Photo Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix is a gold mine of interesting and intriguing content to stream with over 3,600 movies and over 1,800 TV shows available and over 13,000 titles available worldwide. With all of these options for content, it can be difficult to make decisions on what to watch.
Around 76% of Generation Z and millennial demographic watch foreign language films and shows compared to 56% of Generation X and baby boomers. So before you rewatch international series’ like “Money Heist,” “Squid Game” or Alfonso Cuarón’s film “Roma,” consider these four more unknown and underappreciated international films and television shows that are streaming on Netflix right now.
4. “Royalteen” (2022)
The Norwegian young adult film “Royalteen” is a teen romance movie that parallels the cheesy Christmas Netflix classic “The Princess Switch.” Where Vanessa Hudgens failed as a more serious character actress, Ines Høysæter Asserson, who played Lena in “Royalteen,” succeeded. Though Asserson’s character was written to be incredibly mysterious and petty at times, the depth in the writing of the character Lena and Asserson’s portrayal heightened the emotional connection viewers might have from watching the film.
The other star of the movie, Prince Kalle, who was played by Mathias Storhøi, failed to show the same emotional depth in his acting, primarily because his character was not written for the film as such. It would be interesting to compare the film by Per-Olav Sørensen and Emilie Beck to the young adult book series of the same name that was written by Norwegian authors Randi Fuglehaug and Anne Gunn Halvorsen.
While “Royalteen” is definitely no Academy Award Best Picture winner, it is a captivating romantic dramedy that is especially relatable to teenagers and adults who grew up in the social media world of today.
3. “Baby” (2018 – 2020)
Inspired by the 2013 Baby Squillo scandal where over 50 men, including many priests, politicians and business professionals, were accused of paying two teenagers – aged 14 and 15 – from Parioli for sex. The Italian drama focuses on the lives of Chiara Altieri (Benedetta Porcaroli) and Ludovica Storti (Alice Pagani), who both become involved in underage sex work while still in high school. Chiara and Ludovica come from two different types of families, the former being incredibly well off and the latter impoverished.
As teen dramas go, “Baby” is mixed with so many creative plot possibilities and twists that it never feels like a typical teen drama. With six episodes a season running at around 40 minutes each and three total seasons of the show, we see quite a lot happen to Chiara and Ludovica.
Porcaroli and Pagani play their respective characters with grace and the rest of the large cast is stellar, truly bringing the Baby Squillo scandal to life in a more modern and empathetic nature, encouraging viewers to relate to the young women while finding them comically silly for the situations they get into because of a lack of communication between each other and themselves.
The character maturation of both young women is astounding to watch, particularly in their romantic relationships and how they deal with the complications of being high school sex workers. The subject matter is morally conflicting, but “Baby” presents the situations they are in and the tale of their lives in a well thought out, factually based plot, especially at the show’s conclusion.
2. “Alba” (2022)
The Spanish thriller “Alba” delivers a gripping tale of the overlapping of many different lives during one crucial and horrible moment the show is centered around. From the very beginning, viewers come to understand and see the impact of Alba’s rape, which is emphasized in Elena Rivera’s emotional portrayal of Alba. Through her facial expressions, viewers are able to feel the impact of this life-changing event on her character. The entire cast delivers an emotionally gripping performance throughout the series, but Rivera takes the lead with the level of empathy felt for her character in this deeply scarring and confusing situation.
While it is deeply intricate and relays the same type of complex crime investigation as Netflix’s 2019 series “Unbelievable,” the Spanish thriller is just a tad too soapy to maximize its emotional storytelling impact, with random characters blackmailing the rapist’s family for personal greed and more. “Alba” is based around the Turkish novel and television series “Fatmagül’ün Suçu Ne?” from 2010. As of now, it is unconfirmed if a second season of the series will see the light of televisions and electronic devices near you.
1. The Empress (Germany)
“The Empress” (Die Kaiserin) is the best on this list with its cinematography, script, cast and different angle on the romance and lives of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Devirm Lingnau) and Emperor Franz Joseph (Phillip Froissant). Both Lingnau and Froissant gave deeply emotional performances and were incredibly effective in their differing takes on portraying a loving, reproachable, bitter and spiteful relationship.
Their acting styles complimented each other well on screen and brilliantly, and their costumes reflected that. Both Franz and Elisabeth wore brighter hues like teal and marigold to represent when their characters felt more free and darker, more monochromatic tones when they were being forced or restricted. Franz Joseph’s mother, Princess Sophie, the Archduchess of Austria, also dressed in the “film noir” style with mostly monochromatic black and white dresses, potentially representing the sacrifices she believed must be made for the crown.
A monarchy drama is not a new idea, with countless examples from “Atonement,” “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” “The Crown” and many more, but “The Empress” does it incredibly well. Its success is palpable with the series garnering over 150 million hours streamed and being Netflix’s second-most watched series worldwide for two weeks.
So next time you hear the classic Netflix “ta-dum” sound effect, check out these outstanding international films and shows. With the rise in success and popularity of international films and shows, it is safe to say that in six months to a year this list will be majorly outdated.
