thread of movies I think are extremely underrated

The Wind Rises (2013) is one of those Ghibli movies nobody really pays attention to & it tells the story of a real aviator in WW2 very beautifully, def caught my attention more than other Ghibli films like My Neighbour Totoro or Howl's Moving Castle

Searching (2018) left me speechless, it is an Asian thriller that tells the story of a disappearance of a young girl but everything happens on a computer/phone screen & makes you think how much of our lives takes place online

The Handmaiden (2016) is the third Asian film I'm listing on this thread, it's a brilliant thriller/horror with lesbians (although the sex scenes are a little male-gazey sigh) but the many plot twists make it one of my all time favourites, it is a film I'm never tired of

god I just have a thing for Asian cinema because next film is (very predictable) Perfect Blue (1997) which is a horror anime film that holds strong criticism about idol culture and really REALLY fucks with your head, I can't recommend it enough

now a film from my motherland... The Flower of my Secret (1995) is definitely Almodóvar's hidden gem and as many of you know Pedro is my favourite director of all time - this movie shows emotional dependence better than any other piece of fiction probably & Marisa Paredes is god

Holy Camp! (2016) is probably my favourite Spanish movie (along with all of Pedro's) - it is a musical that has Catholic nuns, gays and god sings Whitney Houston songs and it's entirely amazing

20th Century Women (2016) is not spoken about too often but it follows women from different ages and how they understand lives and Greta Gerwig is super cute in it

The Wicker Man (1973) is the og Midsommar! if u wanna see a film about a pagan cult with sexy witches and a repressed Catholic cop look no further! it's absolutely brilliant, one of my fav horror films of all time & also the soundtrack sounds like Pentangle

Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) is yet another absolute fave!!!! in this film, Agnès Varda's camera follows a woman's life for 2 hours describing the male gaze perfectly & the main character goes from object to person & the scene where she sings Sans Toi fucking breaks me every time

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) tells three different stories and stars Marcello Mastroianni (my fav actor!!!!) & Sophia Loren need I say anything more???? bisexuals have won again

Saving Face (2004) is an Asian-American lesbian romcom written & directed by a lesbian!!!! finally!!! it's super cute and wonderful

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) tells the real life story of the creator of Wonder Woman and his life in a polyamorous family with 2 women and it's AMAZING!!! this film filled me with love bc u don't usually see poly representation!

As Above, So Below (2014) may not be a horror masterpiece but it is filmed interestingly, it's very entertaining and holds quite a nice metaphor about human fear & it's set in the very creepy catacombs of Paris

Your Name. (2016) is absolutely an anime masterpiece and the ending made me cry like crazy!!! it's such a beautiful lil film!!!

Novitiate (2017) lesbian nuns need I say more lesbian nuns!!!! also through this film I learned that some nuns dress as brides in order to celebrate them getting married to god and I think that's fascinating

Dawn Breaks, Which Is No Small Thing (1989) is a very Spanish film that I wonder if it makes any sense to someone who isn't Spanish but I am Spanish so it makes a lot of sense to me - I'm adding it here bc even if it's a very famous film in my country I doubt it is known abroad

The Farewell (2019) is very intense but also it is extremely good and Awkwafina's performance is really excellent

Dressed In Blue (1983) is an extremely rare documentary about trans women during the period of transition into democracy in Spain, watching it was truly life-changing & I like to think of it as our very own Paris Is Burning which makes me feel very happy

Julieta (2016) is yet another Almodóvar movie that has gone almost unnoticed and I think is one of his most brilliant works, it is about a mother searching for her daughter & also Rossy De Palma is brilliant as always

Beautiful Boy (2018) stars Timothee Chalamet as a teen drug addict and it turned out to be way more moving than I expected it to be

Skins (2017) is a VERY CREEPY Spanish movie that is surely based on that old Freaks movie about the circus that includes some body horror and is definitely not for the weak but is very aesthetic, entertaining and has a nice message nevertheless

Rocketman (2019) is a film I don't hear much about and hasn't got the hype it definitely deserved but you probably already know it's an Elton John biopic starring Taron Egerton & he absolutely nails it

Dalida (2016) is an excellent biopic about the most iconic most tragic most wonderful diva of all time

Martin (Hache) (1997) is an Argentinian/Spanish movie that probably has the best script I've ever come across, the sharpest dialogues & Eusebio Poncela and Cecilia Roth are excellent actors