Without a doubt it’s hard to keep up with films as fast as they’re being put out these days. Even for those of us who follow the festival circuit and look out for indie releases, you’re always going to miss something. Here is a small selection of films that I personally recommend wholeheartedly, particularly films that generally went unseen.
Naturally, I am a student with a busy schedule, so I, too, missed many films from last year. You’ll notice that all three of these films are American and English-language films. If you want to check in on what I’m interested in but cannot yet officially recommend, here are some other films that fell out of the public eye.
Keep Your Eyes Open
The next year or so is already slated to be among the most monumental in a long time for fans across the globe, featuring Jurassic World, Batman vs. Superman and of course, the new Star Wars film. It is also, however, a year that looks to bring us potentially brilliant films from immortal directors with rock solid credibility as well as up-and-coming indie auteurs. Here are just a few that you don’t want to forget about.
Here’s a slot for some quick honourable mentions. Like weird stuff? Both Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Love in Khon Kaen and Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster are sure to fit your bill. Did Blue Ruin sound intriguing to you? Saulnier’s upcoming sophomore effort Green Room will be right up your alley. Did you love True Detective? Director Cary Fukanaga is set to team up with Idris Elba for an African-set civil war story entitled Beasts of No Nation. Are you tired of me talking about Michael Fassbender yet? Too bad, he’s also starring in a film directed by none other than Derek Cianfrance with The Light Between Oceans. Check it out.
- Ironically, the first selection I’ve chosen was in fact nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That being said, it was relatively unheard of and inaccessible with its minimal release (at least here in Ontario), making $500,000,000 less at the box office than other nominees. This film is Whiplash. Coming from a first-time director, this film shocked audiences by making a story about a jazz band and an aspiring drummer a notably unnerving example of grandiose emotional and physical abuse. With its tight and innovative direction that creates a visual rhythm unlike anything else, its beautiful lighting and colouring that makes the film an experience just to look at, and its gripping story that holds you by the neck until the very last note, this film deserves to be seen.
- To paraphrase the (fittingly underrated) Ratatouille, “Not everyone can make a great film, but a great film can come from anywhere.” How better could one illustrate this point than with the brilliant Blue Ruin? Financed entirely on the project funding website Kickstarter, this sharply intelligent commentary on the classical revenge story and the nature of violence is the ultimate paranoid slow-burner. When a soft-spoken vagrant commits a mindless act of vengeance, both he and those he loves are put into danger, as he must survive the coming retribution and try to end the cycle of violence. Told largely without any dialogue at all, the stellar direction and acting more than make up for the slow pace in a style reminiscent of No Country for Old Men, ultimately culminating in a brilliant and satisfying stand-off scene. Proving that the ‘revenge genre’ is far from dead, director Jeremy Saulnier is one to look out for.
- You may not be wrong to say that the seemingly harmless genre of ‘quirky’ young adult comedies, especially those from Britain, have overstayed their welcome. You would, however, be wrong to label Lenny Abrahamson’s oddly engrossing and endearing Frank as a comedy. Though it may seem largely, even overwhelmingly comedic based on the concept, plot, characters and even the first fifteen minutes of the film, Frank strives to be more than another forgettable film in a fleeting and generally disliked genre. Chronicling the career of a young songwriter as he joins a bizarre indie band lead by an enigmatic singer who wears a paper-mâché head twenty-four hours a day, the story takes an interestingly and, to be frank, refreshingly dark turn as characters develop and tensions rise to a boiling point. And who doesn’t love Michael Fassbender?
Naturally, I am a student with a busy schedule, so I, too, missed many films from last year. You’ll notice that all three of these films are American and English-language films. If you want to check in on what I’m interested in but cannot yet officially recommend, here are some other films that fell out of the public eye.
- Norte: The End of History (dir. Lav Diaz)
- Listen Up, Philip (dir. Alex Ross Perry)
- The Babadook (dir. Jennifer Kent)
- Charlie’s Country (dir. Rolf de Heer)
- We Are The Best (dir. Lukas Moodysson)
- Force Majeure (dir. Ruben Ostland)
- The Guest (dir. Adam Wingard)
- Mommy (dir. Xavier Dolan)
- Citizenfour (dir. Laura Poitras)
Keep Your Eyes Open
The next year or so is already slated to be among the most monumental in a long time for fans across the globe, featuring Jurassic World, Batman vs. Superman and of course, the new Star Wars film. It is also, however, a year that looks to bring us potentially brilliant films from immortal directors with rock solid credibility as well as up-and-coming indie auteurs. Here are just a few that you don’t want to forget about.
- Either you’ve read Macbeth or you will in the near future, and who doesn’t love adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays to watch in class? Well, a new adaptation of Macbeth is in the works, and there’s one specific reason why it garners such a high spot on this list: it has two of the (arguably) most talented, brilliant, and respected actors currently working today. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. You can guarantee that if I could publish this article with profanities to emphasize my sheer excitement, they would be in that last sentence. There’s really not much else to say; if you enjoy Macbeth and aren’t familiar with the actors, take it from me: you should be excited.
- If I may go so far as to state a considerably subjective opinion, Quentin Tarantino has yet to make a bad film. While many would contest this, there’s no doubt that fans and critics alike have been anticipating his upcoming picture The Hateful Eight ever since it was announced. Working once again with some of the best actors from his career, such as Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Walton Goggins, and of course, Samuel L. Jackson, Tarantino’s return to the Western genre is sure to be one of his most unique and exciting pieces of work to date.
- Yet another director whose name is likely solidified into the canon of filmmaking for as long as the art form exists, Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Silence is undoubtedly one to look out for. Set in 17th century Japan, this film likely marks a significant departure from the style of Scorsese’s last handful of energetic, eclectic films, and sends him quite possibly into an area that we have not yet seen him work in. A story with no guns, no mafia, and in fact no crime at all is, while not new territory to him, a realm of storytelling that Scorsese is not well-known for; so naturally what he does with this seemingly sombre and introspective story will be interesting to say the least.
Here’s a slot for some quick honourable mentions. Like weird stuff? Both Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Love in Khon Kaen and Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster are sure to fit your bill. Did Blue Ruin sound intriguing to you? Saulnier’s upcoming sophomore effort Green Room will be right up your alley. Did you love True Detective? Director Cary Fukanaga is set to team up with Idris Elba for an African-set civil war story entitled Beasts of No Nation. Are you tired of me talking about Michael Fassbender yet? Too bad, he’s also starring in a film directed by none other than Derek Cianfrance with The Light Between Oceans. Check it out.