Any recommendations for a quirky little gem of a film

[waltzingparrot]

The type that doesn't sound great in its synopsis but turned out to be brilliantly entertaining, moving, hysterical. It's probably British. Definitely understated.

I'll offer Marvellous with Toby Jones

I think you may have the film Northern Comfort mixed up with Denmark Jacob . Denmark is where a Welsh man wants to go to Danish Jail

Yes, Northern Comfort stars Timothy Spall, Denmark stars Rafe Spall his son.

Sticking with a Scandi theme, Out of Tune (De Frivillige) is fairly good if you can find it with English subtitles.

Can't find it?

Ah, perhaps not available in this region at the moment. It's showing as available for me via several players but I'm outside the UK. Well, keep an eye out for it anyway!

I will do thanks

A Little White Lie with Kate Hudson and Michael Shannon. Set in a literary festival.

Thought it would be cringe, but it was v good.

Falling for Figaro, Netflix.
In the mood of The Great Escaper, try Last Bus Timothy Spall
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton

Hello to anybody still watching this thread 📺 Yesterday I saw two amazing, charming, quirky anthology films on Netflix: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (and Six More).

Buster Scruggs comprises six stories set in the Wild West. It's worth reading a bit about the Coen Brothers' obsessive commitment to the details of this project.
There are seven stories in Henry Sugar, all by Roald Dahl. This one's made like a screen version of theatre, with painted sets and visible scene changes.

Both are triumphs of cinematic art and imagination. I feel privileged to have seen them!

Hello and yes, I'm still watching my own thread. Still working my way through the wonderful suggestions on it.

I've seen the Henry Sugar film and there's several more of those Wes Anderson short films to watch. I really enjoyed The Swan and The Rat Catcher too.

Thanks for the Buster Scruggs suggestion - I'll watch that this week.

Currently watching the tail end of Being There on bbc2. Bit of a personal vanity project for Peter Sellers. Not his final film (that's Fu Manchu with him in Yellow face).

This is probably not a recommendation though. I know he's supposed to come across as sympathetic but he's just aloof, so I suppose playing true to form as a sort of outsider/ former shut in. His name Chauncey Gardener is now something of a byword for "non politician" politicians that people latch onto who people believe have the answers.

They don't.

I loved Being There. It’s a great film. Hal Ashby is a wonderful director. Also worth watching is Harold and Maude.

Buster Scraggs is a film we watch over again. Tom Waits is amazing

I saw The Wicker Man last night. Obviously horror, but the songs are so fiendishly catchy I wondered if there'd ever been a musical made of it.

There was!

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/feb/15/wicker-man-musical-interview

The Hitman's Bodyguard: very sweary, very violent, very funny. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson play off each other brilliantly. Gary Oldman and Salma Hayek excellent as always. One of my go to movies when I need cheering up.

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard: sequel still funny but not as good as the first one.

I recommend Riders of Justice, Danish, worth watching

also starring Mads Mikkelsen, so another reason to watch!

Argh. I very recently watched a film that had Willow’s Song in it and I was so pleased to hear it used again. But now my brain won’t tell me the film. It was a recent release if anyone can help.

Any use?

Thank you, @JumpingDizzy but alas, no. If I remember it I’ll come back and say in case anyone else is wondering. I thought it was a great use of the song, actually.

There is a documentary Children of the Wickerman coming soon - made by the director’s sons about the impact of the film on the family - apparently very moving.

Palm Springs is a great time-loop movie, one of my top movies to re-watch.

On time loop movies, Japanese film River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_(2023_film)

If you like Japanese movies, can I recommend The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Your Name.

Both time travel related and excellent, but anime if that's relevant.

Signs of Life.