For those who are hungry to see a cinema that dares to more artistic stories, we leave you a list of the best independent movies that have been on the billboard or you can get on Netflix.
- Also discover what is the cult cinema with 5 examples of movies.
What do we mean by independent film?
In principle, the budget, the blockbusters have a more significant monetary injection than some of the best films of the independent genre.
While having more money in the budget helps to blow up a helicopter or make a dragon look real, there is also more pressure from producers to meet certain commercial parameters to try and guarantee as many viewers as possible.
And this is the great advantage of indie films: that the commercial pressure is considerably less, so they dare to tell different , cruder stories and with a high artistic commitment to the message they are trying to express.
Best Recent Independent Movies
Next, we will make a count with the independent films that have seduced the international box office and those that you can find online.
10. Tangerine (2015, Sean Baker)
In sunny West Hollywood, friends Sin-dee and Alexandra catch up, after the former served a short prison sentence. The conversation explodes when Alexandra tells him that Sin-dee’s boyfriend/pimp is cheating on her with a drug addict.
There are two details: the protagonists are transsexual prostitutes and the entire story is recorded on iPhone , which makes it one of the most prominent in recent years. Sean Baker is committed to filming the adventures of these two friends through an iPhone, in a film that ends up being 88 minutes long.
Although the experiment worked out quite well for Baker, with 24 awards at 35 international festivals, the director made it clear that he prefers the classic celluloid, as he did in his next project, which was also a critical success.
9. The Florida Project (2017, Sean Baker)
After the successful passage of Tangerine through international festivals, Baker decided to mount a camera on her shoulder to tell the story of a girl who paints with her ingenuity, a very raw reality.
The award-winning director not only had greater financial support in this new project, but also had the support of the great actor Williem Dafoe,who stands out in the role of Bobby, a patient janitor who tries to fulfill a fatherly role in the adventures of the ingenious Moone. The story takes place in a motel of little prestige, on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, so the reference to the magic of childhood, which contrasts with the poor facilities where Moone lives, stands out in every step of the film.
The Florida Project charmed an international audience at more than 100 film festivals, where it swept 62 awards. In addition, it had the luxury of making its world premiere at the prestigious Cannes festival.
8. BlacKkKlansman (2018, Spike Lee)
Under the vision of Spike Lee, a refreshing and original comedy appears to study, from another point of view, racism in the United States, which makes it an independent film that you cannot miss.
The story takes place in the United States in 1970, when an African-American detective decides to unmask a Ku Klux Klan cell in the town of Colorado Springs . The adventures of John David Washington (played by Ron Stallworth) are based on real life events .
Unlike other independent films, with the presence of Spike Lee behind the camera, it guarantees a decent investment in the project, which gives way to an impeccable production, set in the ’70s and with a level casting with the presence of actors like Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) and Adam Driver (the new Star Wars trilogy).
BlacKkKlansman has walked through more than 160 film festivals around the world, in addition to six Oscar nominations, accompanied by a worldwide box office receipt of more than 89 million dollars… not bad for a film with a budget of 15 million. of dollars.
7. Call Me By Your Name (2017, Luca Guadagnino)
In a small Italian town, during a hot summer in the 1980s, a unique sentimental relationship will take place between a 16-year-old teenager and a much older foreigner than the one who comes to the place for work.
The story of love and heartbreak of Elio (played by Timothee Chalamet) is directed by Luca Guadagnino, (A Bigger Splash, the new Suspiria) and is inspired by the novel by Andre Aciman. The recording was made on the Italian island of Pantelleria, where the director walks us through the beauties of its streets, its architecture and its natural landscapes.
This is where Oliver (Armie Hammer) arrives to work with Mr. Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg), however, Oliver’s social skills will lead him to integrate into the community, and even become romantically involved with one of the town’s girls. This awakens an unknown side for Elio, his physical and romantic attraction to a person of the same sex , so this conflict that the boy manages will give rise to a beautiful story of self-knowledge.
Call me by your Name traveled to more than 220 festivals , in which it swept 93 awards, in addition to having been nominated in the category of Best Film of the Year at the Oscars.
6. 120 BPM (Beats per Minute, Robin Campillo)
In just the third feature film of his career, the director of Moroccan origin Robin Campillo, captured the public with the story of the first activists for AIDS awareness in France, around the year 1990, in which there is an intense love story .
Music, rebellion and politics are mixed in this French film that stood out among the most prestigious European independent films of recent years.
The story centers on Nathan (Arnaud Valois) who is a newcomer to the Protestant group and gets carried away by his attraction to the radical Sean (Nahuel Perez Bizcayart).
All this story of love is surrounded by the social impact of AIDS and the tragedy it means for people who carry this virus.120 BPM was the top winner at the 2017 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, as well as visiting 50 other international events, where it won 46 awards, in addition to a solid collection at the world box office, which allowed it to increase the number of followers of this story. .
Perhaps the name of Campillo is familiar to you, since the director triumphed worldwide in 2004 with his film debut The Returned, in which he tells the story of the revival of the dead from a sociological point of view rather than science fiction.
Indie movies on Netflix that you can’t miss
The online platform has multiple options to find the most outstanding indie movies in recent years, so we leave you with the rest of the list to enjoy online.
5. I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore (2017, Macon Blair)
Comedian Melanie Lynskie plays Ruth (known for her role as Rose in Two and a Half Men) leads a dark story, full of black humor, about a woman who tracks down some thieves who entered her house.
Her frustration at not receiving help from the police forces Ruth to try to recover her items with deep sentimental value from the looters of her home. In this hunt she will be accompanied by her neighbor of hers in love with her named Tony, and played by Elijah Wood.
This work represented the debut behind the camera of the actor Macon Blair, known for his role in the film Green Room. Blair wrote the film that won Best Feature Drama at the popular independent film festival at Sundance. I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore is available on Netflix and has a duration of one hour and 33 minutes.
4. Mudbound (2017, Dee Rees)
Two men return home from fighting in World War II and reencounter the inequalities of racism in rural Mississippi. In addition, they have the challenge of overcoming their traumas to readjust to society.
Garrett Hedlund plays Jamie McAllan, a former soldier haunted by memories of the war.. A simple combustion of a car, leads him to throw himself on the ground, reliving the worst moments he lived on the battlefield. Ronsel Jackson extends his hand to help him return to the present, which will lead to a beautiful friendship… except for the racial separation that existed in the United States at that time.
Jackson, played by Jason Mitchell, struggles to support himself by working on a farm while overcoming constant racist attacks from various members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The director Dee Rees carries out an impeccable job that led her to tour more than 100 festivals around the world, in which she won 31 awards.. Rees also made history by being the first African-American to be nominated for best adapted screenplay, while director of photography Rachel Morrison was the first woman to be nominated for best cinematography.
3. To the Bone (2017, Marti Noxon)
A young woman struggles with anorexia, until she meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to fight her illness, which also leads her to change her approach to life, as well as to impose herself before his physical condition. Lily Collins was the protagonist of the big screen version of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), however in this independent film, she manages to show a more dramatic facet that led her to capture the attention of critics.
Collins plays Ellen,a girl obsessed with calculating calories in all the food she eats , exercising without control and maintaining a slim figure… however, this obsession leads her to a dangerous weight loss. She there she falls into the hands of Dr. Beckham, played by Keanu Reeves, who leads a particular group of patients who support each other to get ahead in their respective eating disorders.
The film was selected at Sundance and marked the directorial debut of Marti Noxon, who is widely known in the world of the small screen, as she is the producer of series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
2. Other People (2016, Chris Kelly)
An emotional comedy that tells the life of David (Jesse Plemons) who returns to his hometown to help care for his mother Joanne (Molly Shannon), so along the way he discovers the sweetest and most bitter moments close to his family. . Joanne is a woman full of life who seeks to make the most of every possible moment alongside her loved ones, while David analyzes every situation he lives near her mother.
This film directed by Chris Kelly means the first feature film in his career, after having made different short films since 2010. Other People had a solid performance in the circuit of independent festivals in the United States until landing on Netflix.
1. Nightcrawler (2014, Dan Gilroy)
Screenwriter Dan Gilroy made his directorial debut with a suspenseful thriller full of chases, murders, and blood-curdling morbidity that drew applause from the public and critics alike. Nightcrawler tells the story of Louis Bloom (played wonderfully by Jake Gyllenhaal) who is an unemployed man, desperately looking for a job.
After one of many frustrating job interviews, Bloom returns home to an accident on the avenue where he sees a business opportunity: crime news coverage for the morning news. So Bloom becomes a night raven after the most sordid events in the city, motivated by the unscrupulous Nina Romina (Rene Russo) who buys the audiovisual material that the hungry sensationalist collects.
Available on Netflix, this film toured more than 120 festivals around the planet, collecting 43 awards.
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