3 Movies Like The Cobbler (2014)

The Grand Seduction, a remake of 2003 French-Canadian film La Grande Séduction (2003), is a lighthearted comedy about the residents of the small fishing village of Tickle Head, Newfoudland attempting to convince a young doctor to become its long-term caregiver in order to secure a contract for a new petrochemical facility. Desperate to guide the town out of its impoverished conditions and lack of employment opportunities, the citizens band together to pull ever bit out of deceit and chicanery out of their hats (in often laugh-out-loud fashion) in order to sway the young doctor Paul (Taylor Kitsch) into believing that Tickle Head is where he belongs. It’s a lighthearted and funny story, despite undeniably familiar shades of The Shipping News, Doc Hollywood and Funny Farm. Brendan Gleeson is particularly good as the new mayor of town and Paul’s head “seducer”. He gives the film that extra bit of humanity and wry humor that lifts it above the familiar plot points and into “notable recommendation” territory.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Brendan Gleeson, Cathy Jones, Gordon Pinsent, Janelle Hickey, Kevin Lewis, Lawrence Barry, Liane Balaban, Margaret Killingbeck, Mark Critch, Mary Walsh, Matt Watts, Michael Therriault, Natalia Hennelly, Percy Hynes White, Pete Soucy, Peter Keleghan, Sean Panting, Steve O'Connell, Taylor Kitsch

Director: Don McKellar

Rating: PG-13

After Loving Vincent, DK and Hugh Welchman’s iconic oil paint animation initially seems like old hat, but this time the style is actually more fitting for their second feature. As an adaptation of the iconic Polish novel, The Peasants had to live up to the book’s reputation as the Nobel-winning depiction of the Polish countryside, one of the first to take an intimate look into the lives of the commonfolk, their customs, beliefs, and traditions. The Welchmans’ naturalist, impressionist art style lines up with the way the original Chłopi was inspired by these movements, as does L.U.C’s selection of mesmerizing, haunting Polish folk songs. While the plot is a tad cliché, it only does so in the way folklore tends to weave the same threads. It just so happens that the threads in The Peasants lead to violent ends.

Genre: Animation, Drama, History

Actor: Andrzej Konopka, Andrzej Mastalerz, Anna Grzeszczak, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Cyprian Grabowski, Dorota Stalińska, Ewa Kasprzyk, Jadwiga Wianecka, Jarosław Gruda, Julia Wieniawa, Kamila Urzędowska, Klara Bielawka, Lech Dyblik, Maciej Musiał, Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Małgorzata Maślanka, Marek Pyś, Mariusz Kiljan, Mariusz Urbaniec, Mateusz Rusin, Matt Malecki, Mirosław Baka, Piotr Srebrowski, Robert Gulaczyk, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Sonia Mietielica, Szymon Kukla, Tomasz Więcek

Director: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman

Rating: R