Do you find yourself on Netflix scrolling through recommended lists, simultaneously overwhelmed by the endless selection and unable to pull the trigger on a film that would be worth your two hours?
Allow me to recommend seven hidden gyms that are currently on Netflix, films that I have really enjoyed.
Photo Attribution: “Netflix” by Brian Cantoni; CC 2.0
A few caveats before we get to my list:
1) I did not include popular and well-known films, such as Almost Famous, Fargo, This is Spinal Tap, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Dead Man Walking, Rounders, Black Hawk Down, Good Will Hunting, and Hugo, classics like Dumbo, Charade, Roman Holiday, To Kill a Mockingbird, Stand By Me, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Hustler, and Brian’s Song, and Oscar Best Picture winners like From Here to Eternity, Annie Hall, Rocky, The Hurt Locker, and Braveheart.
2) While I picked films that did not have explicit sexual content, you are responsible to check whether a film’s content is appropriate for you (IMDB has a very helpful parent’s guide on most movies listed on their website).
3) I tried to refrain from more esoteric, difficult films, such as the excellent Turkish film Winter Sleep and Shane Carruth’s enigmatic Upstream Color.
4) No television. That’s another post for another person to write.
Here they are, in alphabetical order:
About Elly- if I could win over just one fan to the films of Asghar Farhadi (whose film A Separation won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2011), it would be a good day’s work. One of two terrific Iranian filmmakers that I know of (the other being Abbas Kiarostami), he is a master of understatement in observing human nature and developing quietly devastating emotional moments. Watch this, then go find his other masterpieces, The Past and A Separation.
The Boy In the Striped Pajamas- the Holocaust through the eyes of a child, this film helps us grieve the brokenness of the world and ask the hard questions that we need to ask periodically: Why do we categorize people based on externals rather than their humanity? Why do we allow the death of innocent people? How do we stand up to unjust power?
Days of Heaven- this is legendary director Terrence Malick’s most accessible film, and one of the most beautiful films ever made, winning an Academy Award for best cinematography. Richard Gere and Sam Shepard anchor this demythologization of the American Dream.
Following- Christopher Nolan’s first film, made for $6,000 with his friends, shows his genius from the start. A twisting thriller that plays loosely with chronology, it asks many of the same postmodern questions his more well-known films, particularly the masterpiece Memento, do.
Ida- the winner of Best Foreign Film Academy Award in 2014, this is a masterfully made film that tells as much with images as with dialogue. What makes up our identity? Is the past ever really past? (Fun fact: My brother and I got to watch this at a festival with the director and the main actress, who had never done any acting before and had not seen the final cut of the film)
The Immigrant- a thoughtful look at the immigrant experience set in New York in the ‘20s. The plot is unpredictable, just when you think you know where it’s going, you’re surprised. And Marion Cotillard is fantastic, even learning Polish for this role.
In Bruges- what starts out as a comedy quickly becomes one of the most moving blends of comedy and drama, with deep Christian symbolism and allegory at the center. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are at the top of their game, and every time I re-watch this, I find deeper layers.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi- possibly my favorite documentary ever (along with My Kid Could Paint That and 20 Feet From Stardom). What price should we pay for greatness? How can work be art? Hard work is certainly its own reward with Jiro.
Nebraska- Alexander Payne’s (not to mention Will Forte’s and Bob Odenkirk’s) best film. Funny, touching, and insightful about family, shame, and redemptive hope.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley- a snapshot of the Irish fight for independence from England, this is both reminiscent of Braveheart, as well as more complicated and less mythic than Mel Gibson’s Best Picture winner. I love this line towards the end, “It’s easy to know what you’re against, quite another thing to know what you’re for.”
Happy Viewing!
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