Whether it's war, crime or another genre, Raul calls out 11 of the best dramatic movies you've probably never seen. What are you waiting for? It's reading time!
We're just
presuming you've never seen these movies. If you have, great. If not, check out
this list and find out about some of the best drama/crime/war movies you've
probably never seen. This list is in no specific order.
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| My armpits. Do they amuse you? |
A Prophet AKA Un
Profete
This is a French crime drama about a young Arab who is sent
to prison where he goes from being a sort of innocent man to a prison kingpin,
much like Michael Corleone’s journey in The
Godfather. It’s a top notch story and acting and received a nomination for
an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, though most people have still not seen
this amazing movie.
Bronson
This was the movie that made me notice Tom Hardy and is
directed by Nicholas Winding Refn, who also made the Pusher films, Valhalla
Rising, and Drive. Hardy totally transforms himself into notorious British
criminal Charlie Bronson, who legally changed his name and is considered the
most violent prisoner in the Britain’s history. He also has a fondness for art.
It’s a personal favorite that I always try to push onto people.
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| Ex Drummer rocks and has one of the most notorious endings ever. |
Ex Drummer
This Belgian feature could be described as the Trainspotting version of rock music, as
a famous writer agrees to be the drummer of a band in order for it to be the
source of his next novel. There gimmick is that they all have disabilities,
with the journalist’s being that he doesn’t know how to drum. The film is beautiful, violent, funny,
gritty, and visceral. It’s a hilarious bloody punch to your face.
As Far as My Feet Will
Carry Me
Screw American versions of films, as the Colin Farrell
starring film The Way Back is similar in nature to this story but simply cannot
match its heart. It’s the story of a German soldier who escapes from a Siberian
labor camp and covers 8,000 miles over a three year period until he finally
makes it home. It’s an amazing story about the human spirit and the struggles
of war and is one that my grandfather always talks about because he knew people
who were sent to those camps.
Katyn
This is a gripping Polish film that recounts the story of
the slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest
in 1940 by Soviet officers. The subject matter is highly controversial due to
the Soviet Union denying responsibility for so many years. The film received an
Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film in 2008. It is another film that
highly affected my grandfather because he grew up on the German and Polish
border and this was highly relevant to him.
Limits of Control
This is an independent film from director Jim Jarmusch that
takes place in Spain and involves a mysterious who is there to do some type of
criminal job. Jarmusch is well known as an independent filmmaker, directing Down by Law, Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery
Train, Night on Earth, Dead Man, and Ghost
Dog. This is probably his most
stylistic film and is worth checking out especially if you’re a fan of
Jarmusch.
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| This isssssssss STALINGRAD!!!! |
Stalingrad
This is a large budgeted Russian war film that covers the
battle of Stalingrad and a small group of Russian soldiers that are trying to
hold off the German army, with a romantic subplot that also takes place.
Barring some special effects that aren’t up to the level of an American
production, this is an excellent epic war film that is worth seeing.
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The Admiral
This is another large scale Russian war film that involves
an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy that chooses to remain faithful to his
oath to the Czar and fight against the Bolshevik rule after the Russian
Revolution. There is also a somewhat complicated love triangle between himself,
his wife, and a female poet. The movie has received some mixed reception
because the admiral has been described as a villain in most in the Soviet
historiography. It still is a movie worth seeing.
The Horseman
Christian is dealing with the death of his daughter when he
receives a video of her in a snuff film. The death toll rises as Christian
seeks answers for who is responsible and to take his revenge. In the vain of Get Carter, this film follows a somewhat
similar plotline involving illegal sexual acts. It is also a very gritty, grim,
violent, and blood soaked story.
White Tiger AKA Belyy
Tigr
This is another well done Russian war story that involves
the hunt for this mysterious and ghostly white German super tank that has been
destroying Russia’s tanks. An army sergeant that survives an encounter with it
and becomes obsessed like Ahab did for Moby Dick and hunts it down. It was another large budgeted production and
delivers plenty of tanks and war action.
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| So, are you Mark Wahlberg or Leo? |
Bonus film: InfernalAffairs
This is the movie that the
dreadful Departed remade. This is a
complex Hong Kong produced police crime thriller. There is a police officer
secretly undercover in the local Triad, while at the same time a police
inspector is also secretly a member of that Triad gang. What plays out is an
intense cat and mouse game, where both are trying to figure out who is the mole
and who is the cop.
-Raul Vantassle