Monday Movie Meme - Hidden Gems

This week, the Bumbles have a guest host for the Monday Movie Meme - Terry Kate from Romance in the Backseat. Terry Kate would like us to share our favorite movies that have been overlooked or under appreciated by the public and critics.

I think you will find that most of my gems have a Polish slant to them, as my husband is Polish and we tend to seek these films out. But not all of them! Here are a few that come to mind:

Repulsion - This is a 1965 film directed by Roman Polanski, and was recently remastered and re-released. It was Polanski's first English language film and stars Catherine Deneuve, who plays a young woman descending into madness. This is some awesomely sick and twisted stuff people. My husband and I were making faces and noises of repulsion throughout the movie (which for us is a sign that we loved it!)

Ikiru - A delightful Japanese movie filmed in 1952, we see a grumpy middle-aged man try to make sense and purpose of his life in his last days on earth.

The Best of Youth - Originally a mini-series on Italian television, this is an amazing six hour epic that follows two brothers from their childhoods through adulthood. We were blown away by the acting, the reflection of critical events of Italian history, and the touching and heartbreaking inter-relationships between family and friends.

Strike - This film is based on the life of a Polish woman who worked in the Gdansk shipyards and played a critical role in the strike that helped birth Solidarity. The cherry on top of this one is the soundtrack by Jean-Michele Jarre, whose music inspires you to want to rise up, pump your fist and praise those who had the guts to fight for their freedom.

Poisoned By Polonium: The Litivinenko File - We're not really big fans of the Russian government in our home. We've got excess baggage that stems back for a few generations. Watching this movie gave us just one more reason. Prepare to be horrified when you watch this highly controversial documentary of an ex-Russian spy blow the whistle on Putin and his minions, then slowly die of toxic poisoning. The level of corruption chills your blood.

Movies directed by Andrzej Wajda - I was going to list a few of our favorites, but we love them all. This man started his career in 1955 by directing an amazing movie titled "The Generation", and filmed countless movies about the Polish involvement in WWII as recently as 2007 with "Katyn". Other masterpieces are "Ashes and Diamonds" and "Kanal".

Movies directed by Hayao Miyazaki - I mentioned this last week, but it is worth mentioning again. This man is genius with animation in a way that is all his own. All of his movies tend to focus on man's inter-relationship with spirits and nature, and feature strong female protagonists. If you want to try just one to see if it is your thing, try Spirited Away. It is nothing short of magical.


I probably should have tried to branch out a little more and find some movies that were just good old fashioned indies, but maybe I'll save that for another day!