2023 will likely be remembered for the fact that some of its most successful and anticipated films were much longer than usual. Of three hours Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan at almost four o’clock Moon Killers Martin Scorsese. The Hollywood industry seems to favor feature-length films that take a significant amount of time to develop. This is despite the surprise it caused among the public and even, in one case, discomfort. But Netflix has a solution.
Perhaps for this reason, films under ninety minutes have become a new interest for many fans. Not just because of her arguments’ ability to summarize great stories in a relatively short time. Additionally, if we remember that cinema can delve into interesting and expansive narratives, regardless of screen time. Which allows us to analyze the quality of sentences, using creativity to tell complex stories in less time than usual.
To prove it, we leave you with five films under ninety minutes long that you can watch right now on Netflix. From a horror film that became an analysis of a family verdict to a classic European film. The selection shows that good cinema can also be short and concise when required.
Akelarre
Ana (Amaya Aberasturi) is a young woman like everyone else at the end of the hot summer of 1609. She is a good daughter, as well as a growing woman who knows her life is in danger, even if she did nothing to cause it. What will she see when, after a walk in the forest with several friends, she is accused of witchcraft. Cause? Just being outside of male dominance in your village. A crime she doesn’t understand, but it will put her at mortal risk before a court and a judge whose only goal is perverted justice.
Director Pablo Aguero turns the story of the Inquisition in Spain into a call for women’s freedom. And also in the study of cruelty and violence. All through a story with a chronic subtext of horror that women suffered at the hands of the church in the late Middle Ages.
The combination makes Akelarre, not just a film that can delve into several hot-button topics at once. In addition, this is a way to look at the great universal injustice from an almost everyday point of view. Little by little, what begins as a clash of beliefs turns into a crime guarded by hatred. A tour that will show you the darkest places of human behavior.
Blue Jay
Nostalgia for what has been lost is often the driving force behind some of Hollywood’s best stories. An element that director Alexander Lehmann takes to a sweet and painful level in this black and white film released in 2016. Blue Jaythis is a reflection on adult life, on what is lost over the years and especially how love turns into something more bitter and harsh.
Filmed in just one week, allowing the director to work with extreme urgency, the plot is simple in nature. Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson) These are two former lovers who must admit that what once united them has disappeared.
This happened when they met again years after breaking up. But what appears to be a tale of hurt and discomfort between two strangers with a shared past soon turns into something more. Especially when admitting guilt and resentment, they turn the memories into a strange mixture of disappointment and fear.
Slug
Horror also benefits from an argument that gets straight to the point and turns the script into a frantic exploration of its core premise in this film, available on Netflix. The element that makes the ribbon Slug unusual combination between found footage And a film that uses time pressure.
Director Patrick Brice, who also stars and co-wrote the screenplay with Mark Duplass, uses several elements to create a terrifying story. What starts as a seemingly simple job of filming a stranger turns into a deadly trap. Much more when Aaron (Brice), Understand that you are likely to witness a terrifying supernatural event.
Gradually, the film uses its subjective point of view to show how evil lurks in the most unexpected places. Also, like a screenplay, he can use the short screen time to create a story in which the passage of hours heralds a tragedy. In this case, the dilemma is that Slug solves successfully.
Haru in the cat kingdom
This film by Hiroyuki Morita is for Studio Ghibli, has a curious origin story. In 1995, the successful film “Whisper of the Heart” was released, an adaptation of the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. Its plot, which tells a love story between Shizukua girl with writing talent and arrogant Seiji, included a story made up by a girl. And although the original plot did not include magical or mystical elements, they were present in the unfinished work of the young author. The narrative of a fantastic and dazzling world inhabited by cats set the tone for his spiritual evolution.
Haru in the cat kingdom Oddly enough, this is a job that Shizuku came up with. This Time, which is available on Netflix, is about a young woman who saves the life of a cat, not knowing that he is actually the monarch of the cat kingdom. Having become his love interest, she must make a choice: remain a captive of an unusual but lonely kingdom or strive for freedom. A dilemma that the film explores through a funny and touching script that touches on themes such as loyalty, inner search and the sense of beauty. Everything is surrounded by the world of cats.
Women on the verge of a nervous attack
In 1988, Pedro Almodóvar revolutionized Spanish cinema. He did this by understanding modern anxiety and the loneliness of grief in a completely different way than usual. Rawer, more intimate, and more honest than other similar spaces, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown explores the need for love through a collection of hilarious stories. Additionally, he explored a new visual language for the country’s cinematic world and began: what a director’s long journey will be to leave a very personal mark on his work.
However, the film is a reflection on human nature, its pains and small follies. And this is among characters who live between neuroses and anxieties in everyday life. Very close to the worldly noise of dazzling Madrid, the feature film is a look at a colorful and crazy time. At the same time, it is a brilliant work, capable of telling a complex and chaotic plot with particular success in less than ninety minutes. One of his greatest achievementsnow available on Netflix.
Source: Hiper Textual
