Genre: Animation, Comedy
Actor: Mamiko Noto, Nao Toyama, Shin-ichiro Miki, Shiori Mikami
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: Animation, Comedy
Actor: Mamiko Noto, Nao Toyama, Shin-ichiro Miki, Shiori Mikami
Arch-provocateur Paul Verhoeven received widespread acclaim for his assured and darkly funny adaptation of Philippe Dijan’s award-winning novel, his first film in the French language.
It’s a controversial revenge thriller about a domineering businesswoman who is raped in her home by a masked man. Refusing to let the attack affect her life, she refuses to report the incident and tracks down the assailant herself.
Verhoeven directs the material with confidence and a troubling lightness of touch, while fearless Isabelle Huppert gives one of the best performances of her long and illustrious career. Some people found Elle empowering while others felt it perpetuated misogynistic attitudes. Either way, it makes for a passionate post-viewing discussion.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Alice Isaaz, Anne Consigny, Anne Loiret, Arthur Mazet, Caroline Breton, Charles Berling, Christian Berkel, David Léotard, Eric Savin, Fleur Geffrier, François Nambot, Hugo Conzelmann, Hugues Martel, Isabelle Huppert, Jean Douchet, Jean-Noël Martin, Jean-Yves Freyburger, Jina Djemba, Jonas Bloquet, Judith Magre, Laurent Lafitte, Laurent Orry, Loïc Legendre, Lucas Prisor, Marie Berto, Nicolas Beaucaire, Nicolas Ullmann, Oury Milshtein, Raphaël Kahn, Raphaël Lenglet, Stéphane Bak, Vimala Pons, Virginie Efira, Zohar Wexler
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Álvaro Carcaño, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Esteban Soberanes, Gastón Melo, Julieta Egurrola, Marisa Paredes, Paco Mauri, Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Regina Orozco, René Pereyra, Rosa Furman, Sherlyn, Verónica Merchant
Director: Arturo Ripstein
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Charlotte Hope, Donna Cormack Thomson, Ivan Zimmermann, Lemogang Tsipa, Sean Cameron Michael, Steven John Ward, Waldemar Schultz
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Annette Bening, Bruce Greenwood, Jeremy Irons, Julian Richings, Juliet Stevenson, Leigh Lawson, Lucy Punch, Marsha Fitzalan, Maury Chaykin, Max Irons, Michael Culkin, Michael Gambon, Miriam Margolyes, Rita Tushingham, Rosemary Harris, Shaun Evans, Sheila McCarthy, Teresa Churcher, Tom Sturridge
Director: István Szabó
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Actor: Bae Yoo-ram, Gong Hyo-jin, Jo Ha-seok, Kim Hyun-soo, Kim Ji-hwan, Ko Chang-seok, Lee Jun-hyeok, Lee You-jin, Park Seo-jun, Seo Jeong-yeon, Shin Woo-hee, So Ji-sub, Son Ye-jin, Son Yeo-eun
Director: Lee Jang-hoon
This is a slow but well-made movie about a Jehovah’s Witness family, directed by a former member of the organization.
The family is made of Alex, her mother, and her older sister. Alex follows her mother and her religious teachings with the utmost loyalty, especially as she refuses a blood transfusion that is crucial to her health. Her older sister starts showing signs of independence by lying to her friends about her family’s faith and dating a Muslim man.
Apostasy is about family bonds versus belief bonds. It’s not a movie that judges or preaches, rather it simply portrays the complex situations that structured religion creates.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Aqib Khan, Bronwyn James, Christian Foster, Claire Hackett, Clare McGlinn, Daisy Cooper-Kelly, Jacqueline Pilton, James Foster, James Puddephatt, James Quinn, Jessica Baglow, Molly Wright, Peter Slater, Poppy Jhakra, Robert Emms, Sacha Parkinson, Siobhan Finneran, Steve Evets, Wasim Zakir
Director: Daniel Kokotajlo
Genre: Drama, Music
Actor: Anjum Batra, Anuraag Arora, Apindereep Singh, Diljit Dosanjh, Jasmeet Singh Bhatia, Kul Sidhu, Kumud Mishra, Mohit Chauhan, Nisha Bano, Parineeti Chopra, Sahiba Bali, Vipin Katyal
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Genre: Documentary
Director: Luke Lorentzen
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Actor: Kaede Hondo, Nao Toyama, Ryota Osaka, Sumire Morohoshi, Takeo Otsuka, Tasuku Hatanaka, Yu Miyazaki
Genre: Drama
Actor: Ailín Salas, Carolina Peleritti, Carolina Pelleritti, César Troncoso, Germán Palacios, Guillermo Angelelli, Inés Efron, Lucía Puenzo, Lucas Escariz, Lucía Puenzo, Luciano Nóbile, Martín Piroyansky, Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli
Director: Lucía Puenzo
Genre: Drama, Music
Actor: Alison Folland, Brittany Finamore, CCH Pounder, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Peña, Eric Stoltz, Gabriel Mann, Joshua Leonard, Kai Lennox, Kim Dickens, Patsy Kensit, Rosanna Arquette, Shawn Reaves
Director: Allison Anders
Genre: Drama
Actor: Aden Gillett, Colin Stinton, Gemma Jones, Jeremy Northam, Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca Pidgeon, Sara Stewart, Sarah Flind
Director: David Mamet
Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Ann Wedgeworth, Antonia Bogdanovich, Benjamin Mouton, Harve Presnell, Helen Cates, Libby Villari, Marion Eaton, Michael Corbett, Renée Zellweger, Vincent D'Onofrio
Director: Dan Ireland
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Actor: Adriana O'Neil, David Fox, Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Medeiros, Mark McKinney, Ross McMillan
Director: Guy Maddin