My Open List of the Best Films You May Not Have Seen
My open list of some of the best movies you may not have seen includes drama, war, TV movie series, documentaries as well as some of my Brazilian favorites.
You've probably seen some of these films. But most of these films were not superstar blockbusters that enjoyed enormous marketing budgets. This is a list of some of my favorite films through the years that have possibly flown under peoples’ radar and/or didn’t receive the attention or the critical praise they deserve. Of course my taste in film tends to run on the dark side, but I think each one is worth watching. Please stay tuned as I will update when I have time.
THE painted bird (2019)
(Click image above to view trailer) Produced in 2019 but opened April 2020 in theaters and on streaming services. The Czech film is the first film to feature the Interslavic language. Shot in crisp black and white 35mm - The Painted Bird does far more than simply depict the horror of war. It is an unflinching examination of the very worst of humanity.
The Painted Bird (2019) - Drama
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: Václav Marhoul
Cast and Crew Notables: The main role played by Petr Kotlár and features Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Barry Pepper, Julian Sands, Udo Kier & Jitka Cvancarov. Although the film does not feature a musical score, it closes with 'Horchat Hai Caliptus' written by Neomi Shemer, sung by Jitka Čvančarová and arranged by Matěj Kroupa. Listen/see on YouTube here.
A movie adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski’s controversial novel about a lone Jewish boy wandering through a cruel obstacle course of survival and abuse in Eastern Europe at the end of World War II. It’s a relentless 3-hour masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression on the viewer. I was grateful to see it, but I might not have the courage to watch it again.
THE BOMB (2016)
(Click image above to view trailer) The bomb is a groundbreaking multimedia installation that immerses you in the strange, compelling, and unsettling reality of nuclear weapons. The 55-minute film will be projected 360 degrees on massive floor to ceiling screens that surround the audience, as The Acid performs a live score in the center of the space.
The Bomb (2016) - Documentary
Directors: Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari and Eric Schlosser
Cast and Crew Notables: Stanley Donwood's art direction, Ry Cuming's music highlighted by tracks from The Acid
The Bomb is an excellent documentary that's really more like a one hour long music video. It tells the story of the advent of nuclear weapons with amazing historical footage over a mesmerizing soundtrack by The Acid. Even if the message is lost on you, the marching sequence is too cool to miss.
Hell or high water (2016)
(Click image above to view trailer) In Hell or High Water, two brothers, Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster), go on a calculated bank robbery spree that puts them on a collision course with a West Texas Ranger (Academy Award©-winner Jeff Bridges) determined to take them down.
Hell or High Water (2016) - Western Drama
Director: David Mackenzie
Writer: Taylor Sheridan
Cast and Crew Notables: Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges
A modern-day Western, crime drama. This full-length film is well written, finely crafted and features outstanding acting in almost every role. Hell or High Water did enjoy some promotion and it was well received by the film industry including four Academy Award nominations. But it still flew under the mainstream radar and is worth making an effort to see. It's gritty and engaging and it tells a story of an America heartland that has changed and forgotten its people. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are great brothers. I thought Chris Pine was a Hollywood pretty boy, but he sure is authentic as the more reasonable of the two. Jeff Bridges plays a role not unfamiliar to us, but the range he shows in one of the final scenes is amazing.
TAKE SHELTER (2011)
(Click image above to view trailer) Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. Curtis LaForche lives in a small Ohio town with his wife Samantha and six-year-old daughter Hannah, who is deaf.
Take Shelter (2011) - Drama
Director: Jeff Nichols
Writer: Jeff Nichols
Cast and Crew Notables: Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain
Jeff Nichols might just be a really great filmmaker. He also did Mud (with Matthew McConaughey), Loving, and Midnight Special, which I thought were all excellent films. I think Michael Shannon is also one of the best actors working today, and he clearly likes to work with Nichols. Shannon's portrayal of a man fighting the early stages of Schizophrenia is awesome and Chastain is very talented. For anyone that has experience with mental illness, Nichols recreates a vivid and understandable portrayal of both the individual and family members.
BUS 174 (2002)
(Click image above to view trailer) An intense and gripping journey you will never forget, BUS 174 tells of an actual headline-grabbing event that occurred in Rio de Janeiro in 2000.
Bus 174 (2002) - Documentary
Directors: José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda (co-director)
Cast and Crew Notables: Sandro do Nascimento, Rodrigo Pimentel and Luiz Eduardo Soares
If it were possible to encapsulate all the social challenges of Brazil into a 150 minute documentary about a transit bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, then Bus 174 (Ônibus 174) does it. Not only is the film a commentary on Brazil's struggling social, educational and law enforcement programs, but it speaks to the role the media plays in the world. It's a tragic story told by actual footage (that aired live on Brazilian TV) and supported by interviews with the real-life people of the event. One of the best and most powerful documentaries I've seen. The audio is in Portuguese with English subtitles.
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come and see (1985)
(Click image above to view trailer) And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see! And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Come and See (1985) (Russian: Иди и смотри, Idi i smotri; Belarusian: Ідзі і глядзі, Idzi i hlyadzi) - Wartime Drama
Director and Writer: Elem Klimov, with a screenplay written by Klimov and Ales Adamovich based on the 1978 book I Am from the Fiery Village
Cast and Crew Notables: 16 year old Russian actor Aleksey Kravchenko as Flyora; Olga Mironova as Glasha/Glafira
An 1985 Soviet WWII drama film ranked by many as one of the greatest war films of all time. The film focuses upon the Nazi German occupation of the Byelorussian SSR, and primarily upon the events witnessed by a young Belarusian partisan teenager named Flyora, who—against his parents' wishes—joins the Belarusian resistance movement, and thereafter depicts the Nazi atrocities and human suffering inflicted upon the populace.
I think it's an important film to see regardless. But for Americans it is important because our history studies have tended to focus on the war in the Pacific and Western European theaters and not the horrors that happened in Eastern Europe.
The film languages are Belarusian, Russian and German with English subtitles available.
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The REVeNANT (2015)
(Click image above to view trailer) The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man's epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.
The Revenant (2015) - Western Drama
Director and Writers: Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu with screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Iñárritu, based in part on Michael Punke's 2002 novel
Cast and Crew Notables: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter
This film didn’t fly under many peoples’ radar, but I’m always surprised to learn many of my friends and associates have never seen it. It was nominated for tons of awards and Leonardo finally received Best Actor Oscar for his incredible performance.
If you haven’t seen the film, get it and view it. The bigger screen and audio the better. If you have seen it, see it again. The cinematography of the master Emmanuel Lubezki is a masterpiece, shot entirely in natural light. The long action shots are production wonders, and I love the eery musical score by Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
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manda bala (2007)
(Click image above to view trailer) An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm.
Manda Bala (2007) (English title: Send a Bullet) - Documentary
Director: Jason Kohn
Cast and Crew Notables: Characters include a frog farmer, Businessman, head of police kidnapping unit, victim, federal police marshal, kidnapper and politician
Kohn's look at crime and corruption in Brazil spans from the capital to the countryside and won the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at Sundance, as well as top honors for cinematography.
Many things have changed (for the better and for the worse) in the more than 10 years since Manda Bala was released. The Brazilian government may have censored this film at one point because of how it portrayed its political and criminal culture.
The soundtrack incorporates some excellent Brazilian music featuring Tom Zé, Caetano Veloso & Gal Costa, Baden Powell, Novos Baianos, Jorge Ben, Mutantes and more. Well worth a look and listen.
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children of men (2006)
(Click image above to view trailer) Children of Men envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into anarchy on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction.
Children of Men (2006) - Science Fiction Drama
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast and Crew Notables: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Charlie Hunnam
Children of Men is a 2006 British-American dystopian thriller film based on P. D. James' 1992 novel The Children of Men. The film takes place in 2027, where two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where the last functioning government imposes oppressive immigration laws on refugees. Owen plays civil servant Theo Faron, who must help a refugee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) escape the chaos.
Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki at work again creating crazy, single-shot sequences more than 6 minutes long. The style and design of the film brings to life a believable near-future sci-fi experience that feels like it could be next week.
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Abril Despedaçado (2001)
(Click image above to view trailer) In the brutal Brazilian badlands of 1910, two families are locked in a bloody, generations-old feud. The oldest remaining son of one family, distressed by the prospect of death and encouraged by his younger brother, begins to question the cycle of violence.
Abril Despedaçado (2006) (English title: Behind the Sun) - Drama
Director: Walter Salles
Cast and Crew Notables: Rodrigo Santoro, José Dumont and Rita Assemany
Abril Despedaçado is a 2001 Brazilian film with its original Portuguese title meaning Shattered April. It was released for English speaking audiences as Behind the Sun. This is one of my favorite Brazilian films. Walter Salles shows us life in the Brazilian Northeast at the beginning of the 20th century. It’s a simple story about two families locked in a blood vendetta over sugar cane land.
It’s beautifully shot against dry Brazilian landscapes and narrated through the eyes of a little boy and off course the tremendous cast of talented actors, especially, Rodrigo Santoro. However, it was the little boy who really stole the show and carried the movie through. He was fantastic, and showed real brotherly love, and the relationships between the families.This movie was often painful but delightful for those who admire depth, romanticism and beauty of expression. A must to see.
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the fog of war (2003)
(Click image above to view trailer) Academy Award®-winner for Best Documentary Feature, THE FOG OF WAR is the story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara 2003 Sony Pictures Classics Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Fog of War (2003) - Documentary
Director: Errol Morris
Cast notables: Robert McNamara, Fidel Castro, Barry Goldwater, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Curtis LeMay, Richard Nixon, Harry Reasoner, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
Using archival footage, United States Cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, THE FOG OF WAR depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company’s president, to managing the American Vietnam War, as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
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Moon (2009)
(Click image above to view trailer) Starring Sam Rockwell, Matt Berry, Robin Chalk, Dominique McElligott and Kevin Spacey as the robot. A truly unique film: It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earths primary source of energy, Helium-3.
Moon (2009) - Science Fiction Drama
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey
With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. When he has an accident however, he wakens to find that he is not alone.
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nebraska (2013)
Nebraska (2013) - Drama
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb and Stacy Keach
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize. A great cast, nice photography shot in black and white, authentic locations and wonderful music make Nebraska a winner.
Bruce Dern is one of finest actors of the baby boomer generation, and his work here is remarkable and effortless. Dern and Forte work well together, making every moment believable. The soundtrack/music with the black and white images, shot in familiar Midwest surroundings make me dizzy.
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Enter the void (2009)
Enter the Void (2009) - Fantasy Drama
Director: Gaspar Noé
Cast notables: Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta
Based on the opening credits alone, you realize you’re in for a wild ride.
This psychedelic tour of life after death is seen entirely from the point of view of Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), a young American drug dealer and addict living in Tokyo with his prostitute sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta). When Oscar is killed by police during a bust gone bad, his spirit journeys from the past – where he sees his parents before their deaths – to the present – where he witnesses his own autopsy – and then to the future, where he looks out for his sister from beyond the grave.
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