Felicity Huffman received an Acadamy Award nomination for her moving performance as transsexual in Transamerica. Also out on DVD: not one, but two stirring documentaries about miners, a compelling look at the 1960s New York art scene, and a small film by major star Cate Blancett.
1. Transamerica
It's the kind of part Oscar nominations are made for: Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman plays a male-to-female transsexual named Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne in Duncan Tucker's indie film. Her much lauded performance is worthy of all the acclaim.
2. Little Fish
Gael Garcia Bernal recently referred to Australian actress Cate Blanchett as the most beautiful woman on the planet. It's a little shocking, then, that this 2005 Australian drama, starring the marvelous Ms. Blanchett, was completely overlooked. Blanchett plays a recovering drug addict trying to make a new life for herself in the Little Saigon district of Sydney.
3. Harlan County, U.S.A.
Barbara Kopple’s Academy Award–winning Harlan County, USA unflinchingly documents a grueling coal miners’ strike in a small Kentucky town. With unprecedented access, Kopple and her crew captured the miners’ sometimes violent struggles with strikebreakers, local police, and company thugs.4. Devil's Miner
Directed by long-time collaborators Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, The Devil's Miner is a moving and often mind-bending portrait of two brothers - 14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino - who work deep inside the Cerro Rico silver mines of Bolivia.5. Who Gets to Call It Art?
Looking for a wild ride through the NYC art scene in the 1960s? This is your documentary. Peter Rosen’s film profiles the iconoclastic connoisseur Henry Geldzahler, the first curator of contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Footage features art work by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein and interviews with Frank Stella, David Hockney, James Rosenquist and others.