I hope I've not got too carried away here. I've intentionally left some stuff out, and even then wonder if I should have put it in. If you want to source any of these and are having trouble, let me know. Also, if you like some of my suggestions, look through my collection, because there's even more in there matching your criteria (e.g. left out
Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space,
Wonderful Days and
Storm Riders).
Sci-FiI enjoy the Russian movie
Stalker (by the same director as
Solaris which was suggested earlier). I can't say I'd recommend it to everyone, because it's loooong, and not heavy on sci-fi elements (it's more that it's a sci-fi concept).
G.O.R.A. is a great Turkish parody of a few sci-fi movies, and stands in it's own right as a top movie.
1984 is a great sci-fi dystopia (and was made in the UK, so counts as "Non-US"). The two recent
Appleseed movies from Japan look stunning, and have a well fleshed-out world and stunning visuals.
Nirvana is a pretty cool sci-fi movie with a great range of locations. It's from Italy, and the Italian release is subtitled. From what I've read, you want to avoid the R1 release (dubbed), and get
this one instead. I also suggest
Avalon, which doesn't appear in my collection for stylistic reasons, but is still a great film.
Pale Cocoon and
Voices of a Distant Star are both short (anime) films from Japan.
Pale Cocoon I can't explain much without giving it away, so I'll quote from AniDb.
Quote:
In the far future when the continuity of the history has been lost, it is the world where ruins spread to far away. The sea and the sky have disappeared, and the past scenery exists only in the records excavated in the relic.
The Bureau of Record Excavation is an organization responsible for this task. Ura works for the 92nd office of the bureau. He is absorbed in various records and the world in the past. Riko keeps a little distance to watch him, and she averts her eyes from the records.
Everyone in this world knows that to know the past means to know the misery of this world.
One day, Ura restores a strange video.
Voices of a Distant Star is about a couple where she goes off into a galactic war, and he remains back on Earth. As she travels further away, they age differently (and there's the time delay). Quite touching.
Save the Green Planet did amazingly on the festival circuit. It's sci-fi/dark comedy with elements of horror. A man kidnaps a CEO of a major corporation, believing him to be an alien from Andromeda, bent on taking over the world, and tortures him for information.
FantasyPan's Labyrinth you've probably heard about already, so I won't say more.
Mirrormask is a great fantasy film with unique visuals. Some ground already covered by other stories, but original enough to be great fun.
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a dark/horror fantasy from France, with lots of action.
Gormenghast and
Neverwhere are both excellent BBC miniseries. The former is a satire with ancient tradition and a kitchen boy working his way up through the ranks. The latter is about a wainscot reality below the streets of London, and a man who is drawn into that world (written by the highly talented Neil Gaiman). I'd also suggest checking out the modern fantasy
Jekyll.
Also look into some of the movies from Studio Ghibli. They're widely regarded.