10 little-known movies that are definitely worth your attention

It often happens that the opinions of film critics and ordinary viewers differ radically, which is why a film is removed from theaters early or not allowed to be released worldwide.

However, so much effort and skill of eminent filmmakers has been invested in these masterpieces that it would be a crime not to watch them. OBOZREVATEL has decided to make a selection of underrated films that are worth your time.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968

Stanley Kubrick's films can be watched millions of times because they are far superior to their time. Editing techniques, synthesis of music and images, film design: all this makes Odyssey a classic masterpiece of world cinema. The color scheme, which creates the effect of alienation and conveys the atmosphere of the future, the music of Beethoven and Strauss, which gives you goosebumps, the panoramas of space and interesting angles.

2. Eyes Wide Shut, 1999

Another film by Kubrick based on the novel by Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler, Rhapsody: A Dream Novel, which few people have seen, but it is more than worthy of attention. The erotic psychological drama stars young Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles. This film is rich not only in symbolic imagery but also in easter eggs, inside jokes and literal riddles of varying degrees of complexity.

3. Melancholia, 2011

Lars von Trier's fantasy drama Melancholia became a real scandal after he made a bold statement at the Cannes Film Festival about the similarity of the story to the actions of the Nazis. Because of this, the film did not gain the popularity it deserved. However, the sci-fi drama shows how global panic is growing in the world because of the impending danger of the collision of the earth with the planet Melancholia. The protagonist (Kirsten Dunst) literally goes crazy because of her unwillingness to accept what is happening. All this is shown with gorgeous color correction and music by Richard Wagner. It is noteworthy that Dunst in this movie repeated the famous painting Ophelia by John Millais.

4. La Belle Époque, 2019

The French film by director and screenwriter Nicolas Bedos reveals the topic of socialization of creative victims of the digital age. The film also shows uninhibited acting and emotions that are truly believable. The bed scenes with 70-year-old Fanny Ardant are worth seeing. If you want to spend an evening in nostalgia and watch a movie about love and the illusory nature of the world, feel free to turn on La Belle Epoque.

5. The Platform, 2020

This film directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia was released on the Netflix streaming platform, but few people can watch it to the end. The Platform is a claustrophobic thriller about a multi-level prison where all the worst qualities of a person are exposed. The movie offers deep reflections on freedom, a classic human struggle against the system, and shock content with spectacular murders.

6. Cold Skin, 2017

The Spanish science fiction film directed by Xavier Gens tells the story of a meteorologist who must live for a year on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. But, as it turns out, he will not be alone. He will be accompanied by an old lighthouse keeper and terrifying creatures that come out of the sea at night. The movie is interesting because it reveals the problem of humanity in unusual circumstances.

7. Magnolia, 1999

The drama directed by Paul Thomas Anderson won the 50th Berlin Film Festival and received the main prize. Despite the fact that the great director considers this film to be his best work, it has not gained wide popularity around the world. The fact is that the movie mixes up the storylines, and at the beginning it becomes unclear who is who. However, if you watch it further, you will discover the truth that we rarely think about in everyday life. These include the intervention of higher powers, coincidences, accidents, and how the actions of different people can intertwine the fate of others in just one day.

8. The Pianist, 2002

The film was directed by Roman Polanski and based on the autobiography of Władysław Szpilman, one of the best pianists in Poland in the 1930s. For filming this movie, the lead actor Adrien Brody studied the works of Frederic Chopin and lost 13 kg. The Pianist shows the strength of spirit, humiliation and heroic struggle of the ghetto against the Nazis during the Second World War, as well as how music helps to survive in this world filled with suffering.

9. You Were Never Really Here, 2017

The detective thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Joaquin Phoenix also failed to gain much popularity abroad even though the film was awarded the Cannes Film Festival's Best Screenplay prize. You Were Never Really Here immerses the viewer in the dark world of violence and the protagonist's traumatic past, and makes them search for an answer to the question "What are we doing?".

10. Catch Me If You Can, 2002

One of the best films by the legendary Steven Spielberg, based on real events. Not only does it star Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and Martin Sheen, but the untrodden plot will allow you to take a break from the popular and highly rated films. Thus, this movie will tell the story of a young talented con artist whose fraud works without fail and an FBI agent who will try to stop him.