The two best movies you didn’t see this summer
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was the almost universally recognized “movie of the summer,” alongside Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. They were the two most highly anticipated movies of the year. The films also being slated to release on the same day sparked a trend where people would attend back to back viewings of both films, this phenomenon being dubbed Barbenheimer. Both of these film releases cracked the top five of the domestic box office for the summer, and top three worldwide for box office rankings this year. While this is great for the movie theater business, and the industry in general, what about the smaller, independent films that get overlooked because of these blockbusters?
This summer, I had the goal to see as many movies as possible, including movies I had not heard anything about in advance. I will admit that, while some of them may not have been worth the popcorn, there were a select few that deserved a little more time in the spotlight, and I hope this article can help prove that.
Cory Finley’s Landscape with Invisible Hand initially released in January at Sundance Film Festival, and released in theaters mid August is classified as a science fiction comedy, but definitely leans a little more to the serious side. It’s set on a futuristic Earth, where the planet is years into alien occupation. The alien race, the Vuvv, have ravaged the planet, leaving only the lower classes behind to struggle. The people of Earth are jobless and hopeless. We see this new version of Earth through the eyes of 17 year old artist, Adam, portrayed by Asante Blackk, who inadvertently finds himself in a spiral of emotional, legal, and financial struggles.
The film is a clear-cut critique of capitalism attempting to pass itself off as an alien invasion, even the phrase “invisible hand” in the title being an economic metaphor, but it isn’t a boring allegory. Many films tackle complex political issues, like Barbie’s critique of toxic masculinity and hollow feminism, but most blockbuster movies do it in a way that will still allow them to collect from every kind of audience, leaving the progressive themes feeling like empty, throwaway politics. This film does the opposite. While the political aspect is not spelled out word-for-word, it’s very cut and dry, leaving very little debatable wiggle room as to whether or not the world these aliens have created is good. This movie is strange, off-putting, hilarious, beautiful, and soul-crushing. Even as a big fan of the genre, it was one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen– but absolutely worth the money.
Randall Park’s—yes, that Randall Park—directorial debut Shortcomings was also an early August release, and is a drama-romance-comedy. Justin H. Min plays Ben, a pretentious arthouse movie theater manager in Northern California, and is hands down the most insufferable character in the entire movie—and possibly of all time. He is both a self-proclaimed artist who never creates any art and a critical observer of the art his girlfriend and her friends create.
The movie portrays themes of racial identity and representation in film and pop culture, specifically in the Asian-American community. However, it doesn’t do it in a way that feels like a hollow money-grab, which is the trap most mainstream media falls into these days. Every character is incredibly unlikable, but all of their flaws complement each other well. The cherry on top of this movie is that while every character is incredibly flawed, by the end of the 90 minutes, they have all grown as people—except for Ben. He is set in his ways, and it is satisfying to watch him deal with the consequences. Much of mainstream film and television portrays extremely hateable main characters, often sparking discourse over their actions and behavior. Namely, Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which as a historical film portrayed the story of a man whose actions were incredibly morally gray, leading to arguments over whether or not the film “glorified” his actions. This movie doesn’t even bring a debate into the question, it’s clear that Ben is in the wrong, and we are not really intended to sympathize with him. Overall, the film is a good laugh, technically beautiful, and occasionally so frustrating that you will want to throw something at the screen.
Every year the most anticipated movies tend to overshadow the smaller films, getting more promotion, funding, and attention. While blockbuster films tend to bring up big issues and themes, so do smaller, independent stories, and they tend to do it in a way that feels more personal, real, and like less of a marketing tactic. Smaller films and filmmakers deserve just as much of the attention blockbusters receive, and they’re most definitely worth your time and money.