Pauline at the Beach
Dir. Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer movies are what you watch when you want to experience the thrill of someone putting into words something…
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Dir. Sean Durkin
A very intelligent and nuanced movie that relentlessly asks unpleasant questions. It’s a story about a woman seeking freedom by…
The Scent of Green Papaya
Dir. Anh Hung Tran & Tran Anh Hung
Warm, enchanting, poetic and delicate, this is an almost silent film about a poor Vietnamese girl who goes to work…
Breathe
Dir. Julien Lambroschini & Mélanie Laurent
Mélanie Laurent both directed and wrote this, her fifth movie. She offers an impressive display of deft film-making and honest,…
Mysterious Skin
Dir. Gregg Araki
When Brian was eight years old he lost five hours of his life to a black out. Now ten years…
Vagabond
Dir. Agnès Varda
Even before Agnès Varda pivoted to documentary filmmaking, she was a pioneer of French cinema. Her film Sans toit ni…
20th Century Women
Dir. Mike Mills
Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, and many other big names star in this comedy-drama directed by Mike Mills (Beginners, Thumbsucker.) The…
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée
C.R.A.Z.Y. is crazy good, so to speak. A portrait of a French-Canadian family in 70’s Quebec that will knock your socks…
American Honey
Dir. Andrea Arnold & 安德里亚·阿诺德
British filmmaker extraordinaire Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank) draws the perfect portrait of two young American drifters who fall in love.…
Mustang
Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven & Female director
Five orphaned sisters are put under house arrest by their uncle and grandmother after they are seen horsing around with…
Crooklyn
Dir. Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s semi-autobiographical film is a loving and nostalgic ode to the Brooklyn of his childhood. It also happens to…
Maria Full of Grace
Dir. Joshua Marston
Is courage still courage when you have no choices left? What do you do when you’re pressed to the wall…
Ruby Sparks
Dir. Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano), a young and promising novelist imagines and writes about his idea of a perfect female companion. Somehow,…
Frances Ha
Dir. Noah Baumbach
Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives in New York – but not the glamorous NYC of Woody Allen movies. Taking place primarily…
The Science of Sleep
Dir. Michel Gondry
How does a standout director follow up to a film like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? With a more…
Ghost World
Dir. Terry Zwigoff
Based on the comic book by Daniel Clowes, Ghost World is a dark comedy that follows the exploits of teenage…
Two Lovers
Dir. James Gray
This is the most practical romantic movie I have seen though many would disagree with its ending. It’s a triangular love…
Never Let Me Go
Dir. Mark Romanek
A dark and sophisticated slow-burning drama, Never Let Me Go is adapted from the highly acclaimed novel of the same name by Japanese-born British author…
Laurence Anyways
Dir. Xavier Dolan
This is a gorgeous French-Canadian movie with out-of-this-world sound work. Laurence is deeply in love with his girlfriend, Fred. On…
Melancholia
Dir. Lars von Trier
When categorizing Lars von Trier’s oeuvre, critics speak of a “Depression Trilogy” bookended by Antichrist and Nymphomaniac, but Melancholia is…
Wristcutters - A Love Story
Dir. Goran Dukić
A dark and existential comedy, Wristcutters: A Love Story follows Zia (Patrick Fugit), a young man who commits suicide, only to…
Tom at the Farm
Dir. Xavier Dolan
What starts as an unsettling drama quickly morphs into a searing psychological thriller. The film, based on a play of…
Heartstone
Dir. Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson
This coming-of-age drama is set in a remote fishing village in Iceland. It follows a group of boys during a…
An Education
Dir. Lone Scherfig
A movie about a 16 year old girl who gets involved with an older more sophisticated man and how the…
Monsieur Lazhar
Dir. Philippe Falardeau
After the sudden death of a teacher, 55-year-old Algerian immigrant Bachir Lazhar is hired at an elementary school in Montreal.…
Nobody's Fool
Dir. Robert Benton
One of those long-lost mid-budget dramas that’s content with observing the rich yet uneventful lives of average folk, Nobody’s Fool…