2017 has seen the actual emergence of independent cinema, making its way into mainstream Bollywood’s consciousness. And there seems to be a similar wave down south in the Tamil and Malayalam movies. And with the Golden Globe nominations telling us – even in Hollywood. 2017 is the year of independent films. And even if you might know about the odd Newton or the Kadvi Hawa, there are other movies released outside of Bollywood which had an equally strong lineup of movies.
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From down South, Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan’s Lens blew the lid on voyeurism and the ethics of porn-consumption, with its chilling Black Mirror-ish vibe. R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupati took each other on, in the gritty cop-drama Vikram Vedha. Bejoy Nambiar used his snappy editing to interpret the four avatars of Shiva in his bilingual Solo, starring a committed Dulquer Salman.
Hollywood indies won the audience with its dark, profound comedies like Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. James Franco directed and starred in The Disaster Artist – which delves into the making of the ‘Citizen Kane of bad movies’, The Room. The film starring Franco’s brother Dave Franco and Seth Rogan has opened to stellar reviews across the board. Festivals have given a positive feedback on the Swedish film The Square and Daniel Day Lewis’s last film The Phantom Thread.
This year is also when Armie Hammer finally happened to make it as an Oscar contender, with his performance in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name – one of the best reviewed films of the year. So get over Bollywood, and watch these many brilliant movies which will go on to make an impact in the long run.
