Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Byeon Woo-seok, Heo Ji-na, Hyun Bong-sik, Jang Hye-jin, Jeon So-nee, Kang Mal-geum, Kim Da-mi, Lee Suk-hyeong, Nam Yoon-su, Oh Min-ae, Park Choong-seon, Park Seong-yeon
Director: Min Yong-keun
Challenging movies serve beyond entertainment, pushing us to ask new questions about humanity and the world around us. If you’re hungry for some food for thought, here are the best thought-provoking movies and shows available to stream now.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Byeon Woo-seok, Heo Ji-na, Hyun Bong-sik, Jang Hye-jin, Jeon So-nee, Kang Mal-geum, Kim Da-mi, Lee Suk-hyeong, Nam Yoon-su, Oh Min-ae, Park Choong-seon, Park Seong-yeon
Director: Min Yong-keun
This English-language adaptation of the 1973 Swedish miniseries by Ingmar Bergman stars Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, whose palpable chemistry is at full force here. It’s daunting to adapt a work from such a legend of the screen, but director Hagai Levi finds new nuances and modern situations to the story—infusing a different cultural identity into some characters, and playing with typically gendered tropes such as infidelity. While it can be frustrating to watch this couple's failure to communicate properly, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain’s powerful, heartbreaking performances should keep fans and casual viewers hooked to the screen.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Jessica Chastain, Oscar Isaac
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Actor: Adan Jodorowsky, Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Brontis Jodorowsky, Faviola Elenka Tapia, Gustavo Aguilar Tejada, Guy Stockwell, Héctor Ortega, Hilario 'Popitekus' Vargas, Jacobo Lieberman, Jesús Juárez, Joaquín García Vargas, Sabrina Dennison, Sergio Bustamante, Teo Jodorowsky, Teo Tapia, Thelma Tixou, Valérie Crouzet, Zonia Rangel Mora
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, History, Science Fiction
Actor: Afemo Omilami, Alexandra Duah, Kofi Ghanaba, Mutabaruka, Mzuri, Nick Medley, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Reggie Carter, Reginald Carter
Director: Haile Gerima
This 1994 animated gem from Studio Ghibli is one of their many environmentally-conscious works. In a world of shape-shifting animals and environmental conservation, Pom Poko beautifully combines folklore, humor, and social commentary to tell a tale of raccoons fighting to save their forest home from human encroachment. The animation is stunning, showcasing Ghibli's signature attention to detail and vibrant visuals. But it's the heartfelt story and lovable characters that really steal the show. Although it is slow-paced, Pom Poko is a thought-provoking and entertaining film that will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate the wonders of nature.
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Akira Fukuzawa, Akira Kamiya, Beichou Katsura, Bunshi Katsura, Gannosuke Ashiya, Kobuhei Hayashiya, Kokondei Shinchou, Kosan Yanagiya, Makoto Nonomura, Megumi Hayashibara, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Norihei Miki, Osamu Kato, Shigeru Izumiya, Shincho Kokontei, Shozo Hayashiya, Takehiro Murata, Yorie Yamashita, Yumi Ichihara, Yuriko Ishida
Director: Isao Takahata
Genre: Action, Thriller
Actor: Adithi Kalkunte, Ashwini Kalsekar, Brahim Achabbakhe, Dev Patel, Makrand Deshpande, Pitobash, Sharlto Copley, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Vipin Sharma, Winai Wiangyangkung, Zakir Hussain
Director: Dev Patel
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Actor: Aldis Hodge, Camila Morrone, Hans Christopher, Joe Keery, Ozioma Akagha, Susan Brava, Wayne Duvall
Director: Keir O'Donnell
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Aaron Altaras, Beat Marti, Doro Müggler, Jessy Moravec, Julian Koechlin, Jürg Plüss, Max Hubacher
Director: Marcel Gisler
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Alan Mak, Cheung Tat-Ming, Henry Fong, Hilary Tsui, James Yuen, Joe Ma, Jordan Chan, Josie Ho, Joyce Tang Lai-Ming, Kelly Chen, Maria Cordero, Michael Wong, Moses Chan, Steven Ma, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Teddy Chan
Director: Lee Chi-Ngai
There's a cruelty to In My Mother's Skin that may seem off-putting at first, but one must reckon with the sheer scale of the violence already occurring before these characters are even introduced to us. The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was a particularly vicious period in the country's history; if Filipinos weren't fighting or hiding from their invaders, many of them were trying to maintain a precariously submissive, neutral existence, or they were being turned against each other due to the conflict of war trickling down between the social classes. All these things are implicit throughout Kenneth Dagatan's film, which doesn't try to reenact World War II but capture the total absence of hope during this period.
Dagatan's style of horror insists on a very slow pace, emphasizing every footstep leading to a horrifying reveal, and not just the main scare itself. This choice doesn't always work, especially as certain beats begin to repeat themselves, but the film's incredibly confident visual style fills every moment with an eerie paranoia. Gothic, shadowy interiors, nasty gore, and one opulently costumed fairy make everything perpetually unsettling—gradually forcing us to accept that these contradictions are just the reality of life under war.
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, War
Actor: Angeli Bayani, Arnold Reyes, Beauty Gonzalez, Brian Sy, Felicity Kyle Napuli, James Mavie Estrella, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Ronnie Lazaro
Director: Kenneth Lim Dagatan
Genre: Drama
Actor: Anthony LaPaglia, Craig Stott, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, Jacob Collins-Levy, Kerry Fox, Lee Cormie, Ryan Corr, Sarah Snook, Tony Rickards
Director: Neil Armfield
With games creating whole virtual worlds, with stunning landscapes, powers, and storylines, it’s easy to escape into the fictional simulations, to the point of being addicted. Good Night World reimagines this idea in the present as a family drama, where video game addict Tachiro Arima struggles to relate with his family because of his addiction. As the show progresses, the game integrates with the real world, with real life-threatening consequences, but the show slowly uncovers how this game unraveled the Arimas’ family bonds, through neglect, depression, and shared trauma. It’s an interesting series about connection and video games, if you can get into the world of the series.
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Akio Otsuka, Aoi Yuki, Aya Endo, Daisuke Hirose, Hiroki Nanami, Inori Minase, Kenjiro Tsuda, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Rie Takahashi, Ryohei Kimura
War makes animals of men, and Filip is no exception. The film portrays a lone Jewish survivor who walks the streets of Frankfurt as if he doesn’t have anything to lose. He’s able to get away with it, with his work at a luxury hotel, but he’s unable to escape his trauma. He relieves this through trysts with the local women, treating them cruelly, the same way they would treat his people. It’s a uniquely stunning take on the ugly side of war, with its country club glamor and Filip’s lust for life. But it’s also a grim character study of an unlikeable, yet understandable protagonist, whose moral ambiguity comes purely from his own survival.
Genre: Drama, History, War
Actor: Caroline Hartig, Eryk Kulm, Eryk Kulm jr, Gabriel Raab, Julian Świeżewski, Jürg Plüss, Karol Biskup, Kinga Jasik, Mateusz Rzeźniczak, Nicolas Przygoda, Nicolo Pasetti, Robert Więckiewicz, Sandra Drzymalska, Victor Meutelet, Zoë Straub
Director: Michał Kwieciński
Middle-aged romances aren't really a popular genre. After all, it tends to be predictable, problematic, and it can sometimes feel like seeing your parents have sex. Other films try to spice it up with a great looking location, pretty cinematography, and all the romance tropes, and Croatian-German film Faraway has plenty of that in store. However, it also happens to be a film where a middle-aged woman finds solace with her Croatian mom’s culture, after years of assimilating to the countries of her dad, and later, her husband. While not perfect, Faraway feels so charming and it has the rare sincerity missing from many middle-aged romcoms.
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Actor: Adnan Maral, Adriana Altaras, Artjom Gilz, Bahar Balci, Butz Ulrich Buse, Christian Schneller, Davor Tomić, Goran Bogdan, Mladen Vasary, Naomi Krauss, Paula Schramm, Vedat Erincin
Director: Vanessa Jopp
Is an innocent child’s life worth millions of other civilian casualties? In a modern-day drone warfare led by Colonel Katherine Powell, played by the very versatile Helen Mirren, she is conflicted to order the target of the Somali terrorist organization when she spots Alia, a young girl who just happens to be selling bread within the premises of the Kill Zone. Her icy exterior, however, is a far cry from Lieutenant General Frank Benson’s profound sympathy, the portrayal of the late Alan Rickman in his last onscreen role being one of his most remarkable ones to date. Eye in the Sky is a thriller that will have you questioning your morals while gripping your seats in what appears to be a battle of the best choice and the only one. Do the ends always justify the means?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, War
Actor: Aaron Paul, Aisha Takow, Alan Rickman, Armaan Haggio, Arman Haggio, Babou Ceesay, Barkhad Abdi, Carl Beukes, Daniel Fox, Ebby Weyime, Francis Chouler, Gavin Hood, Graham Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Iain Glen, James Alexander, Jeremy Northam, John Heffernan, Kate Liquorish, Kenneth Fok, Kim Engelbrecht, Kim Suzanne Engelbrecht, Laila Robins, Lemogang Tsipa, Lex King, Michael OKeefe, Monica Dolan, Phoebe Fox, Richard McCabe, Roberto Kyle, Roberto Meyer, Sabrina Hassan Abdulle, Vusi Kunene, Warren Masemola, Zak Rowlands
Director: Gavin Hood