Older Than America

2008

Rain (Georgina Lightning) has visions of a cruel incident suffered by her Native American ancestors. Afraid she'll be branded a lunatic like her elderly aunt, Rain fears telling even her policeman husband, Johnny (Adam Beach), about the dreams. But as they intensify, she finds that they have eerie connections to her current life. Lightning also writes and directs this mix of supernatural and historical mysteries.

3.7 Average Rating

Winter's Bone

2010

In director Debra Granik's unflinching noir drama set deep in the Ozarks, resilient teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family's safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending, and Ree is determined that he show up -- despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan. The film earned Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nods for Best Picture and for Lawrence.

3.7 Average Rating

Dear Frankie

2004

Faced with the prospect of raising her son, Frankie (Jack McElhone), with a good-for-nothing man, the resourceful Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) spirits him away to Scotland with good intentions and pretends the boy's father is aboard the &NFi;HMS Accra&NFi_;. But after years of Lizzie's skillful lying, the jig is up when Frankie learns the ship is docked right by their home. Now, the only way to protect Frankie's heart is to find a man willing to pose as his dad.

3.7 Average Rating

Ride

1998

Leta (Melissa De Sousa) has 24 hours to take a busload of inner-city youths -- all of them would-be rap stars -- to Miami for a photo shoot. Along the way, the motley crew of urban misfits will have to deal with their broken-down ride and their own dramas. This uplifting ensemble film co-stars Malik Yoba, Cedric the Entertainer, Sticky Fingaz and Kellie Shanygne Williams, with cameos from rap stars Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre and Redman.

3.6 Average Rating

The Sea Change

2010

Having endured a dreadful upbringing spent in foster homes and institutions, Nikki (Natalie Press) sets out to murder the birth mother (Janet McTeer) who abandoned her. But while carrying out her plan, Nikki meets a likable half brother (Colin Morgan) who drastically alters her outlook. Based on the novel Island by Jane Rogers, this psychological drama captures the tension of Nikki's internal struggle as she's torn between revenge and redemption.

3.6 Average Rating

Maya Deren: Experimental Films

1943

A collection of groundbreaking shorts from experimental filmmaker Maya Deren. "A Study in Choreography for the Camera" features a dancer leaping through the vastness of space. "At Land" and "Ritual in Transfigured Time" use choreography to explore our everyday rituals when we meet other human beings. But Deren's masterwork is "Meshes of the Afternoon," a complex, psychological study of a woman -- played by the director herself.

3.6 Average Rating

Pariah

2011

Brooklyn teen Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a model child around her devoutly religious family, but she sheds the good-girl image to reveal a harder side during a nightclub excursion with butch pal Laura (Pernell Walker) in this coming-of-age tale of urban identity and sexual expression. With curfew looming and her parents none the wiser, Alike must catch the bus back home, where she faces the complex negotiation of her contradictory worlds.

3.6 Average Rating

The Piano

1993

Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a mute but strong-willed 19th-century Scottish expatriate who arrives in New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) and her beloved piano in tow. Although betrothed to a landowner (Sam Neill), she's pulled into an affair with a laborer (Harvey Keitel). Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances in this haunting drama from writer-director Jane Campion.

3.6 Average Rating

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

2005

With 10 children to feed, postwar Ohio housewife Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) has gotten used to being resourceful, stretching her husband's meager salary to the limit. But when clipping coupons won't cut it, she's forced to rely on her creativity. Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern co-star in this uncommon comedy-drama based on a heartwarming memoir by Ryan's daughter, Terry, who recounts her mother's knack for winning contests.

3.6 Average Rating

Maman Est Chez le Coiffeur

2008

Frustrated after yet another fight with her daughter, Élise (Marianne Fortier), Simone (Céline Bonnier) leaves her family to pursue a full-time career. Now, Élise must try to keep her physician father and her brothers in line as she fills in for her mother. But as she struggles to take care of everything her mother handled, she learns that sudden adulthood is not nearly as liberating as she'd expected. Léa Pool directs this drama set in the 1960s.

3.6 Average Rating

Teenage Dirtbag

2009

In this sensitive drama based on true events, two disparate teens from different social circles and home environments find common ground when the creative writing class they share opens new doors of communication. Troublemaker Thayer (Scott Michael Foster) relishes harassing popular cheerleader Amber (Noa Hegesh). That is, until they form a bond through the written word. But can their budding relationship withstand the pressure of peers and family?

3.6 Average Rating

Killer Diller

2004

Writer-director Tricia Brock brings Clyde Edgerton's acclaimed novel to life with some help from blues legend Taj Mahal and Grammy winner Keb' Mo'. After violating his parole, a young thief (William Lee Scott) is sent to live in a halfway house run by an eccentric Bible-banger (Fred Willard). As part of his punishment, the felon's forced to play "church music," but he changes his tune when he meets a piano-playing autistic savant (Lucas Black).

3.6 Average Rating

Eve's Bayou

1997

Louis Batiste (Samuel L. Jackson) is a popular physician in 1960s Louisiana who has a beautiful wife (Lynn Whitfield), a loving family and a weakness for women. While his wife ignores his infidelities, his youngest daughter (Jurnee Smollett) is crushed when she catches dad in a compromising situation. Her subsequent revelations tear the family apart in Kasi Lemmons's powerful film, which won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.

3.6 Average Rating

Songcatcher

2000

During a visit to her sister in Appalachia, a gifted musicologist stumbles upon a musical treasure trove of dozens of Scots-Irish ballads that have been preserved for generations by the local populace and are unknown to the outside world.

3.6 Average Rating

Four Rooms

1995

One mad New Year's Eve, an overwhelmed bellboy (Tim Roth) copes with witches and diabolical children, gets caught in the middle of a sour relationship and settles a bloody bet for members of a superstar's entourage. Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Bruce Willis co-star in this uncommon comedy like no other that features four stories by a quartet of hot directors: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

3.6 Average Rating

Night Catches Us

2010

After growing up during the tumultuous 1960s, ex-Black Panther Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns to his home in Philadelphia in 1976 and reconnects with Pat (Kerry Washington), the widow of a Panther leader. Marcus befriends Pat's young daughter and attempts to conquer his demons. Interfering with Marcus's good intentions are the neighborhood's continuing racial and social conflicts, as well as old enemies and friends -- both with scores to settle.

3.6 Average Rating