Language barrier movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant language barrier movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, humorous, touching, semi serious, feel good and serious films and TV shows about / with language barrier, love and romance, cigarette smoking, society, love, culture clash, couples, friendship, disorder and fall in love plots mostly in Drama, Comedy and Romance genres shot in USA, France, Germany and other countries.
language barrier
 298
language barrier movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as language barrier: English Vinglish (2012), The Perfect Stranger (2011), French for Beginners (2006), Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014), Lost in Translation (2003), Journey Through China (2015), Walkabout (1971), Lion (2016), I'll Come Running (2008), Victoria (2015).

List of language barrier movies

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English Vinglish (2012)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: India
Duration: 134 min.
Story: ENGLISH VINGLISH is the story of a woman who does not know English and is made to feel insecure by her family and society at large. Circumstances make her determined to overcome this insecurity, master the language, and teach the world a lesson on ...
Style: feel good, touching, semi serious, humorous, parody ...
Audience: chick flick, family outing
Plot: self fulfillment, self esteem, language learning, unsupportive spouse, housewife, family life, self discovery, teachers and students, fish out of water, language barrier, family relations, humiliation ...
Time: 21st century
Place: manhattan new york city, new york, usa
Is relevant ?
The Perfect Stranger (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 92 min.
Story: The mysterious arrival of a foreigner to a small village in a Mediterranean island, awake the sudden interest from a diverse group of residents, who will appear unexpectedly in the stranger's life, believing that he's going to reopen an ...
Style: semi serious, realistic, humorous, sincere, light
Plot: social relations, language barrier, redemption, family relations, village life, young man, liberation, stranger, fatherhood, faith, irishman, gays and lesbians ...
Time: 21st century
Place: spain, ireland
Is relevant ?
French for Beginners (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 98 min.
Story: The story of Henrik, who takes part in a student exchange program with France. The only reason for this journey is to conquer the heart of his dream girl. Wild Partys, exciting trips, a crazy host family and of course his trouble with the French ...
Style: feel good, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, realistic ...
Audience: teens
Plot: teenage love, love and romance, misfit, teenage life, fish out of water, friends, lifestyle, summer vacation, language barrier, comedy of errors, escapades, teenager ...
Time: 21st century
Place: france, europe, germany, paris france
Is relevant ?
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story: In the massive city of Tokyo, Kumiko, a twenty-nine year old, lives in utter solitude. She works a dreadful, dead-end job under an awful boss, is intimidated by her well-off peers, and nagged incessantly by her overbearing mother who is exasperated ...
Style: depressing, surreal, art house, melancholic, emotional ...
Plot: treasure, language barrier, mental illness, treasure hunt, character study, alone in the world, survival, self discovery, obsession, female protagonist, map, delusion ...
Time: 21st century
Place: japan, minnesota, tokyo, east asia, north dakota ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Lost in Translation (2003)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
Style: melancholic, atmospheric, offbeat, psychological, artsy ...
Audience: date night, girls' night, chick flick, family friendly
Plot: loneliness, midlife crisis, age difference, friendship, older man younger woman relationship, alienation, fish out of water, love story, unlikely couple, self discovery, relationships, adultery ...
Time: year 2003, 2000s, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia, america, yale university ...
Is relevant ?
Journey Through China (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Liliane, a provincial nurse in her peaceful fifties, must cope with the accidental death of her son in China. She decides to fly there in order to repatriate the body. This mourning journey will soon turn out to be a trip of discovery of her son ...
Style: realistic, serious, sentimental, touching
Plot: self discovery, uncover truth, hopes, estrangement, bittersweet, dealing with death, death in the family, journey, estranged son, language barrier, death of son, mother ...
Time: 21st century
Place: china, asia
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 27K
Walkabout (1971)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, Australia
Duration: 100 min.
Story: Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist takes his teenage daughter and 6-year-old son into the Australian outback and attempts to shoot them. When he fails, he turns the gun on himself, and the two city-bred children must contend with ...
Style: road movie, atmospheric, visual, visually stunning, scenic ...
Audience: kids, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, suicide, desert, wilderness, survival, teenage girl, australian outback, rite of passage, culture clash, children, brother sister relationship, language barrier ...
Time: year 1971, 70s, 20th century
Place: australia, oceania, britain, adelaide south australia, sydney australia
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 250K
Lion (2016)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Australia, UK, USA, India
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Style: emotional, touching, motivational, inspirational, sentimental ...
Audience: family outing, date night, family friendly, chick flick, kids
Plot: adoption, poverty, survival, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, loneliness, childhood, mother son reunion, foster home, train, brother brother relationship, courage, missing child ...
Time: 2010s, year 1986, year 2016, year 2012, year 2010 ...
Place: india, australia, tasmania, kolkata, melbourne
Is relevant ?
I'll Come Running (2008)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Denmark, USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: A young Danish man traveling through Texas hooks up with an Austin girl, and even though they're not planning to see each other again, tragic circumstances lead her to his doorstep in Denmark.
Style: serious, realistic, sincere, touching, romantic drama ...
Plot: culture clash, couples, love and romance, life turned upside down, sexual relations, cultural difference, interracial romance, family relations, car accident, party, language barrier, male pubic hair ...
Time: 21st century
Place: denmark, texas, usa, europe, scandinavia
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 63K
Victoria (2015)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 138 min.
Story: A young Spanish woman who has newly moved to Berlin finds her flirtation with a local guy turn potentially deadly as their night out with his friends reveals a dangerous secret.
Style: intense, tense, realistic, meditative, neo noir ...
Plot: gangster, running from police, bank robbery, heist, death of friend, drug use, male nudity, bullet wound, panic attack, language barrier, group of friends, heist gone wrong ...
Time: 2010s, year 2015, 90s, y2k, 21st century
Place: berlin germany, germany, peru
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 316K
Babel (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico, France
Duration: 143 min.
Story: Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.
Style: non-linear, bleak, sincere, emotional, depressing ...
Audience: adult
Plot: multiple storylines, redemption, desert, woman urinating, deaf girl, mexican border, society, guilt, parenthood, depression, tragic event, immigrant ...
Time: year 2006, 2000s, 21st century
Place: morocco, japan, tokyo, africa, mexico ...
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 4K
Western (2017)
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, Bulgaria, Austria
Duration: 121 min.
Story: A group of German construction workers set out for a foreign construction site in the Bulgarian province. The strange country awakens adventure feelings among the men. At the same time, they are confronted with their prejudices and mistrust. For two ...
Style: disturbing, psychological, captivating, art house, social
Plot: language barrier, poverty, countryside, fight, construction worker, village, water shortage, cultural difference, construction company, racial prejudice, culture clash, social problems ...
Time: year 2017
Place: eastern europe, bulgaria
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 6.5
 1K
Fatima (2015)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 79 min.
Story: Fatima, a Moroccan-born woman who now lives in France with her two teenage daughters, with whom she is barely able to communicate.
Style: touching, realistic, captivating, sincere
Plot: studying, racism, separated parents, mother daughter relationship, female protagonist, maid, working class, language barrier, cleaning lady, school, single mother, teenager ...
Time: 2010s
Place: algeria, middle east, france
Is relevant ?
 6.6
 59K
Black Rain (1989)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. In Japan, however, he manages to escape. As they try to track him down, ...
Style: neo noir, detective, exciting, suspense, tense ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, organized crime, police, culture clash, gunfight, chase, gang war, motorcycle, fish out of water, police investigation, japanese mafia, buddy cop ...
Time: 80s, 20th century, year 1989
Place: japan, new york, osaka japan, los angeles, asia ...
Is relevant ?
How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Stanley Ford leads an idyllic bachelor life. He is a nationally syndicated cartoonist whose Bash Brannigan series provides him with a luxury townhouse and a full-time valet, Charles. When he wakes up the morning after the night before - he had ...
Style: dark comedy, black comedy, humorous, clever, witty ...
Audience: date night
Plot: farce, butler, sexist, misogynist, misogyny, uxoricide, lust, language barrier, bachelor, breaking the fourth wall, sexism, murder trial ...
Time: 1900s, 60s, 20th century
Place: new york
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 131K
Okja (2017)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: South Korea, USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story: A young girl named Mija risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend - a massive animal named Okja.
Style: touching, sweet, colorful, talky, sad ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: animal lover, ecology, animal rescue, compassion, animal, female protagonist, zoologist, monster, animal liberation, meat industry, coming of age, fantasy world ...
Time: 2010s, distant future, future, year 2017, year 2007
Place: new york, east asia, america, indiana, south korea ...
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 204K
Stargate (1994)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, France
Duration: 116 min.
Story: An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.
Style: exciting, futuristic, entertaining, visually stunning, visual ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: space travel, archaeology, space opera, slavery, pyramid, teleportation, creature, mythology, evil alien, archaeologist, ancient egypt, alien ...
Time: future, 90s, near future, 20th century, 1920s
Place: egypt, colorado, space western, middle east, africa
Is relevant ?
The Fifth Element (1997)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: France, UK, USA
Duration: 126 min.
Story: In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
Style: futuristic, breathtaking, exciting, colorful, visually stunning ...
Audience: date night, family friendly, boys' night, teens
Plot: alien, space opera, cyberpunk, dystopian future, space and aliens, good versus evil, space travel, end of the world, save the world, dystopia, life philosophy, love ...
Time: future, year 1997, 90s, 23rd century, 1910s
Place: egypt, usa, brooklyn new york city, new york
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.7
 55K
Down by Law (1986)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, West Germany
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Style: independent film, road movie, black and white, humorous, atmospheric ...
Plot: prison, friendship, prison escape, on the road, pimp, swamp, misfit, fight, character study, gangster, crime gone awry, escape ...
Time: 20th century, year 1986, 80s
Place: new orleans, louisiana, usa
Is relevant ?
 5.3
 4K
Being Human (1994)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Story: One man must learn the meaning of courage across four lifetimes centuries apart.
Style: sentimental, non-linear, intense, emotional, serious ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: reincarnation, existentialism, multiple storylines, life philosophy, life & death, happiness, father son relationship, father daughter relationship, desert, beach, cynicism, language barrier ...
Time: 17th century, medieval times, prehistoric times, year 1994, prehistory ...
Place: italy, europe, scotland, rome italy, africa ...
Is relevant ?
Chinese Take-Away (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Spain
Duration: 93 min.
Story: A comedy that chronicles a chance encounter between Robert and a Chinese named Jun who wanders lost through the city of Buenos Aires in search of his uncle after being assaulted by a taxi driver and his henchmen.
Style: semi serious, touching, humorous, realistic, social ...
Plot: collector, friendship, odd couple, communication problem, society, immigrant, language barrier, cow, falklands war, fast food, refugee, migration ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: argentina, latin america
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 402
A Polar Year (2018)
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min.
Story: A Danish teacher takes a job in Greenland and tries to overcome the animosity of the tight-knit locals through a series of errors that help him embrace the snow-covered life.
Style: semi documentary, visually appealing, entertaining, touching, sweet ...
Plot: polar bear, blizzard, grandmother grandson relationship, grandfather grandson relationship, isolation, language learning, remote village, funeral, seal the animal, language barrier, fishing, tradition versus modernity ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: denmark, greenland
Is relevant ?
 6.3
 432
Raja (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Morocco
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Raja is a nineteen year old orphan literally and figuratively scarred by life. Fred is an emotionally bankrupt westerner living amid his plush gardens and palm trees. Set against the backdrop of contemporary Marrakech, Raja is a cross-cultural drama ...
Style: serious, realistic, emotional, sincere
Plot: opposites attract, fall in love, unlikely couple, social differences, love and romance, society, obsession, youth, orphan, destructive relationship, couples, rich and poor ...
Time: 21st century
Place: morocco, africa
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Lost in Siberia (2012)
Genre: Comedy
Country: Germany, Russia
Duration: 100 min.
Story: Matthias Bleuel, a logistician of a german mail order company is send to Kemorovo in Siberia to teach some russian subsidiary company the german work flow system. But soon this land changes him and everything for him.
Style: realistic, humorous, unusual plot structure, captivating
Plot: culture clash, workplace situations, power relations, workplace, unlikely couple, fall in love, musician, translator, language barrier, nudity, monkey, male nudity ...
Time: 21st century
Place: siberia, russia
Is relevant ?
The Shanghai Kid (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, China, Hong Kong
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Liam Liu unwittingly gets involved with a high school girl. He suddenly has to go to China after learning from his father that he has inherited his grandmother's home in Shanghai. He's not very appreciative of his Chinese roots and at ...
Style: realistic, feel good, humorous, intercultural, romantic ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: asian man white woman relationship, love and romance, self discovery, culture clash, introspection, teenage life, voyeur, society, high school, language barrier, age difference, older man younger woman relationship ...
Time: 21st century
Place: los angeles, asia, usa, china, shanghai
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 623
Longwave (2013)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History
Country: Switzerland, France, Portugal
Duration: 85 min.
Story: It is April 1974 and Julie Dujonc-Renens, young feminist journalist and the cunning Joseph-Marie Cauvin, leading reporter for the Swiss radio, have been sent to Portugal to investigate Switzerland’s aid to poor countries. Sparks fly during the bus ...
Style: captivating, semi serious, witty, humorous, realistic
Plot: revolution, feminism, rebellion, society, on the road, memory loss, language barrier, scoop, radio dj, womanizer, countryside, nudity ...
Time: year 1974, 70s, 20th century
Place: portugal, europe, france, switzerland, lisbon portugal
Is relevant ?
Compartment No. 6 (2021)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Finland, Russia, Estonia, Germany
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A Finnish archaeology student escapes an enigmatic lesbian love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected ...
Style: road movie, disturbing, psychological, captivating, romantic ...
Plot: train, lgbt, vodka, snow, relationships, loneliness, winter, female protagonist, male female relationship, train travel, language barrier, train station ...
Time: 90s
Place: soviet union, moscow russia, russia, st. petersburg russia
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 492K
The Terminal (2004)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story: Viktor Navorski is a man without a country; his plane took off just as a coup d'etat exploded in his homeland, leaving it in shambles, and now he's stranded at Kennedy Airport, where he's holding a passport that nobody recognizes. ...
Style: touching, sweet, sincere, feel good, motivational ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, date night, family friendly
Plot: airport, culture clash, stranded, loneliness, happy ending, fish out of water, fictional country, passenger, immigrant, nothing goes right, jazz, destiny ...
Time: year 2004, 1900s, 2000s, 21st century
Place: new york, usa, america, eastern europe, romania ...
Is relevant ?
 6.9
 83K
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hair-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that ...
Style: road movie, witty, humorous, talky, funny ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: robbery, on the run, love, heist, motel, psychiatric hospital, road trip, gangster, bookstore, sibling relationship, disorder, self discovery ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1996
Place: texas, austin texas, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 530K
Love Actually (2003)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story: Follows seemingly unrelated people as their lives begin to intertwine while they fall in – and out – of love. Affections languish and develop as Christmas draws near.
Style: feel good, romantic, sentimental, touching, sweet ...
Audience: chick flick, date night, girls' night, teens, kids
Plot: christmas, love, holiday, relationships, love story, multiple storylines, love and romance, fall in love, marriage, couples, first love, couple relations ...
Time: year 2003, 2000s, 21st century
Place: london, europe, england, britain, united kingdom ...
Is relevant ?
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