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In February 2020 Parasite became the first film not in English to win Best Picture, and the first film ever to win both that and the Palme d'Or.

What actually changed

Subtitled films did not suddenly become mainstream in the United States. What changed was distribution: streaming services began commissioning and promoting non-English originals at scale, and the assumption that a subtitled film needed an English-language remake weakened considerably.

Thirty years of films, no continuity between them, and no correct order. Some starting points are better than others.

Start with Spirited Away

It is the most complete statement of what the studio does: a competent child in a world with rules nobody explains. If it does not work for you, the rest probably will not either.

Not the ten best. The ten that other films started copying.

A short list for anyone catching up in the fortnight before an awards ceremony, and a note on how to use it.

Watch the winners you have not seen

Best Picture winners are a poor guide to quality and a good guide to what the industry thought of itself that year. Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite are all worth the time on their own terms as well.