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Einar @lemm.ee

Which are lesser-known movies that are well worth seeing?

In other words: What’s a hidden gem I probably haven’t seen but totally should? And why is it a must-watch?

102 comments

  • In no particular order (and yes some are more well known in film circles, maybe I should've ommited them, but you never know what the reader hasn't seen):

    Jojo Rabbit, 2019 - a comedic coming of age in Nazi Germany. Jojo and his imaginary friend, Hitler, face a complicated and rapidly changing world.

    The Mitchells versus the Machines, 2021 - animated family adventure for fun with the whole family.

    Rise of Leslie Vernon, 2006 - mocumentary following slasher killer Leslie Vernon.

    Bunny and the Bull, 2009 - an, in my opinion, gorgeously set film about two friends on a road trip in Spain.

    Parallel Mothers (Madras Paralelas), 2021 - not a hidden gem if you know anything about Spanish cinema, but maybe you don't. Penolpe Cruz is a new mother whose life becomes intertwined with another women's when they give birth in the same hospital.

    Hero (英雄), 2002 - again, if you know Wuxia film then this isn't a hidden gem. A pinnacle of the genre, a Chinese Rashomon with wire fights.

    Blow Up, 1966 - British New Wave classic. A photographer used to a free and casual 60s life becomes certain he has accidentally photographed evidence of a murder.

    Berberian Sound Studio, 2012 - exploration of sound and feeling. A mild mannered amateurish British sound technician gets a big job working on the sound effects for a giallo film in Italy.

    Martyrs, 2008 - the pinnacle of French New Extreme movement. It made a big name for itself at the time for being the sort of torture porn film that really gave it a point beyond vouyerism. Not for the faint of heart.

    Rye Lane, 2023 - a romcom love letter to London.

    The Day Shall Come, 2019 - an eccentric black preacher gets caught up in a web of madness that runs deep.

  • Known to horror aficionados, but not to general movie watchers: Lake Mungo (2008)

    I highly recommend you don't read up on it. Besides the fact that the film just works so much better when you come to it fresh, most reviews - both in print and YouTube videos - spoil pivotal scenes, including in the artwork they choose to use as a thumbnail/heading. Just watch it. Even if the horror doesn't work for you (many people report being bored by the film), it's still a great film with surprising depth and heart. It's worth checking off your list for sure.

    The basics: It's a mockumentary set in Australia, made by a director/writer who hasn't done anything before or since, featuring actors who probably aren't known to you, even if you're an Aussie. Much of the dialogue is improvised, so it feels very real and natural.

    Try to watch it alone, in the dark, with no distractions (turn off your phone). This will help maximise your chances of being one of the lucky people the film has managed to scare in a profound way. I'm one of those lucky people, I'm happy to say!

  • Pecker 1998

    A talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.

    Written and directed by John Waters.

    Starring Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci and Bess Armstrong.

  • The Man from Earth

    It's a small budget indie movie, and if you don't like people talking and prefer action, then maybe this isn't for you. Buut, for me, it was a great movie. It only uses one set, a room or two, for the entire movie. And it's still great.

    Huh, I need ti actually rewatch I've been suggesting it so much lol

    Edit "Timecrimes" was a good one imo as well iirc https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/

  • Cashback I feel is pretty unknown. Maybe not but still very good. Also Gentleman Broncos is fantastic if you’re into the napoleon dynamite style of comedy, same creators.

  • Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em

    Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em is a 1988 Australian short feature about an underground party held in post-apocalyptic Melbourne. The film is a product of nuclear anxiety at the height of the Cold War.

    Director: Ray Boseley. Cast: Rob Howard, Nique Needles, Polly Croke, Daniel Lillford, Fred Dugina, Maddog Bott, George Huxley, Chris Windmill, Ian 'Quinsy' Maclean, Lindsay Brundson, Clayton Jacobson, Adam Learner, Myrtle Woods, Bill Johnston, Smiley Rowe, John F. Howard, Claire Bordas, John Flaus, Wayne ullman, Dennis Tupicoff, Peter Lane, Wain Fimo, Bruce Barnes, Angus Algie, Loretta Bell, Grant Barling, Claire Boseley, Julian Faull, Zlatko Kasumovic, Anthony Kay, Ollie Martin, Penny McKimm, Dennis Prosser, Adrian Scully, Aleksi Vellis.

  • Iceman is a 2017 German-Italian-Austrian adventure drama film written and directed by Felix Randau. It is a fictional story about the life of Ötzi, a natural mummy of a man discovered on 19 September 1991 in the Ötzal Alps.

    The film, which was filmed in the Tyrolean and Bavarian Alps features almost no dialogue, with a minimal amount in untranslated language based on reconstructed Rhaetian, created for the film by a linguist.

  • I few are talking about lesser-known movies then

    Gloria Bell

    The movie is a remake of a 2013 film and is directed by the same guy who made the original.

    It's about a middle-aged woman living in LA (or it New York? Idrc) and dating.

    The reason it's one of my fav movies of all time is that Julianne Moore gives a performance that is so human that you can see yourself and everyone else and all our normal human experiences in just one woman who is living her life and dating, it's a beautiful experience.

  • @originalreader I feel like no one talks about Deerskin, which was an excellent low-key comedy/horror/satire/weird-ass film from a few years back.

  • Oh goodness, too many to count: Boy Kills World, I Saw The TV Glow, American Fiction, Kalki 2898-AD, Leave The World Behind, Dirty Girls, and I didn't love it but I think The Beast/La Bete is worth watching as well for its stunningly accurate depiction of what it's like to be lonely while in love and how that affects both men and women over time.

    • Recently saw I Saw the TV Glow and it's such a wild ride! Can definitely recommend if you're looking for something a bit different.

  • Dersu Uzala (1080p, Eng subtitles)

    Based on the work of the scientist and writer, famous traveler and explorer of the Far East V. Arseniev. The story of his friendship with the guide Dersu Uzala with extraordinary personal qualities. Their journey through the taiga-forest, full of dangerous adventures, is the plot of the film, but the meaning of the story goes far beyond the plot: it's a story about the brotherhood of people, that we are all children of the same land.

    Year of production: 1975

    Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
    Screenwriters: Yuri Nagibin, Akira Kurosawa
    Composer: Schwartz Isaac
    Cinematographers: Gantman Yuri, Dobronravov Fedor, Nakai Asakazu
    Production Designer: Raksha Yuri
    Cast: Yuri Solomin, Alexander Pyatkov, Maxim Munzuk, Vladimir Kremena, Svetlana Danilchenko, Suymenkul Chokmorov, Mikhail Bychkov, Dima Korshikov, Nikolay Volkov, Igor Sykhra, Janis Yakobson, Alexander Baranov

    Prizes and awards:
    1975 - FIPRESCI Prize at the IX IFF in Moscow
    1975 - gold prize at the IX IFF in Moscow
    1976 - "Oscar" by the American Film Academy in Los Angeles (USA) for the best foreign film
    1976 - diploma of the II degree "for achieving the best results in the artistic, visual and technical solution of the film" at the I All-Union competition for the best use of domestic negative color films when shooting feature films
    1976 - participation diploma at the XIV New York International Film Festival (USA)
    1977 - Special Prize of the National Association of Screenwriters of Spain, for the best foreign film shown in the country
    1977 - diploma of participation at the IFF in Brussels (Belgium)
    1977 - honorary award to producer Krichevsky Georges (posthumously) at the IFF in Brussels (Belgium)
    1978 - M. Munzuku French critics' award "for the best acting work"
    1976 - diploma of participation at the IFF in Vienna (Austria)
    1977 - International Cinema Prize "David di Donatello" (Italy) for the best foreign film shown in Italy

  • Sir! No, Sir! (2005, 1080p)

    Sir! No Sir! is a documentary film about the anti-war movement within the ranks of the United States Military during the Vietnam War. It consists in part of interviews with Vietnam veterans explaining the reasons they protested the war or even defected. The film tells the story of how, from the very start of the war, there was resentment within the ranks over the difference between the conflict in Vietnam and the "good wars" that their fathers had fought. Over time, it became apparent that so many were opposed to the war that they could speak of a movement.

  • If you like animation you have to see Son of the White Mare. It's a gorgeous and elegant retelling of traditional Hungarian fairy tales with clever nods to a modern psychedelic sensibility.

  • The Kings Of Summer

    Coming-of-age comedy about three teenage friends -- Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio (Moises Arias) - who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Free from their parents' rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship as each boy learns to appreciate the fact that family - whether it is the one you're born into or the one you create -- is something you can't run away from.

  • Volcano (1997) - It is a brilliant 90's version of a classic 50's disaster flick. One thing after another, never letting up, and all of so catastrophic as to defy belief; and yet suspension of disbelief is maintained. It is quite possibly the most 90's movie ever made. The writing is solid, there's very little cringe, and the practical effects are amazing. This movie would look completely different if made today, and would probably suck.

  • Late to the party but didn't see it listed yet.

    Chumscrubber

    "But, it's for school..."
    Shows how wrapped up people become in their own stories they become totally disconnected from what's happening around them. Sheriff doesn't realize his son is kidnapped Bunch of teens run around with a kid they've kidnapped, even tell one of their moms, who gets too wrapped up in who his mom knows to take it seriously.

    Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle, Justin Chatwin, William Fichtner, Allison Janney, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rita Wilson, Rory Culkin

    We saw it back when it was "new to dvd" desperate to see something new at the time, and have gone through a couple copies now because it doesn't come back when we lend it out. Happy to spread it though!

102 comments