We all have those certain movies that we truly adore yet they remain unseen by a larger audience. They’re movies that may have gotten a smaller release. It could be that they were swept under the rug and are forgotten films. Maybe it’s a foreign release that many people don’t know much about it. Today I want to talk about movies that we love that need a bigger audience. This is an opportunity for everyone to give an unknown or underappreciated film some needed spotlight. It’s also an opportunity for readers to find some hidden gems from their fellow moviegoers. First I’ll tell you my pick and then it will be time for Your Voices.
When asked about a movie that I wish would find a broader audience, for me the answer is an easy one. I absolutely love the 2008 Danish World War 2 picture “Flame and Citron” from writer and director Ole Christian Madsen. The film is loosely based on real events and real characters who fought in the underground resistance during the Nazi’s occupation of Denmark. Flame (Thure Lindhardt) got his nickname from his fiery red hair. Citron (Mads Mikkelsen), which means lemon in Danish, got his from his days sabotaging Nazi vehicles while working at the Citroën car company. The two find themselves deeper into the resistance taking on more prominent yet dangerous roles. They also must weed through Nazi sympathizers, disgraceful turncoats, and an assortment if lies and setups.
Everything about this film shines. The fabulous cinematography, the sharp direction from Madsen, and the two amazing performances from Lindhardt and Mikkelsen. In fact, this is the movie that made Mads Mikkelsen a favorite of mine. “Flame and Citron” is filled with dramatic intensity. Whether it’s sitting in a room with a group of Nazi officers with their cover at stake or one of their narrow escapes after taking out a target. And the internal struggles are almost as dangerous as the German occupation. It’s just a brilliant film that grips you every second. I love this movie and it’s one that I champion any chance I get.
So now it’s time for Your Voices. What is an unknown or underappreciated movie that you wish others would see?
So lets get to it. Now you know my thoughts, I would like to hear yours. I hope you’ll take time to share a movie or movies that you think more folks need to see. Have you seen “Flame and Citron”? If not I hope you will give it a shot. I’m anxious to see some of the flicks you have in mind. So let your voices be heard. Thanks again!
Dead Man’s Shoes directed by Shane Meadows and starring Paddy Considine and Toby Kebbell. Absolutely superb revenge flick that no one saw. Most people associate Considine with comedy, as he starred in Hot Fuzz, but the dude is an amazing actor and his range is incredible. Toby Kebbell is also phenomenal as Paddy’s mentally handicapped brother. Great direction, great cinematography and even better acting. Meadows is the same guy that made This is England, another film everyone needs to see.
Awesome. The post has already accomplished what I had hoped – introduced me to a film I wasn’t familiar with. Thanks man!
I believe it’s still on Netflix Instant Watch (US).
Definitely agree with that one. Dead Man’s Shoes is superb.
Fantastic! Another film I haven’t seen! My new watch list is taking form!
Couldn’t agree with this more. Unbelievably, it has a “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Which is just so wrong. Some of the reviews are really terrible. It’s one of the few films where it’s rotten rating really annoys me.
Looking forward to reading some responses to this. I can’t think of anything that really jumps right out at me at the moment in all honesty. I can think of a couple of ones that are slightly under the radar, such as The Guard and Point Blank, which were pretty good, but they’re hardly unknown or anything.
What about my pick “Flame and Citron” ? Have you seen it?
Nope not seen that one Keith, but I love Mikkelsen so I’d definitely be interested in checking that out.
Awesome. Hope you can find it. It’s my favorite WW2 film and easily a 5 Star movie for me.
Yeah Point Break is good.
I would have to say Everything is Illuminated, which is my favourite film of all time. Also Katalin Varga, which is one of the most morally thought-provoking films I have ever seen. And… Idiocracy. It’s not exactly unknown but I am baffled by why it got so swept under the rug.
Everything is Illuminated is completely new to me! Anxious to add it to my list.
Awesome choice. Liev Schreiber directed this, no? The book is a great read. Don’t you just love Sammy Davis Jr. Jr.?
Yes, he did. Apparently the novel is his favourite. Spammy Davis Jr Jr is the best “seeing eye bitch” ever! 🙂
Nice question. For me, it would be The Crucible. I really like that film, it’s flawed but pretty powerful.
Ahh yes, the Daniel Day-Lewis picture. I remember it but its been a long time. Perhaps a rewatch is in order.
Was Winona Ryder in that one? Yes I think that was an excellent movie about the Salem witch trials.
Yep! That’s the one.
One of my fav foreign German films, RosenstraBe. It’s based on a true story about a group of German women whose Jewish husbands are gathered up and held in a warehouse on RosenstraBe Street. It’s a multi-layered, beautiful film and features the couple who were a piano/violin team. A great story told.
Now that sounds like something I would absolutely love. So glad you brought it to our attention. I’ll be looking it up.
For those in to neo noir, I always promote HICKEY & BOGGS (1972). Written by Walter Hill, directed (in his only big screen effort to do so) by the late-Robert Culp, who also starred in it along with his I SPY colleague Bill Cosby, it is a forgotten gem IMHO. Great subject, Keith.
I love this!!! Another film I haven’t seen. Thanks for joining in!
If you’re planning on seeing this, the only way to go is the MGM MOD disc or rental via iTunes (and I think Amazon Instant Video) as they preserve Bill Butler’s marvelous widescreen cinematography. Stay far, far away from the A.I.P. Productions, Inc. DVD as it’s horrid. The old VHS would be way better than that. HTH
Ahhh ok. Thanks for the heads up.
For me it has to be ‘Murder Party’ and ‘Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’. ‘Murder Party’ is one you’ll really have to dig around to find but it’s such a brilliant little horror flick. The acting is spot on and first hour is nothing but hilarious dialog and build up to an insanely violent and bat shit ending. If you can ever get your hands on it, WATCH IT. And ‘Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’ is the perfect horror film for horror fans. It’s filled with little Easter eggs and nods to so many horror classic films that it makes it a really fun watch for fans of the genre. I honestly can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a mockumentary that follows around “the next big horror icon” as he gives an inside look at how he prepares for his return and how he chooses his victims. It’s hilarious and makes fun of just about every horror cliche out there. Great stuff.
Wow. Two movies that sound really interesting. I think seeing a horror film outside of the drab modern box we have today is really appealing!
I reviewed Behind the Mask, also. Thought it was very good.
That’s enough for me. I’ll be looking it up.
Just off the top of my head I can think of Top Secret, it’s a comedy from the 80s from the guys that made Airplane. Valley Kilmersdon is in it and it’s an underrated classic
Oh I’ve seen Top Secret! It’s hilarious. Nutty just like Airplane! I really like that one!
I LOVE Top Secret!! Glad someone mentioned that. I saw that years ago and I could watch that one every year. Val is sooo funny in it, great cameo from Omar Sharif too!
Skeet surfin’!
“Stuart: A Life Backwards” is one of my all time favourites and no one has seen it. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, really early on in their careers, but their performances are amazing!
That’s a new one to me. I’m a big Hardy fan so I need to check it out!
“The Changeling” from Peter Medak. Great post, Keith.
Thanks man. I thought this would be an opportunity for people to put out some movies that others would otherwise miss. So far I’ve found a lot of new films to check out.
Fat City (1972).
“Whenever you hear someone telling people about the great run of films America made in the early 1970’s, and they get to the list, and they begin to feel fatigue, just wait for a pause and say “And Fat City. John Huston’s Fat City.” At that point the kids frown, and they admit they’ve not even seen Fat City. “Right,” you say, “and you never even heard of “Fat City”
David Thompson – Have You Seen?
I have not! Consider me VERY intrigued!!!
Keith, it is funny you reviewed this film, as it has been sitting my Netflix queue for a long time. I added it months ago as I like Mads, Now I just have to watch it 😉
It’s a 5 star picture for me. Absolutely love it! Trying to get anyone I can to see it.
good to hear that as sometimes stuff languishes in my queue for a long time as I try and decide if it is worth watching, I will check it out for sure.
I’d go with Quebec/French-Canadian flicks. As depressing as they actually are, some of them actually are quite decent. The one I like to recommend the most is My Daughter, My Angel (Ma Fille Mon Ange). 🙂
Nice!!! I’ll have to check it out!
Awesome! I actually reviewed it way earlier this year if you want to check it out 🙂
Definitely! I’ll look that up when I get home from the office.
I’m going through “Mikkelsen is GOD” phase, watching Hannibal and rooting for him, so I’m definitely seeing that one soon.
There are several really unknown movies I love but my number 1 choice would be “Dirty, Filthy Love” which is a fantastic movie with Michael Sheen as a guy whose life collapses because of his obsessive compulsive disorders.
PLEASE see Flame and Citron! I’d love to see you write a review for it. Such a great, great movie.
Great topic Keith! I knew about Flame and Citron as Paula did a guest review of this on my blog a while back, can’t believe I still haven’t seen it yet. Well, I always put a punt in for Return to Me, this lovely rom-com I think everyone should check out. Rom coms always get a bad rap but that one is so heart-warming. Oh, and Dear Frankie too, I’m sure Mark Walker would agree w/ me on that one 😀
When was the Flame and Citron review up? How did I miss it? That was the film I was going to lend you my copy of. Then found out it was available for streaming.
http://flixchatter.net/2011/05/07/everyones-a-critic-flame-citron-faster-review/
Thank you Ruth! I’ll probably look and see where I commented on it. That’s about how scatterbrained I’ve been lately.
Sure thing! It’s a great review from Paula. Btw, it’s Five for the Fifth time, join the fun 😀
Nice question Keith. I’d say something foreign, like REC, I Saw The Devil, Oldboy, Martyrs & The Hidden Face. All horror fans should of seen these, but it would be nice for them to be seen by even more people 🙂
Thanks man! Yes a couple of those are familiar to me but a couple aren’t. Definitely swept under the rugs of many modern moviegoers. Good mentions!
I suppose I’d have to go foreign (and I’ll cheat and throw out two).
Space Travelers (the Japanese movie – not the anime) about three friends robbing a bank that goes awry.
Wasabi about a French police officer (Jean Reno) goes to Japan to settle the probate of his girlfriend to find he has a daughter he didn’t know about.
Another Mads Mikkelsen movie that not many people know about is Open Hearts (2002), directed by Susanne Bier. Really good performances in that.
Oh is that the one about the engaged man paralyzed after an accident? I have seen much of the film but not all. I really liked what I saw.
Excellent question Keith. I haven’t seen Flame & Citron but I am aware of it. I’ll try to get my hands on it.
I probably go for the little seen Ewan McGregor movie “Perfect Sense”. “The Magdelene Sisters” and “Waking Life” would also get a shout from me. Also can’t forget “Harold & Maude” and the German film “Goodbye Lenin!”. I could go on and on… 😉
Nice mentions brother! You’re kinda like me. There are just so many.
A Shock to the System, Michael Caine chooses to be a sociopath as a ladder to success.
New one to me. Love the chance to add it to my watch list.
For me, I’d go with the Korean flick “Poetry.” It’s a beautiful movie about a woman dealing with the onset of Alzheimer’s and the trouble her grandson is causing her.
Yes! I’ve had Poetry in my Netflix list for a while! I have to see it!
I know I’m a little late here, but I am going to recommend The Missing Person, a noir-ish film starring Michael Shannon and Amy Ryan. Great flick, and it should still be streaming on Netflix.
Also, I just watched Bug, and that was a disturbing but excellent film.
Hey thanks for the suggestion. Seeing Shannon attached automatically interests me.
As most stated above, great question–and I am going to look-up some of the films above.
My pick is “Mosquito Coast” with Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix from 1986 directed by Peter Weir.
This is definitely Ford’s best acting performance, and strong performances are given all around. Weir directs a tight film that gets more claustrophobic as it moves forward despite the eventual jungle setting.
A second film for the list is another Harrison Ford film: “Frantic” directed by Roman Polanski. Again, another great Ford performance in a well directed and scripted thriller.
Yes I remember both of those films. It has been a long time since I’ve seen either. In fact, I didn’t even remember that Helen Mirren was in The Mosquito Coast! Awesome!