Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

5. Simple Like Silver (2021) Shot entirely on an iPhone, Damien K. Lahey's microbudget black and white film is a small arthouse wonder. It tells the intersecting stories of three characters, all dealing with life-altering situations. I learned about the film because Cristina Marsillach, who plays Lucia, starred in Dario Argento's  Opera (1987). Told through voiceovers, the narrative unfolds slowly, but the luscious cinematography is so engaging that the film would be worth watching without the eventually connected narrative arc. The bright Florida setting offsets the horrific obstacles that the characters face, yet the film provides glimmers of hope within their connections. Through Lucia's interactions with the young boy, Joe, (Hudson Sims) the film approaches catharsis. Severin Films released a deluxe Blu-ray edition in 2024 that is worth seeking out. 4. The Flowers of Saint Francis (1950) Filled with scene after scene of pure joy,  Roberto Rossellini's filmic seri...

15. Wild At Heart (1990)  It's definitely not my favorite David Lynch film, but Wild at Heart has grown on me. Although the film includes a fairly straightforward plot because Lynch is adapting Barry Gifford's novel, the casting and over-the-top performances add those Lynchian elements that keep the viewer guessing. His addition of  audacious characters like Mr. Reindeer (W. Morgan Sheppard) and focus on the darker aspects of  popular culture as exemplified by Elvis and Marilyn Monroe fixations filtered through a near Joe Coleman level of morbidity make this a unique study on American obsession. However, the film still finds space to be funny, particularly in how Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage portray those obsessions. Think Lynch with a side of John Waters, a dash of the Coens, and a dessert that recalls the fantastical elements of  The Wizard of Oz (1939) updated for the consumer-obsessed 1990s.  14. Winter Kills ( 1979) I weighed including The Parallax View ...

I never expected Mondo Weirdo to be a black and white art film, drifting between imagery of sadism, sex, and violence. The title made me think it would be like Mondo Cane or other documentaries in the Mondo subgenre, cataloging practices that shock western audiences. Instead, Mondo Weirdo documents a young girl's discoveries of the violent world around her to an industrial soundtrack. Equal parts snuff film, hardcore pornography, and gore vehicle, it is not for the faint of heart. Once I discovered it was directed by Carl Andersen, an associate of transgressive filmmaker, Jorg Buttgereit, best known for Nekromantik , another extreme film, I realized that it was attempting to break taboos and challenge audience perceptions rather than shock. However, its short running time of less than an hour might still be too long for many to stomach.