My Recommendations
The 400 Blows
(Les Quatre Cents Coups)
The story of a misunderstood adolescent boy growing up in Paris.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1959
- Director François Truffaut
- Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Georges Flamant, Patrick Auffay, Robert Beauvais
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Titane
A near-fatal car crash leaves a girl with physical and emotional trauma that shapes her future — and her fetishes.
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- France, Belgium • 2021
- Director Julia Ducournau
- Cast Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle, Garance Marillier, Laïs Salameh, Mara Cissé, Marin Judas
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Microsoft Store, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
Burning
(버닝)
Jongsu's solitude is interrupted when he runs into a childhood neighbor and her enigmatic friend.
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- Korea • 2018
- Director Lee Chang-dong
- Cast Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo, Kim Soo-kyung, Choi Seung-ho, Moon Sung-keun
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Hoopla, Peacock, AsianCrush, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
Shoplifters
(万引き家族)
Sometimes it's better to choose your own family.
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- Japan • 2018
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kirin Kiki
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Hoopla, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Redbox, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Pain and Glory
(Dolor y gloria)
Aging film director Salvador Mallo turns to drugs to manage his chronic pain, triggering memories of childhood in rural Spain.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2019
- Director Pedro Almodóvar
- Cast Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, Penélope Cruz
- Genre Drama
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
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- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Pyaasa
(प्यासा)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 1957
- Director Guru Dutt
- Cast Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman, Mala Sinha, Johnny Walker, Rehman, Kumkum
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video
Bicycle Thieves
(Ladri di biciclette)
Antonio and his son walk the streets of Rome in search of Antonio’s stolen bicycle, vital for keeping his job.
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- Italy • 1948
- Director Vittorio De Sica
- Cast Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri, Gino Saltamerenda, Giulio Chiari
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
The Babadook
A recently widowed mother battles "The Babadook,” a dark character from a children's book who is lurking in the house.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia, Canada • 2014
- Director Jennifer Kent
- Cast Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall, Barbara West, Benjamin Winspear
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Netflix basic with Ads, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Shudder Apple TV Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex,
Derry Girls
A teenage girl comes of age amidst violent political tensions in Northern Ireland in the mid-1990s.
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- United Kingdom • 2018
- Creator Lisa McGee
- Cast Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie Lee O'Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn, Tara Lynne O'Neill
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Forced to flee into the New Zealand bush, city kid Ricky must learn to survive with his uncle as a national manhunt ensues.
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- New Zealand • 2016
- Director Taika Waititi
- Cast Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Oscar Kightley
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Hoopla, fuboTV, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Topic, Netflix basic with Ads, Topic Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Redbox, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex,
In the Loop
A British bureaucrat’s bumbling comments on television lead to a series of political maneuverings in the days leading up to a potential war.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2009
- Director Armando Iannucci
- Cast Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky
- Genre Comedy
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, The Roku Channel
The Worst Person in the World
(Verdens Verste Menneske)
Julie must navigate the troubled waters of her romantic life while struggling to find her career path in contemporary Oslo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Norway • 2021
- Director Joachim Trier
- Cast Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjørnebye, Vidar Sandem
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Kanopy
In Bruges
Shoot first. Sightsee later.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2008
- Director Martin McDonagh
- Cast Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Thekla Reuten, Jordan Prentice
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Crime
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand