The obscure-movie meme

Although I may have missed the boat on this blog meme, I thought I'd go ahead and offer my thoughts on obscure movies that I think are pretty good. By obscure, I will refer to any movie that didn't see much light of day among the larger moviegoing populace, although not necessarily a definitive "arthouse" offering. And by good, that can mean well-executed, thoughtful, or just plain fun to watch.

• Live From Shiva's Dance Floor - not so much a movie, more like a short. But I got to see it while attending the Sundance Film Festival in 2003, and was impressed with its meaningful commentary on 9/11 and its impact on the city of NY. Maybe some would disagree, but I still think Timothy Speed Levitch qualifies as obscure.
• Waking Life - speaking of Speed Levitch, this film briefly starring him by Richard Linklater is also probably more a documentary than a movie. Still, a fun mix of animated imagery and live action and very intriguing philosophizing, albeit perhaps in a late-night-college-dorm-bullshit-session kinda way.
• Roger Dodger - manipulative cynicism meets fawning naïveté. It doesn't give in to any maudlin tendencies, but also doesn't leave you as jaded as its main character either.
• Stir of Echoes - hard to call a movie starring Kevin Bacon "obscure", but it was greatly overshadowed by The Sixth Sense, which preceded it and had a similar ambience. That's too bad, because this was a fine movie in its own right.
• Talk To Her - Almodovar at his best. Very touching, and one scene in particular is perhaps the absolute funniest laugh-out-loud-in-the-theater moments I've ever had.
• Unknown White Male - also a documentary, but a really excellent one about a real-life event of someone losing every long-term memory of theirs. If you enjoyed Memento, then this one is a real must-see.
  

I do see from the list at milkriverblog that others have mentioned Brazil, Rabbit-Proof Fence, and Whale Rider as well. I love all these movies too, but I don't know if I'd call Brazil "obscure". Oh well, if we call Brazil obscure, then I'll go ahead and add Donnie Darko to my list too.



tags: movies