#25. Napoleon Dynamite
The year 2004 saw an increase in the release of independent movies, and Napoleon Dynamite, starring Jon Heder, is not an exception. The buddy comedy centers around Napoleon and his new friend Pedro, while they try to win the school presidency.
The film is heavily influenced by the '80s and is rated for the whole family, as it is very naive. Nonetheless, if you want to try a new independent movie and laugh a lot during this quarantine, you should definitely check it out.
#24. Kids
Despite having a harsh launch due to negative reviews and being labeled as a pornographic film, Kids instantly became a cult independent movie about the other face of teenage culture and the streets.
The protagonists' gang spends their time in their streets, skating, drinking and hitting on girls, while they try to face the harsh daily routine in their homes. If you look hard, you can see Rosario Dawson and Chloe Sevigny.
#23. The Wrestler
After having a hard time in his career, famous actor Mickey Rourke landed one of the most amazing films in 2008, and together with director Darren Aronofsky, brought The Wrestler to life.
While struggling with retirement, professional wrestler The Ram realizes that he never took care of his life outside the ring, and now has a new fight, one for which he is not prepared: putting his life in the right direction.
#21. Lost in Translation
The daughter of all-time famous director Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, has directed 22 films, but the one that stands over them all is Lost in Translation, starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray.
Charlotte (Johansson) is a recently graduated woman that goes with her husband to Japan for his work as photographer, but he soon leaves on a work trip leaving her behind. In that same hotel she will meet Bob (Bill Murray) a fallen-from-grace actor who is there to shoot a commercial. Both enjoy each other's company, and a series of events start to unfold.
#22. Dazed and Confused
Focusing on the life of school students during the hippie love revolution, the film shows the last day of school for those kids and, even though it is a repeated formula, it will make you laugh a lot.
Depicting life in 1976 Texas was hard work for the director, but he got everything right. For the viewers who lived those years, they will relive their adolescent lives.
#20. Nightcrawler
How far would you go in order to attain fame? How far do you believe that anyone could go in order to get the upper hand in a news piece? Nightcrawler follows Louis Bloom, a jobless young man in desperate need of a job.
When he is faced with a gruesome accident, he turns into a desperate sensationalist journalist in a race to get first in every scene. This thriller is sure to get you nerves worked up!
#19. Eighth Grade
Being a teenager nowadays can be a difficult thing, as the Internet and social networks are there not only to let us communicate with other people across the globe, but are also used to bully schoolmates.
In this teenage drama film, young actress Elsie Fisher plays the role of a teenager trying to survive the eighth grade, and boy it is difficult. Not only does she face the usual teenager problems at school, love and heartbreak, but also issues with her family. She plays the part so perfectly that it is impossible not to cry a bit.
#18. Clerks
Have you ever wondered what the life of a store clerk is like when no customers are around? Thanks to the 1994 film Clerks, directed by Kevin Smith, you will be able to experience firsthand their daily lives.
The movie is laden with swear words, nerdy pop-culture references from the '80s, and a great deal of drama and friendship. Despite the premise being a little bland, this low-budget (approximately $230,000) film was a huge success and even got a sequel!
#17. Captain Fantastic
In Captain Fantastic, which was released in 2016, Viggo Mortensen plays the role of an extremist father that raised his six kids in complete isolation from the outside world, teaching them to be self-sufficient and independent from from other people.
One fateful day, he receives notice of a funeral he has to attend, and has to take his kids to the outside world. The kids will experience what we believe to be normal as something extraordinary.
#16. Beasts of the Southern Wild
Young 6-year old Hushpuppy is the hero we did not know we needed, but that we deserved. In Beasts of the Southern Wild, this young kid is faced with several challenges throughout the film: his father's sickness, the melting of ice that floods the small Bayou village in which she lives and growing up in a self-sufficient environment, far from the ever-consuming society.
The film won the top award both in Sundance and in Cannes, so you should probably check it out.
#15. Blue Valentine
February 14th is the worldwide date in which the world celebrates love, and couples all around the world declare their unwavering love for each other. But there are couples that struggle with their relationships, and that date can be quite painful.
That is what happens with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in the film Blue Valentine, in which they deliver an incredible performance of a dying marriage that they intend to save, for themselves and for their little 3-year-old kid.
#14. The Evil Dead
When three horror lovers gather to make a low-budget horror film, one could think that it is a recipe for disaster. But fortunately for Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the film The Evil Dead became an instant horror cult film, and it grossed over $2.4 million, over an initial $90,000 budget.
The film follows a group of 5 students that, after hearing a tape, release demons to the world, and it is up to Ash to rid the world of them.
#13. The Blair Witch Project
Camera-on-hand horror films are quite rare to come across, as few of them have been recorded and released, but the film that started it all was quite a shock. At first sold as a real documentary, The Blair Witch Project will take us to the Black Hills while we follow three student filmmakers who want to shoot the story of the legend of the Blair Witch.
Marketing for the film was made as if the students had gone missing in real life, and even posters were put on lampposts!
#12. Moonlight
Three-time Oscar winner movie Moonlight was a breath of fresh air for independent movies, which lately had been struggling with nominations and awards.
The film follows the life of Chiron throughout three different time periods, teen, adolescent and adult, while he struggles with the common problems linked to each of those ages. Mahershala Ali, who won the Best Actor Oscar, will help Chiron in his young years by advising him of the path to take... but it is up to Chiron to take the advice by heart.
#11. Requiem for a Dream
Leading up to the year 2000, when Requiem for a Dream by director Darren Aronofsky was released, actor and musician Jared Leto had been only participating in minor roles.
His breakthrough came with this drug-addict-centered film about the life of Sara and Harry Goldfarb, Marion Silver and Tyrone Love while their drug addiction slowly bring out the worst in them all and they fall into a self-destructive spiral. Most of the critics agreed that Requiem for a Dream is better then Trainspotting, which deals with similar themes.
#10. Little Miss Sunshine
When little Olive Hoover tells her parents that she wants to compete in a beauty contest, a family trip will start and will gather every member of her weird, dysfunctional family.
Olive's family is composed of his gay uncle with suicidal tendencies portrayed by Steve Carrell, her brother who took a vow of silence and will not utter a single word, her loser father and her heroin-addicted grandfather played by Alan Arkin. Despite being dysfunctional, the film tells a beautiful story of family love.
#9. She's Gotta Have It
In 1986, an almost unknown director, Spike Lee, made an independent African-American film with only $175,000, which is something that had never happened before. The film, She's Gotta Have It, follows the life of Nola, a black woman who tries to balance having a relationship with three different men.
The story is told by her and her friends, and it is about freedom and freedom of choice, as Nola will not allow any men to own her. In 2017, the film was adapted to a TV show format.
#8. Being John Malkovich
Probably one of the weirdest and strangest films out there, Being John Malkovich puts the viewer literally inside the famous actor's head, after puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) finds a portal that leads him straight into it.
The film introduces a conspiracy revolving around the actor's brain and it is up to our protagonists to discover the true meaning behind all of that.Of course, John Malkovich stars in the film, although this took a lot of convincing.
#7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This film did everything right by putting Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet together for the first time, the romantic comedy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stole the heart of many of its viewers.
With a sort of distancing between the two of them, Joel and Clementine decide to undergo a risky procedure to remove the bad memories from each other's heads, but, how could they let go of the good memories? Will they be able to meet again?
#6. Fruitvale Station
Michael B. Jordan has been in the movie industry since long ago, but his career started to shine after taking the part of Eric Killmonger in the Marvel film Black Panther, and Adonis Creed in the Creed series.
A few years before those roles, he undertook a project with director Ryan Coogler and shot the indie film Fruitvale Station, which won a Cannes Film Festival. The film follows Oscar in what he decided would be a great day, but the world had other plans for him.
#5. Memento
Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and based on the short story, Memento Mori, by his brother Jonathan, the film Memento is a roller coaster both of emotions and time.
The film shows both the past and the current time while the protagonist, Leonard Shelby, tries very hard to find the killers of his wife. But it will not be so simple as Leonard cannot create new memories, and so he tattooes vital pieces of information on his body.
#4. Donnie Darko
Following anti-social teenager Donnie Darko, portrayed by a young Jake Gyllenhaal, the film will revolve around him and the mysterious man in the bunny suit, who brainwashed him by telling him that the end of the world was nigh.
Even though he disguises as a friend for young Donnie, he may have other occult intentions. When released, the film was not well received, but during time it became a cult film.
#3. Mean Streets
Banned in the United Kingdom due to its strong language and violent scenes, Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese, was probably the film that turned Robert de Niro into who he is today, a worldwide movie star that can play any role he wants.
While trying to run a small restaurant in the neighbourhood of Little Italy in New York City, Tony and Michael have to be extremely careful of Robert de Niro's Johnny Boy extreme and irrational behavior that threatens their small establishment.
#2. Reservoir Dogs
Before directing cult film Pulp Fiction, director Quentin Tarantino created a film that would become a masterpiece, Reservoir Dogs. The film follows a group of six criminals, strangers to each other, that are employed for a bank heist.
After the police appears on site and kills two of them, the remaining survivors have to discover who is the mole in a bloody battle in a warehouse. It has been discussed for a long time in several forums, but it seems that Pulp Fiction is kind of a spiritual successor to Reservoir Dogs.
#1. Juno
Teenage pregnancy is a very sensitive topic which affects thousands of girls around the world. Many of them are faced with tough decisions about what to do.
Therefore, you could imagine that the film Juno, starring Ellen Page, is pretty controversial, but it shows pregnancy and abortion from the perspective of a teenage and it is pretty powerful experience.