caused a stir at film festivals in 2017.

Answer: French

The contribution of French filmmakers to the history of cinema can be traced all the way back to Georges Melies' 'A Trip to the Moon' (1902), and has included some of the most-revered directors in the world cinema canon. 'The 400 Blows' (1959) was directed by Francois Truffaut and tells the story of a boy who becomes a petty criminal after suffering neglect.

'A Prophet' (2009) was directed by Jacques Audiard, who won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his 2015 film 'Dheepan'. The 2016 Julia Ducournau-directed 'Raw' is not for the fainthearted, telling the story of a vegetarian student who develops a taste for meat after going away to veterinary school.

Answer: Russian

'Battleship Potemkin' was released in 1925 and directed by Sergei Eisenstein. The film contains many famous scenes, but perhaps the most well known is the 'Odessa Steps' sequence, which has inspired films as diverse as 'The Untouchables' and 'Naked Gun 33 1/3'.

Released in 1971, 'Solaris' was a foray into science fiction for the legendary Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is about a scientist who has to visit a distance space station to try and understand what has caused an outbreak of insanity onboard.

'Leviathan' (2014) is a bleak picture of modern life in Russia from the filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev. It takes its title (and elements of its story) from the biblical story of Job.

Answer: Spanish

'Talk to Her' was directed by prominent Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, and was released in 2002. He is also known for the films 'Volver', 'All About My Mother', and the somewhat disturbing 'The Skin I Live In'.

'The Exterminating Angel' was directed by Luis Bunuel, and depicts a dinner party in which the guests are unable to leave. Bunuel is known for his connection to the Surrealists, particularly his collaboration with Salvador Dali on 'Un chien andalou'.

'Pan's Labyrinth' was made by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who has also made English-language movies such as 'Pacific Rim' and the Best Picture winning 'The Shape of Water'.

Answer: Japanese

Perhaps the most famous Japanese filmmaker of all time is Akira Kurosawa, known for making films across a variety of genres from samurai to gangster. 'Yojimbo' is very much a samurai movie, starring regular collaborator Toshiro Mifune in the lead role.

Despite films such as 'Akira' and 'Nausicaa' being made decades earlier, one of Japan's most popular film exports in the 21st Century has been animated or "anime" films. Whilst this can perhaps be traced back to 'Spirited Away' winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003, other films such as 'Howl's Moving Castle' have also been very successful.

Based on the novel by Ryu Murakami, Takashi Miike's 'Audition' is known for its bizarre atmosphere and series of disturbing scenes.

Answer: Dutch

While perhaps not as prolific as the film industries in nearby France and Germany, Dutch cinema has still produced some great films over the years. 'The Vanishing' (1988) is a thriller in which a young girl is kidnapped at a service station and her boyfriend has no means of tracking her down. 'Black Book' (2006) is set in Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, and was directed by Paul Verhoeven. 'Character' was directed by Mike van Diem and tells the story of a mute boy living with his mother.

Answer: Hindi

The Indian film industry, Bollywood, is easily the world's largest both in terms of the number of films produced and the number of tickets sold. Despite the huge diversity of languages in India, the majority of Bollywood films are made in Hindi.

'3 Idiots' (2009) was written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, as was the 2014 film 'PK'. 'Like Stars on Earth' was directed by ultra-famous actor and director Aamir Khan.

Answer: Italian

As with French cinema, Italian cinema has had a series of world-famous directors over the years, including Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini and Bernardo Bertolucci.

1948's 'Bicycle Thieves' was directed by Vittorio de Sica, also known for 'Umberto D.' and 'Miracle in Milan'. It tells the story of a man and his son trying to find their bicycle after it has been stolen.

'8 1/2' is a very self-reflective film made by Federico Fellini. The main character (played by mainstay Marcello Mastroianni) is a filmmaker who indulges in his memories of the past.

Directed by, and starring, Roberto Benigni, 'Life is Beautiful' is about a man who tries to stay cheerful to distract his son from the horrors of the Holocaust going on around them. It won three Oscars at the 1999 Academy Awards, and is the first foreign language film to take home the award for Best Actor.