Underrated movies & hidden gems

Dir. Martin McDonagh

Two hitmen hiding out in Belgium's prettiest city. Darkly funny, surprisingly moving, and endlessly quotable.

Dir. David M. Thompson

Bernardo Bertolucci's love letter to cinema, youth and Paris in 1968. Intoxicating and beautiful.

Dir. James Ward Byrkit

A dinner party fractures during a passing comet. Micro-budget sci-fi that out-thinks films with a hundred times the money.

Dir. Mel O'Callaghan

Tarsem Singh shot this across 20 countries with no CGI. Possibly the most gorgeous film ever made.

Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton

Brie Larson runs a foster-care facility in the film that quietly launched half of Hollywood's current A-list.

Dir. Jeremy Saulnier

A revenge thriller where the avenger has no idea what he's doing. Lean, tense and completely unsentimental.

Dir. Shane Black

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe bumble through 1970s LA. The funniest noir almost nobody saw in cinemas.

Dir. Shane Black

Shane Black's razor-sharp crime comedy that resurrected Robert Downey Jr.'s career. Rapid-fire and hilarious.

Dir. Debra Granik

A father and daughter living off the grid in Oregon. Quiet, devastating and near-perfectly acted.

Dir. Gustav Möller

A Danish emergency dispatcher, one phone call, one room. A masterclass in tension with a single actor on screen.

Dir. Sebastian Schipper

A Berlin bank heist filmed in one real 138-minute take. Technically staggering and emotionally gripping.

Dir. David Lowery

Casey Affleck under a bedsheet, contemplating time and grief. Strange, slow and quietly profound.

Dir. Wim Wenders

Wim Wenders follows a Tokyo toilet cleaner's gentle daily ritual. A film about finding joy in small things.

Dir. Diogo Guerreiro

Chloé Zhao's portrait of an injured rodeo cowboy, played by the real man himself. Hypnotically authentic.