7 Indie Movies You Should See

It’s summer blockbuster time and that means Hollywood is rolling out its spectacle, big budget behemoths.  Or as we here at Idiot Ballroom like to call it, “mindless drivel”.   So, we thought it would be a nice change of pace to showcase a few movies that don’t rely on all that money to entertain… the Independent film.  We figured most cinephiles have seen Reservoir Dogs or Eraserhead or My Own Private Idaho, so here is a list of 7 indie movies you probably didn’t see but should:

Synecdoche, NY (2008) – What happens when Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter of such brain-bending films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich, gets the chance to direct his own movie? You get Synecdoche, NY.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a really screwed up but “genius” director who is granted unlimited funds to stage an experimental play about his life.  And it’s not your typical play, it’s everything… all the moments in between the typical 3 Act structure.  It's a sprawling epic that delves into the human condition; the good, the bad and the icky parts.

The Machinist (2004) – For the role of Trevor Reznik, a factory worker who seems to be losing his mind (and body), Christian Bale lost 60 pounds.  Talk about suffering for your art.  Sure that could be the gimmick to get people to watch this flick.  But the story is pretty damn good too.  Reznik, who hasn’t slept in a year and weighs 120 pounds, is haunted by a mysterious, unfamiliar co-worker named Ivan.  There’s a Hitchcockian paranoia that keeps you guessing to the very end.

The Low Life (1995) – Rory Cochrane plays John, a man devoid of emotion trying to survive the black hole that is Los Angeles.  He and his friends are Ivy League graduates who must work temp jobs in order to put Ramen on the table.  Sean Astin co-stars as an accidental geeky roommate who uproots John’s numb existence with his earnest yearning for companionship.  Kyra Sedgwick, playing a sort of Blanche from Streetcar Named Desire type, is John’s love interest.

Kicking and Screaming (1995) – This isn’t the Will Ferrell soccer flick.  This is the one by Noah Baumbach about a group of friends who just graduated from college and have no clue what to do with the rest of their lives.  So, they end up sticking around in the same college town because they don’t know anything else.  Baumbach’s script is witty and filled with clever one liners you’re sure to be reciting.

Dead Man (1995) – Jim Jarmusch directs Johnny Depp in this existential western.  Yeah, you read that right. Depp plays William Blake, not the poet, who has been shot and is travelling… well just travelling.  Journeying, if you will.  He is accompanied by an Indian named Nobody played by Gary Farmer.  Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton and Crispin Glover are just a few of the eccentric characters Depp encounters along the way.  Oh and Neil Young does the original score.

Meet The Feebles (1989) – Before Peter Jackson was the guy that made hobbits and elves cool with the Lord of the Ring Trilogy, he directed a very strange and demented muppet movie called Meet The Feebles.  It’s the muppet show on acid basically.  There’s shell-shocked Vietnam vet junkies, homicidal hippos, and porn producing rats to name a few.  After viewing you will definitely say to yourself, “I can’t believe this is the guy that gave us Frodo.”

Buffalo ’66 (1998) – Vincent Gallo’s self-financed flick about an ex-con who just got released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit is a tragic comedy in the truest sense.  But then it’s also a love story between Gallo’s character, Billy Brown, and the girl he kidnapped to impress his unloving mother.  The mother is played by the brilliant Angelica Huston and the kidnapped girl by Christina Ricci.  This flick also boasts the sexiest tap dancing routine in modern cinema.