Best 'jewel in the rough' movie I have ever seen! Any others?
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Wild_Kat208 — 13 years ago(November 13, 2012 01:22 AM)
Lawn Dogs is a movie I take out and watch when I'm alone and feeling nostalgic. And I bring it out to show to people I am very close to. It reflects social discrimination in our society which is something that has always prevailed, yet the faces of which are always changing as new waves of immigrant populations and "undesirables" appear. I can't even count how many movies I've seen Sam Rockwell in that have made me cry.
These are some of my favorites that I'd recommend:
The King of Hearts (French) - Set in WWI about a Scottish soldier on a one man mission to disable explosives in a french town where the only people left are mentally insane, all posing as particular town characters. It is charming and witty, with some kind of absurdist slapstick humor throughout, but also empowering. This film has a similar theme where societies outcasts are shown to be the ones who truly value the world.
Au Revoir Les Enfants (also in French) - If subtitles deter you, I strongly suggest you get over it if you want to watch one of the best movies ever made. My comment on this one is just watch it because it is beautiful. Also, the director, Louis Malle, wrote it based on an experience he had as a child during WWII.
Harold and Maude - but probably, like, everyone you know has seen that movie so that might make me dumb for even suggesting it
Trust (1990) - with Adrienne Shelly when she was really young (the gal that wrote Waitress and then was murdered not long after). If you like dark humor and sarcasm you will like this
Factotum- I'm personally not a real admirer of Bukowski's writing, but his stories are pathetically amazing. I know that is a bit of an oxymoron, but I don't quite know what else to call it. Also, not a huge fan of Matt Dillon, but I can forget the roles he played that annoyed me because he gets the cake for this.
A Love Song for Bobby Long- John Travolta, another actor who surprised me. Try to picture him as a washed up alcoholic William Faulkneresque character. Filmed just before Katrina, beautiful shots of New Orleans that make me sad I never went because that city will probably never be the same again
and also:
Birdman of Alcatraz
The Reader
Monsters
Badlands
Everything is Illuminated -
grinwithoutteeth — 18 years ago(October 17, 2007 07:01 PM)
Easily the best 'jewel in the rough' type movie out there. Some of my other favorites: Dream With The Fishes, Henry Fool and Broken Vessels (Best movie about drug addiction, period (Less Than Zero can kiss my ass)).
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vailrulestheworld — 18 years ago(November 07, 2007 11:14 PM)
I reminded me a lot of Edward Scissorhands, which is totally underrated! This movie was AMAZING!!!
I am on a great run here, thanks to Leonard Maltin and Netflix recommendations. This is what I have watched recently: The World's Fastest Indian, Find Me Guilty, and finally Lawn Dogs. Three of the best I have seen in a long time! -
elkfazer — 18 years ago(November 11, 2007 07:48 AM)
I'm with you on the Edward Scissorhands comparison, very similar in style especially the fairytale endings.And Worlds Fastest Indian is an awesome underated film that deserves to be watched by many more people.
Btw, the only reason I found Lawn Dogs was through someone in the Leon forum.They recommended it as they both have young lead roles played brilliantly too and also both are debut performances which makes them even more hard hitting. -
asiawall — 17 years ago(June 27, 2008 12:51 PM)
these are some great suggestions. 'lawn dogs' is definitely one of my favorite movies, it has such a great fantasy element, along with the harsh portrayal of class struggle. i can't really think of anything like it, but my other personal favorites that i think are somewhat overlooked are 'harold and maude' (dark humor, frienship b/w a young man and much older woman, counter-culture), 'wonder boys,' and 'you can count on me.' another film which i think has a great ambiance and really captures the feel of the south to me is 'all the real girls' by david gordon green, it's a bleak look at first love. i will definitely check out the other films suggested here, so thanks!
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crissttigaldames — 11 years ago(January 23, 2015 09:53 PM)
Not entirely sure what you guys mean by diamond in the rough. If great movie that's not that famous, then may I recommend a movie called No Night is Too Long, a British movie. Also, Central Station, a beatiful Brazilian one. This amazing movie called Mysterious Skin would probably fall in this category as well.
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TheAnimalMother — 10 years ago(November 30, 2015 05:22 AM)
Well since it's close to Christmas I'll say The Silent Partner. An amazing little Canadian film from 1978. It's better if you just watch the film without knowing anything about it going in. A warning though, it's not for the faint of heart, it is a little twisted, but it is a very good and fairly unknown film indeed. It has a 7.6 rating here currently with just over 3000 voters. I gave it an 8 myself. It stars Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer, and Susannah York, and John Candy has a small and fairly funny role. If you like crime thrillers, and you don't mind a little grit in your films, check it out asap! You'll wanna thank me later.
My body's a cage, it's been used and abusedand ILIKE IT!!