Traveling abroad can be an exciting and rewarding experience. You are able to learn about diverse cultures, study unique sociological traditions and explore new customs. Discovering an international filmmaker can bring similar rewards. Often that filmmaker can bring a voice to the cultures, traditions and customs of his or her native land. It is in this spirit of discovery that we present the following “tour” of international cinema.

The United States of America – Sometimes the best travel starts at home. American cinema is certainly the most exposed in the world. But in the midst of the overexposure of most American movies, we often forget that we have among us some of the greatest directors working today. Our very best is Clint Eastwood. The Hollywood icon and long-standing studio player is a standard unto himself. Eastwood’s cinema is one of the sensitive, inquisitive experiences of the American male, while never falling prey to machismo or false bravado. Consequently, his female characters are ever stronger – uncompromising and unflinching. (Highlights: Bird, Unforgiven, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima)

Canada – Guy Maddin, the mad scientist from up north, has danced on the outskirts of independent notoriety for many years. Acclaimed and beloved by the critical community at large, he has yet to get any kind of real exposure to American cinephiles. He is both experimental and romantic, and his films constantly push the boundaries of the medium. (Highlights: The Heart of the World, Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary, Cowards Bend the Knee)

Great Britain – Many of the directors on this list are here because of a distinct, easily-recognizable style or aesthetic. England’s Michael Winterbottom is a chameleon. His films are as diverse in style as they are subject matter. Winterbottom is a craftsman first and foremost, but he can deliver a whopping good yarn as well. (Highlights: The Claim, 24 Hour Party People, In This World, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story)

France – Claire Denis is perhaps the most ferociously independent female director working today. Her films can be dizzyingly perverse and oddly affecting, often at the same time. Very few filmmakers can find so much pathos in depravity, but Denis manages to do so with tremendous results. (Highlights: Beau travail, Trouble Every Day, Vendredi soir, L’Intrus)

Germany – Two words: Werner Herzog. An international mainstay for more than four decades, Herzog remains one of the world’s most invigorating film artists. Equally at home with fiction and non-fiction films, Herzog is a true living master. (Highlights: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Lessons of Darkness, Grizzly Man)

Hong Kong – Wong Kar-Wai is quite possibly the most intoxicating filmmaker on the planet. His films are luxurious, exotic, and sensual. Watching a film by Wong is exciting in the way that watching the first French New Wave filmmakers must have been: the thrill of discovering beauty and creativity in our most vital art form. (Highlights: Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love)

Thailand - Apitchatpong “Joe” Weersathekul is a rare breed of filmmaker: a relatively new director who is given the reverence of an old master. His films defy categorization and easy summation. They explore the heart (and libido) of humankind deftly, but in ways that often confound viewers. In two decades, he will be a film school mainstay. For now, he remains a rare delicacy that few have tasted. Those who do, however, cannot resist the allure his films present. (Highlights: Mysterious Object at Noon, Blissfully Yours, Tropical Malady)

More to explore – Additional “film travel” filmmakers for your viewing pleasure include Bela Tarr (Hungary), Takashi Miike (Japan), Abbas Kiarostami (Iran), Tsai Ming-liang (Taiwan), Aleksandr Sokurov (Russia), Theo Angelopoulos (Greece), Kim Ki-duk (Korea), Lars von Trier (Denmark), Lukas Moodysson (Sweden), Ousmane Sembene (Senegal) and Gillian Armstrong (Australia).

Rick Curnutte is a freelance film critic and the creator and editor of the online film quarterly The Film Journal at www.thefilmjournal.com.