# Oddball, indie, &/or little-known movie suggestions?



## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

As a lifetime reader, I've come late to the world of movies. I find I most enjoy the offbeat, non-blockbuster movies that few people seem to know about, esp. foreign and indie. They're hard to find.

The type of movie isn't that important to me. Some of my favorites are

Rare Birds
The Station Agent
The Dancer Upstairs
Viva Cuba
The Commitments
Mr. Hulot's Holiday
Amelie
The Girl in the Cafe
Ridicule
Zelary

Ideas, anyone??

_(Added Amazon links - Admin.)_


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Foreign, quirky, and available from netflix!


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## chobitz (Nov 25, 2008)

A great swedish vampire movie. Its still in art movie houses so if you don't mind subtitles check it out!



If you like rock operas and you like goth music and don't mind some gore Repo is a great movie. The music is awesome, the plot is good, the cast is nice. Be warned Paris Hilton is in it BUT she plays a parody of herself so its hilarious.


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Speaking of gore, if you don't mind a good action flick, this is one of my favorites. I don't know how indie it is, but a lot of people I speak to haven't heard of it. It's got quite the cult following.



And here's another foreign film, again, not sure how unknown it is, but I enjoyed it a lot. Based on a true story actually....


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Excellent! I just knew folks here would have good ideas!

Mikuto--have you seen Tampopo?  Wacky!

Thanks!


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Can't say I have. I mostly watch horror movies.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Off the top of my head, some favorites include:
*
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly* (Le Scaphandre et le papillon) (French)
*4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days* (4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile) (Romanian)
*I'm Not There*
*Kissing Jessica Stein*
*Monsoon Wedding*

Colin Farrell just received a Golden Globe for *In Bruges*, which is definitely worth watching although it is more violent than I usually like.

and oldie (from 1953) but absolutely fantastic: *The Wages of Fear* (Le Salaire de la peur). Criterion has a great DVD with lots of interviews and special features. People might try to tell you the 1977 remake from William Friedkin, *Sorceror*, is better. Don't believe them. The original is the best.

two more excellent movies that have also received the Criterion treatment: *The Red Shoes* (194 and *Days of Heaven *(197.

That should keep you busy for a little while. 

L


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

This was a touching film that tells an interesting historical story. And there are cool accents. And good looking men. And Rugby.

Essentially, Desmond Doyle's wife leaves him and their three kids. The kids are taking by the Irish government because a single man cannot raise kids. The kids are sent to different orphanages, based on gender. The movie centers around Desmond's attempt to get the kids back. The case goes to the Irish Supreme Court, which has never ruled a law unconstitutional.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Mikuto said:


> Can't say I have. I mostly watch horror movies.


It's kind of a takeoff on a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western, but it's also about the correct way to cook noodles...it's hard to explain (and hard to find). Our movie night group loved it.


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Sounds interesting. I do love quirky Japanese movies.

If you ARE into horror though, I have a few suggestions.

This one is actually more family comedy than horror, but it's got some GREAT special effects for an asian film.



This one's great too, it's by Guillermo del Toro, who directed Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies.



And when it comes to horror, you're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't seen Dario Argento's masterpiece:



This isn't horror, but the director, Takashi Miike, has done some horror. He's one of my favorite directors really. You should check out all of his stuff!


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

I'm not a big horror fan, but I did like El Orfanato (The Orphanage), sort of a Spanish psychological horror film. That's pretty well known, though, I think.

I'll check out all these suggestions, including Miike. Netflix makes it easy!

Thanks!


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

I was going to suggest El Orfanato too, but since it was in theaters recently I figured it was more mainstream. If you liked El Orfanato you'll like The Devil's Backbone


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## Lizbeth (Nov 12, 2008)

YES to Brotherhood of the Wolfe.. little known fact.. one of the lead actors (Mark Dacascos) .. is the IRON CHEF on the Foodnetwork! (he has had a few movies roles other than that as well) I really enjoyed that movie.


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## chobitz (Nov 25, 2008)

Lizbeth said:


> YES to Brotherhood of the Wolfe.. little known fact.. one of the lead actors (Mark Dacascos) .. is the IRON CHEF on the Foodnetwork! (he has had a few movies roles other than that as well) I really enjoyed that movie.


He was also eric draven in the crow tv series..
AND he has tons of black belts in many martial art styles.


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

Lizbeth said:


> YES to Brotherhood of the Wolfe.. little known fact.. one of the lead actors (Mark Dacascos) .. is the IRON CHEF on the Foodnetwork! (he has had a few movies roles other than that as well) I really enjoyed that movie.


You mean he's the Chairman? I had no idea, that's pretty hilarious!


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## Lizbeth (Nov 12, 2008)

Sorry.. Meant to say the "Chairman" not the IRON CHEF... I wanted to get the Crow DVD's are they good?


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Miracle Mile
The French Lieutenant's Woman
City of Lost Children
A Boy and his Dog
Local Hero


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

I loved *Local Hero* and haven't seen it for years. Thanks for the reminder, Jim!


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Leslie said:


> I loved *Local Hero* and haven't seen it for years. Thanks for the reminder, Jim!


One of my favorite oddball romcoms.  (Though it barely fits in that category.)


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

A few more:
Trouble in Mind
Choose Me!
True Romance
U-Turn
Any Kevin Smith movie


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Inside Moves
Breaker Morant
Gallipoli
All That Jazz
Midnight Express
sex, lies and videotape


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Six Degrees of Separation


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Things Change


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Mona Lisa
Extremeties
The Long Good Friday


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

The Grifters


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
A Perfect World
My Favorite Year


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Lizbeth said:


> YES to Brotherhood of the Wolfe.. little known fact.. one of the lead actors (Mark Dacascos) .. is the IRON CHEF on the Foodnetwork! (he has had a few movies roles other than that as well) I really enjoyed that movie.


He's also been in a couple episodes of Stargate:Atlantis


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## Scathach (Dec 5, 2008)

Here are 3 of my all time favorites right now

 (one of my favorites)

 (not really oddball but really neato movie)

 (love this movie! warning subtitled)

 (currently my favorite musical!!! very funny!)


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Something Wild


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## Scathach (Dec 5, 2008)

okay this movie isn't going to win any awards but it is one of the funniest zombie movies I have seen in a while


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Ewww.... Primer. *shudder*


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## Scathach (Dec 5, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Ewww.... Primer. *shudder*


lol its a love it or hate it i guess


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

Scathach said:


> lol its a love it or hate it i guess


It was highly recommended to me. I'm a SF geek. And... I just hated it. It ended up making next-to-no sense. The one good thing I can say about it is that it was light years better than the execrable Donnie Darko as time travel movies go.


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

The Tailor of Panama


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

Oooh, this topic is for me!  Almost always my favorite movies are the indie ones.  

Off the top of my head, my two favorites:

#1 - Me and you and Everyone we Know (Miranda July, fabulous movie)
#2 - The Squid and the Whale

I just got done with a 5 day mind numbing meeting, so I'll check my collection when I get home and report back more....


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

This thread is exploding! Stop! 

No, don't stop!

My Netflix queue is about to pop!

Since I'm the Distant Cousin guy, what about first contact movies? I mean, like Starman, Close Encounters, ET...?


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## Guest (Jan 15, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> This thread is exploding! Stop!
> 
> No, don't stop!
> 
> ...


Love them all. Also Star Trek: First Contact. I didn't like The Man Who Fell to Earth. Enjoyed the weird The Brother From Another Planet. Despised Earth Girls Are Easy. Ditto Liquid Sky.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

The Illusionist
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Mrs. Winterborne 
Waitress

all on netflix. The first two can be seen from your pc asap  

theresam


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

I'm guessing foreign movies are game for recommendation:

2009: Lost Memories
Its a korean scifi. I think you will like it! It can get slow, but ultimately I love the story...when you watch it dubbed the dialogue can get corny...as far as I remember its been a couple of years.





There are breakpoints in the history, the result of a single event may change the whole course... In 1909, an assassination attempt to a Japanese governor fails - the assassin was shot by a soldier. Now, in 2009, Korea is just another state of the Japan Empire and Seoul has become a major city. A Korean resistance group called Hureisenjin is formed to fight for liberty and independence. Two cops, a Japan and a Korean (who denied his heritage) are investigating the actions of this "terrorist" group. And their work lead them to an artifact of the ancient Korean religion of "Sun and Moon". Written by Cem Kocak for IMDB (internet movie database)

Sorry don't know any first encounter movies.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

The first contact movie no one's ever heard of is Wavelength. Slightly cheesy, but I've seen worse.

Here's a fine movie, an excellent movie, that no one's ever heard of: Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. It never came out on dvd, though. Bummer.


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## Mikuto (Oct 30, 2008)

The last Sci-Fi movies I watched were Men in Black and Independence Day. I kind of like to read my Sci-Fi, rather than watch it.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Mikuto said:


> The last Sci-Fi movies I watched were Men in Black and Independence Day. I kind of like to read my Sci-Fi, rather than watch it.


Good for you! In Her Name! Distant Cousin!


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Does the cheesy The Last Starfighter count as a "first contact" movie?


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Does the cheesy The Last Starfighter count as a "first contact" movie?


I'd say it does. Here's what Netflix says about it: "Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) lives in a trailer park and spends his days playing the Starfighter video game. Upon meeting an alien (Robert Preston) who convinces him to use his skills in real combat, Alex heads to space to protect the galaxy from invasion. He gets to the Starfighter base station before deciding the trailer park wasn't so bad, but returns home to find he's being stalked by an alien beast -- and the planet's future is in his hands."

I think I read the book, long, long ago. REAL long ago.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Robert Preston pretty much plays his role as a take-off on Professor Harold Hill.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll second BJs recommendation of _Local Hero_, and add:

_The Man From Earth
Insomnia_ (the Swedish language version, not the Robert De Niro one)
_Memento
Brazil
The Ninth Gate
Being John Malkovich_

and if you want really oddball, try _Incubus_, starring William Shatner (pre-_Star Trek_). All the dialogue is in Esperanto,with English subtitles. It's not dubbed, all the actors spent pre-production time learning Esperanto. Very strange. Produced and directed by Leslie Stevens, who brought us _The Outer Limits_.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

As much as I adore Brazil, I don't know if you can call it a "quirky indie" film. It was a big budget high-concept SFX extravaganza co-produced by Fox and Universal.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

For quirky, how about The Life Aquatic? Netflix's normally fairly sharp prediction machine breaks down entirely on this one, I've read. People either love it or hate it, and it's impossible to predict which it will be.


Spoiler



Me, I hated it.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

^^^Not a fave of mine either, Al.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

And I will second Mike's recommendation of the amazing Being John Malkovich. I love this movie to death.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> And I will second Mike's recommendation of the amazing Being John Malkovich. I love this movie to death.


And I also like *Adaptation* alot but I wasn't as crazy about *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (same writer for all three). But with all of these, aren't we getting off-track of the indie/foreign film recommendations? I am not sure any of these movies fit that description. My 2 cents, YMMV.

L


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Leslie said:


> And I also like *Adaptation* alot but I wasn't as crazy about *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind* (same writer for all three). But with all of these, aren't we getting off-track of the indie/foreign film recommendations? I am not sure any of these movies fit that description. My 2 cents, YMMV.
> 
> L


Well, Al did also say "oddball," and BJM certainly fits that description. It was also an indie--Gramercy Pictures.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> Well, Al did also say "oddball," and BJM certainly fits that description. It was also an indie--Gramercy Pictures.


True. Thanks...

L


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Bacardi Jim said:


> As much as I adore Brazil, I don't know if you can call it a "quirky indie" film. It was a big budget high-concept SFX extravaganza co-produced by Fox and Universal.


But oddball. 

Mike


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

jmiked said:


> But oddball.
> 
> Mike


That it is. And in my Top Ten. Monty Python meets George Orwell.


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Don't anyone worry too much about what my actual words were. I appreciate all the suggestions, and I can't tell you how many I've chosen to put on my queue. You guys are great!


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

BrassMan said:


> Don't anyone worry too much about what my actual words were. I appreciate all the suggestions, and I can't tell you how many I've chosen to put on my queue. You guys are great!


If you order Brazil, be aware that there are three different versions of the movie. I don't recall which cut Netflix has. Any of the three are great *except* the "love conquers all" version.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Here's an Indie that I really like.

The Search for John Gissing

It never made it to the theaters.  I had to get the DVD from Freebird.  The shipping was killer.  Amazon has it now.  Very funny movie.


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## chiffchaff (Dec 19, 2008)

this is pretty old (1971) and is a classic of sorts - but qualifies as oddball/quirky/indie: Harold and Maude


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I'm either too old or out of it - but what is "indie"? oddball I can figure out easily


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2009)

Anju said:


> I'm either too old or out of it - but what is "indie"? oddball I can figure out easily


indie=independent film--one not produced/released through one of the major studios


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Anju said:


> I'm either too old or out of it - but what is "indie"? oddball I can figure out easily


Just a short version of "independent," as in, not made by a major studio. Often low budget. I think Slumlord Millionaire was one, as was The Station Agent. Those are fairly well known, but many are not, and hard to find.

//////Al


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Thanks guys - I really feel dumb for not figuring that out! LOL LOL LOL


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## Michael R. Hicks (Oct 29, 2008)

Shoot! I just found this thread. Oh, well...

I saw someone mentioned "The Host" - Jan and I just watched that recently. It was interesting, but Jan (an inveterate heckler) was hooting at it about halfway through! 

I don't recall seeing these listed, but "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" and "Dr. Phibes Returns" with Vincent Price were a couple of my all-time favorites as a kid. 

As for foreign films, Jan and I are into Bollywood films. There are lots of good ones, but a few of our favorites are:

Lagaan
Lakshya
1947 (Earth)
Water
Fire

It's been a long time since I've seen any French films, but an interesting one that's worth checking out is Diva...


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## BrassMan (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks, KW!

A terrific trilogy is the Troi Couleurs (Three Colors) series, Bleu, Rouge, and Blanc (Blue, Red, and White), French films by Krzysztof Kieslowski.
They're great stories, gems of the craft of film-making, beautiful movies, and all more or less fit together.

Another good French flick, more conventional: The Girl From Paris.

Oh! And a delightful, funny Italian one: Bread and Tulips. A wife is left behind by a tour bus, gets stranded in Venice, and figures what the hell? Why hurry home? She gets a job. Hijinks ensue.

For teachers: Ciao, Professore.

For movie lovers: Cinema Paradiso.


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll second and third Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.  Also Eternal Sunshine.  
Other favorites, not sure if they're oddball or indie necessarily, but worth mentioning:

The Life of David Gale
**The Science of Sleep** - GREAT indie quirky film about a guy who inverts dreams and reality
Scotland, PA
The Motorcycle Diaries


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2009)

OK, these aren't indies, but they are almost unknown "small" films:
Crossing Delancey -- Peter Reigert, Amy Irving
Miracles -- Tom Conti, Terri Garr


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