GOOD LITTLE KNOWN MOVIES

                                                                 Part 6

        Still leery of the movie theater? Me too. Here’s a nice group of little known movies. Perhaps one of them will lure you into viewing it. 

Love And Friendship was actually in my top 5 in 2016. It is a delicious comedy about trying to move upward in British society by marrying well. It’s based on Jane Austen’s little-known epistolary novel, Lady Susan. Kate Beckinsale shines as the wily, calculating Susan. She is almost penniless but is determined to get for her daughter, and herself, a good match. I thought Ms. Beckinsale should have had an Oscar nomination. I think this movie just came out too early in the year to get much notice. It is a hoot!

Only Yesterday (2016) will be a tough sell to some of you, because (1) it’s Japanese, and (2) it’s animated. But it is a true delight, beautifully drawn with a touching story and a magnetic leading lady. Taeko has a job in Tokyo and decides to spend the summer at her brother’s farm, where she had many pleasant times as a child. Working along with her relatives and others, she develops a strong kinship with the land, a nice young man, and with herself. Give this a try. I believe you will thank me.

A United Kingdom was way up on my list in 2017 In fact, it was number 2, behind only The Post. It stars David Oyelowo (MLK in Selma) as the soon-to-be king of Bechuanaland, a small African country that is now Botswana. Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency fans will recognize it. While studying in the UK he falls in love with a white English woman, Ruth Williams, played brilliantly by Rosamund Pike (the wife from Hell in Gone Girl). This pairing does not play well in either home country. But Ruth’s continuing desire to be of use and to fit in regardless of her skin color is quite winning. And all of this (okay, most of this) really happened!

Wonderstruck is a super good movie with an altogether incredible performance by young Millicent Simmonds. This kid can do more with her face than most actors can accomplish with their whole bodies.  The film is worth watching for her performance alone. But it’s an intriguing tale of two children seeking their parents. However, they are separated by 50 years! Somehow it all works and the ending is truly enchanting. 

Most readers will remember the bombs set off during the Boston Marathon in 2013. In Stronger (2017) Jake Gyllenhaal stars as real person Jeff Bauman, from whose memoir the screenplay is taken. When his girlfriend signs up to run in the famous race he rushes to the finish line to be able to greet her when she crosses. But this puts him in the path of one of the bombs, and both his legs are lost. He is able to give the police a description of one of the bombers. Most of the movie deals with the search for the bombers and with Jeff’s painful and lengthy rehabilitation

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All except the last one are fine for all ages. Stronger Is a little, well, too strong for littlies.