Flix You Missed: More Than 100 Movies from the Past Ten Years You (Probably) Didn’T See!

Copyright © 2016 Tom Sims.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-0682-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0683-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016914853

iUniverse rev. date: 09/15/2016

Contents

1 Overview: What Are the Flix You Missed?

2 Oscar Worthy

3 Simply Exceptional

4 Family Dysfunction

5 Growing Up & Growing Old

6 Historical Recreation

7 Life Characters

8 Lost Documentaries

9 Overlooked Foreign Films

10 Tributes

11 Flix You (Maybe) Didn’t Miss

12 Epilogue: Short Flix You Missed

13 Flix Index

Acknowledgements

To Dad, My Inspiration

1

Overview: What Are the Flix You Missed?

You may live a fulfilled life without seeing the movies reviewed in this book, but why risk it? Why not enjoy a film that you didn’t know was out there or never got a chance to see? You may ask, Okay, why not browse online for ideas—what can your insights provide? Online resources can be excellent, but you can only tell so much from a quick thumbs up, brief consensus statement, or tomato-shaped thermometer reading. You’ll get a little more depth about a movie here. And come on, this book is cheap enough—even if you get a few suggestions that turn out to be enjoyable it could all be worth it.

What constitutes a movie you missed? Every movie has been seen by somebody, right? Movies featured here (for the most part) didn’t gain the audience they should have when you consider how well they were made. Some critics call these movies buried treasure or hidden gems. Each generation since the start of movies has these rarities, each decade can claim a few dozen or so. Despite that, we’re only looking back 10 years for purposes of this book. There are plenty of movies in the past decade that you may not find unless you’re looking for them. Besides, a decade is about how long I’ve been writing my column in the southern New Jersey magazine Exit Zero and how long I’ve been running the Cape May Film Festival. Also 10 years is how long I’ve been a part-time independent filmmaker with movies I’ve produced appearing at a few festivals nationwide.

There was no formula, no magical box office revenue number to indicate whether to include a film or not. It was part instinct, part asking friends, hey did you ever see, and part just thinking these movies were must-see but knowing they didn’t last long in theaters.

Keep in mind that the movies in this book are not in sub-genre categories like martial arts or horror movies. If you’re a big fan of any of those genres, you’ve probably already sought out all the films you want in that grouping. Also… to be honest… I don’t like martial arts or horror movies. It’s just not my bag, sorry. Certainly, movies are a very personal pleasure. What thrills me about a film may not send you at all. However, these films do lean toward exceptional storytelling with profound dialogue and outstanding acting. They should appeal to a wider audience, the one they didn’t get the first time in theaters.

Why are we missing these flix? Although crowds have been going to the movies a little more in recent years, the consensus is that people mostly find the films they want to see online or on-demand. Films come to theaters, but they don’t normally stay long enough for you to catch them. And movies coming to multiplexes are the few in which studios invest significant money—and those can only be described as blockbuster hit or miss. If all you want are action thrillers or vampire romances, this may not be the book for you. But if you enjoy stories superbly acted and expertly filmed, then you know how difficult it is to find them at your local theater. You have to seek them out. And you’re busy, I know it. So I’ve searched for you.

And this is what I’ve found.

2

Oscar Worthy

The Academy Awards noticed these films, but did you? Interesting that the film industry’s highest honor can be associated with films often overlooked by audiences. Let me note for the record that there are films that have been nominated (and even won) that I would not highlight in this book—not because I don’t think they’re worth the investment of time (to some of you, they are) but because they are not necessarily films worthy of seeking if you missed. These Oscar nominees, however, are all worth the time. None of them took home the big prize of Best Picture, but if they had then they probably don’t belong in a book about overlooked movies.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012; 1hr, 33min)

Call it a modern allegory, Beasts of the Southern Wild has won critical and audience acclaim. To call it uplifting would be a misstatement, however. This is not an easy film to watch as it depicts a hard life with little relief from suffering, but it is an important film to watch for its beauty and ultimately its focus on the human condition as seen through a child’s eyes.

Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of Hushpuppy (played by Quvenzhané Wallis), a small girl living in ramshackle Louisiana island town affectionately called The Bathtub by locals because of it is given to flooding. She lives in her own run down space, an old trailer that sits perched high off the ground. Her father lives in another shack next door. He can often be seen wandering the dirt roads of town either inebriated or in a gown from a recent stint at the local hospital.

The story unfolds as the town prepares for flooding. There are those who are adamant to stay. Hushpuppy and her father stay, surviving in their boat (well… really a makeshift vessel fashioned from an old truck bed). The film follows Hushpuppy’s quest to live a fulfilled life in a failed town. She must ultimately face the demons that roam her life like the wild boars that roam the region—demons staring at both her and her father.

The film is beautifully shot with compelling images of a poor, dilapidated town and neighborhood. The acting is brilliant, with Hushpuppy and her father, Wink, played by Dwight Henry. Both actors are newcomers in the strictest sense—this film would be their first chance to start to their careers. The same is true for Ben Zeitlen as director and co-screenwriter, a newcomer with few credits.

The storytelling is beautifully subtle, and the dialogue is sparse and poignant. When it first came out, my prediction was that this film would likely get noticed by Oscar, and noticed it was with four Oscar nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Actress (Willis), Best Screenplay, and Best Director (Benh Zeitlin).

The film did not win, but Willis and Henry were reunited on the big screen a year later in another film that did win three Oscars, 12 Years a Slave (2013). Willis was also picked for the part of Annie in a modern retelling of the Broadway hit, which was not nearly as well received.

Monsieur Lazhar (2012; 1hr, 34min)

In my weekly movie review column, Hollywood blockbusters and less known works are pretty much equally featured (thus providing enough material for this book). In the column right before reviewing this film, I was very negative about The Hunger Games (these two films were released the same time). Let’s transition from that Hollywood story about children killing one another for televised sport (I still say, Yikes!) to Monsieur Lazhar, a Canadian film nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2012 Oscars. Monsieur Lazhar tells an unbelievably moving story that respects kids and beautifully showcases their talents.

A teacher dies tragically at an elementary school in a subtly terrifying scene in the classroom. The school’s answer to the trauma is to paint the room, call in a psychologist, and get students back to class. The only problem (well, one of several with such a thin coat solution) is that there is no teacher who wants the job. Seemingly out of nowhere comes Bachir Lazhar (played by Mohamed Fellag), a man who heard about the horror and wants to assume responsibility for the children in the class. With no other takers, he is hired on the spot.

The story unfolds with grace and charm as students struggle to understand the tragedy. Lazhar soon learns that the classroom had its share of conflicts. Though the drama was heavy, the mood of the film was never down—mainly because the acting, especially that of the children, was brilliant. The two lead child performers, actor Émilien Néron and actress Sophie Nélisse, are particularly noteworthy and endear themselves to us from their first moments on screen.

With a script that is as subtle as it is compelling (written and directed by newcomer Philippe Falardeau), we’re carefully