Hello, everyone I am looking for some leftist films from non-socialist countries as part of my research on the international Communist movement, thank you for your help. Here are a few I’ve seen and I think they’re good：
O Lucky Man! 1973
Another Country 1984 (Based on real history, story of Guy Burgess one of the Cambridge Five)
Good bye, Lenin! 2003（Not exactly a leftist movie, but worth watching）
Léon Morin, prêtre 1961
I was impressed by a little-known Slovak film called “Inferno” from 2014. It is a very dark movie about the grim post-socialist reality in Eastern Europe. It depicts all the problems - oligarchs, suppression, intimidation and subversion of leftists, collapse of social norms and social programs, extreme poverty etc.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3219106/
One more movie is Peepli [Live] from 2010 - an Indian movie depicting extreme poverty and suffering in rural India, as well as the indifference of more wealthy Indians to it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447508/
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) by Sidney Pollack. Desperate people participate in a cruel elimination show for the wealthy during the Great Depression. Maybe this film began the well-known now “death games” sub-genre, not sure. It was probably a new topic when the film came about.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088/
You probably know the recent “Parasite” (2019) movie. Not necessarily leftist, but it still depicts South Korean social tensions well
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/
Maybe it is off-topic, but I could also suggest a South Korean TV series “Good Manager” - drama/comedy. It depicts South Korean corporate corruption quite well and other problems of chaebol system. It has a social justice spirit, but it is not very strong. After all, being an open socialist in South Korea is dangerous, as I understand. Watching it was both fun and informative, however this is not concentrated materiel of course
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6352982/
It is noticeable that in the capitalist world there are many anti-capitalist movies and they become more and more popular, but practically none pro-leninist movies (depicting the role of organizing, party as the vanguard of the revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat etc.) or movies depicting the people’s control over economy/real people’s democracy… when it comes to showing socioeconomic problems American movies become extremely primitive and absolutely never offer solutions (except the pro-systemic “the bad guy goes to jail” ending)
Thank you. Many of the movies on this list are new to me. About Eastern Europe I wanted to include A Serbian Film 2010, but it’s disgusting and I don’t recommend anyone watch it…
Also a bit off-topic, but still.
Dunno on the Moon - the most based post-Soviet Russian cartoon. Basically it compares socialist and capitalist societies in a slightly humorous/satirical form.
Hunger - about Bobby Sands’ hunger strike in prison.
Snowpiercer - badass
Parasite - one of the best movies ever made
Salo or 120 days of sodom - very gruesome and hard to watch. Only see it if you think you’re up for it. It’s an anti fascist movie made by a communist.
Fiddler on the Roof - has some mentions of the 1917 revolution lol
They Live - good critique of capitalism and how it shapes our realities
Starship Troopers - fascist satire
Che - no comment needed
Children of Men - the bleak future of capitalism
Sorry to Bother You - good, weird movie with a heavy dose of unionizing
About Salo or 120 days of sodom, I’ve seen it. I was gonna include it, but it’s gross. I would be very sorry if someone actually went to see the movie through this post and was scared. Thanks for the other suggestions! By the way, Pier Paolo Pasolini‘s other movies are worth watching, too. As far as I know, he was a ML.
parasite: a movie that got the academy award it genuinely deserved
The Snowpiercer TV series is even better than the original movie!
Starship troopers is my guilty pleasure movie, i just love it so much. Pure fun
I never understood “Starship Troopers - fascist satire” take - it is a satire in the same way as the movies of Leni Riefenstahl. If you find Nazi customs laughable when it could be considered satire, but this doesn’t work this way for a general audience. I am not sure what Verhoeven wanted to depict, but it is totally not satire - just pure militarism, in my opinion. Maybe he tried to call it satire later on to clear himself idk.
For general audiences it is a fun sci fi movie. The idea is that if a fascist country in the future existed then Starship Troopers would be the movie they’d watch.
The attractive actors shower together without being turned on because service > sex. The main character Juan Rico chooses service over Harvard (despite getting terrible grades). Rico feels virtually no sexual feelings towards his female counterpart but suddenly does when his Lieutenant tells him to.
It’s definitely unique. Most movies use satire in a way that is very on the nose, but starship troopers is saying “here is what propaganda could look like”. A world where violence is beautiful and sex and love are barely existent. The book it is based on was written by an actual fascist. Verhoeven lived through nazi occupation. When he came to America to direct movies he was shocked by the violence he saw. He made robocop to poke fun at the ultraviolence in Hollywood, but we were unable to see that because we are desensitized to the violence.
It is because the book is very controversial. Heinlein when he was alive had probably the wierdest rollercoaster of political ideologies ever, from communism to fascism and almost everything in between. So nobody is entirely sure this blatantly fascist book is satire or not (Poe’s law should be named Heinlein’s law), though most would rather said it is serious. But Verhoeven clearly either interpreted the book as satire or wanted to reinterpret it as satire. Just look at the recruitment scene (and many others), no chance it isn’t satire - even though we now live in the onion world where liberals are rapidly reaching that level of caricature, the movie was 25 years ago and back then it was absolutely obvious…
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Very good movie, Cillian Murphy is great it in.
Thank you. I think it’s probably the most important British film
that movie made me feel like a proud irish man and i am a swiss millenial
How to Blowup a Pipeline was based as fuck.
Lion of the Desert
Also the formerly banned documentary style movie Native Land narrated by famous African American communist singer and actor Paul Robeson is pretty based. McCarthyists immediately banned it and all major media outlets in the us denounced it as propaganda.
Great Paul Robeson! I’ve been listening to him sing the Soviet national anthem!
Love that rendition.
Land and Freedom is a British film produced in England by an English director under a then-British production company. It is a super based movie about the anti-fascist struggle by the Spanish Republican forces and it glorifies leftist unity, Communism, and United anti fascism. All of the major characters are either communists or anarchists, the main protagonist being an English Communist, and there is literally a scene where they sing L’Internationale in Spanish.
Thank you! You remind me, I forgot about Ken Loach. Probably the basedest British director.
Thank you. Can’t wait to finish this list. I forgot Network1976 too, I just finished it last month!
Pride was pretty good, but they sorta diluted the protagonist communism
Add some I haven’t seen Machuca 2004 The Weather Underground 2002（Documentary about WUO) The Red Army/PFLP: Declaration of World War 1971
Definitely recommend Machuca, very powerful film.
Thank you！ This movie has been lying in my computer for a long time. I’m going to finish it tonight!
I am surprised no one mentioned “Sorry to Bother you?”
Incredible movie. I love that they have an office environment unionize. Most representation unions get in movies are in the form of blue collar jobs in the 20th century. And it literally shows you how a strike is done, and how solidarity works. I also loved the Amazon company that has their workers sign lifetime contracts to avoid high rent.
Marighella is a Brazilian film about Carlos Marighella who was an ML that wrote a book on urban warfare.
Thanks! I’m hearing about it first. I’ll watch it!
Reds (1981)
I really wonder how that movie ever got made, in the 80s in the US especially.
Thank you, this is the first time I’ve heard of this movie! John Reed‘s story is very exciting and reminds me of one of our Chinese people’s friend Norman Bethune.
i’m a big fan of Ken Loach, sometimes not overtly leftist but always working class-oriented. Plus the guy was super nice when we got the chance to meet him so i like him on a personal level.
This seems to be a common problem of “leftist” directors in the 21st century. I can’t entirely agree with them. For example, I admire Michael Moore for exposing the evils of capitalism, but his views on China really makes me uncomfortable.
