The algorithmic machinations of netflix are like the rest of the internet. Triggered by curiosity, you might Google images of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, or (because you perceive yourself to be more culturally savvy than the average Joe) the Louvre. A few clicks and scrolls later, you find yourself reading an in-depth history of the French Revolution or the Napoleonic Wars. After the nine seconds of these articles occupying your attention, you predictably return to social media.
Like magic, you’re bombarded with Airbnb ads for “Book your trip to Paris;” the airlines go viral and an ad asks, “Looking to fly to Paris?” And then, lo and behold, Alexa starts talking to you in French, “Les belles choses à faire à Paris” (“the best things to do in Paris”; come on, I thought you were culturally demanding!) Before you know it, a French tourist guide s is on your doorstep… Algorithms and AI are a great idea in theory, but for a society that has a deep resentment for cataloging, it turns out to be catastrophic in practice.
Everyone accepts cookies from strangers these days; it’s the digital norm, contrary to parental advice to any child raised before 2005. As with all websites these days, netflix employs the use of algorithms for maximum effect. Designed to help its users find personalized and personalized content in the form of movies and TV shows, it’s initially a very useful tool – until you’ve looked at all of its suggestions, that is. to say. Left with regurgitated movies, many resign themselves to laziness and simply watch the same kind of thing over and over and over again. After a while, these movies can get pretty boring. With that in mind, here are some movies that can help ease the boredom perpetuated by the algorithmic cycle, unique alternatives to the same movies.
5 God’s hand
The phrase “Hand of God” collectively grimaces the English with negative connotations. It directly commemorates football great Diego Maradona’s antics during the 1986 FIFA World Cup when he handled the ball while scoring for Argentina against England. Based on the life of Italian director Paolo Sorrentino who grew up in southern Italy, the Netflix Original, God’s hand is set against the backdrop of 1980s Napoli and the signing of Diego Maradona by Napoli Football Club. It documents the story of Fabietto Schisa, a Neapolitan teenager, and the trials and tribulations, complications and adversities of him and his family, while being guided by his and his city’s shared love for Napoli FC and their beloved Maradona.
God’s hand incorporates the beautiful and often underestimated simplicities of life, and somehow manages to locate the tiny moments of joy tucked away in grief. Sorrentino synthesizes this style by creating a visually stunning narrative and capturing it through a soft 80s lens, awash in a refined palette of colors in line with the film’s visual brilliance. God’s hand is a real giveaway for cinema (and cinephiles) and a major blow for Netflix in securing its distribution rights, as it’s usually a movie you’d typically find in an art cinema and test.
4 muddy
Nominated for four Oscars, muddy presents the story of two Mississippi farming families during World War II. The Jacksons, a black family of sharecroppers, and the white McAllans. The families live side by side and use a mutually beneficial trading relationship on their farmlands. To the sound of World War II air raid sirens, the sons of both families, Jamie and Ronsel, go off to war. Upon their return, their family’s livelihood and fortunes have not changed. The two are forced to confront their own demons, as PTSD plagues their lives, along with the ever-growing threat from the local Ku Klux Klan branch.
muddy Director Dee Rees delivers the harsh reality of post-traumatic stress disorder and offers insight into the fragility of the post-war human spirit. More importantly, the film shows a community divided by racial hatred, with prejudice from one faction towards the other, despite Jamie and Ronsel’s hopes of returning to a more enlightened society.
3 Dangal
Frustratingly, Bollywood films rarely cross the Pacific and enter the American or Western mainstream, but thankfully, Dangal is an exception. Featured on both US and UK Netflix, Nitesh Tawari’s Dangal follows the true story of Mahavir Singh Phogat and his daughters. A wrestler at the national level, Mahavir was denied the chance to pursue his career and fulfill his dream of an Olympic medal, so he works tirelessly to live his dream vicariously through his daughters, coaching them from childhood. . Dangal is a feel-good film that encapsulates the essence of a father’s dedication to the success of his children. As The Times of India says“The director should be commended for his tongue-in-cheek quality, sprinkled with humor and several harrowing father-daughter emotions throughout.”.
2 The Florida Project
The coming of age movie The Florida Project is a detailed portrait of the life of single mother Halley and her daughter Moonee. Perhaps unconventionally, the couple live in a Florida motel, the Magic Castle, run by kind Bobby (Willem Dafoe in a great performance), located next to Disneyland, while Halley struggles to cope with the pressures finances of life. The Florida Project extrapolates the meaning of innocence and how it is inextricably linked to childhood. As the poverty experienced by mother and daughter becomes unbearable, Halley turns to more extreme occupations, both as a stripper and in prostitution.
The film offers a fascinating, albeit saddening, oxymoron in the form of a mother selling a part of herself, in order to simultaneously preserve her child’s malleable and innocent young spirit. As director Sean Baker experiments with socially challenging themes, he parallels echoes Halley’s motivations throughout the film, emphasizing the importance of preserving youth. Remarkably, Baker manages to successfully portray Moonee’s non-worldliness as she plays with friends and enjoys her youth alongside her mother’s dubious, but understandable, efforts to avoid cross-contamination. Despite the film struggling with the hard-hitting realism of poverty, shattered dreams, and despair, it somehow maintains a genuine sense of levity, caring nature, and community.
1 ghost yarn
The film by Paul Thomas Anderson in 2017 ghost yarn received six Oscar nominations and was her second collaboration with Daniel Day-Lewis, after There will be blood. Phantom Thread tells the story of Reynolds Woodcock, a London-based fashion designer whose designs are often commissioned by members of Royalty. It details his relationship with a waitress, Alma, and the couple’s turbulent time together, as Reynolds’ stubborn and pedantic ways threaten their future.
Daniel Day-Lewis is as distinguished as actors come, so it’s no surprise that his painstakingly meticulous, borderline obsessive-compulsive portrayal of Reynolds Woodcock is nothing short of breathtaking. Day-Lewis produces a performance with the eye of a needle, his sleight-of-hand method carefully sews every seam, button and ruffle together, and then crafts this strangely elaborate masterpiece from a film.
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