"Germany's Nowhere in Africa, directed by Caroline Link, won the Oscar for best foreign language film. Pedro Almodóvar won the Oscar for best original screenplay for Talk to Her. Hayou Miyazaki's Spirited Away, which drew less than $6 million in limited distribution (compared to $176 million for competing film ICE AGE), won the Oscar for best animated feature. Last but not least, Roman Polanksi's The Pianist won Oscars for best director, best actor Adrien Brody, and best adapted screenplay by Ronald Harwood. (http://www.foreignfilms.com/)" Now my question is are they better nowadays or the market was too "narrow" a few years ago?? What is the epxlanation for so many foreign films getting so much attention?

i love foreign films. the aspects that make them up (acting, diecting, cinematography, etc.) have improved at the same rate as the films in america, but most of the movies in the states are overrated and high budgeted, which most foreign films are not. i recommend watching fredrico fillini's "juliet of the spirits." it was made in the late 60s, i believe, but it is what a foreign film should be. ;)

In general it seems to me that foreign films are more artistic than domestic films. Hollywood movies are generally not works of art they're commercial products.
In addition there aren't as many restrictions on the content of foreign films.
I highly reccomend
"Funny Games" and "Man Bites Dog"
as examples of this.

See "Lagaan" from India and "Irreversible" from Italy.
"Ghost in the shell" from Japan is highly recommended....more recommendations to come later.

Insomnia(Norway/Sweden)

Saw a film called Conspirators of Pleasure once. Bizarre film. Anyone else seen it?

Basically follows a bunch of folk (it struck me as being a Czech film, don't know why, or what nationality it truly is), who derive bizzare ways to get seual gratification. In the end, their lives are all interconnected, basically. I missed the first half hour of it.

I was round a mate's house, having a drink and a smoke, and when it came on, we couldn't take our eyes off it. Intriguing film. Pretty much no speech in it, so language weren't a problem.

"Amelie" from France.

when i lived in america i wanted to watch foreign films whenever i can, indulging in the richness of culture and experience.
now that i'm living in europe i love american films more!!!!
foreign films are still good but the saying, it's greener on the other side is so true. It's like the music here. techno techno techno and copied, tweaked, etc. it's okay but i'm so bored to death of the tweaking, guess it's like rap.

then there's the originality of american filming, the silliness of it, even the corniness/sappy stuff is all good. Shoot ''em up action films, bring it on.

and in no way are foreign films more artistic. are you kidding?
american films have ART!