Quality independent films are finding new life on DVD: check out Ramin Bahrani's eye opening drama Man Push Cart, Gus van Sant's first film Mala Noche, Oren Rudavsky's The Treatment, and the hilarious horror blood fest from New Zealand Black Sheep.
1. Man Push Cast
No New York street scene is complete without the vendors who keep Manhattan well fed and over-caffeinated--but until now, the movies didn't bother with their stories. Ramin Bahrani's Man Push Cart remedies the oversight with a tale of dignity and quiet suffering.
2. Mala Noche
With its low budget and lush black-and-white imagery, Gus Van Sant's debut feature Mala Noche heralded a new voice in American independent film. Set in Van Sant's hometown of Portland, Oregon, the film evokes a world of transient workers, dead-end day-shifters, and bars and seedy apartments bathed in a profound nighttime, as it follows a romantic deadbeat with a wayward crush on a handsome Mexican immigrant.
3. The Treatment
Documentary filmmaker Oren Rudavsky (Hiding and Seeking ) makes his feature film debut with The Treatment. The fine independent film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film festival, features a terrific cast including Ian Holm, Blair Brown, Chris Eigeman, and Famke Janssen. Adapted from a Daniel Menaker, the film tells the story of a young man (Eigeman) and his search to find meaning in his life.
4. Black Sheep
This blood-soaked horror comedy is the story of Henry Oldfield (Nathan Meister), a New Zealander with an unfortunate phobia...of sheep. Faces are eaten off, humans throw their own limbs, and heads explode in Jonathan King's often hilarious blood fest.
