obscure MUST SEE movies

[cbloom]

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I add The Celebration, another Dogme film. Much smaller in scope but the ratio of action/sets to emotion is higher than any other film I have ever seen.


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I love love The Celebration, such a powerful straightforward movie, not so many tricks like von Trier, but IMHO not the best introduction to Dogma. More like the connoisseurs choice once you know you like that style [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Unfortunately the whole movement seems to have derailed now with tedious & pretentious exercises in style that have no substance.

[Kimbell175113]

I wasn't thinking of Oldboy as obscure for some reason, but it is sure as [censored] a must-see, and probably the winner of this thread.

[durkahdurkah]

also, one that i happened to catch at the last Independent Film Festival here in Boston:

Edmond

[troymclur]

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Breaking the Waves
The revolutionary Dogma 95 school of filmmaking washed up on American shores with this intense European drama starring Emily Watson as Bess, a naïve Scotswoman who's convinced that God will heal her paralyzed husband (Stellan Skarsgård) if she has sex with other men. Director Lars von Trier shot the film using only available light, handheld cameras and no musical score; the result is a stunning, nakedly emotional film.

Grave of the Fireflies
Named Best Animated Feature at the 1994 Chicago International Children's Film Festival, this film proves that not all anime tales are pixie-dust fantasies or brutal sci-fi standoffs. Orphans Seita (voiced by Tsutomu Tatsumi) and Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) fight for survival in post-World War II Japan, but society is harsh. Soon, they come to the somber conclusion that they can neither escape the hardships of war nor find enough food to survive


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The Celebration ('Festin', in its original dutch) is also part of the Dogma grouping, and is simply spectacular. Every yearthe eldest son of an affluent family gives a speech for his fathers birthday party. This year, the first birthday after his sisters suicide he holds up two letters and has his father choose which speech to give. The speech changes the dynamics of the family forever.

It's a very lean movie that doesn't skip a beat. Each character reacts how you'd think they would given the situation, which rarely is the case with such bombastic material (you'll know what i mean when you watch the movie).

Highly recommended for even those who can't stand foreign flicks.

I'll also second 'Grave of the Fireflies'. Very moving, especially when you consider it is based off the authors real life experiences. It's amazing how few people know that we fire-bombed civilians in WWII. As Robert Macnamara once said, our generals would be charged as war criminals if we had lost.

looks like The Celebration has already been mentioned. Well i'll go ahead and put up:

The Apu Trilogy (Panther Panchali, Aparajito and The World of Apu)

All the films were made by Indian director Satyajit Ray, who, similar to Kurosawa, has influenced many of the great american directors. The films are very deliberate (especially the first one) but quite powerful in thier simplicity. The third film is by far the best, IMO, as the first film is only his second attempt at cinema, so it shows it's flaws. If you like Terrance Malick, or Wim Wenders, you'd like these.

[cero_z]

Hi All,

Awesome list you've got going!

Salesman -- Recently re-released documentary by the Maysles Bros (Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens) about door-to-door Bible salesmen. So awesome and analogous to poker. The dialogue could've been written by David Mamet (and remember it's a documentary).

Living In Oblivion -- Not super-obscure, but hilarious indie film about making indie films, starring Steve Buscemi and Catherine Keener.

She's So Lovely --Very dark comedy from the son of John Cassevettes. GREAT cast, and Sean Penn's best performance, IMO.

The Indian Runner -- Only meant to post 3, but mentioning Sean Penn reminded me of this gem, which he directed. Viggo Mortensen, Patricia Arquette, Charles Bronson showing some acting chops in a cameo.

[UncleSalty]

Is the Kieslowski "3 Colors" trilogy too mainstream now? I really enjoy the cinematography in those movies.

[captZEEbo]

breaking the waves

this movie is amazing. It's somewhat well-known but I'd still consider it obscure.

[mntbikr15]

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Equilibrium

Not sure how obscure this one actually is. It BOMBED in the theaters w/ absolutely no hype at all (someone shoulda been fired) but I really enjoyed it and it's developed a good word-of-mouth kinda following on dvd and download. So, sorry if it's not obscure to you but if you haven't seen it, check it out!

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This movie is awful. Few cool action scenes and nothing more

[MicroBob]

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Pi is my favorite Darren Aronofsky film. Shot in black and white, it's extremely thought-provoking (it made my brain hurt when I first saw it) and very well executed.

Yahoo description:

A mathmetician, Max Cohen, is on the verge of decoding the numerical pattern beneath the ultimate system of ordered chaos--the stock market. However, as he works, he is being pursued by an aggressive Wall Street firm set on stealing the code in order to dominate the financial landscape. Also in the hunt for Max's secrets are a Kabbalah sect intent on unlocking the secrets behind their ancient holy texts. Racing to crack the code, Max succeeds only to find he has a secret everyone is willing to kill for.

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Pi is an outstanding choice. I need to dig up my VHS copy of this one.

I think it's probably obscure enough to deserve inclusion here.
And I definitely consider this film a 'must see'.
Really really loved this film.


Pi and Harold and Maude are in my top 10 favorite movies. Possibly both in my top 5.

[gumpzilla]

I can't say I get all the Oldboy love. Sweet premise, and intense, but beyond that I didn't find it all that satisfying. It also seemed like a fairly gratuitous exercise in shock, in places, kinda like a somewhat gentler Miike film (which from the little I've seen I'm not a big fan of either.)