“Fallen Angels” – Directed by Wong Kar-wai
Like its predecessor, “Chungking Express,” “Fallen Angels” is structured as two narratives and shot with the same level of attention paid to lighting exposure’s effect on in-camera motion. One plot follows a hitman and his partner, a woman who cleans up after him obsessively. Initially, the opening feels like the filmmaker is spinning a take on the professional killer subgenre, but this is a Wong Kar-wai movie, so its got to be weirder and more romantic than that (his tempestuous love story, “Happy Together,” is also available to stream). The second thread is about a mute prison convict, an escapee, living in the same building as our killer’s partner. Planned to be the third segment of ‘Chungking’ (‘Angels’ also includes a flight attendant, a motif of cultural significance), the project evolved into a beautifully strange and spiritually artful companion piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtum6XVH3HI
“Girlfriends” – Directed by Claudia Weill
Claudia Weill’s innovative film, “Girlfriends” – which far predates “Sex and the City,” and “Girls,” as a pioneering work about the common woman struggling to make a life for herself in the big city – follows two roommates drifting apart as life has different things in store for them. Susan’s (a photographer) best friend Anne (a poet) moves out because she’s getting married. The film follows their “break up” and explores the different directions life pulls them. Anne finds herself wrestling with domestic apathy as her writing is put in a drawer and Susan starts sleeping around and falls into a series of unfortunate relationships as a method of coping with the newfound absence. A favorite of both Wes Anderson and Greta Gerwig, “Girlfriends” is often cited as one of the first truly intimate and honest looks at female friendship.
“Hollywood Shuffle” – Directed by Robert Townsend
Undoubtedly the most entertaining movie on this list, Robert Townsend’s semi-autobiographical directorial debut was a revolutionary romp, rightfully criticizing the limited roles Hollywood readily made available to actors of color. After being told repeatedly that he was “not black enough,” Townsend, had had enough. ‘Shuffle’ is a brilliant satire and incredibly confident first film that follows the struggling efforts of a performer named Bobby Taylor. Using a series of stylistic vignettes that range from cinematic fantasy to bitter reality, the movie explores the roadblocks of racism embedded into a system built on harmful stereotypes – a world that expects all black men to act like Eddie Murphy. It’s a hilarious film about honest representation with more than just audience amusement on its mind. Think “La La Land,” by way of “Baadasssss!”
“Kaili Blues” – Directed by Bi Gan
The debut feature from the director of “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” – which our very own Jordan Ruimy called “a flat-out masterpiece” (100% deservingly) – almost functions as a trial run for his soon to be famous sophomore effort and its already legendary composition. If you haven’t heard, ‘Long Day’s Journey’ culminates with a dream-like 50-minute long tracking shot, in 3D. The visionary artist’s first film project is almost as ambitious, building to a 40-minute take that feels like a poetic travelogue tour of the filmmaker’s hometown, Kaili City. Even with only 2 movies under his belt, Bi Gan has been described as the cinematic love child of Andrei Tarkovsky and Hou Hsiao Hsien (the comparisons are warranted). With his second movie still playing in select theaters, now is the perfect time to acquaint yourself with the young filmmaker. His short film “The Poet and Singer” is also available to stream
“Last Hurrah for Chivalry” – Directed by John Woo
Fans of John Woo’s singular vision of heroic bloodshed (“Hard Boiled,” “The Killer”) should all sign up for the channel’s free trial, if only to watch Woo’s ridiculously fun, wuxia sword-fest. Arguably a thematic precursor to almost every movie the Hong Kong filmmaker has ever made involving a pair of macho men (“A Better Tomorrow,” “Face-Off”), ‘Chivalry’ is the story of two blade-wielding assassins who get wrapped up in a kung fu revenge scheme that tests their allegiance. Opening with a Canto-pop needle drop and ending with a spike-pit boss fight – that’s basically what if Chang Cheh choreographed ‘Mortal Kombat‘ – Woo’s film should satisfy artfully staged action buffs immensely.
“My Brother’s Wedding” – Directed by Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett made his directorial debut, “Killer of Sheep” (1978) as a thesis project, while studying at UCLA, where he was introduced to third world cinema. His second feature, “My Brother’s Wedding” – a tragicomedy set in South Central, Los Angeles – almost went unreleased, following a mixed review from the New York Times. The story finds an aimless man, torn between two worlds – his soon to be married brother’s new middle-class existence, and the labored day to day life his working friends live, when they’re not in prison. It’s post-colonialism conscious filmmaking; Burnett’s movies are courageous feats of Black independent cinema. At the time he was a student, pictures only seemed interested in exploring a criminally stereotyped world of Black culture (via the Blaxploitation flick) and Charles Burnett had a few things to say about that.
