If you’re a film lover who most enjoys obscure art films, foreign cinema, and classic masterworks, then there’s no better streaming service than the Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel has only been around for a few years, but it’s already gained renown in the film community because of its remarkable collection of great titles.
Because the selection is so wonderful, it’s difficult to create a definitive list of the best movies available to stream there. There’s a wealth of wonderful cinema that spans decades and the entire globe, and the list below is just a small taste of what you can explore.
Certified Copy
A movie that feels almost impossible to describe, Certified Copy follows an author and a French woman as they tour Italy together, ostensibly having met for the first time. The plot is somewhat indescribable and the tone is decidedly formal. As they travel through a small town together, things begin to get strange. Certified Copy is an art film, to be sure, but it’s a thoroughly gripping one that will have you questioning the nature of every relationship you have after you’ve watched it.
Cléo From 5 to 7
Agnes Varda is a legendary filmmaker, and Cléo From 5 to 7 may be her most iconic film. It follows Cléo, a self-centered pop star who has two hours to kill before she learns the results of a biopsy that could change her life. In those two hours, she fails to find comfort in her friends, and ultimately meets a soldier on leave from the Algerian War who manages to put her problems in perspective. It’s a movie that is, above all else, a slice of life, and that’s what makes it feel so immersive and lived-in.
A Woman Under the Influence
Gena Rowlands gives one of the definitive on-screen performances in A Woman Under the Influence, taking risks that could have easily been disastrous. Rowland stars as an unstable housewife whose husband (Peter Falk) becomes convinced that she needs help and ultimately sends her to a mental institution. The film is about a marriage on the brink of disaster, but one that can also be incredibly loving and sweet. A Woman Under the Influence is a domestic drama, but one of the most volatile and unpredictable films you’re likely to ever see.
Ikiru
One of Akira Kurosawa’s smaller films, Ikiru follows a Japanese bureaucrat who discovers that he only has a few months to live, and ultimately decides to dedicate that time to the creation of a park. The movie is about the pointless bureaucracies that so many people dedicate their lives to, and the delayed quest for meaning. It’s also a beautiful film about the blessing and curse of being alive, and it’s easily Kurosawa’s most personal statement.
In the Mood for Love
Very little sex actually takes place in In the Mood for Love, but it’s a movie that, nonetheless, oozes sex appeal. Starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as neighbors who discover that their spouses are cheating with one another, and enter into a sort of pseudo affair in response. The movie is writer Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece, and it plays out like a fable. Every look, gesture, and moment that passes between the two leads is utterly sensual, and that’s what makes the movie so watchable.
M
Telling the tense story of a manhunt for a serial killer who hunts children in Berlin, M is the oldest film on this list, but it’s also the prototype for so much of the crime fiction that we are obsessed with today. The crimes depicted in M are horrific, but what’s even more chilling is the clarity director Fritz Lang brings to the story. Nothing can bring these children back. The crimes have been committed, and those of us who are still alive are left to reckon with the loss, and with the persistent evils of the world around us.
The Player
An acid-dipped Hollywood satire, The Player follows a Hollywood producer who begins receiving death threats and ultimately winds up murdering a screenwriter. From there, he has to juggle his interest in a prestigious movie with the fear of being exposed as a murderer. Ultimately, though, The Player is about the ways that Hollywood hides inconvenient truths for the sake of larger narratives. Robert Altman is a legend of modern cinema, but The Player may be the most cynical movie of his career.
The Rules of the Game
The upstairs/downstairs comedy genre which has been imitated again and again, The Rules of the Game is one of the funniest and most tragic movies ever made. Telling the story of a connected echelon of the upper class, and of the servants who serve them, the film is ultimately about the way those class distinctions come to mean very little in the face of everyday reality. It was originally released in 1939, but it would be another 17 years before audiences and critics would appreciate its brilliance.
The Red Shoes
Directors Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell have made a number of masterpieces, but their most definitive achievement is probably The Red Shoes, which tells the story of a talented ballerina who is torn between dance and romantic passion. In addition to being wonderfully written, The Red Shoes also features incredible dance sequences and a vivid use of color. It’s a wonder to behold, and a reminder of how transportive a great movie can be.
Tokyo Story
Telling the intimate story of a pair of parents living in rural Japan who visit with their children in Tokyo, Tokyo Story is a sad and tragic film. There are no huge blowups or fights in Tokyo Story. Instead, the movie focuses on the small moments when these parents are shunted aside or ignored by their children, and plays consciously with the knowledge that everyone will eventually become a burden to someone else.