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2016

Foreign

Good Movie

Elena

Realistic, intimate, and compelling, Elena is a movie that makes you think a lot after you finish watching it. It is an inherently Russian movie, however there is something about how the story is told that makes it a universal family drama. A woman from a modest background to which she still has a lot of attachement is married to an old wealthy business man. Upon learning that the man might write her off his will, she feels pushed to get her hands dirty to honor her responsibilities towards her original family. The question of right and wrong when faced with extreme situations is at the heart of this aesthetically slow-burning family drama.

Mood: Absorbing, Depressing, Tear-jerker, Well-acted

2011

Foreign

Good Movie

The Selfish Giant

A Ken Loach type of vibe drives The Selfish Giant to be an interesting mix between anger, desperation, and the beauty and humor often found in tough circumstances (think I, Daniel Blake but with kids as main characters). This sort of contemporary fable tells the story of two friends who skip school and hustle for work from a local scrap-dealer. As they get more and more involved with him and his entourage, the grim realities of what once seemed a way out start to cast a shadow over their lives. The script is based on a short story by Oscar Wilde, it’s a beautiful, ultimately sad portrayal of the British underclass.

Mood: Beautiful, Dark, Depressing, Touching

2013

ICYMI

Good Movie

The Reader

The Reader is a German-American drama from 2008, based on the best-selling novel by author Bernhard Schlink. The storyline begins with adult Michael (Ralph Fiennes) reminiscing about his adolescence in post-World War II Berlin and his fateful relationship with an older woman named Hannah (Kate Winslet). 15-year old Michael is beset by Scarlet Fever and helped off the street one day by Hannah. Taken into her care, they soon begin a passionate affair, quickly forsaking family and friends for every opportunity to ensconce themselves in a world of lust and desire. As their time together progresses, Hannah begins urging Michael to read to her daily—to which he draws from many classic novels and delights in their rich interchange.
Hannah suddenly disappears from Michael’s life, however, only reappearing several years later when young law student Michael is stunned to find her facing a World War II war-crimes tribunal. Tied to a real-life series of trials against former Auschwitz employees, The Reader is a strikingly original and exceptionally well-made film that is recommended to those who appreciate sophisticated, emotionally mannered cinema.

Mood: A-list actors, Depressing

Drama / Romance

2008

Slow

Good Movie

A Ghost Story

Twisted yet deep. Sad yet interesting. Slow yet exhilarating. A Ghost Story is an incredible artistic achievement. With hardly any dialog, and breathtakingly long takes in its first half, it manages to bring you in its own creepy world and not let go until you feel completely lonely. Starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck as a loving couple who are hit with a horrible tragedy, the beginning is slow, and it’s not a plot driven movie, but if you give it a chance it will blow your mind.

Mood: A-list actors, Absorbing, Challenging, Dark, Depressing, Mind-blowing, Slow, Thought-provoking, Touching

Prime

Drama / Romance

2017

Good Movie

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

An inspiring documentary about famed artist Ai Weiwei who has been the source of arguably the biggest public confrontation with the Chinese government by any artist. His straightforward attitude is made to provoke and to defend the people of China against the totalitarian regime. The film portrays Weiwei’s very visible struggle for redemption and invoke a sense of accountability from the government. The documentary is also about him as a person, his intimate relationships and his interactions with his family as he prepares for a big exhibition. A rare insight into a fascinating mind.

Mood: Depressing, long, Thought-provoking

Documentary

2012

Good Movie

The Central Park Five

The Central Park Five is a harrowing documentation of the unseen narrative surrounding the 1989 Central Park Jogger case. Five men – four black and one of Hispanic descent – have been wrongly accused, tried, and convicted for the assault, rape, and sodomy of female jogger Trisha Meili the night of April 19. No (DNA) evidence was found implicating the involvement of any of the kids to the crime and no one could identify them, but because the crime was sensationalized by the masses and the authorities were put under pressure by the media to pin a name on the case, they settled with coercing a confession out of the juveniles. This is a telling of their tale years on.

Mood: Depressing, Mind-blowing, Thought-provoking, True-crime

Prime

Documentary

2012

Foreign

Good Movie

Biutiful

Ever wondered how much your life will change when faced with the reality that death is about to come? That’s normal, and not nearly as life-altering as being told you only have a few more moments to live. Because of a terminal illness, Uxbal (Javier Bardem) is driven to this situation and tries to right his wrongs in the wake of modern Barcelona.
This melodrama is supercharged by Bardem’s unearthly performance as the story’s only hero, demonstrating the selfless love of a destroyed and dying father to his children – paired with cinematography unlike any other, this film is exceptionally beautiful. Directed by González Iñárritu’ (Babel, Birdman, The Revenant).

Mood: Character-driven, Dark, Depressing, Humane, Mind-blowing, Thought-provoking, Well-acted

Drama / Romance

2010

Good Movie

August: Osage County

Family movies were made to teach a lesson or two – whether it be loving dear parents, being a tad empathetic about others, or simply cherishing the moment. Like a true family dramedy, August: Osage County is all that, and more. The Westons is a family seemingly (actually, more like) falling apart at the seams – what with patriarch Beverly (Sam Shepard) going missing, mother Violet (Meryl Streep) suffering from alcoholism and pill-addiction, and some well-kept secrets distancing the siblings that are, well, under the table. This drives the Weston-daughters to come home after diverging many moons ago and chaos ensues.

With an overly talented ensemble headlined by Streep as the cancer-ridden matriarch of the Westons and Julia Roberts as her eldest, supremely in-denial daughter, it’s easy to see why this has gathered five Academy Award nominations to its name.

Mood: A-list actors, Depressing, Dramatic, Emotional, Well-acted

2013

Foreign

Best Film

The Sea Inside

There are movies that make you a bit more mature when you watch them. This movie is one of them. They took very hard and controversial topic, but presented in so you do understand both sides and agree with them. Winner of an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, it tells the true story of a man who spent 28 years campaigning for the right to end his own life. Now you get why I said it was a hard topic, right? It’s a heart-wrenching watch to say the least, but thanks to a perfect performance from Javier Bardem the complex story gains such a big grasp that it ends up having uplifting and even funny moments.

Mood: Depressing, Intense, Mind-blowing, true-story-based

2004

Foreign

Good Movie

The White Helmets

The White Helmets, the 2016 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, is a concise but riveting documentation of the titular rescue organization that formed in Syria in 2012. Set primarily in the war-torn city of Aleppo, the film captures the day-to-day efforts of the White Helmet volunteers as they respond to the sites of airstrikes and bombings in order to remove survivors and victims from demolished buildings. Director Orlando von Einsiedel (Virunga) clearly put himself in the face of it to capture remarkable footage of war and ruin, illuminating the unimaginable destruction and death beset upon the Syrian people over the course of nearly 6 years of civil war. It’s a remarkable effort, highlighted by the profound one-on-one interviews with members of The White Helmets. They each express their heartfelt desire to save the lives of other human beings, even as they yearn for peace and the safety of their own families and friends. Indeed their official credo from The Quran, as explained in the film, reads “Whoever saves one life, saves all of humanity.”

Mood: Challenging, Depressing, Humane, Inspiring, Thought-provoking

Documentary

2016

Foreign

Good Movie

The White Ribbon

This 2009 Palme d’Or winner is filmed beautifully in black and white by Michael Haneke. In equal parts mysterious and disturbing, it is set in a northern German village in between 1913 and 1914 where strange events start to happen seemingly on their own. The people of the village, who feel as if they were punished, try to investigate it as the events start affecting them one by one. As they speculate on who is behind the acts that never stop, the film unfolds its slow but captivating plot. A brilliant and unique movie.

Mood: Dark, Depressing, Dramatic, Thought-provoking

2009

Foreign

Best Film

Mommy

The story of a single mother trying to raise an unstable teenager and their interactions with the world surrounding them, Mommy is a movie that aims straight for the heart and doesn’t miss. It is so intense that you are likely to feel a kind of emotional tiredness after watching it. However, it is a beautiful intensity so to speak. Because while it has many joyous moments as well as funny ones, its true brilliance is reached while you are being punched in the guts. This is the more impacting with perfect the performances from the cast, the elaborate soundtrack and Xavier Dolan’s impeccable staging.

Think of Mommy as the most beautiful heartbreaking movie you will ever watch, it will hurt, but you will never regret watching it, and you will find yourself recommending it to everyone you know.

Mood: Absorbing, Beautiful, Challenging, Depressing, Dramatic, Emotional, Intense, Mind-blowing, Raw, Tear-jerker, Thought-provoking, Thrilling, Touching

Hulu

2014

Best Film

I, Daniel Blake

Revealing the gaps in the social safety net, I, Daniel Blake, is a tale centered around a blue collar worker navigating the welfare system in England. At a time where class and social mobility could not be more politically salient, this film calls into question the notion of the “citizen” and exposes the inaccessibility to the social protections in which one presumes entitlement.

At the forefront of this, is a heart-warming parable of paternal companionship between Daniel (played by Dave Johns) and a single mother – Katie – (played by Hayley Squires) who is wading through similar terrain. The acting in the film is unfathomably raw which cultivates the deepest source of gut wrenching compassion. Ken Loach has created a film that exposes the true power of empathy, leaving you feeling helplessly human.

Mood: Beautiful, Character-driven, Depressing, Emotional, Humane, Touching, Warm

2016

Good Movie

Tallulah

There are some actors you feel you see a lot of until a role comes by that makes you think they are actually underused. That’s Ellen Page’s role as Tallulah, a young girl with seemingly little regard for anyone but herself. Travelling the country while living in a van with her boyfriend; with no one to turn to or any idea how to manage such a situation, she comes across a toddler abandoned by her mother. Inevitably, she takes her in. Page, who is also the executive producer of the film, shines through the character oriented script and direction by first-timer Sian Heder. A beautiful movie.

Mood: Beautiful, Character-driven, Depressing

2016

Best Film

Love & Mercy

The main reason to watch Love & Mercy could be that it’s about the life of Beach Boys leader Bryan Wilson, but it shouldn’t. That wouldn’t do the film any justice. Yes it is a great rock biopic, but its reach goes way beyond that: it’s a compelling and beautiful character study performed in unparalleled perfection by Paul Dano and John Cusack. It gives an inside look into the mind of a genius in all its glory and obscurity. And so much of it rings true because, yes, it is about the life Beach Boys leader Bryan Wilson. Such a unique and beautiful film.

Mood: Charming, Depressing, Emotional, Sunday, true-story-based, Well-acted

Hulu