From historical martial arts epics to New York indies via a very French celebration of life and death, here are our top recommendations from this collection of ten-year-old movies.
Frances Ha
Though actor and filmmaker Greta Gerwig already enjoyed a prolific indie movie career, this film really brought her mainstream attention. Which is kinda funny, because it’s inherently indie. Shot in black and white by cinematographer Sam Levy, with Gerwig co-writing alongside partner and director Noah Baumbach, this initially New York-set lilting movie is about a 20-something drifter unsure what she wants out of life and who’s ready to flat out make stuff up. Glimmering vignettes of haphazard ennui are further amplified by great performances from the likes of Adam Driver and Mickey Sumner.
Frances Ha is streaming till 31 March at SBS On Demand.
Amour
If you’re in the mood for some serious waterworks, then get the tissues ready and pop on Austrian writer/director Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or and Oscar-winning heart-breaker. Essentially a chamber piece almost entirely shot within the confines of one well-appointed French apartment, it casts an astounding Emmanuelle Riva (Hiroshima mon Amour) and Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Man Who Lies) as an octogenarian music teacher couple dealing with the aftermath of her stroke. An elegiac ode to love that lasts a lifetime and more, it also features the incredible Isabelle Huppert as their daughter, and probably the best pigeon performance ever.
Amour is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Wu Xia
If you’re after spectacle, then this martial arts-driven historical epic has bucketloads on offer. Directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Donnie Yen stars as a papermill worker living the quiet village life in 1917 China who spectacularly thwarts an attempted robbery of the local store. Bringing Takeshi Kaneshiro’s detective to town, pretty soon he’s convinced that this seemingly everyday guy might just be a brutal gang warlord in disguise. What unfolds is as much a gripping psychological drama as a kick-ass action movie.
Wu Xia is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Zero Dark Thirty
A controversial film that echoes the moral murkiness of its subject matter, Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning expose on the inhumane torture tactics allegedly deployed by the CIA in the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is certainly a tough, nerve-shredding watch. Starring Jessica Chastain as an obsessive agent determined to prove that the warlord is hiding in plain sight, a theory much-maligned by her largely male colleagues, it’s an unflinching look into the dark heart of what some would argue it takes to keep a nation safe, but at what cost to humanity? Look out for local hero Joel Edgerton.
Zero Dark Thirty is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
A Royal Affair
What is it about mad monarchs behaving badly that makes for such compelling viewing? Here it’s the court of the childish and philandering King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) of Denmark. The always excellent Mads Mikkelsen plays Johann Friedrich Struensee, the German philosopher and social reformer brought in to guide him away from his wildest ways, but who then complicates matters by falling for his ruler’s new Queen, Caroline Mathilde, imported from Britain. Expect lush location work, costumes and an emotional rollercoaster with hints of Elle Fanning show The Great played straight.
A Royal Affair is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
What Maisie Knew
A contemporary update on the 1897 Henry James novel, remarkable child actor Onata Aprile plays the kid in question, something of a volleyball punted back and forth between warring parents battling for custody, as played with real nastiness by Julianne Moore as a fading rock star and Steve Coogan as a dubious art dealer. There’s some respite for Maisie from both their new partners – Joanna Vanderham’s former nanny and Alexander Skarsgård’s barman – but her quiet trauma at witnessing this war unfold is unnerving.
What Maisie Knew is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Woman In Black
Susan Hill’s goosebump-inducing gothic horror novel about a young lawyer haunted by a spectral vision he witnesses when selling the old crumbling manse of the late Mrs. Drablow was a huge hit when it was published in 1983. So much so it spawned a radio adaptation, a memorably terrifying TV movie, and a stage show that enjoyed a record-breaking run on London’s West End. This chilling big screen adaptation casts Daniel Radcliffe from the Harry Potter movies as the thoroughly shaken legal eagle who never quite fully recovers.
The Woman In Black is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Nairobi Half Life
Kenyan filmmaker David Tosh Gitonga’s directorial debut tells the timeworn story of a young man moving to the big smoke to follow his dreams (in this case becoming an actor in Nairobi) only to have his innocent ambitions derailed by financial reality and the inexorable pull of underworld figures. Lead actor Joseph Wairimu is reassuringly charismatic and you’ll find yourself rooting for him to turn around his dalliance with gang culture and draw on the near disaster that unfolds as he ultimately takes to the stage.
Nairobi Half Life is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
In The House
Prolific French writer/director François Ozon’s unforgettable films are always infused with queer energy, even when the plot is not explicitly so. Fabrice Luchini plays a frustrated 50-something literature teacher in a small town who becomes fixated on the literary prowess of a 16-year-old student (played by Ernst Umhauer) who is, in turn, fixated on a fellow classmate. The complicated web that’s woven from their unusual relationship sets the scene for fascinating drama that spirals out of control and also features the spectacular Kristin Scott Thomas.
In The House is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Broken Circle Breakdown
American bluegrass thrums in Belgian director Felix van Groeningen’s heartsore drama about a young musical couple (played by Johan Heldenbergh and Veerle Baetens) facing the unthinkable when their six-year-old daughter is diagnosed with a terminal illness. A non-linear and lyrical unfolding of their romantic union unfolds, interspersed with the grim reality that awaits in a film that deftly works its way around the body blows and impossible strain on their relationship.
The Broken Circle Breakdown is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
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