Independent Dramas on Netflix
Last updated December 21, 2024
Remembrance
2011 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsHannah, a young Jewish girl, is rescued from a concentration camp by her Polish boyfriend, and believes he died after their perilous escape. More than 30 years later, the married Hannah faces an emotional crisis when she learns he's alive.
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LUV
2012 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsThis indie drama portrays a single day shared by an 11-year-old boy and his uncle, who's recently rejoined the world after eight years in prison. When the older Vincent brings young Woody along on business, fresh lessons in life await them both.
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To Save a Life
2009 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsAfter tragedy strikes a childhood friend, Jake reevaluates his life. By reaching out to lonely outsider Jonny, Jake risks losing everything that matters most to him, including a college scholarship and his friends.
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City of God
2002 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsGrowing up in a Rio de Janeiro favela, Rocket is able to avoid being drawn into a life of drugs and crime by having a passion for photography. Through his eyes, the dramatic stories of several of the slum's colorful residents unfold.
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Listen to Your Heart
2010 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsStruggling musician Danny Foster (Kent Moran) never dreamed he'd fall in love with a woman who couldn't hear his compositions. But when he meets Ariana (Alexia Rasmussen), a privileged girl who lost her hearing in childhood, he's willing to believe anything's possible. As the young couple's love takes hold, however, Ariana's overbearing mother (Cybill Shepherd) proves to be their most vocal critic.
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Sling Blade
1996 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsSimpleminded Karl has just been released from a psychiatric hospital, where he'd been confined since age 12 for murdering his mother and her lover. He lands a job at a garage fixing motors and befriends a young boy -- but can Karl outrun his past?
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The Way
2010 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWhen his son dies while hiking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, a grieving father flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child's life, he decides to complete the 500-mile trek to Spain.
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Filly Brown
2012 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsOffered a chance to be a star, a young rapper must decide whether to go for the gold or remain true to herself and the friends who've helped her. Meanwhile, her family struggles, with her mom in jail and her ex-gangbanger dad trying to go straight.
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsTo make the most of their meager retirement savings, a group of British seniors moves to India to live out their golden years at the Marigold Hotel. But upon arrival, they discover the once-lavish resort has wilted considerably.
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Mooz-Lum
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThanks to a strict Muslim upbringing that largely shielded him from the outside world, Tariq's first year of college proves transformative. That is, until the 9/11 terrorist attacks invite growing suspicion and distrust from his angry classmates.
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Hardflip
2012 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsLiving with his overburdened single mom, teenager Caleb Jones uses skateboarding as the outlet for his anger and his dreams in this earnest drama. When his mother's illness transforms his situation, Caleb decides to seek out his long-absent father.
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Requiem for a Dream
2000 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsA widow's growing dependence on amphetamines and a self-help television show parallels the struggles of her heroin-addicted son and his girlfriend and friend in Darren Aronofsky's bleak drama.
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Donnie Darko
2001 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWriter-director Richard Kelly's trippy, mind-bending feature debut stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled Midwestern teenager plagued by incessant sleepwalking, family drama and visions of a menacing 6-foot-tall, doomsday-prophesying rabbit. Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle also star in this dark and intriguing psychological fantasy that swiftly earned a cult following.
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The World's Fastest Indian
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis fact-based drama stars Anthony Hopkins as quirky New Zealander Burt Munro, a 67-year-old grandfather who flies across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats and attempts to break into the record books on his customized Indian Scout motorcycle.
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Detachment
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWhen a substitute teacher takes a new assignment at an inner-city school, he finds himself becoming involved in the lives of his colleagues and students. At home, he houses a young prostitute and meditates on what happened to his mother.
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Older Than America
2008 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsRain (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.
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Saints and Soldiers
2004 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn a story based on actual events, a small band of Allied soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines with information that could save thousands of American lives. Outgunned and ill-equipped, they battle a frigid wilderness and roving German troops.
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White Frog
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsNick, who has Asperger's syndrome, struggles to carry on after the death of his brother Chaz. Their parents have their own problems coping with the loss, but Chaz's best friend takes Nick under his wing.
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In a Better World
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDanish director Susanne Bier delves into the realm of fathers, sons and their perceived burden of male responsibility with this Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning drama about the interplay between two dysfunctional families. With his father working abroad, bullied Elias (Markus Rygaard) finds solace in a budding friendship with a volatile new student (William Jøhnk Nielsen). But the boys' shared revenge only seems to invite more violence.
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A Late Quartet
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsTempers flare, old jealousies reignite and new passions are sparked when the members of a world-renowned string quartet are preparing to celebrate their 25th anniversary and learn that their leader must step down due to a grim medical diagnosis.
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The Fat Boy Chronicles
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsOverweight teenager Jimmy Winterpock transfers to a new school, where he's mercilessly bullied by classmates. After he starts keeping a journal that puts him in touch with his feelings, he resolves to lose weight and win the girl of his dreams.
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Fargo
1996 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsPolice chief Marge Gunderson -- a serious sleuth who's sharper than her folksy accent suggests -- is hot on the trail of a Minneapolis car dealer conspiring with two kidnappers to snatch his wife so he can pocket part of the hefty ransom.
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Winter's Bone
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this unflinching noir drama, resilient teen Ree Dolly 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.
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Dirty Girl
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen promiscuous teen Danielle is sentenced to special ed for making sexually charged comments in class, she befriends gay, overweight Clarke, who agrees to join her on a search to find her father -- in part so he can get away from his own.
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Troubled Water
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAfter serving time for killing a child, Jan Thomas -- still haunted by the crime he insists he didn't commit -- takes a job as a church organist and tries to make a fresh start. But his new life is threatened when one of the faithful recognizes Jan.
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