Suggested List of Movies on Study Abroad,
Cross-Cultural Issues, and Languages
This list is comprised from ideas and suggestions from the UW Colleges community. If you
know another movie that should be added to the list please send your suggestion to
studyabroad@uwc.edu. Some of these movies are idyllic romances set in sunny climes, as one
of the contributors has pointed out. Nevertheless, these suggested movies will inform us about
different places, languages, traditions, and norms and remind us of the role the culture and our
identities play in everyday live. They are organized in no particular order.
Lost in Translation (2003): A fading movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected
young wife meet as strangers in Tokyo and form an unlikely bond.
The Namesake (2006): American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in
among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional
ways.
Babel (2006): Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching
off an interlocking story involving four different families.
Persepolis (2007): Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian
girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.
Outsourced (2006): After his entire department is outsourced, an American novelty products
salesman (Hamilton) heads to India to train his replacement.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980): A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters
modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of
revolutionaries.
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011): Based on the events surrounding the murder
of British student Meredith Kercher.
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004): The dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went
on in his youth that showed him his life's calling.
The Joy Luck Club (1993): The life histories of four Asian women and their daughters reflect
and guide each other.
A Far Off Place (1993): The witty Nonni and the stuck-up city-boy Harry are the only ones to
survive a massacre of a gang of poachers among the gamekeeper's family on his lonesome
farm in the savanna. Now the ruthless murderers are after them as the only witnesses. Without
a means of transportation, the only way to escape is to walk through 2000 kilometers of Kalahari
desert with the help of the African bushman Xhabbo. On the months-long journey ahead they
not only become good friends against their differences, but also realize that every one of them
has strength and skills that are required to survive.
A Room with a View (1985): When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperone Charlotte Bartlett find
themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George
step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but,
once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans?
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Enchanted April (1991): This slow-paced gem is about the civilizing influence of Italy on
beleaguered Londoners both male and female and has it's own civilizing influence on the
viewer.
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003): While on vacation, a just-divorced writer buys a villa in Tuscany
on a whim, hoping it will be the start of a change for the better in her life.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008): Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become
enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous
relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Before Sunrise (1995): A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up
spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will
probably be their only night together.
Summertime (1955): A lonely American woman unexpectedly finds romance in Venice, Italy.
South Pacific (2001): During World War II in the South Pacific love is found between a young
nurse, Nellie Forbush (Glenn Close) and an older French plantation owner, Emile de Becque
(Rade Serbedzija). The war is tearing them apart.
Taken (2008): A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his
estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.
De Nadie (2005): This film comes from Mexico and follows the path traced by many leaving
South and Central America bound for freedoms and opportunities too basic to be rightfully
exclusive. A filmmaking neophyte, Tin Dirdamal approaches the medium with the sensitivity and
skill of a veteran, drawing us into the oft-told story of immigrant hardships, presenting it in a way
that makes it real and personal.
Under the Same Moon (La misma luna) (2007): Heartwarming story about a mother who
leaves Mexico to make a home for herself and her son (Adrian Alonso). When the boy's
grandmother dies, leaving him alone, he sets off on his own to find his mother (Kate del
Castillo). Dir. by Patricia Riggen. Recognizing that this theme is more than just the plot for a
movie, the film's website has provided links to organizations that help to reunite separated
immigrant families.
Spanglish (2004): Mexican mother, Flor (Paz Vega), enters the U.S. with her young daughter
seeking a better life. When she accepts a position as a domestic with an American family it
becomes very difficult to maintain her privacy and distance. A story about assimilation, this film
provides lessons on tolerance for the misguided but good intentions of immigrants as well as the
Americans who employ and/or befriend them. Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, and Cloris Leachman.
Real Women Have Curves (2002): Ana (America Ferrera) has graduated from her east Los
Angeles high school and won a full scholarship to Columbia University. Rather than support her
own dreams, however, Ana's Mexican-American parents believe it is time for her to work and
help to support the family. Spending the summer working in a sewing factory with other
Chicanas, Ana learns a respect for these women and what is essential for her to make her own
way in the world.
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Bread and Roses (2000): The struggle for fair and just working conditions in the United States
has existed as long as there has been one group who would take advantage of the desperation
and fear of another. This film from director Ken Loach (The Wind that Shakes the Barley 2006)
is the story of two sisters who work as janitors. As undocumented workers from Mexico, they
endure hardship and abuses. When a young man (Adrien Brody) comes around attempting to
unionize workers, the issue divides them - while dividing Maya and Rosa, as well.
My Family (1995): Directed and co-written by Gregory Nava (writer of El Norte 1984, Frida
2002), this film chronicles three generations of a Mexican-American family. Beginning with the
journey Jose Sanchez (Jacob Vargas) makes on foot to Los Angeles, the plot follows the family
through their adjustment to life in America.
El Norte (1983): The Guatemalan army discovers Mayan Indian peasants who have begun to
organize, hoping to rise above their label of "brazos fuertes" or "strong arms" (manual laborers).
The army massacres their families and destroys their village to give the new recruits no choice
but to follow and obey. However, two teenage siblings survive and are determined to escape to
the U.S. or El Norte. They make their way to L.A. - uneducated, illegal immigrants, alone.
Al Otro Lado (2004): This drama features three stories about the bonds between children and
absent parents. A Cuban boy who lives in poverty with his mother longs to visit his father in the
United States, a Spanish girl is reunited with her father, and in Mexico, a boy disobeys his father
to visit a strange lagoon. These related vignettes showcase the powerful hold that parents have
upon their children, which often remains strong despite their absence.
Well Founded Fear (2000) NR: This PBS POV documentary gives a shocking look at how the
Immigration and Naturalization Service decides who will be granted asylum in the United States.
The applicant must have a "well-founded fear" of persecution in his or her home country.
Despite true and terrifying stories of torture and mistreatment, it's often up to how well the
translator presents the case and how sensitive are the ears of the asylum officer to decide a
person's fate.
Balseros (Cuban Rafters) (2002): This is the heartrending yet triumphant account of seven
Cuban refugees--and their families--who risked their lives to venture towards America's shores
on homemade rafts. While Presidents Clinton and Fidel Castro argued over the closing of
Cuba's coast in the chaotic summer of 1994, nearly 50,000 "balseros" (a slang term for Cuban
rafters) set out toward Florida, navigating the shark-infested waters on vessels made of wood,
nails, and tar. Then, as most of the rafters were picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard, some were
detained for more than a year at the Guantanamo naval base before finally being allowed onto
American soil.
La Boda (2000): Elizabeth is marrying Artemio in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and you are cordially
invited to the wedding. Meet these two young people from the U.S.-Mexican border region,
whose lives are framed by the challenges of migrant life. Through Elizabeth, we see a family
and community continually on the move, keeping alive their roots in Mexico even as they
incorporate American-style dreams and their often harsh realities. In this absorbing film, the
wedding becomes a touching evocation of migrant life, girlhood and the enduring strength of
family tradition.
The City (La Ciudad) (1998): The feature film debut of writer/director David Riker, is a moving
tribute to the struggles and hopes of new Latin American immigrants facing the harsh realities of
urban America. THE CITY delves deep inside this community creating a powerful drama about
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their life in a an unfamiliar world; A young man arriving from Mexico falls in love with a girl from
his home village, only to lose her in the intimidating urban wilderness; A homeless puppeteer
dreams that his daughter will one day learn to read, and a seamstress, desperate to send
money home to help her sick daughter, is trapped working in a sweatshop.
Mojados (Through the Night) (2004): Director Tommy Davis tags along with four migrants from
a small village in Mexico as they leave their families and embark on a 120 mile trek across the
deserts of Texas, attempting to evade the U.S. Border Patrol. They must overcome dehydration,
hypothermia and come face to face with death.
Maid in America an intimate, eye-opening look at the lives of las domésticas, as seen through
the eyes of Eva, Telma and Judith: three Latina immigrants, each with a very different story,
who work as nannies and housekeepers in Los Angeles, California. Filmmakers Anayansi Prado
and Kevin Leadingham followed their subjects for several years, and their cameras caught
some of the most intimate moments of these women’s lives, both on and off the job.
Sin Nombre (Without Name) (2009): Fleeing retaliation from the violent Central American street
gang he has deserted, young hood Casper (Édgar Flores) boards a northbound train, where he
takes refuge on top of the moving freight cars and hopes for a fresh start in a new country.
Dodging authorities and other dangers, he finds a new friend in Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a
Honduran girl also making a run for the American border. Cary Fukunaga directs this foreignlanguage thriller.
The Visitor (2007): A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and
finds a young couple living in his apartment.
Amreeka (2009): A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in
small town Illinois.
A Better Life (2011): A gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and
immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.
The Beautiful Country (2004): After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family
tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road
trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Arranged (2007): ARRANGED centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman
and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the
course of the year they learn they share much in common - not least of which is that they are
both going through the process of arranged marriages.
Le Grand Voyage (2004): Reda, a young French-Moroccan guy and his old father drive from
the south of France to Mecca in order for the father to do his pilgrimage. At first distant, they
gradually learn to know each other.
The Cup (1999): While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan
refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene
contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young
student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the
Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for
the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for
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the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching
the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.
Kundun (1997): From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with
Chinese oppression and other problems.
Bend it Like Beckham (2002): The daughter of orthodox Sikh rebels against her parents'
traditionalism by running off to Germany with a football team (soccer in America).
Spirited Away (2001): In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old
girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into
animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002): In 1931, three aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from
their homes to be trained as domestic staff and set off on a trek across the Outback.
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985): An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for
success and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat.
Midnight’s Children (2012): A pair of children, born within moments of India gaining
independence from Britain, grow up in the country that is nothing like their parent's generation.
Disclaimer: Descriptions of movies were taken from The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). It is an online
database of information related to films, television programs, and video games.
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