The Hidden Gems of Netflix

It seems crazy that in its short few years since finding its place online in the wake of Blockbusters becoming a dinosaur and eventually closing and companies like Lovefilm losing ground in its attempt at revolutionizing the entertainment-at-your-fingertips industry, Netflix has become a household name – and more – a meme. However – it doesn’t take a genius or an archaeologist to dig very far to find some absolute gold on the site.

Over the few short years since its inception in the common zeitgeist, it has fast become a treasure trove of nostalgic and progressive television experience, a haven for smaller studios to give platform to new exciting talent who would otherwise have struggled and toiled to find an audience when languishing in some smaller territorial market – as the film industry still insists on building its industry on outdated ideas of region, geography and importance.

In the last year or two I have discovered some amazing little films hiding on Netflix that probably deserved way more luck and fanfare than it was given or allowed and which dazzled and beguiled me in equal and fantastic measure.

Some of these films have since fallen off the UK Netflix rotation – some have just begun their tenure – I intend to go through some of the brilliant little films I have found and which I think a bigger, appreciative audience is just waiting in the wings for.

Starting with:

BOKEH

Director: Geoffrey Orthwein (co-director), Andrew Sullivan (co-director)Year: 2017

Ostensibly a story about the end of the world – however – under its skin, when you peel off those thin layers of clothing, you find a film with a huge beating heart and characters who genuinely make you care about what happens.

More, there is a story that is deeply moving effecting and questions everything.

From the very first minutes I was dazzled by this movie.

Set in Iceland, following two young American lovers as they take a trip across the beautiful and picturesque landscape. One is a photographer, obsessively and reflectively taking photos on his father's Rolleiflex camera, the BOKEH of the title being a photographic term for the characteristic blur between an object and the background.

The two lovers are bewitched by the countries many wonders, they take tours, they snap photos – Riley, besotted by his muse Jenai, capturing rare moments of vulnerability in the stark green scenery.

Then, one evening, Jenai witnesses what she thinks is an energetic Northern lights – there is a flash of light – and…

We cut to the following morning.

The hotel is empty. The city is empty. The country is empty.

Attempts at contacting family back home in the states are unanswered – parents, sisters, brothers, friends… All are gone.

There are no bodies.

There is no devastation or proof of any natural disaster.

There is just silence and emptiness, and space.

And two lovers, alone, in a cold, green tundra, all to themselves.

Where the film succeeds is in its close up study of two innocent, in-love, young people trying to piece together the lack of facts to shape a narrative they can understand and live with.

Slowly, we see the relationship shape and bend in magnificently heartbreaking and emotive ways – and we are complicit in every single moment, the film drawing us in as voyeurs in this intimate portrait of love and loneliness in a country famed for being a handmaid for both.

BOKEH is a truly wonderful, thought-provoking and startling watch.

It lingers for days after, moments popping into your mind in strange incomprehensible ways, and it asks a lot yet answers very little… much like the silver-screens greatest movies – its mysteries will live long in the mind, and will demand many repeat viewings.

SPRING

Director: Justin Benson, Aaron MoorheadYear: 2014

I have a big soft spot for the actor Lou Taylor Pucci, ever since his brilliant turn in THUMBSUCKER, he has been an actor who seemingly fits into any genre, can blend into any cast and yet still holds his own in any company.

This being said it really is a joy to watch him hold his own in leading man status again, and in SPRING, he does so with a strong script, a brave directorial leadership and a story that delves into so many genre tropes, and in such unexpected ways that it really is puzzle unfolding in front of you keeping you captivated the entire way.

So, what is SPRING?

Well – it’s part road-trip, part romance and part monster movie.

None of these components lead, they all share a fair portion of the films running time and they all play perfect triplets in a brave and unique tale that I absolutely fell in love with.

Evan (Taylor Pucci) is in a personal black hole. His sick mother passes away and he loses his job all within 24 hours. His life in turmoil, he is encouraged by his friend to take this all as an opportunity to escape his dull life and travel.

Italy, he says, looks like its nice this time of year.

So, he jumps a flight to Italy, and with little plan, and a CARPE DIEM attitude, Evan heads out on a personal voyage of self-discovery and grief.

The film steps very quiet, tentative steps in the opening fifteen minutes, its subtle. Sadness is permeable throughout the dark, looming cinematography, Taylor is a brooding, grey character who has little in the way of redeeming features, lost as he is to his grief and sadness.

But when he arrives in Italy, we see a man reborn. Colour floods his features, his attitude is looser, his outlook one of a man ready to allow life in. And when he meets the alluring, beautiful Louise and the two seduce each other (a wonderful ballet of interplay between the two actors, with Nadia Hilker (Louise) a genuinely siren, who steals the scenes she is in and bounces off of Pucci with genuine sparks.

Louise, however, is not everything she seems. Her story involves deep history, genetics and an un-nerving hunger that grips and rumbles inside her. She is a real cinematic original. Guillermo Del Toro referred to SPRING as -

“…One of the best horror films of this decade… Its premise blew me away."

To go into much more details would really be to spoil one of the films strengths, it bends genres and muddles what you would expect from films of this kind.

It’s a horror, it’s a romance, it’s a monster movie, it’s a coming-of-age movie – it's all of this, and it really is a genuinely unique and wonderful movie of its own kind.

I finished the film with a glow in my heart and a tear in my eye and a fresh adoration for what film can be and can do to a person.

It’s a genuine must see.

BOYS IN THE TREES

Director: Nicholas Verso

Year: 2016

Every now and then Australia throws out one of those perfect little gems of a movie from literally no-where. In recent years we have had classics like “CHOPPER”, “WOLF CREEK”. “ANIMAL KINGDOM” and “ROMPER STOMPER” and each one has been a classic in the making within its genre. Making stars of its lead actors and bolstering character actors reputations across the board with story and direction that literally teases the best performances from actors with what seems like next to no effort.

BOYS IN THE TREES was a film my girlfriend found and we watched out of peaked curiosity, with little to know knowledge of the actors and having never heard of the movie prior to stumbling across it in the SUPERNATURAL section of Netflix. And, boy, am I glad she found it…

On first inspection, it seems like a standard coming of age drama. Some acting is a little ropey, some of the cinematography is cliché and uninspiring… then… something wonderful happens.

Two very distinct shots wake the movie up and light a firework (of which there are plenty in this film) right up its backside.

The first shot is a close up of a boy grabbing a mask as he walks past a framed photo saying “FRIENDS FOR EVA”. The second a shot of the same boy walking down a wet, stone jetee toward a weir, a bottle of Jack Daniels dropping and smashing on the floor.

Soon, the earlier missteps are shown to be calculated moments in a film that is evolving before our eyes into a sophisticated and nuanced piece of storytelling, and the performances… oh lord… to a man (and woman) the performances are sterling.

Yes, there is an argument that there is a lot of cliché being played, stereotypes in bullies and victims, but – the counter argument is that when they are characterized, with a proper arc (as with the arch bully Jango, who is a fully fleshed out, egocentric, has a clear impetus and drive and has a classic redemption) the shortcomings of the early scenes are actually perfectly in context, especially when the script and direction opens up and the storyline allows the actors room to maneuver and dance in the magical tale being unwound.

Central to this is brilliant lead duo Toby Wallace (Corey) and Gulliver McGrath (Jonah). Toby Wallace particular shines as the mischievously smiling, enigmatic, chameleon Corey. He is part of the popular crowd but freely admits he made this choice to survive and fit in; he is attractive, smart, wily and clearly has the eye of smart, sultry and sharp Romany (actress Mitzi Ruhlman) as well as respect of Jango. But, he is not entirely happy and sees his escape from this humdrum existence with a scholarship to New York to study his passion for photography.

All he has to do is survive one final Halloween with his ex-best friend, now bullies target of choice – Jonah.

Splitting from the rest of the gang, Corey startles Jonah on the skatepark where they spend the majority of their time – and with fear of a possible concussion, he begrudgingly agrees to walk Jonah home – and consequently to play one last game of “Kokaidis” – a remnant of their childhood that began and ended at a certain bridge on their way home. What follows is a heartfelt, emotional and startlingly honest and visually captivating fantasy/coming of age drama that leads you on a merry runaround before a satisfying and gutpunching finale.

For seasoned genre fans the tricks will be easy to spot, but the treats will be all the sweeter for how it unfolds and if you go in having not seen a single frame of the film (for gods sake avoid the terrible and massively misleading trailer) then you will be amply rewarded by a beautiful and beguiling little indie that delivers a big pop.

I genuinely loved every second of it.

COHERENCE

Director: James Ward ByrkitYear: 2013

Time travel films are ten-a-penny, but decent ones that abide by the fundamental science and rules that the genre demands are as rare as Diamond in a lump of coal in your scullery, so, when one arrives and it defies every nonsense genre cliché and instead tries to home in and focus on a hard concept and lives and dies by that concept – well – I am sold outright.

COHERENCE is one such movie.

The basic premise is that a comet is making its pass by the Earth, causing all sorts of electrical disturbances. News reports are saying mobile cellphone screens are breaking inexplicably, and black outs are feared.

So far so SF/Time Travel trope.

However, soon, the curtains are pulled back and you realize these set up cliché points are minor red herrings in a story that unfolds at a slow burn yet dazzling, captivating rate.

We have all heard the story of Schrodinger’s cat.

A cat in a box, with a vial of poison, and the theory suggests the cat can be dead or alive, or, exist as both at the same time until such time as the box is opened, and then all eventualities will collapse in on itself. Revealing on definitive, coherent reality.

Coherence play around with this idea with a dinner party with eight guests, all old friends, enjoying an evening of wine and food whilst the comet passes overhead. Suddenly the lights go off and the games begin.

Coherence was filmed over 5 nights in the directors own home, and has a mostly improvised script, steered by a “mole” actor (who also helped to Write the script treatment.) and a director with a five man crew.

It doesn’t have any big names or faces – with the exception of Buffy The Vampire Slayers Nicholas Brendon - It is taut, stylized, perfectly paced and full of beautiful characterization and plotting.

And without fail It sticks close to its guns and original idea and intention, builds on the premise with assured eye and heart.

As the penny drops for certain characters, so does it for you the audience. And soon, the film freewheels into a clear endgame that changes everything.

Each actor was given a note with a series of instruction kept secret from each other, and it allows the film to spread its wings and grow with a genuine sense of joy.

I was pretty blown away. Deserving of a place in the echelons of time travel movie hall of fame as Primer, Twelve Monkeys and Le Jettee.

A proper contemporary classic.

SHIMMER LAKE

Director: Oren UzielYear: 2017

Shimmer Lake was another random late night movie-before-bedtime pick chosen on the basis of its rating and cast alone… and, Boy, was it a punch to the brain.

A witty, fast paced crime thriller in the vain of the Coen Brothers with a wicked sense of humour and a razor sharp understanding of suspense, pace, black comedy and how the best stories are often the simplest ones.

Shimmer Lake also handles the wonderful art of telling a story backwards in a deft, professional and effortless manner.Like Memento if it were directed by Adam McKay - it is a film that defies convention and expectation and brings a lot of smiles and a fair few unexpected jolts.

The story begins at the end, working backwards to the start of the story, telling a tale of small town crime and tragedy in reverse, so that the reveal is actually – when viewed in the correct direction – the least shocking thing to happen. However, when played out in reverse and the story is played as a game of cat and mouse – the first scene (or final scene here) is actually a brilliant, beguiling moment of forehead slapping ingenuity.

With some truly brilliant performances – not least of which from THE OFFICE star Rainn Wilson, as tactless, idiotic criminal Andy Sykes, and Benjamin Walker as Sheriff Zeke Sykes – brothers on opposing ends of the criminal spectrum, and IQ level as well.

The story plays out in a startlingly funny, sometimes shocking, sometimes eye-popping way – with restrained and delicate direction, a lush palette and comic interplay that really zings off the screen.

Amongst the best films I have seen this year and a movie that demands repeat viewings just to sort in your head how you never saw what happens coming.

It’s a genuine buzz to watch and heartily recommended.

There are dozens and dozens more hidden gems just tucked away in the multiple genre subsections of NETFLIX waiting to be discovered, holding a pattern until its audience dig enough and find it like a heirloom in an attic or a piece of gold in a field of muck. Patience, a sense of curious wonder and the open mindedness to jump into to something new and untested will maybe allow you to discover your new favourite film.Happy viewing.