Best non Hollywood movies?

[chris]

So, we've all seen the usual Hollywood "blockbuster" movies that come out each year by the dozens, and I'd probably bet quite a few of them you might probably bypass because they tend to tow such a familiar line.

But, what about the others not from Hollywood, those with less publicity?

Which of those have you watched that you feel are worthy of praise?

I'll start the ball rolling by mentioning a strange little film that is probably totally unknown to many here, Den Osynlige (The Invisible). I happened to see it by accident to be honest, and I must admit, what a different sort of film it was. I've seen some Swedish movies before, and quite a few of them have tended to be quite bleak, but this one was different.

It all focuses around Niklas (well played by Stellan Skarsgard's son), a kid doing well at school, but with a dominant, obsessive mother who wants the world for him, but perhaps doesn't know when to stop. He has had enough of it, and wants a different life. But he also manages to get on the bad side of one of the school bullies (a psycho called Annelie Tullgren, played by Tuva Novotny), and ends up brutally beaten, and stuck between life and death, not one, but not the other either.

What happens next makes the movie really different. The main character ends up going about, like a ghost, observing everything, but he can not really do much about proceedings.. Until the ending..

It's a lot of explaining, but you'd have to see it to understand - and I certainly wouldn't want to put any spoilers here. This move is worth watching, because it turns the usual movie ideas and doctrines upside-down.

[Myshkin]

As one might guess, I am a fan of the newer Mexican social-commentary types like Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También, and El Crimen de Padre Amaro. I also like a lot of Pedro Almodovar's movies. I've seen maybe another 10 films in the last year from Europe, but none really sticks out as great, IMHO.

I watch but am not a huge fan of "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" - type Chinese films, but I do find them interesting from a cultural viewpoint.

As far as Hollywood movies go, I think there are few each year that fall in my (personal) highest classification, which I call "Worth paying full evening price (US$8.50) at the local megaplex". Blockbusters that I would put in this group would be "Spiderman 2" and the LOTR trilogy.

More fall into "Worth paying the matinee price ($4.50-5.50)" and even more into "Wait until it hits the discount cinema ($1.50-2)". Below that "Rental (Netflix, monthly fee, no per movie charge)", "Cable (I don't have Showtime, HBO, etc.)", "Free TV (with a zillion commercials makes it almost not worth it)", and "Never (absolute zero interest)".

I also use Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/?fromint=1) as a guide... I've found that if it has a low score there, I probably won't like it too much. If it is higher than 70% or so, I started reading the negative reviews to find if I identify with any of them.

[Justin Martin]

I liked Darren Aronofsky's Pi and Requiem for a Dream. Dream is extremely good, has Jennifer Connelly in what was pretty much her breakthrough role. It's about four people addicted to drugs (of legal and illegal sorts ;)) and their dreams, and how their lives are affected (and eventually destroyed) by both. Dream, imho, is an example of what can happen when a non-Hollywood type is able to get the money to do what he/she wants to. Very good acting talent, (though actors who were mostly undiscovered at the time) good script, creative visuals, and a haunting soundtrack performed by the Kronos Quartet.

Pi is well written, though it doesn't have quite the visual impact of Dream, no doubt since its budget of only $60k didn't pay for much more than a couple of actors and a camera. It's a sci-fi movie, about a math genius trying to model the stock market mathematically, and how he is pursued by three different entities (the govt, a major corporation, and a religious group) who all want him to work for their agendas.


Waking Life is another good indy movie. It was rotoscoped, which means that it was filmed with a camera, then a layer of animation was added on top of that. That gives it a sort of blended, half animation/half live look to it. The script is okay, but my real interest in the movie was the visuals.
Waking Life was made in Austin, and that's also part of why I liked it. It's fun to figure where the scenes of the movie were shot (made difficult since they've been animated over) and who the people were. Many (perhaps most) of the characters in the movie are cameos of semi-famous (and infamous) Austinites, such as Alex Jones.


"The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck" is one of Roman Polanski's earliest movies, not sure if it would be considered "non-Hollywood." Regardless, it is a quite funny take on the typical vampire movie. It has Sharon Tate in it, one of the few movies that she did; she was murdered by Charlie Manson a few years later.


Scotland, PA is another funny indy movie. It's an adaptation of McBeth, set in rural Pennslyvania in the mid-70's. Hardly the best movie ever made, probably offends Shakespeare fans, but it does have some absolutely hillarious moments, such as the final fight between "McBeth" and "McDuff." (played by Christopher Walken) Worth watching.