It is very likely that I do not have enough information about the whole range of quality feature films in other languages. So, this is only pinpointing a few that struck me this year.
120 bpm (French, 120 Beats Per Minute – Members of the advocacy group ACT UP Paris demand action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s)
The Cakemaker (Hebrew/German – a young German baker had an affair with an Israeli married man who dies in a car crash. He travels to Jerusalem seeking answers. Keeping his secret for himself, he starts working for his deceased lover’s widow, who owns a small café.)
Sueño en otro idioma (Mexican, ‘I Dream In Another Language’ – An almost extinguished language is spoken by only two men, who don’t speak to one another because of a love affair in their youth)
Mi mejor amigo (Argentina, My Best Friend – a teenage romance, where it is hard to tell if it’s love or friendship)
Berlin Drifters (Japan – Called this year’s most explicit romance, this film tells the story of two Japanese men in Berlin who are seeking genuine connection in their own ways, and in doing so come together and drift apart over the course of a few lusty weeks. – The XXX nature of Berlin Drifters’ sex is going to keep it out of mainstream cinemas and even the most permissive of festivals).
Lesbian The single best lesbian feature drama that I came across was Thelma (Norwegian – a student falls in love and discovers that she has ‘strange’ powers)
Trans In my eyes, the best feature film with a transgender theme was Una mujer fantástica (Spain – A Fantastic Woman – a transgender woman, living with her older divorced male lover, faces all kinds of hostility when he suddenly dies)
Unimpressed Fave 