6 Best Oscar Best International Feature Winners

By Vlad Zakh · March 26, 2026

The Academy’s international prize has introduced plenty of viewers to world cinema. Drive My Car has a grieving theatre director bonding with the quiet young woman assigned as his driver, A Separation turns an Iranian divorce into a legal and moral crisis, and The Lives of Others has an East German officer growing conflicted while spying on a writer. All About My Mother, Life Is Beautiful and Cinema Paradiso round out the six.

Drive My Car (2021)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A grieving theatre director forms an unexpected bond with the quiet young woman assigned as his driver.

Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi · 2h 59m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Separation (2011)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 99% Metacritic 95

A couple's divorce drags their family into an escalating moral and legal dispute.

Directed by Asghar Farhadi · 2h 03m · Rated PG-13

Won 1 Oscar89 wins & 52 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Hulu · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Lives of Others (2006)

IMDb ★ 8.4 RT 92% Metacritic 89

An East German secret police officer surveilling a playwright grows unexpectedly sympathetic to his target.

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck · 2h 17m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar80 wins & 38 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

All About My Mother (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A grieving mother reconnects with old friends after the sudden death of her teenage son.

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar · 1h 41m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

IMDb ★ 8.6 RT 80% Metacritic 58

A Jewish father uses humour and imagination to shield his young son from the horrors of a concentration camp.

Directed by Roberto Benigni · 1h 56m · Rated PG-13

Won 3 Oscars72 wins & 52 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Philo, Paramount+ Amazon Channel · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 90% Metacritic 80

A filmmaker recalls his childhood friendship with the projectionist at his small Sicilian town's cinema.

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore · 2h 04m · Rated PG

Won 1 Oscar25 wins & 33 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Oscar Best International Feature Winners

Drive My Car (2021)

A Separation (2011)

The Lives of Others (2006)

All About My Mother (1999)

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

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