With 2013 all wrapped up, the beginning of 2014 will be the same as every other year. Like late August/early September, January is a dumping ground for studios. Usually the only things worth seeing this month (and for most of February) are the Globe/Oscar/etc. nominees that you haven’t caught up with. So why not spend this time looking back on 2013 and catching up with some of the more overlooked films of last year?

These films may not have made it on our Best Films of 2013 list, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth seeing. As enjoyable as it is to pick favourites of the year, there’s a downside that comes with it. 2013 was a great year for films, one filled with an embarrassment of riches, and reducing it down to a small number means that plenty of other wonderful films get excluded.

Below are just a small amount of films from last year that we think deserve to get some time in the spotlight. Before 2014 ramps up again, it’ll be worth your while to see these.

Blue Caprice

First-time director Alexandre Moors’ take on the Beltway Snipers in Blue Caprice is a more daring one compared to most true crime films. Rather than focus on a factual retelling of what happened leading up to, during and after the random shootings that plagued several states in 2002, Moors goes for the bigger questions: What exactly drives people to commit senseless acts of violence, and why do they do it? Isaiah Washington, playing the mastermind of the attacks, is terrifying while newcomer Tequan Richmond portrays a transformation into evil that’s just as scary. Moors’ takes a refined approach to the material, and when the film finally gets to the attacks every moment is overpowered with dread. What might be the most horrifying part of Blue Caprice is the fact that, by the end, we aren’t any closer to understanding why such violent acts happened. Trying to understand something so irrational is a fool’s errand. The only thing you can do is hope that you won’t be one of the unlucky ones caught in the crossfire.

Availability: Now available on DVD and streaming.

Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay

Ricky Jay is arguably the greatest sleight-of-hand artist alive, and his timeless showmanship and impeccable card-handling skills have made many wonder: “Who the hell taught him this stuff?” In Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay, we delve into Jay’s superhero origin story, as he recalls his encounters and relationships with the master magicians who shaped him into the performer he is today. Jay’s unforgettable voice (which Rian Johnson utilized to great effect in The Brothers Bloom) almost justifies a watch in and of itself.

Availability: Currently on DVD. Also available to watch on iTunes, Redbox, Hulu Plus and Amazon.

Eden

Based on a true story, Eden’s title character is a teenage girl who is abducted and forced to become a sex worker. It sounds like the plot out of a European film, except this actually happened in Nevada during the mid-90s. Director Megan Griffiths creates a world where human life is given little to no value (Case in point: a subplot involving a sex worker jealous of Eden ends abruptly when the film cuts to her corpse getting tossed into a quarry). Eden knows that it’s a matter of time before she’s no longer useful as a sex worker, and with that fate hanging in the balance she strategizes to earn a role on the business end of things to ensure her survival. It’s truly harrowing material, made all the more disturbing by its basis in reality.

Availability: Currently on DVD, Netflix, Amazon and iTunes

Escape From Tomorrow

I will admit that the story behind Escape From Tomorrow is equally, if not more, fascinating than the film itself. One of the most talked about stories from Sundance last year was how first time filmmaker Randy Moore was able make a film inside Disney World without permission or raising suspicions from the park. The film was shot using guerrilla filmmaking techniques like using a consumer-looking camera (Canon EOS 5D) and communicating inside the park via phones. This production process alone warrants a documentary. The film is a surrealist expression of how the “happiest place on earth” is a living nightmare for a certain individual who witnesses cute cartoon characters transform into terrifying  ones. Escape From Tomorrow employs a neo-noir look by having the film in black and white, which also aids the horrifyingly dark look of the self-proclaimed paradise. Thankfully, Disney ultimately decided to ignore the film rather than seek damages, which at the very least would have delayed the film’s release. Be sure to watch this mind-bending fantasy horror film. It will be unlike anything you have seen before.

Availability: Currently available on VOD and all major streaming platforms. Will be out on home video this spring.

Hors Satan

Bruno Dumont’s Camille Claudel 1915 may have gotten a bigger reception this year, but earlier in 2013 his excellent Hors Satan finally saw a release in the States. In a small French town, a drifter appears and strikes up a friendship with a teenage girl in the village. Since this is a Dumont film, the friendship isn’t exactly an ordinary one; shortly after they meet, the drifter murders the girl’s abusive father, and it’s soon revealed that the stranger has supernatural powers. Other than the mention of Satan in the title, there are no overt references to religion in the film. We never know who this man is, what his purpose is or why he has special abilities. Dumont’s mysterious approach brings out a meditative quality to the film that highlights just how blurred the line can be between good and evil. Dumont’s oblique style will frustrate many (which it certainly did when it premiered at Cannes), but if you embrace the mystery it makes for one of 2013’s most fascinating films.

Availability: Currently unavailable, but readers across the pond can buy it on DVD. New Yorker Films distributed it in early 2013, but they haven’t revealed any information about a home video release.

The Last Time I Saw Macao

In Edgar Wright’s The World’s End (one of our favourite films of the year), the film’s characters head back to their childhood town only to discover that it’s been warped into something sinister. The Last Time I Saw Macao establishes a situation that’s similar but far more unsettling. What if you went back to where you grew up, and found out it completely vanished? The film’s main character was raised in Macao when it was owned by the Portuguese, and at the start of the movie he returns to his home town after receiving a call for help from an old friend. The story turns into an old-fashioned film noir (with plenty of references to classics of the genre, including Kiss Me Deadly), but The Last Time I Saw Macao is much more fascinating when its main character ruminates on how much things have changed since the colony changed ownership to China. The film’s style, where no faces are ever shown and the action plays out on the soundtrack, only accentuate the loss of identity that echoes throughout the entire film. The Last Time I Saw Macao is a rare kind of genre hybrid, where the deeper and more resonant subject matter are actually preferable to the genre elements.

Availability: Cinema Guild is distributing the film, and it might still be playing in some theatres across America. No news has been given about DVD or streaming availability.

The Legend of Kaspar Hauser

Director Davide Manuli’s The Legend of Kaspar Hauser is the strangest movie I saw in 2013, and it’s one I look back on fondly. Based LOOSELY (I mean, really, really loosely) on true events, the film follows a young boy (played by a not-so-young woman, Silvia Calderoni) as he washes up on the shores of an unnamed island in the Mediterranean. He’s picked up by the infamous Vincent Gallo, who proceeds to give the absolute nuttiest, off-the-wall performance of the year as the island sheriff. There are UFO’s involved, a lot of awesome, thumping electronic music, and it’s all shot in Bergman-esque black & white. It’s unapologetically nonsensical and bizarre, and I grew to adore it.

Availability: No word yet on when it will be available in the US.

Like Someone in Love

Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami’s enigmatic Like Someone in Love is set half the world away from his home country, in present-day Japan. Alluring and elusive in its storytelling, the film explores familiar Kiarostami themes like mistaken identity, authenticity, and companionship, through a more meditative lens than his last film, Certified Copy. His images are gorgeous as per usual, but here they’re richer and more colorful and evocative than ever before. It’s a humble, moving film that will seep into your skin and stay with you for days. The extended, stationary opening shot is an immediate jaw-dropper.

Availability: IFC released it last year, so a home video release is imminent. Don’t be surprised if you see it pop up in the Criterion Collection later on this year. UK readers can go pick up a Blu-Ray right now.

Midnight’s Children

A charming, resonant adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s novel, Midnight’s Children is a film that centers around the children born on the 15th of August 1947, otherwise known as Independence Day in India. A stunning piece of magical realism, the story tells of how each of these children have a special “power”, the strongest powers going to those born closest to midnight: Saleem and Shiva. As we follow their lives and hardships in the midst of newly independent India, we’re taken on a journey that has much more to do with politics than we might initially realise. With a cast whose talent extends to even the smallest roles, and beautifully surreal cinematography, director Deepa Mehta provides a unique insight into the lives of Indian children in a way that is heartfelt, but does not exoticize. Particularly thanks to Rushdie’s involvement as a co-screenwriter, it is easy to feel not only the characters of his novel coming to life, but indeed, the mystical quality of its history.

Availability: On DVD and a lot of popular digital rental outlets.

Paradise: Love

Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl created the undisputed best trilogy of 2013 with his Paradise films, a series that portrays the dark side of human desire to achieve paradise. The strongest film out of the three is the first installment, Paradise: Love, which stands perfectly well on its own. Capturing complex themes such as desire to find love, body image, human objectification, and racial exploitation, Paradise: Love is a powerful watch. If you have seen any of Seidl’s other films you know that he does not shy away from showing the ugly side of human nature and perhaps it is this uncensored exploration that makes his work so controversial, and subsequently limited in mass appeal. Of course, this makes distribution for the film a challenge. Therefore, a lot of people would not likely stumble upon this film without seeking it out. But do yourself a favor and watch one of the most powerful and underseen films of 2013.

Availability: On DVD and Netflix Instant. Also streaming on Amazon.

Passion

Brian De Palma’s return to filmmaking, and the genre that established him as a legendary director, expectedly has some issues. A remake of the French film Crime D’Amour, Passion is so unhinged that it’s hard to tell if De Palma is slyly winking at the audience or completely losing it. I personally take the former stance, as Passion is a hilariously insane film. Filled with dumb plot twists, schemes and hammy performances from Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace, Passion is De Palma gleefully making a mess and daring the audience to keep watching. Whether you like it or hate it, it’s nice to see De Palma being playful again.

Availability: Currently out on DVD & Blu-Ray. Available to rent from Redbox and Netflix. Available to stream/rent/buy online from iTunes, Amazon, Google and YouTube.

Shadow Dancer

Director James Marsh, well-known for his documentaries Man on Wire and Project Nim, also likes to make fictional films from time to time. Shadow Dancer takes place in Ireland during The Troubles. After a botched attempt at bombing a subway, Collette (Andrea Riseborough) is coerced by an MI6 agent (Clive Owen) to become an informant. Marsh seems to have lucked out with his cast here, as they all do terrific jobs elevating what could have easily been another standard espionage/crime thriller. A plot turn in the final act threatens to bring everything down, but a nice stinger of an ending helps keep things afloat. It’s a well-crafted thriller, and Marsh does an effective job showing how, on both sides of the law, trust is the hardest thing to find.

Availability: Available on DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes, Amazon, Redbox, Netflix Instant, and pretty much everywhere else.

Simon Killer

When I saw Simon Killer at last year’s SF Indiefest, I was immediately taken by its sludgy imagery, great performances, and uninviting atmosphere. Made by the folks behind Martha Marcy May Marlene (Antonio Campos directs) and starring Brady Corbet, the film follows the gradual unraveling of a young American man lost on the streets of Paris. Simon’s descent into madness unfolds at a patient, deliberate pace, and the horrors of his true nature creep up on you slowly before ripping your heart out.

Availability: Available on DVD, and currently streaming on Netflix. UK readers can grab the fantastic Blu-Ray set put together by Eureka and enjoy the creepiness in HD.

Sun Don’t Shine

Amy Seimetz made a big name for herself as an actress last year, but not as much notice was given to her directorial debut. Sun Don’t Shine focused on a couple (Kate Lyn Sheil and Kentucker Audley) driving down to Florida for a few days, but not for a vacation. Sheil’s dead abusive husband is in the trunk, and the two of them are on their way to ditch the body and create an alibi for themselves. Seimetz’s decision to shoot in 16mm turns out to be essential to the film’s success. Every frame of the film oozes sweat, humidity and murkiness, which only heighten Sheil’s complete breakdown in the film. Sheil is a revelation here in a role that should hopefully help launch her career, and Seimetz (along with cinematographer Jay Keitel) shows an incredible handle of tone/mood for a first time filmmaker. Seimetz’s career may be taking off in front of the camera, but hopefully she’ll be able to make some time to return to the director’s chair again.

Availability: You can digitally rent or buy the film on Amazon or iTunes.

This is Martin Bonner

There’s a quiet, beautiful grace to This is Martin Bonner that immediately makes it stand apart from every other indie film released last year. The title character (Paul Eenhoorn) has just moved to Nevada after his divorce, working with recently released prisoners trying to integrate back in society. At the same time, Travis (Richmond Arquette) has just gotten out of prison and wants to re-connect with his daughter. Travis meets Martin briefly, but the two become more drawn to each other as they’re both men trying to respectively start over. Shot in a restrained, realistic style, This is Martin Bonner never resorts to cynicism or despair with its subject matter. Its two central characters, while trying to find their identity, are constantly looking forward rather than dwelling on their past. Director Chad Hartigan’s hopeful approach to the material, combined with the terrific cast and cinematography, come together to make this one of 2013’s quiet triumphs.

Availability: Currently on DVD and streaming on Netflix. Also available on iTunes and Amazon.

Toad Road

The urban legend goes like this: In York, Pennsylvania there’s a red gate leading into a forest. As you go through the gate and go deeper into the forest, you will come upon 6 other gates. As you pass through each gate your hold on reality begins to slip, and once you pass through the last one you go directly to hell. Director Jason Banker uses this urban legend from his hometown as inspiration for Toad Road, but don’t think that the film will be another run of the mill low-budget horror piece.

Banker casted a group of real-life friends, and most of Toad Road’s first half is comprised of real-life footage Banker took of his actors taking as many drugs as possible while engaging in plenty of debauchery. The blending of reality and fiction casts a compelling atmosphere around the film, and when parallels start being made between the urban legend and drug addiction it becomes clear that Banker is operating on a level above most modern-day horror filmmakers. What starts out as an utterly strange horror film turns into a brutally raw and unflinching look at aimless youth.

Availability: Currently on DVD, as well as available to digitally rent/buy on iTunes and Amazon.

The We and the I

After a mixed reception on the festival circuit, Michel Gondry’s The We and the I was given a very small release in the first half of 2013. It’s an unfortunate fate for what turned out to be the director’s best film since Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Working with a group of inner city kids, Gondry has the entire film take place on a city bus taking a group of teens home on their last day of school. The film starts out obnoxious, with groups of kids preying on anyone they find worthy of ridicule. Move past the abrasive first act though, and Gondry’s message (along with the title’s meaning) begin to make sense. As more kids leave the bus, the remaining characters on the bus begin to open up and reveal their insecurities with each other. It’s an engrossing examination of the roles we play as a group versus how we behave as individuals. Gondry’s visual inventiveness is still here, but it’s probably not a coincidence that his most stripped-down film is also his strongest in years.

Availability: Currently on DVD, as well as available to digitally rent/buy on Amazon and iTunes

Welcome to Pine Hill

If you are looking for the most underrated indie film of 2013 than look no further than Welcome to Pine Hill. There is a good chance you have not heard of Keith Miller’s microbudget film, despite winning the jury prize for Best Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival (the smaller and more indie film festival in Park City). The story found within Welcome to Pine Hill is nothing new; a former drug dealer trying to turn a new leaf, reconciling his past after being diagnosed with cancer, and trying to escape racial stereotypes. But what makes the film stand out from the rest is how it handles these issues. Instead of trying to force-feed these topics the film approaches them with a sense of ease. The result is a film that is emotionally intimate and free of manipulation. Welcome to Pine Hill is the best indie film of 2013 that you haven’t seen yet.

Availability: Currently available to digitally buy on iTunes

What else?: We could honestly keep going if we could, but we had to stop somewhere. There’s the disorienting fishing boat docu Leviathan; Jem Cohen’s gorgeous Museum Hours; Asghar Farhadi’s riveting The Past; Rodney Ascher’s documentary on Shining obsessives  Room 237; Blackfish which has made some serious real-world impacts; Lake Bell’s original and hilarious comedy In A World; Intense political thriller The East; Grand Prix winner at Cannes Reality; Intense found-footage documentary Let The Fire Burn; Johnnie To’s terrific action film Drug War; Cristian Mungiu’s terrific Cannes winner Beyond the Hills; Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said; Andrew Bujalski’s crazy retro Computer Chess; Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher; Terence Nance’s imaginative and personal An Oversimplification of Her Beauty; And Rick Rowley’s Dirty Wars, a documentary that gives a terrifying glimpse into post-9/11 warfare.

Like we said at the top, 2013 was filled to the brim with great movies worth watching. If you ever find yourself feeling like there’s nothing to watch in the coming weeks or months, you won’t regret putting any of these films on and giving them a shot.

The lineup at this year’s SF IndieFest was unbelievably strong; I anticipated that there would be at least a few certified duds, but that wasn’t the case. Though I didn’t love every film, each had its unique voice, ambition, and spirit. From the lowest-budget short to the most polished full-length feature, they all offered a brand new experience. This made making my list of ten favorite films very difficult. I connected with many, many films at the festival, but these ten are the ones that I felt compelled to champion the most.

Top 10 Films from SF IndieFest

#1 Simon Killer

The thing about Simon Killer is, it’s a difficult movie to digest, but in the best way possible. The teeth-grinding level of discomfort Antonio Campos and Brady Corbet are able to achieve in Simon Killer resonated with me more than anything else at the festival. Corbet finds a way to make Simon both magnetic and repulsive, and Campos captures Paris at its most deeply colorful and richly textured. Pound for pound, my favorite movie of the festival.

Remember to keep it tuned in to Way Too Indie in April for our full review of Simon Killer and our interview with director Antonio Campos.

#2 Be Good

Though not as flashy as Simon Killer, Todd Looby’s Be Good also finds its protagonist going through alarming mental transformations that surprise even him. Be Good will break your heart stealthily, little by little. Joe Swanberg’s All the Light in the Sky does the same and shares the same naturalistic tone, but when it comes to picking my personal favorites of the festival, Be Good just hits closer to home. Every moment in this movie feels earned, and Looby’s characters are handled with care. It’s the type of movie that just might teach you something about yourself by the time the credits roll.

#3 I Declare War

There were more than a few movies at this year’s festival that evoked feelings of nostalgia, but I Declare War recalls an era of movies (The Goonies, Stand by Me) that I just happened to grow up with. The kids playing their supposedly innocent ‘game’ quickly realize that their heated prepubescent emotions are too powerful to contain. The child actors’ performances are beyond impressive, and the film’s intensity and stakes are consistently high throughout the running time.

#4 The Legend of Kaspar Hauser

‘Strange’ does not begin to describe this movie. To attempt to describe what ‘happens’ in The Legend of Kaspar Hauser would be to betray it. It’s a visually and sonically stimulating film that rubs you in a way that no other film can. It will make you laugh, squirm, headbang, ponder, gag, yadda yadda yadda. You just…you just need to watch it. It’s absolutely nuts… in a good way.

#5 Antiviral

Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral serves as a showcase for its gifted lead actor, Caleb Landry Jones, much like two other films at the festival, Simon Killer and The Story of Luke. What sets Jones’ performance apart from the other two is his spine-chilling physical transformation. Cronenberg’s imaginative and haunting imagery are as arresting as his fathers’, but Jones makes use of every bit of his body to burn the images of his painful deterioration into our minds.

#6 All the Light in the Sky

Films are best when they act as a mirror, illuminating our darkest fears and forcing us to confront them. As Jane Adams, as Marie, fights internally to find her place in this gigantic world, we realize that she’s fighting something we all must all face sooner or later. Nobody has captured the 21st century adult on film quite like Joe Swanberg, and he delivers another stunning time-capsule work of art with All the Light in the Sky.

#7 The Story of Luke

Of all the characters I’ve encountered in the many films at SF Indiefest, The Story of Luke is the one I hold nearest to my heart. The attachment you feel for Luke and his quest for love is inescapable, mostly due to Lou Taylor Pucci’s spot-on performance. The powerful message of acceptance and love The Story of Luke delivers is one that fit the spirit of SF Indiefest and the great city of San Francisco like a glove.

#8 The We and the I

Leading up to the opening night screening of Michel Gondry’s The We and the I, the thing I was most looking forward to was just how innovative Gondry would get with his camera in the super-enclosed space that is a city bus. Just how many interesting camera angles could he find? The answer? It doesn’t matter. Gondry does use his camera in interesting ways, but what makes this film special are the ever-changing dynamics of the loud-mouthed, quick-witted, unfiltered characters that occupy the bus.

#9 The Ghastly Love of Johnny X

Watching this film in 35mm at The Roxie was one of the cornerstones of my incredible SF Indiefest experience. Having the director, Paul Bunnell, and the cast there, the energetic crowd, the buttery popcorn, the technical difficulties; these things all added up to an unforgettable night at the movies, which is what SF Indiefest is all about.

#10 Funeral Kings

The ultra-vulgar kids in Funeral Kings remind me of myself as an awkward teenager. I chuckled at how much of myself I saw in these characters in their pursuit of attention, validation, and sex. To see them chase after girls and sneak around their parents’ houses in the middle of the night was like a blast from the past. Like I Declare War, Funeral Kings features some incredible performances by young actors. The attitude these kids exude is authentic, and nothing about their performances feels forced.

The second official day of SF Indiefest was also the first day to take place in San Francisco’s historic Roxie Theater, which will act as the hub for the rest of the festival. The night’s films were a pair of black & white, darkly funny and outrageous films: The Legend of Kaspar Hauser and Not in Tel Aviv.

The Legend of Kaspar Hauser

An endlessly odd and trippy interpretation of the life and times of the titular historical oddity, Davide Manuli’s The Legend of Kaspar Hauser takes place on the island Sardinia where a blond-haired boy (played by actress Silvia Calderoni) washes up onto a beach and is found and fostered by a DJ/Sherriff (Vincent Gallo.) The Duchess of the island becomes threatened by the influence of Kaspar on her people (of which there are only a handful), and employs a criminal by the name of Pusher (also played by Gallo) to eliminate the boy.

Manuli’s take on the events surrounding the real-life Kaspar Hauser is weird in the most fantastic way. The film is presented in gorgeous black and white, looks like an old desert western, and is set to a must-hear (listen here) electronic soundtrack that transcends and elevates the story in a way that is so out-of-place, it’s perfect. Gallo is a joy to watch and chews it up big-time, barking and spitting his way through the film. His interactions with the equally captivating Calderoni are off-putting, yet totally entertaining. There isn’t an uninteresting shot in the movie, and some of the scenes are drawn out to such uncomfortable lengths that you’ll ask yourself “Why am I watching this weird bullsh*t?” to which you’ll answer “Because I love it.”

RATING: 7.5

Not In Tel Aviv

Micha, a high school teacher, kidnaps one of his students and uses her to reconnect with his high school crush. Together, they form a tight (albeit unusual) bond as they go on mini-adventures throughout their boring, small town. Murders, angry feminists, movie stars, escapes from the police, pizza, and basketball make up the strange days the trio shares as Micha’s learns what it is to be loved.

First time director, writer, and star Nony Geffen offers up a film that adeptly conveys the endearing spontaneity of its characters cinematically. There are definite traces of the French New-Wave here, though the tone is certainly contemporary. Nony and his female counterparts (Romi Aboulafia and Yaara Pelzig) have potent on-screen chemistry and play off each other well, demonstrating the evolution of their relationships like pros. The editing and pacing of the film keeps you on your toes, and the quirky spirit Geffen brings to the indie film scene with Not in Tel Aviv is as refreshing and startling as a bucket of ice water to the face.

RATING: 8.7