Winter's Bone, the Movie That Started Jennifer Lawrence's Career, Has an Amazing Successor

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is the amazing new movie from the director of Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik. It’s the story of a father and his daughter who live completely off the grid in a national park in Portland, and their quiet quest to not be separated and remain off the grid. It’s not the sensational, tear-jerker story that you’d expect something with this premise to be. Rather, and like Winter’s Bone, it chooses a humane and realistic approach to the subject matter. The decision to live outside society is almost irrelevant to this movie. More so, its inevitability for certain people with certain mindsets is what is interesting. A stunningly quiet movie, really well-acted too.

On Amazon

Mystery

Well-acted

2018

Stop Making Sense

Widely regarded as one of the finest concert movies of all time, Stop Making Sense depicts musical innovators The Talking Heads at the height of their game. Directed by Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), and starring the eccentric and energetic David Byrne, the show is a marvel of perfectly executed choreography and mid-eighties musicality. Halfway through the set, one might think they’ve heard all of the hits, but they keep coming and coming. Before Beyonce was Queen, before Bieber was conceived, this film shows what is capable with a camera, a guitar, and some genius.

On Prime

Documentary

Sunday

1984

Strictly Ballroom

Strictly Ballroom is an energetic, fun and hilarious movie. Baz Lurhman does an incredible job telling the story of a rebellious young dancer who just wants to dance his own steps in the face of conformity. When he finds an inexperienced yet determined dance partner it’s the beginning of an unexpected love story like no other. This movie isn’t like the usual rom-com, it has colour, vitality and passion. It’s a Moulin Rouge but with even more character, and the work that put Lurhman on the map for everyone.

On Amazon

Comedy / Romance

Well-acted

1992

Secondhand Lions

This forgotten gem is the perfect family movie. It stars Michael Caine and Robert Duvall as the two eccentric uncles of Walter, a shy city kid (played by Haley Joel Osment). When Walter moves in with his uncles in rural Texas, he first has a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings. However his routine is changed after he starts hearing local gossip about his uncles, and reminiscence spurs in all three an incredible eagerness for adventure. Secondhand Lions has gathered impressive cult following in the past few years, and rightfully so. Its fast-paced, entertaining yet substantial storyline shines a light on the amazing performances by the cast, and offers a surprising mix of funny, heartwarming and sad. Look out for the flashback scenes.

On Amazon

Drama / Family

Warm

2003

Spirited Away

This is director Hayao Miyazaki and producers Studio Ghibli at their best. On the surface level, it’s a film about a young girl who stumbles into an abandoned theme park with her parents. She accidentally finds herself in a creepy spiritual world wherein she must find a way to save her parents and escape. More broadly, however, this is a film about the struggle for Japanese cultural identity in the wake of the economic crisis of the early 90’s. A deep and deeply hypnotizing movie about a little girl’s journey.

On Amazon

Animation / Family

Foreign

2001

In the Mood for Love

A beautifully crafted film about the unrequited love of two people renting adjacent rooms in a Shanghaiese territory in Hong Kong in the 1960s. The main characters, played by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung, struggle to stay true to their values rather than give in to their desires although they both suspect their spouses of extramarital activities. The flawless acting and stunning visuals and editing wonderfully represent the melancholia of repressed emotions, and help the audience truly “feel” the film’s “mood”.

On Amazon

Romance

Foreign

2000

Wolf Children

If you’re living alone and just came back home from a bad day, it could make you feel like everything’s alright again. This is the kind of movie that feels like a warm hug, that you’d keep in your hard drive to watch over and over again, just because it makes you feel so damn good! The story offers a realistic yet ultimately forgiving view of maternity, and growing up in general. From director Mamoru Hosoda, who’s known for his other works like “The Girl Who Leaps Through Time”, “Wolf Children” is another kind of beautiful that can only be fully understood after you watched it.

On Amazon

Animation

Foreign

2012

Song of the Sea

This animated movie is absolutely wonderful. It’s an Irish production, and the drawings/graphics are so beautiful and different from what you usually see in this genre. This alone, along with the music, would be good reasons to watch this.

But what really makes this worth your time is the story – it’s about a boy dealing with the loss of his mother. He embarks on an adventure into a parallel world of feelings to save his sister.

I found it to be refreshingly original, sometimes quite intense (I cried, but I easily cry), and heartwarming. The details are great. And I love the way the story was interwoven with Irish mythology, making it magical.

On Amazon

Animation

Original

2014

The Lunchbox

“Sometimes even the wrong train takes you to the right destination”. An Indian housewife dealing with her cheating husband and dying father seeks love, attention and appreciation through her cooking. By mistake, the lunchbox she sends to her husband through the famous delivery system of Mumbai is delivered to the wrong address, sparking an unlikely and unique romance through letters packed along with lunch every day. A very sweet, emotional and refreshing movie.

On Amazon

Drama / Romance

Foreign

2013

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