433 Best Slice-of-Life Movies to Watch (Page 20)

As a comedy made in the 80’s all about a gay couple, viewers not familiar with this indie film might expect something tragic, raunchy, or insensitive, but Parting Glances is surprisingly understated. The main relationship is refreshingly treated with the same domesticity as a straight couple would, and the main conflict isn’t concerned with acceptance– after all, Michael and Robert were already accepted by their urban Manhattan community. In writing this, first-time director Bill Sherwood is able to focus on the upcoming long-distance relationship, Michael realizing Robert wants the distance, while Robert feels uncertain over Michael’s feelings for his ex dying from AIDS. The film doesn’t shy away from the touching, but even with the difficult pain of losing parts of the community, it’s still straightforward, unsentimental, and so funny with the witty repartee between the well-written characters. Parting Glances is a true gem.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Adam Nathan, Bob Koherr, Cam Brainard, John Bolger, Kathy Kinney, Michael Medeiros, Nicholas Hill, Patrick Tull, Richard Ganoung, Steve Buscemi, Victor Rivers, Yolande Bavan

Director: Bill Sherwood

Rating: NR

At first, Little Forest seemed to just be a gentle film extolling the beauty of the countryside. Many a story has been based on that idea, and sure enough, the film does have aesthetic, gorgeous shots of the orchard, the lake, and the garden Hye-won ran back to, albeit with much more delicious food making scenes. But, as we get to learn more about her, the script subtly unfolds to reveal a personal family drama at the center. Moving back home, therefore, isn’t just to take a vacation– it becomes a meditative break for Hye-won to recreate, and thus, understand the choices her mother made, and it becomes a potent reminder of not just the pain, but also the good things that she left behind. Little Forest has plenty of the familiar countryside virtues of self-sufficiency, mindfulness, and community, but it approaches these themes in a more compelling way.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Jeon Guk-hyang, Jin Ki-joo, Jung Jun-won, Kim Tae-ri, Moon So-ri, Ok Su-boon, Park Won-sang, Ryu Jun-yeol

Director: Yim Soon-rye

Written like a stage play, directed like the viewer is a fly on the wall, and shot with a love for deep shadows and warm candlelight, Flowers of Shanghai is about as immersive a chamber drama as one could ask for. Having most of the "action" take place off screen, director Hou Hsiao-hsien draws our eye instead to how his characters (including one played by an exceptionally stoic Tony Leung) continue to negotiate for their own freedom against patriarchal norms, pushing against cultural notions of proper decorum. It's a film brimming with repressed emotion, but without ever raising its voice. The vibes, as the kids say, are immaculate.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Annie Shizuka Inoh, Carina Lau, Jack Kao, Michelle Reis, Michiko Hada, Moon Wang, Pauline Chan, Rebecca Pan, Stephanie Fong Shuan, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Vicky Wei

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Primarily, Cha Cha Real Smooth follows Andrew (Cooper Raiff) as he figures out what to do with his life post-college. But peripherally, it’s also about love, friendship, coming of age, and parenthood. Sometimes the movie wobbles under the weight of all it wants to be and you start to wonder whether it would benefit from a leaner script and a tighter focus. 

But ultimately, Cha Cha Real Smooth is endearing and a breeze to watch. Andrew is relatable as a know-it-all who doesn’t actually know it all, and Domino (Dakota Johnson) is moving as a young mother consumed by both her envy and love for Andrew. Despite its occasional unevenness, the film’s big emotional heart triumphs, and sometimes that’s the best that you can hope for in a story about one’s 20s.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Amara Pedroso, Brad Garrett, Chris Newman, Colton Osorio, Cooper Raiff, Corrie Danieley, Dakota Johnson, Davina Reid, Evan Assante, John Paul Hurley, Jonathan Berry, Kelly O'Sullivan, Leslie Mann, Lisa Velten Smith, Odeya Rush, Raúl Castillo, Tommy Lafitte, Vanessa Burghardt

Director: Cooper Raiff

Rating: R

When a film is about a person, most depictions would be presented in the best possible light, all to present them as a person to be admired. That being said, Barney’s Version does not do that. The novel does give the adaptation some trouble– after all, Barney is a guy that fell in love with a woman other than his wife on his wedding night– but while Barney isn’t exactly the best person you’d like to meet, the way the story is structured, Paul Giamatti’s sympathetic performance and the way Barney remains honest with himself and his desires all throughout life makes the title character easy to root for, even with all his blunt ways. Barney’s Version does take plenty of familiar tropes, sometimes stereotypical, but it handles this life drama with subtle comedy and excellent performances.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Anna Hopkins, Arthur Holden, Atom Egoyan, Brittany Drisdelle, Bruce Greenwood, Clé Bennett, David Cronenberg, Denys Arcand, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen David, Harry Strandjofski, Harvey Atkin, Howard Jerome, Howard Rosenstein, Jake Hoffman, Larry Day, Linda Sorensen, Macha Grenon, Marina Eva, Mark Addy, Mark Camacho, Massimo Wertmüller, Maury Chaykin, Mélanie St-Pierre, Minnie Driver, Paul Giamatti, Paul Gross, Paula Jean Hixson, Pauline Little, Rachelle Lefevre, Rebecca Croll, Richard J. Lewis, Rosamund Pike, Saul Rubinek, Scott Speedman, Ted Kotcheff, Thomas Trabacchi

Director: Richard J. Lewis

Rating: R

The bond between parent and child is fundamental to the child’s life, but not necessarily the other way around. Even when the parents chose to have them into their lives, the child will always live within the parent’s context, not the other way around. Based on a book by Christine Angot, An Impossible Love is centered on that relationship, with the daughter reckoning with her parents’ love story through narration, reckoning with the betrayals both of them have done onto her. It’s a risky story for writer-director Catherine Corsini, one she made picturesque and nostalgic with period-accurate production design, but behind the beautiful scenery lies the emotionally touching exploration of this difficult dynamic, made much more heartbreaking with Virginie Efira and Jehnny Beth’s excellent performances.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Ambre Hasaj, Arthur Igual, Catherine Morlot, Coralie Russier, Didier Sandre, Estelle Lescure, Gaël Kamilindi, Iliana Zabeth, Jean-Christophe Brétignière, Jehnny Beth, Niels Schneider, Pierre Salvadori, Régis Romele, Siegrid Alnoy, Simon Bakhouche, Virginie Efira

Director: Catherine Corsini