Indie Film Minute: Movie Recommendations: Recent Episodes
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Each week, Indie Film Minute highlights independent, foreign, classic, or documentary films. All of our films are always available for rental or streaming, so anyone, anywhere can watch them!
If you're not lucky enough to have the Indie Film Minute airing on your local radio station, follow us on Spreaker and stay up to date on all our latest film picks.
Indie Film Minute recommends Perrierâs Bounty, directed by Ian Fitzgibbon.
Perrierâs Bounty is not a Quentin Tarantino film, but itâs certainly in the tradition. An Irish offering, it stars Cillian Murphy as unlucky hustler Michael McRea, and a perfectly droll Brendan Gleeson as Perrier the crime boss.
Indie Film Minute recommends The End of the Tour, directed by James Ponsoldt.
In James Ponsoldt's The End of the Tour, we're given the chance to enter into the world of the late, brilliant novelist David Foster Wallace, just after the publication of his tour de force Infinite Jest.
Indie Film Minute recommends Don't Think Twice, directed by Mike Birbiglia.
In improv comedy, it's essential that you trust your fellow performers. But what happens when one of the group makes it big and the rest...don't? This comedy digs deep into the cruel, cruel world of entertainment.
Indie Film Minute recommends Amélie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Arriving in 2001, Amélie quickly became the most successful French-language film ever released in the U.S. It offers a portrait of one of the most imaginative and whimsical characters to appear on screen.
Indie Film Minute recommends Café Society, directed by Woody Allen.
Café Society is an enjoyable trifle on the surface, but it is also a master class is fine filmmaking. Its subject is big, but as common as waking day after day: the inevitable corruption of youthful idealism.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Last Wave, directed by Peter Weir.
While special effects and haircuts quickly go out of style, the best movies weather the years by asking enduring questions. In the case of Peter Weirâs mystery The Last Wave, itâs this: What if your dreams could really happen?
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Catfish, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.
As the new wisdom goes, "be careful who you meet on the internet." Is this an entirely true story of a catfishing scheme, or did the film's directors know what they were getting into? Watch, and decide for yourself!
Indie Film Minute recommends Grandma, directed by Paul Weitz.
Lily Tomlin plays Elle, the lesbian, feminist grandmother of Sage. When Sage finds herself pregnant and in need of help, her survival instinct leads her to the give-em-hell fighter she trusts to win in a clinch: Grandma.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Sessions, directed by Ben Lewin.
We wouldn't blame you for being cautious of a film about a sex surrogate and an incapacitated client who lives life mostly within an iron lung. This could go wrong in so many ways. Instead, The Sessions gets everything right.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Act of Killing, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer.
In the mid 1960âs, Indonesia overthrew its leftist government. Street gangs were empowered to kill with impunity. Was it somehow partly our fault? These actual killers claim they were inspired by American cinema.
Indie Film Minute recommends Take Me to the River, directed by Matt Sobel.
Usually, soon after the start of a film, we have our bearings. This is not the case with Take Me to the River, a dangerous film that whipsaws its audience to an unexpected conclusion.
Indie Film Minute recommends Is That You?, directed by Dani Menkin.
Ronnie, it seems, is at the end of the road. Fired from his longtime job as a projectionist, he travels to America on a romantic whim: to find the first woman he ever loved, Rachel. A heartwarming film about âthe road not taken.â
Indie Film Minute recommends Getting Out, directed by Nick Felice.
Two buddies work through hard times, neither making much of himself. One works for an abusive small-time mobster, while the other is losing his house to the bank. The solution? Of course! âRob the mobster!â
Indie Film Minute recommends Ma Vie en Rose, directed by Alain Berliner.
Ma Vie en Rose, also known as My Life in Pink, offers us a delightfully sensitive portrait of seven-year-old Ludovic, anatomically born a boy, who comes out to her family and friends as a transgender girl.
Indie Film Minute recommends Captain Fantastic, directed by Matt Ross.
Captain Fantastic occupies an indie no-manâs-land: part comedy, part tragedy, with some gore, some action, and a musical sequence or two. Through it all, though, we come to know a strange but loving family.
Indie Film Minute recommends Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia.
Amy is no âtalking headsâ doc. It painstakingly assembles real footage from Amy Winehouseâs life to create an intimate portrait of true talent emerging, striving, creatingâand ultimately melting into tragedy.
Indie Film Minute recommends Chinese Puzzle, directed by Cédric Klapisch.
The third installment in Cédric Klapisch's French trilogy, Chinese Puzzle, offers many of the same joys as its predecessors. Like L'Auberge Espagnole, this film is a meandering charmer, full of life and love and relatability.
Indie Film Minute recommends Lake Tahoe, directed by Fernando Eimbcke.
In less masterful hands, Lake Tahoe might ring false, or even be downright boring. But director Fernando Eimbcke trusts his audience to unravel the filmâs tensions. What results is tragic and poignant.
Indie Film Minute recommends Testament of Youth, directed by James Kent.
Testament of Youth begins as a story of both ambition and young love, moves steadily from prewar hopes and dreams to the dawning of disillusionment, and finally comes to the question of where to go from there.
Indie Film Minute recommends Love & Mercy, directed by Bill Pohlad.
The Beach Boys captured the youth and vibrancy of the surfer aesthetic in distinctive music. Love & Mercy tells a dark side to their story, revolving around the mental challenges of artistic leader Brian Wilson.
Indie Film Minute recommends L'Auberge Espagnole, directed by Cédric Klapisch.
L'Auberge Espagnole follows Romain, an exchange student putting off adulthood in Barcelona, as he learns what it's like to make lifelong friends based upon shared experiences.
Indie Film Minute recommends Obvious Child, directed by Gillian Robespierre.
Obvious Child, directed by newcomer Gillian Robespierre and starring Jenny Slate, is a sensitive, layered, emotional, and often very funny film about a few tumultuous months in the life of a rising young comic.
Indie Film Minute recommends Weiner, directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg.
Weiner is a close-up chronicle of former congressman Anthony Weiner's race for redemption after a mistaken tweet (featuring, well, little weiner) was sent to all of his followers and he resigned in disgrace.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Fits, directed by Anna Rose Holmer.
The Fits showed up in theaters for an instant, then faded into memory like a dream. Fitting, as the film itself is dreamlike and contemplative, visual poetry at times, and at others, a sensitive coming-of-age story.
Indie Film Minute recommends Birdman, directed by
Riggan Thompson was once famous for playing the super hero âBirdman.â At the height of his career, he walked away from the role in search of truer art. Now he seeks regained glory by directing a Broadway play.
Indie Film Minute recommends Hector and the Search for Happiness, directed by Peter Chelsom.
How can we find happiness? This lighthearted indie film follows dissatisfied psychologist Hector around the world as he seeks the answer to this age-old question.
Indie Film Minute recommends Jules and Jim, directed by François Truffaut.
From the French filmmaker François Truffaut comes Jules and Jim, a fast-paced and funny love story. If you're looking to dip your toe into the foreign film genre, this is a great place to start.
Indie Film Minute recommends His Way, directed by Douglas McGrath.
His Way chronicles the life of Jerry Weintraub, a legendary producer in both music and film, who ran with the biggest personalities in the industryâthink Elvis, Bob Denver, and Frank Sinatra.
Indie Film Minute recommends Sole Proprietor, directed by Dan Eberle.
Sole Proprietor, a dark noir puzzle writhing in the gutter of hopelessness, is a crime drama written, produced, and directed by Dan Eberle, who also stars as Crowley, a burned-out CIA âdark asset.â
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary First Position, directed by Bess Kargman.
What many people donât realize about ballet is that itâs a rigorous sport. Nowhere is this more evident than in First Position, a documentary that takes the stereotypes of ballet and smashes them to pieces.
Indie Film Minute recommends A Prophet, directed by Jacques Audiard.
Some progressive countries are finding ways to rehabilitate their prison populations for a positive reentry into society. Not so in A Prophet, a film that deals with the shaping of a calculating, cold-blooded criminal.
Indie Film Minute recommends Viva La Libertà, directed by Roberto Ando.
Viva La Libertà, set in the world-weary political arena of modern-day Italy, is the preposterously comic tale of opposition party leader Enrico Olivieri, who is bone-tired of "playing the game."
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Keith Richards: Under the Influence, directed by Morgan Neville.
In a voice honed through herculean abuse, Keith Richards tells his stories, perhaps the most significant of which is his lifelong reverence for the early artists of Chess Records.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, directed by Morgan Spurlock.
How much product placements affect film production is unknown. Luckily, Morgan Spurlockâs documentary is here to tell us the real story behind these camouflaged ads.
Indie Film Minute recommends Dheepan, directed by Jacques Audiard.
In Dheepan, director Jacques Audiard shares an immigrantâs story. The dream is that in a civilized country, opportunity is there for the taking. But reality brings challenges just as real as those left behind.
Indie Film Minute recommends To Die For, directed by Gus Van Sant.
In Susanneâs mind, she will be a star. Believe it and achieve it! But here she is. Her husbandâs become a satisfied, saddle-bag-laden couch potato and she a small town weather girl. Merely obstacles to be overcome!
Indie Film Minute recommends Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.
Making use of voice-over, animation sequences, and significant viewpoint acrobatics, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is far from a stereotypical teenage âcancer film.â
Indie Film Minute recommends Young Adult, directed by Jason Reitman.
In the off-beat comedy Young Adult, Charlize Theron plays Mavis, a scheming, divorced writer. When she receives a baby announcement from a former teenage flame, she decides to return home to get him back.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Legend of 1900, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore.
Upon release, The Legend of 1900 won a slew of international awards. European festivals loved its humanistic observations and magical imagination. Few American audiences, though, had the patience to give it a chance.
Indie Film Minute recommends They Came Together, directed by David Wain.
David Wainâs fantastic rom-com parody They Came Together doesnât hold back. From start to finish, this hilarious film tracks Amy Poehler and Paul Ruddâs characters as they fall in âlove.â
Indie Film Minute recommends Mustang, directed by
â¨Deniz Gamze Erguven.
Mustang, Franceâs entry for 2015âs Best Foreign Film, is the story of five strong young women: loving, silly, serious, and smartâas complete a picture of young womanhood as youâre likely to find on film.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary The Rape of Europa, directed by Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge, and Nicole Newnham.
In this mind-blowing documentary, we encounter a new perspective on WWIIâthat of the countless paintings and sculptures that were looted, stolen, hidden, lost, and caught in the crossfire.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Quiet American, directed by Phillip Noyce.
Starring Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser, Phillip Noyceâs adaptation of The Quiet American is a classic tale of love and war, set in 1950s Vietnam during the First Indochina War.
Indie Film Minute recommends Far from the Madding Crowd, directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
We have loved the work of Carey Mulligan since her start in An Education. Here she plays Bathsheba Everdeen, a free spirit who inherits a farm and does not see the need for marriage.
Indie Film Minute recommends Prep School, directed by Sean Nichols Lynch.
A toxic brew can be created by mixing adolescence, privilege, and sports bonding and adulation. This is the world of Prep School, an inaugural feature film written and directed by Sean Nichols Lynch.
Indie Film Minute recommends Big Fan, directed by Robert D. Siegel.
The spark for Paul Aufieroâs life is the New York Giants. He lives with his mom and never misses a game...from the parking lot. But when Paul meets the Giantsâ star linebacker, his idol worship doesnât exactly match reality.
Indie Film Minute recommends The White Meadows, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.
A year after the release of The White Meadows in 2009, the Iranian government sentenced both its director and its editor to prison. The film, they declared, was a ârisk to national security.â
Indie Film Minute recommends Hello, My Name Is Doris, directed by Michael Showalter.
Sally Field, 69 and better than ever, plays a shy spinster named Doris Miller. When John, a hip new art director, arrives in the office where she works, Doris goes bonkers and hilarity ensues.
Indie Film Minute recommends A Single Man, directed by Tom Ford.
The incredibly insightful A Single Man offers a portrait of a gay man in 1960âs L.A. George (Colin Firth) has lost his partner to tragedy. Swimming through the fog of bereavement, he struggles to find the drive to go on.
Indie Film Minute recommends Cinema Six, directed by Mark Potts.
This indie comedy follows the employees of a small-town multiplex in their daily drudgery. Itâs hilarious, and vulgar, and heartwarming, and best of all: emotionally complex, like the great indies of the early 90âs.
Indie Film Minute recommends In Bloom, directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß.
In Bloom, a gritty Georgian drama set right after the fall of the Soviet Union and at the start of the Georgian Civil War, introduces us to two seemingly normal teenage girls, Eka and Natia, who are forced to grow up quickly.
Indie Film Minute recommends Mona Lisa, directed by Neil Jordan.
The so-called âneo-noirâ genre includes some of the most popular cult titles in recent decades, like Pulp Fiction and Fight Club. Though this neo-noir indie flew under the radar, itâs well worth your time.
Indie Film Minute recommends Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
In 1940, Hitchcock released his first American film, Rebecca. It would go on to win Best Picture, but not Best Directorâone of the Academyâs earliest snubs, since this is arguably among Hitchcockâs finest.
Indie Film Minute recommends the horror film Green Room, directed by Jeremy Saulnier.
There is a whole genre of horror films that celebrate gore at their core, but Green Room transcends the grotesque in favor of fully realized stories, characters with depth, and a complexly imagined setting.
Indie Film Minute recommends Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin.
In this magical realist tale of survival from first-time director Benh Zeitlin, a young girl living in the imaginary âBathtubâ region of the Louisiana Bayou prepares for the storm of the century.
Indie Film Minute recommends While We're Young, directed by Noah Baumbach.
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play a middle-aged couple who meet a âtwenty-somethingâ version of themselves. Quickly, they fall into the world of their new friends, longing for their spontaneity and limitless possibilities.
Indie Film Minute recommends Midnight Special, directed by Jeff Nichols.
In this spare indie sci-fi film from director Jeff Nichols, two men are on the run from both the government and a religious cult. Their precious cargo? A boy in steampunk goggles with seemingly magical powers.
Indie Film Minute recommends I'll See You in My Dreams, directed by Brett Haley.
Blythe Danner plays a widow and former singer faced with growing older. With a little help from her friends, she makes choices again, falls in love again, and begins to reconnect to the life around her.
Indie Film Minute recommends Close-Up, directed by Abbas Kiarostami.
Close-Up is one of the most notable films from the late Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. Set in 1980s Tehran, this is the story of a film-lover who gets carried away with a role of his own.
Indie Film Minute recommends Nola and the Clones, directed by Graham Jones.
Itâs movies like Nola and the Clones that remind us that film doesnât have to just be an escape. The realism that Irish director Graham Jones employs here allows us to return to our own world transformed.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie horror film It Follows, directed by David Robert Mitchell.
Nostalgia is a powerful force, especially in filmmaking. Attention to old-school details is part of what makes David Robert Mitchellâs horror flick It Follows such a rewarding viewing experience.
Indie Film Minute recommends Cake, directed by Daniel Barnz.
Jennifer Aniston plays Claire, once a driven professional, who now lives in extraordinary emotional and physical pain because of a car accident that has left her scarred and unable to cope with the death of her son.
Indie Film Minute recommends Cadillac Records, directed by Darnell Martin.
This musical biopic launches us into the world of Chess Records, the recording studio that introduced us to musical talents like Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, and Etta James, played here by Beyoncé Knowles.
Indie Film Minute recommends the classic indie film Ghost World, directed by Terry Zwigoff.
Scarlett Johansson, Thora Birch, and Steve Buscemi star in this offbeat, coming-of-age comedy based on the best-selling comic book by Daniel Clowes. Now fifteen years old, it's considered a classic of the indie world.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Tapped, directed by Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey.
From the same director as the revelatory diet documentary Fed-up (another IFM pick), comes Tapped, a no-holds-barred investigation into the inner workings of the bottled water industry.
Indie Film Minute recommends In the Valley of Elah, directed by Paul Haggis.
In this indie drama, Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank, a father who shoulders a great burdenâthe mysterious death of his son after his return from a war Hank himself supported.
Indie Film Minute recommends Ex Machina, directed by Alex Garland.
In this sci-fi indie from director Alex Garland, computer programmer Caleb finds himself trapped in an experimental test to discover whether an artificially intelligent humanoid can pass the Turing Test.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Guest, directed by Adam Wingard.
When a stranger comes to town, heâs often greeted with wary glances until proven friendly. But in Adam Wingardâs striking thriller The Guest, that stranger brings more trouble than the townsfolk may have asked for.
Indie Film Minute recommends the foreign film Ship of Theseus, directed by Anand Gandhi.
The Indian film Ship of Theseus interweaves three stories of organ transplants to explore what it means to live with a part of someone else inside of you. This one is a hidden gem well worth the 2.5 hours of subtitles.
Indie Film Minute recommends Still Alice, directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland.
Julianne Moore received a Best Actress Oscar for her starring role in the indie film Still Alice, a tragic portrait of a linguistics professor who discovers that she has early-onset Alzheimerâs and must cope with her diagnosis.
Indie Film Minute recommends the 2001 British indie film Lawless Heart, directed by Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter.
Shallow judgments fade when you walk in anotherâs shoes. In Lawless Heart, we are reminded that complex lives surround us, that everyone has challenges and meaningful perspectives all their own.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Happy, directed by Roko Belic.
With an untold number of resources going into the study of depression, one wonders why there are so few studies of happiness itself. The documentary Happy tries to set the scales straight.
Indie Film Minute recommends the movie Entre Nos, directed by Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza.
Based on the real-life experiences of one of the filmmakerâs mothers, Entre Nos is the story of a Colombian immigrant who tries to make the best of life in New York City with her two young children.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie film 25th Hour, directed by Spike Lee.
In Spike Leeâs 25th Hour, Edward Norton plays Monty, a convicted drug dealer who must report tomorrow to begin a seven-year prison term. All told, his last day âon the outsideâ will be lived in very sharp focus.
Indie Film Minute recommends Heart of a Dog, directed by Laurie Anderson.
Back in the 70âs, Laurie Anderson was known for her experimental performance pieces and abstract art. Nearing seventy when Heart of a Dog came out in 2015, she still has much to say about love and death and art.
Indie Film Minute recommends Joe, directed by David Gordon Green.
Joe (Nicolas Cage) runs a crew that poisons unworthy trees to make room for new growth. In his world, merely being a stand-up guy makes you a hero. And the bar for happy endings is set at the lowest possible rung.
Indie Film Minute recommends the foreign-language film The Last Summer of La Boyita, directed by Julia Solomonoff.
Tender and poignant, this Argentinian film offers a fresh take on what it means to come of age into an unfair, confusing world defined by gender distinctions and tradition.
Indie Film Minute recommends Birthday Girl, directed by Jez Butterworth.
In the little-known British-American indie film Birthday Girl, John is an invisible guy. When he takes a chance and orders a delivery bride from Russia on a whim, what could possibly go wrong?
Indie Film Minute recommends the French indie film Swimming Pool, directed by François Ozon.
In this erotic thriller from writer/director François Ozon, two very different women meet at a summer house in France. After a crime is committed, we're left to grapple with the twists and turns that follow.
Indie Film Minute recommends Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper.
In 1969, two hippies (Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda) produced Easy Rider, a low-budget movie that tapped into the heartbeat of the era and became a box office hit. Now itâs one of the most iconic films of all time.
Indie Film Minute recommends the 2007 indie film Starting Out in the Evening, directed by Andrew Wagner.
Starring the masterful Frank Langella, Starting Out in the Evening explores the insistence of time, the importance of connection, and the price and reward of risk.
Indie Film Minute recommends Love Is Strange, directed by Ira Sachs.
Keen observation and deep appreciation for human nature are essential to film. We can be thankful that writer/director Ira Sachs upholds these qualities in his lovely film Love Is Strange.
Indie Film Minute recommends the 2007 Israeli film Jellyfish, directed by Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen.
What makes Jellyfish worthwhile is how it challenges its characters with both the miraculous and the mundane. For those who love the art of film, here youâll also find visually arresting scenes of the city and the sea.
Indie Film Minute recommends the classic Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive, directed by Víctor Erice.
In Víctor Erice's magical realist classic The Spirit of the Beehive, a young girl believes that the spirit of Frankenstein's Monster has followed her off the screen, into her own world.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie films of Julianne Moore.
Julianne Moore makes every project with which she associates better. Though not as well known as, say, Meryl Streep, she has the admiration of those in the know and an Oscar for Still Alice.
Indie Film Minute recommends Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay.
Selma offers a relatively small but powerful slice of the Civil Rights Movement: the story of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the brutal turning point in the fight for voting rights that occurred at the Pettus bridge.
Indie Film Minute recommends Your Sister's Sister, directed by Lynn Shelton.
In this Seattle-based indie starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia, and Emily Blunt, the subtle humor of life unfolds on screen. This is not your average rom-com romp.
Indie Film Minute recommends Spring Breakers, directed by Harmony Korine.
Produced on a microscopic budget of $5 million, Spring Breakers is the story of four college girls whose ultimate spring break takes a turn for the sinister when they meet Alien, a local drug dealer.
Indie Film Minute recommends Grace Is Gone, directed by James C. Strouse.
Grace is killed while serving in Iraq, leaving behind her husband, Stanley (John Cusack), and two daughters. The film explores Stanleyâs painful efforts to come to grips with her loss and tell their daughters what happened.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Reel Injun, directed by Neil Diamond.
In the documentary Reel Injun, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes us back through the past hundred years of cinema, challenging the ways in which Hollywood has stereotyped Native Americans.
Indie Film Minute recommends the Colombian/US indie film Maria Full of Grace, directed by Joshua Marston.
Maria works in horrendous conditions de-thorning roses at a local flower plantation. Soon after she discovers she's pregnant, with no other options, she accepts an offer to go to America as a drug mule.
Indie Film Minute recommends Inherent Vice, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Inherent Vice is the story of Doc Sportello, a P. I. who takes on various cases which may, or may not, be interrelated. As in Boogie Nights, director Paul Thomas Anderson evokes the rich mood of a long-gone era.
Indie Film Recommends the classic film Lord of the Flies, directed by Peter Brook.
In 1963, the great experimental stage director Peter Brook hired thirty amateur child actors to film Lord of the Flies, asking them to improvise much of the dialogue. The resulting rawness is brilliant.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie horror film The Babadook, directed by Jennifer Kent.
Making a great horror movie is an endangered art, with the recent shift in focusing on shock value rather than story. Thankfully, we have films like The Babadook to prove that true creative horror still works.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, and Eleanor Coppola.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakerâs Apocalypse is the inside story of the production of Francis Ford Coppolaâs masterpiece Apocalypse Now, told through documentary footage and interviews.
Indie Film Minute recommends Dope, directed by Rick Famuyiwa.
Malcom, one of the âsmart kidsâ growing up in a rough South Central LA neighborhood, wants to be an achiever. Gang activity and drug use are pervasive around him, but his goals are high. Harvard is his dream.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Muscle Shoals, directed by Greg Freddy Camalier.
Itâs hard to say why success happens in the music industry. But there is a town, located where no one would ever expect, that has produced exceptional amounts of extraordinary music, music by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Cliff, Etta James, The Rolling Stones, Bono, and a long list other music legends. This documentary tells its story.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Stones in Exile, directed by Stephen Kijak.
Released in 2010, the documentary Stones in Exile allows us to finally go behind the scenes of the French sessions that led to the making of the groundbreaking Rolling Stones album Exile on Main St.
Indie Film Minute recommends The Triplets of Belleville, directed by Sylvain Chomet.
In this feat of modern animation, every moment brings surprising detail. Throw in an old-fashioned kidnapping, a dog, and a jazz sister duo, and you've got one phenomenal film.
Indie Film Minute recommends the sci-fi classic The Man Who Fell to Earth, directed by Nicolas Roeg.
Known for pioneering the glam rock movement and pushing the boundaries of gender identity, David Bowie was also an actor. Though each of his films shines, the crowning jewel is Nicolas Roegâs sci-fi indie, The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Indie Film Minute recommends Pan's Labyrinth, directed by Guillermo del Toro.
In this dark, magical realist fable from iconic director Guillermo del Toro, a young girl must reconcile the world of her imagination with the harsh realities of life during the Spanish Civil War.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Hoop Dreams, directed by Steve James.
Hoop Dreams follows the basketball careers of two inner-city teenagers, William and Arthur, who long to play in the NBA. Honest and relentless, itâs a testament to the fact that we are all living in different Americas.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie film The Lady in the Van, directed by Nicholas Hytner.
Back in the early 1970s, Mary Shepherd parked her van in the driveway of Alan Bennettâs London apartment, and stayed. Bennett, never able to go through with having her evicted, instead developed a fondness for her feisty negativity.
Indie Film Minute recommends Enter the Void, directed by Gaspar Noé.
Gaspar Noé is a provocateur. His films take us to the edge and push us over. Enter The Void is no exception. It's as close to a hallucinogenic journey as you can get without drugs, full of shock and beauty and awe and rage.
Indie Film Minute recommends the cult favorite Muriel's Wedding, directed by P. J. Hogan.
Murielâs Wedding may be seen as a rom-com in Australia. Yes, there are laughs and there is romance. But this film triumphs as the unique and intelligent journey of a singularly awkward girl, struggling to find her joy.
Indie Film Minute recommends Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, directed by Arvin Chen.
Set in Taiwan, with an instantly likable cast, magical sequences, and a light touch to what could otherwise be serious drama, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? is a charming, must-see indie.
Indie Film Minute recommends the classic film The Red Shoes, directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
In Boris Lermentovâs company, there is no difference between ballet and lifeâthey are one and the same. When his prima leaves the stage for a quiet life of marriage, he must find a new talent to take her place.
Indie Film Minute recommends Beasts of No Nation, directed by Cary Fukunaga.
It's terrible for a child to be corrupted by the carnage of war, and this film, by Cary Joji Fukanaga as writer and director, brings us into a world all too real.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie horror film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.
From an emerging Iranian-American filmmaker comes a love story between a striving young man and a female vampire, set in a world of decadence and disaffected youth.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie film Carol, directed by Todd Haynes.
Todd Haynes's Carol, based on the 1952 novel The Price of Salt, tells the story of two women in love and the society unwilling to accept them. This is a sensitive exploration of the cruelty of intolerance.
Indie Film Minute recommends the indie film The Fall, directed by Tarsem Singh.
Tarsem Singhâs 2006 adventure fantasy The Fall transports us to 1920s California, to a hospital where two convalescing characters form an unlikely bond through the magic of telling stories.
Indie Film Minute recommends the foreign film The Scent of Green Papaya, directed by Tran Anh Hung.
This is a film of visceral beauty, a lush work of art that will excite all the senses. It takes little extra imagination to smell, to taste, and to feel the world of Mui, a servant girl who as a young teen comes into a family of uncertain fortune.
Indie Film Minute recommends the French film Amélie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Arriving in 2001, Amélie quickly became the most successful French-language film ever released in the U.S. It offers a portrait of one of the most imaginative and whimsical characters to appear on screen.
Indie Film Recommends the classic film Picnic at Hanging Rock, directed by Peter Weir.
On Valentineâs Day in 1900, while on a picnic at Hanging Rock, three young women and their teacher disappeared. High in the crags of the rock, they left no trace. This is their story.
Indie Film Minute recommends the film Grigris, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.
Grigris has a deformed leg, a passion for rhythm, and a warm, beautiful soul. Living in Chad where there is no safety net for people with disabilities, he dances for approving crowds to make ends meet.
Indie Film Minute recommends the documentary Meru, directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi.
What drives people to risk their lives for adventure? Is adrenaline such a powerful drug that it drives some to risk everythingâto endure killer painâto ignore insurmountable risk? Meru is the story of just such a quest.