Indie Picks
by cls-6 | created - 06 Mar 2016 | updated - 20 Apr 2023 | PublicIndie films from around the world that I find clever, charming or fresh, and would gladly watch again.
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1. The Eight Mountains (2022)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama
An epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set in the breathtaking Italian Alps, The Eight Mountains follows over four decades the profound, complex relationship between Pietro and Bruno.
Directors: Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch | Stars: Lupo Barbiero, Cristiano Sassella, Elena Lietti, Chiara Jorrioz
Votes: 14,777
2. Little Bone Lodge (2023)
R | 93 min | Crime, Horror, Thriller
Set during a vicious storm, two criminal brothers on the run seek refuge in a desolate farmhouse. Taking the resident family captive, they find the house holds dark secrets of its own.
Director: Matthias Hoene | Stars: Joely Richardson, Neil Linpow, Sadie Soverall, Harry Cadby
Votes: 9,671
3. How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crew of environmental activists plot a daring plan to disrupt an oil pipeline.
Director: Daniel Goldhaber | Stars: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck
Votes: 10,118
4. #ChadGetstheAxe (2022)
83 min | Horror
Four social media influencers live stream their trip to Devil's Manor, former home to a satanic cult.
Director: Travis Bible | Stars: Spencer Harrison Levin, Michael Bonini, Taneisha Figueroa, Cameron Vitosh
Votes: 273
5. Out of Darkness (2022)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
In the Old Stone Age, a disparate gang of early humans band together in search of a new land. But when they suspect a malevolent, mystical being is hunting them down, the clan are forced to confront a danger they never envisioned.
Director: Andrew Cumming | Stars: Iola Evans, Arno Lüning, Rosebud Melarkey, Tyrell Mhlanga
Votes: 3,808
6. Voice of Silence (2020)
99 min | Crime, Drama
Two men work for a criminal organization to clean up the aftermath messes. One day, they receive an unexpected order.
Director: Hong Eui-jeong | Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Jae-myung, Moon Seung-ah, Lee Ka-eun
Votes: 1,831
7. PVT Chat (2020)
Unrated | 86 min | Drama
Jack is an internet gambler living in NYC who becomes fixated on Scarlet - a cam girl from San Francisco. His obsession reaches a boiling point when fantasy materializes in reality and Jack sees Scarlet on a rainy Chinatown street.
Director: Ben Hozie | Stars: Peter Vack, Julia Fox, Keith Poulson, Buddy Duress
Votes: 1,867
unusually good script
8. Black Bear (I) (2020)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A filmmaker at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.
Director: Lawrence Michael Levine | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, Sarah Gadon, Paola Lázaro
Votes: 16,029
9. Queen & Slim (2019)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over.
Director: Melina Matsoukas | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny
Votes: 34,632
unusually good script
10. Kona fer í stríð (2018)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Halla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson | Stars: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Juan Camilo Román Estrada, Jörundur Ragnarsson
Votes: 11,307 | Gross: $0.85M
11. Zoo (I) (2018)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A couple try to save their marriage during a zombie apocalypse.
Director: Antonio Tublen | Stars: Zoë Tapper, Ed Speleers, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Jan Bijvoet
Votes: 2,147
12. Ava (II) (2017)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Romance
13-year-old Ava learns that she will lose her sight sooner than expected, and she confronts the problem in her own way.
Director: Léa Mysius | Stars: Noée Abita, Laure Calamy, Juan Cano, Tamara Cano
Votes: 3,321
unusually good script
13. The Other Side of Hope (2017)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees newly arrived to Finland.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Kaija Pakarinen, Tuomari Nurmio
Votes: 13,655 | Gross: $0.18M
14. Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)
Not Rated | 83 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.
Director: Issa López | Stars: Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Nery Arredondo, Hanssel Casillas
Votes: 9,052 | Gross: $0.13M
15. A Ciambra (2017)
Unrated | 118 min | Crime, Drama
In A CIAMBRA, a small Romani community in Calabria, Pio Amato is desperate to grow up fast. At 14, he drinks, smokes and is one of the few to easily slide between the region's factions - ... See full summary »
Director: Jonas Carpignano | Stars: Pio Amato, Iolanda Amato, Koudous Seihon, Damiano Amato
Votes: 2,940 | Gross: $0.03M
16. Moglie e marito (2017)
100 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Married for ten years, in full crisis, thinking about divorce. But following a failed scientific experiment, they suddenly find one inside the body of the other.
Director: Simone Godano | Stars: Pierfrancesco Favino, Kasia Smutniak, Valerio Aprea, Sebastian Dimulescu
Votes: 2,141
17. The Untamed (2016)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A couple in a troubled marriage locate a meteorite, initiating an encounter with a mysterious creature. Their lives are turned upside down by the discovery of the creature, which is a source of both pleasure and destruction.
Director: Amat Escalante | Stars: Ruth Ramos, Simone Bucio, Jesús Meza, Eden Villavicencio
Votes: 6,617 | Gross: $0.03M
18. It Stains the Sands Red (2016)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
In the throes of a zombie apocalypse, a troubled woman from Las Vegas with a dark past finds herself stranded in the desert with a lone and ravenous zombie on her tail.
Director: Colin Minihan | Stars: Brittany Allen, Juan Riedinger, Merwin Mondesir, Kristopher Higgins
Votes: 5,547
19. In Between (2016)
R | 103 min | Drama
Three Palestinian women living in an apartment in Tel Aviv try to find a balance between traditional and modern culture.
Director: Maysaloun Hamoud | Stars: Mouna Hawa, Sana Jammelieh, Shaden Kanboura, Mahmud Shalaby
Votes: 3,097 | Gross: $0.11M
20. Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016)
117 min | Comedy, Drama
In order to be independent and break free from the conservative society, four women sets on a journey to discover freedom and happiness.
Director: Alankrita Shrivastava | Stars: Aahana Kumra, Ratna Pathak Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Plabita Borthakur
Votes: 7,250
21. Hounds of Love (2016)
Not Rated | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted from a suburban street by a disturbed couple. As she observes the dynamic between her captors she quickly realises she must drive a wedge between them if she is to survive.
Director: Ben Young | Stars: Emma Booth, Ashleigh Cummings, Stephen Curry, Susie Porter
Votes: 13,447
22. 7 Days (2016)
96 min | Drama, Romance
Ivan and Chiara meet on a beautiful Sicilian island to prepare for the wedding of Ivan's brother and Chiara's best friend. Despite the fact that Ivan is determined not to repeat the failure... See full summary »
Director: Rolando Colla | Stars: Bruno Todeschini, Alessia Barela, Marc Barbé, Linda Olsansky
Votes: 396
23. Much Loved (2015)
104 min | Drama
A group of women in Morocco make a living as prostitutes in a culture that is very unforgiving toward women in that profession.
Director: Nabil Ayouch | Stars: Loubna Abidar, Asmaa Lazrak, Halima Karaouane, Sara Elhamdi Elalaoui
Votes: 3,045
24. A Perfect Day (I) (2015)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A group of aid workers work to resolve a crisis in an armed conflict zone.
Director: Fernando León de Aranoa | Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, Olga Kurylenko, Mélanie Thierry
Votes: 23,540
unusually good script
25. Tangerine (2015)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A hooker tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
Director: Sean Baker | Stars: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan
Votes: 35,531 | Gross: $0.70M
26. Summers Downstairs (2015)
100 min | Comedy, Drama
Matthias is the younger of the two Landberg brothers. While his brother David has followed in their father's footsteps on the path to success, Matthias lives his life far away from ... See full summary »
Director: Tom Sommerlatte | Stars: Sebastian Fräsdorf, Alice Pehlivanyan, Godehard Giese, Karin Hanczewski
Votes: 237
27. The Nightmare (2015)
92 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After attending a rave party, a teenage girl forms a bond with a strange monster as she suffers a slow chaotic mental breakdown.
Director: Akiz | Stars: Carolyn Genzkow, Sina Tkotsch, Wilson Gonzalez, Arnd Klawitter
Votes: 3,183
28. The Legendary Giulia and Other Miracles (2015)
115 min | Comedy
Sergio, Fausto Diego and Claudio have to struggle against Camorra in order to open an agritourism.
Director: Edoardo Leo | Stars: Luca Argentero, Edoardo Leo, Anna Foglietta, Claudio Amendola
Votes: 2,513
29. One Wild Moment (2015)
Not Rated | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two friends bring their daughters with them on a beach vacation and find themselves in an awkward situation. A remake of the 1977 film "Un moment d'égarement".
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, François Cluzet, Lola Le Lann, Alice Isaaz
Votes: 10,453
30. Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey (2014)
97 min | Drama, Romance
Thirty-year-old Alice's occupation is rather unusual for a woman: she works as an engineer on a freighter. She loves her job and does it competently but even in a greasy blue overall a ... See full summary »
Director: Lucie Borleteau | Stars: Ariane Labed, Melvil Poupaud, Anders Danielsen Lie, Pascal Tagnati
Votes: 906 | Gross: $0.00M
31. Appropriate Behavior (2014)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, politically correct bisexual and hip young Brooklynite but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities. Being without a cliché to hold onto can be a lonely experience.
Director: Desiree Akhavan | Stars: Desiree Akhavan, Rebecca Henderson, Halley Feiffer, Ryan Fitzsimmons
Votes: 4,728
unusually good script
32. Obvious Child (2014)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A twenty-something comedienne's unplanned pregnancy forces her to confront the realities of independent womanhood for the first time.
Director: Gillian Robespierre | Stars: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, Gabe Liedman
Votes: 26,342 | Gross: $3.12M
33. Murder in Pacot (2014)
130 min | Drama
After the terrible January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, a privileged couple struggles to reinvent a life amid the rubbles of their villa in Port-au-Prince's upscale neighborhood of Pacot. ... See full summary »
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Alex Descas, Ayo, Thibault Vinçon, Lovely Kermonde Fifi
Votes: 182
34. The Empty Hours (2013)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Romance
On the desolated coast of Veracruz, Mexico, 17-year-old Sebastián takes over running his uncle's small & cozy rent-by-the-hour motel. There all by himself much of the time, he meets Miranda... See full summary »
Director: Aarón Fernández Lesur | Stars: Kristyan Ferrer, Adriana Paz, Eliseo Lara Martínez, Abril Amaranta
Votes: 870 | Gross: $0.01M
35. Finsterworld (2013)
91 min | Drama
A number of individuals in Germany whose lives are connected in some ways, and all of them have dark sides which may shock us to the core.
Director: Frauke Finsterwalder | Stars: Gisela Aderhold, Christoph Bach, Margit Carstensen, Jakub Gierszal
Votes: 2,032
36. It Felt Like Love (2013)
Unrated | 82 min | Drama
Lila wants to emulate the sexual exploits of her more experienced best friend. She fixates on a tough older guy who will "sleep with anyone" and tries to insert herself into his world, putting herself in a dangerously vulnerable situation.
Director: Eliza Hittman | Stars: Gina Piersanti, Nyck Caution, Giovanna Salimeni, Nugget
Votes: 2,914 | Gross: $0.03M
37. Love & Air Sex (2013)
TV-MA | 91 min | Comedy, Romance
In this raucous, surprisingly romantic comedy, two pairs of exes are torn between rebound sex and getting back together. But can they survive the acts of revenge carried out at the Air Sex World Championships?
Director: Bryan Poyser | Stars: Ashley Bell, Zach Cregger, Sara Paxton, Michael Stahl-David
Votes: 1,033 | Gross: $0.01M
38. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
R | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.
Director: Colin Trevorrow | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
Votes: 130,872 | Gross: $4.01M
39. A Summer in Genoa (2008)
R | 93 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A man moves his two daughters to Italy after their mother dies in a car accident, in order to revitalize their lives. Genova changes all three of them as the youngest daughter starts to see the ghost of her mother, while the older one discovers her sexuality.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Colin Firth, Perla Haney-Jardine, Willa Holland, Catherine Keener
Votes: 6,781
40. Where Do We Go Now? (2011)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village.
Director: Nadine Labaki | Stars: Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf, Layla Hakim
Votes: 13,508 | Gross: $0.53M
unusually good script
41. Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A young Jewish American man, with the help of an eccentric local, endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village that was ultimately razed by the Nazis.
Director: Liev Schreiber | Stars: Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Lyoskin, Jonathan Safran Foer
Votes: 59,923 | Gross: $1.71M
unusually good script
42. Machuca (2004)
Not Rated | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Two 12-year-old Chilean children from different social classes become friends in 1973. They both discover each other's world as political tensions in their country increase.
Director: Andrés Wood | Stars: Matías Quer, Ariel Mateluna, Manuela Martelli, Aline Küppenheim
Votes: 12,660
43. The Last Kiss (2001)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Carlo's life is thrown into a tailspin when his longtime girlfriend Giulia announces she's pregnant. As Carlo faces up to his anxieties about adulthood, his buddies Paolo, Adriano and ... See full summary »
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Stefano Accorsi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudio Santamaria
Votes: 8,787 | Gross: $1.05M
44. The Believer (2001)
R | 98 min | Drama
A young Jewish man develops a fiercely anti-Semitic philosophy. Based on the factual story of a K.K.K. member in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish by a New York Times reporter.
Director: Henry Bean | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Peter Meadows, Garret Dillahunt
Votes: 41,138 | Gross: $0.41M
unusually good script
45. Honey for Oshun (2001)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama
When his father dies, a Cuban man who was raised in the United States, learns that he was not abandoned by his mother but illegally taken out of Cuba. He goes back to the island and is helped in his search by a cousin and a taxi driver.
Director: Humberto Solás | Stars: Jorge Perugorría, Isabel Santos, Mario Limonta, Saturnino García
Votes: 196
46. Bread and Tulips (2000)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Romance
After being forgotten in a highway café during a bus trip, a housewife decides to start a new life by herself in Venice.
Director: Silvio Soldini | Stars: Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz, Giuseppe Battiston, Antonio Catania
Votes: 10,077 | Gross: $5.31M
47. Burnt Money (2000)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Nene & Angel and their accomplice Cuervo participate in a botched bank robbery in 1965 Buenos Aires, then hide out from the police in Uruguay while the gang breaks down.
Director: Marcelo Piñeyro | Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Pablo Echarri, Leticia Brédice
Votes: 6,855 | Gross: $0.24M
48. Bamboozled (2000)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A frustrated African-American TV writer proposes a blackface minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin, it becomes a hit.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Rapaport
Votes: 12,355 | Gross: $2.27M
49. Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (1999)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama
The Peruvian army captain Pantaleon Pantoja, a very serious and efficient officer, is chosen to set up a special service of 'visitors' to satisfy the sexual needs of the soldiers posted on remote jungle outposts.
Director: Francisco J. Lombardi | Stars: Angie Cepeda, Salvador del Solar, Mónica Sánchez, Pilar Bardem
Votes: 2,645
unusually good script
50. Friendly Fire (1998)
76 min | Drama
Brazil in the early 70s. Miguel, Eloi, Osvaldo and Paolo take part in armed attacks against the military dictatorship. They pay a heavy price with torture and arrest. Today the four friends... See full summary »
Director: Beto Brant | Stars: Leonardo Villar, Helio Lahal, Zécarlos Machado, Cacá Amaral
Votes: 412
51. Fögi Is a Bastard (1998)
Unrated | 91 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Fifteen-year-old Beni falls in love with Fögi, a singer in a Rock band. As Fögi seduces him, Beni is willing to follow him where ever he takes him. But Fögi is a drug addict and pulls Beni deeper and deeper into his addiction.
Director: Marcel Gisler | Stars: Frédéric Andrau, Vincent Branchet, Urs Peter Halter, Martin Schenkel
Votes: 2,544
52. The Book of Life (1998)
Not Rated | 63 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The end of the millenium has taken on a certain significance in modern day prophecies. What happens if Jesus Christ has second thoughts about the Apocalypse? It is December 31, 1999 and New... See full summary »
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Martin Donovan, PJ Harvey, Dave Simonds, Thomas Jay Ryan
Votes: 2,116
53. Henry Fool (1997)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama
An introverted garbageman writes his thoughts in a notebook after Henry Fool, writer and ex-con, rents the basement and gives him a notebook and the idea. He writes poetry and Henry helps him along.
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter
Votes: 7,885 | Gross: $1.34M
54. Little Book of Love (1997)
91 min | Comedy, Romance
The story of a relationship illustrated by words in alphabetical order.
Director: Sandra Werneck | Stars: Andrea Beltrão, Daniel Dantas, Tony Ramos, Mônica Torres
Votes: 604
unusually good script
55. Land and Freedom (1995)
Not Rated | 109 min | Drama, War
David is an unemployed communist that comes to Spain in 1937 during the civil war to enroll the republicans and defend the democracy against the fascists. He makes friends between the soldiers.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor, Icíar Bollaín, Tom Gilroy
Votes: 12,104 | Gross: $0.23M
56. Mediterraneo (1991)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, War
In WW2, an Italian Army unit of misfits occupies an isolated non-strategic Greek island for the duration of the war.
Director: Gabriele Salvatores | Stars: Diego Abatantuono, Claudio Bigagli, Giuseppe Cederna, Claudio Bisio
Votes: 16,427 | Gross: $4.53M
unusually good script
57. Queens Logic (1991)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of lifelong friends meet again in Queens for Ray's (Ken Olin) bachelor party and wedding.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, John Malkovich, Joe Mantegna
Votes: 1,839 | Gross: $0.61M
58. Cousins (1989)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Romance
Two couples go to a mutual friend's wedding and end up swapping partners.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William Petersen
Votes: 5,136 | Gross: $22.03M
59. Clandestinos (1987)
98 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Before the military coup in Cuba, a group of people have a clandestine printing press, used to print subversive pamphlets against the government.
Director: Fernando Pérez | Stars: Luis Alberto García, Isabel Santos, René Losada, Amado Del Pino
Votes: 116
60. 'Round Midnight (1986)
R | 133 min | Drama, Music
A troubled, but talented musician flees the US to escape his problems, finding refuge and support in Paris.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, Gabrielle Haker, Sandra Reaves-Phillips
Votes: 5,867 | Gross: $3.27M
61. Betty Blue (1986)
Unrated | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Gérard Darmon, Consuelo De Haviland
Votes: 23,354 | Gross: $2.00M
62. Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
The ups and downs of life as experienced by a group of aspiring young artists in the early Fifties New York.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Lenny Baker, Shelley Winters, Ellen Greene, Lois Smith
Votes: 2,472
unusually good script
63. Sophie's Ways (1971)
97 min | Comedy, Drama
Searching for release, Céline turns to painting and writes essays on the inequity between genders as she asserts her independence and gradually frees herself from her husband's claustrophobic world.
Director: Moshé Mizrahi | Stars: Bernadette Lafont, Michel Duchaussoy, Bulle Ogier, Serge Marquand
Votes: 186
64. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
GP | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An American expatriate in Rome attempts to unmask a serial killer he witnessed in the act of an attempted murder - and is now hunting him and his girlfriend.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi
Votes: 24,105 | Gross: $0.42M
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