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Even if you dismiss the label “arthouse” immediately as something reserved for snobby cinephiles, I promise that you already like a handful of films under this category. So, what is the definition of a film as “arthouse?”
In the most important way, art house movies are those that are not made for culture, like Marvels and Disneys and the big franchises of the world. I won’t dare you to get into the Marvel/Scorsese debate because yes, great movies can be artistic. But when we talk about art, we are talking about films that push the boundaries of traditional storytelling, that require deep thinking, that take risks that allow us to talk about simple entertainment.
As Roger Ebert once wrote on art films, “These are films based on close observation of behavior. It is not a mechanical building of endless interest. They rely on intelligence and empathy to be appreciated. “
Although Netflix may not be the first place you think of when looking for art house – compared to Standard Channels or Mubi – the streamer shows great options in their catalog. Here you will find movies from all genres that are amazing, push the boundaries, and raise questions and emotions that will stay with you.
1. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Here are the best art house movies now streaming on Netflix. This may interest you : Titanic Return To Cinemas In High-tech Remaster By James Cameron.
Strange, unsettling, at times hilarious, and awe-inspiring, Charlie Kaufman’s new fantasy is a film you can’t just picture but have to experience – and maybe twice so it starts to make sense.
This drama begins with Jessie Buckley’s unnamed journey as she begins to question her relationship with her new boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons). The two are on their way to meet Jake’s parents, played by an actor David Thewlis and Toni Collette as a badass Mother. This is exactly what you need to know, as I Think The End Of Things is best entered blind.
Be warned, this movie is surreal and confusing, and it says more about Synecdoche; The New York end of Kaufman’s spectrum is more than accessible to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But if you are willing to leave the expectations of a traditional story, then you will be rewarded with one of the best films in recent years and excellent performances from Buckley and Plemons.
2. Lingua Franca
How to watch: I’m Thinking of the End of Things (opens in a new tab) now streaming on Netflix. On the same subject : Netflix added 43 new movies and shows this week. (opens in a new tab)
Writer/Director Isabel Sandoval’s Lingua Franca is one of the best movies of 2020, and remains one of the best hidden gems on Netflix. Distributed by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY, the film stars artists such as Chantal Akerman, Wong Kar-wai, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
We follow Olivia (Sandoval), an undocumented Filipina woman living in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, as she tries to obtain a green card through marriage and begins to fall for a suitor, a cis boy. Unlike most – if not all – of the film history of trans women’s films, Lingua Franca is full of calmness and stability when it comes to portraying trans life, from the dilation scene to the beautiful friendship of Olivia together and her Filipina sister (Ivory Aquino). ). To see the passing years in her transformation, embracing love, navigating love, and full of complexities is a testament to the power of filmmaking from a different perspective.
3. Sorry To Bother You
How to watch: Lingua Franca (opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Netflix. To see also : Netflix’s Best Movies and Shows: What’s Trending on June 21, 2022. (opens in a new tab)
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There really is no such thing as Sorry To Dame You, which is rarely said about a movie these days. Writer/director Boots Riley’s 2018 drama was one of the most visionary, both in style and social commentary, that we’ve seen in years.
A hilarious satire about a Black telemarketer (LaKeith Stanfield) who succeeds at work by using his “white voice,” Sorry to Bother You is as funny as it is scary. It is also terrifying in how Riley captures the reality of life under capitalism and white supremacy. If you enjoy the surrealist social commentary of Atlanta Season 3 and can get on board with a movie that isn’t afraid to go completely off the rails, please treat yourself to Sorry To Bother You ASAP.
4. Blue Jay
How to watch: Sorry to Bother You (opens in a new tab) now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
A quiet, black-and-white piece, Blue Jay is as simple and unfussy as romantic dramas come. While visiting his small mountain village, Jim (Mark Duplass) runs into his old high school girlfriend Amanda (Sarah Paulson). The two grabbed a cup of coffee, caught up, and spent the rest of the evening drinking and reminiscing about old memories. But as soon as the chemistry between them breaks out again, they will also be reminded of what made them break up in the first place.
Director Alex Lehmann’s film has a flowing, effortless quality to it. And the dialogue — enhanced by Duplass and Paulson — gives Blue Jay a solid credibility. It feels just what you imagine catching up with a past love will be like years later, full of laughter, sweetness, and old hurt.
5. Phantom Thread
How to watch: Blue Jay (opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
Credit: Annapurna Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
Sometimes you’re in the mood for a cartoon about love, but nothing too extravagant or pretentious. You want some comedy, melodrama, and maybe a twist that raises genre expectations. My friends, please meet Ghost Thread, a comic game full of humor, ready to satisfy all your needs.
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about a famous dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) courting a young waitress (Vicky Krieps) may at first seem like a picture of a seductive male genius. But it’s actually about the pleasure of watching a woman take this man down a notch. It is a film where Day-Lewis plays the role of a man who realizes that he wants to be a country.
Ghost thread is funny, it’s a visual feast. It’s hilarious, and it has a great score from Jonny Greenwood that only gets better on repeat.
6. The Power of the Dog
How to watch: Ghostbusters (opens in new tab) now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
Given how Netflix is increasing its investment in the daily high-budget list, the new Jane Campion is probably the closest thing this studio will ever get to producing extraordinary art house films.
Along with Netflix’s most popular originals, The Force Awakens is a surprise. This contemporary Western about friends repressed by their sexuality is a quick-fire thriller that begs the audience to pay close attention, invest in the confusing world of Campion’s characters, and surrender. his violence continues.
Benedict Cumberbatch does some of his best work to date as the hyper-macho stock Phil Burbank, a man who puts him in a game to scare his brother (the excellent Jesse Plemons) and his new wife Rose (the best touch and the Oscar -) Kirsten Dunst). Campion was thankfully honored with a Best Director Oscar for Dog Power and it’s easy to see why. Every frame of the movie is full of meaning and purpose. It’s a shame most people will only experience Power Defense on their laptop or TV. But on the other hand, it’s a gift that such an interesting film can be discovered by a curious audience who may never have given it a shot in the theater in the first place.
7. His House
How to watch: Dog Power (opens in a new tab) now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
Entering horror’s long history of exploring social issues through horror stories, Remi Weekes’s His House brilliantly uses the setting of an ordinary house to explore the anxiety and vulnerability of immigrants. Plus, it’s one of the best under-discussed horror movies of the last few years.
This thriller follows two Sudanese refugees, Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku), who escape to the UK only to face other nightmares. Living in a dilapidated private house, the two begin to witness a terrifying experience in their new home.
In the form of the interesting issue of Weeks, he created an atmosphere of horror with fear, and the supernatural elements are really disturbing. What makes His House better than a planned horror movie is the performance of Dirisu and Mosaku. Both of them infuse deep sadness and horror into their characters, showing us that His House is not just a ghost story, but a dream about the ways that trauma manifests in the ghosts that follow us.
8. Cairo Station
How to watch: His House (opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
The discussion of the art house on Netflix becomes difficult when you consider the fact that the streamer carries some titles of the first cinema, even less of the world’s first cinema. Thankfully, Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine’s extra work last year brought some notable Arabic films to the stage. Cairo Station is a good place to start, a fun thriller that combines Italian humanism with a Hitchcockian fantasy.
Set in a critical railway station in one day, the film follows Qinawi, a disabled housekeeper (played by Chahine), who creates a dangerous situation for a soda sales girl, who turns it frequently. Essentially, the Cairo channel is about an incel who is lost when he can’t find the girl. I know, we don’t need this story. But what’s even more interesting is the fact that this film – which skims over the surface exploring men’s clothing, toxic behavior, and the sudden violence that can arise from such behavior – came out in 1958. Qinawi is somewhere between Psycho’s Norman Bates and Travis Bickle’s Taxi Driver, and it’s interesting to see things two years ahead of their time on the silver screen.
9. Raw
How to watch: Cairo Channel (opens in a new tab) now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
You may remember Raw as the film that had people literally fainting in theaters during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. it lives up to the buzz.
Written and directed by Julia Ducournau – who recently shocked audiences again with the divisive Titane – Raw is about a young vegetarian, who arrives at university and suddenly starts drinking awar nama – human flesh.
While Raw is not a movie you want to watch with dinner, it is not an Eli Roth movie. This is an art list after all! Justine’s (Garance Marillier) passion for meat is all-encompassing and heartbreaking in a way that forces you to keep watching (even through your fingers). It’s not just great gore to rock. Ducournau uses the horror story of the coming-of-age as an example of rising, female sexuality and animalistic desires that threaten to overwhelm the whole. In short, it is unknown and interesting.
10. Christine
How to watch: Raw(opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
Antonio Campos’s Christine is far from a brilliant film (suicide content warning). This deeply disturbing biopic is an interesting attempt to explore a real disaster.
On July 15, 1974, Florida journalist Christine Chubbuck ended her broadcast segment by pulling out a handgun and fatally shooting herself. Christine da Campos describes the events in the life of the 29-year-old woman that led to the tragic murder on screen. In the title track, Rebecca Hall describes the crippling sadness and loneliness of a newspaper worker and the difficulties a woman in the 70s faced in this male-dominated industry. Hall is exploding and quietly decaying as she brings the harshness of her facial expressions to the surface.
Campos’s approach to Chubback’s story is certainly open to criticism and raises questions about whether the film itself – and even we as viewers – are exploiting the tragedy and making it more appealing. But wherever you fall on that debate, Christine is definitely worth watching for Hall’s work alone.
How to watch: Christine (opens in a new tab) is now streaming on Netflix. (opens in a new tab)
