Netflix Streaming Movie Recommendations
The best movies available for instant play
As much as I love Netflix, navigating it’s streaming content can be difficult, even with its great recommendation engine. I often hear people complain about the ‘lack of quality films available for instant view,’ and I completely disagree. You just have to know where to look. As a partly self-serving effort, (since I often make similar lists for friends), here is a list of quality instant view movies currently available:
Disclaimer: movies offered in streaming tend to change frequently, so I can’t guarantee these are available when you read this…
| Title | Year | Notes |
| Searching for Bobby Fischer | 1993 | Heartwarming story of a chess prodigy’s struggle with balancing a childhood and maintaining a competitive edge |
| Balzac & the Little Chinese Seamstress | 2002 | Two Chinese students are exiled to the mountainous country to be re-educated, yet fall in love and trick the village into a bit of culture |
| Man on Wire | 2008 | Documentary of a crazy Frenchman who tight-rope walked between the world trade center buildings |
| A Very Long Engagement | 2004 | French romance/war drama that maintains the quirks of the directors’ other movie: Amelie |
| Together | 2002 | Young violinist pressured by his dad is befriended by an escort; heartwarming. |
| The Motorcycle Diaries | 2004 | Story of Che’s travels through South America |
| Please Vote for Me | 2007 | An election at a Chinese elementary school gets quite competitive; documentary. |
| The Kite Runner | 2007 | Story of a childhood and return to a turbulent Afghanistan to find a childhood friend |
| Whale Rider | 2003 | A young Maori girl refuses to abide by her tribes chauvinistic rules; heartfelt. |
| Dances with Wolves | 1990 | Civil war era pioneer who befriends Indians and wolves alike… |
| The Secret in Their Eyes | 2010 | Suspense around a string of murders & unexpressed romance recounted |
| Nobody Knows | 2005 | Kids abandoned in Tokyo to fend for themselves |
| Sin Nombre | 2009 | Epic journey to the states to flee the gang he’s left behind and avoid immigration police |
| Talk to Her | 2002 | A scandalous tale of two unconscious women and the men that care for them |
| The Overture | 2005 | Music rivalries abound (South Asian xylophone-esc instrument) while a boy seeks to find his place |
| Paradise Now | 2005 | Two Palestinian boys struggle with their orders to commit suicide bombings |
| The Beautiful Country | 2004 | Tracks the tragic story of a couple South Asian illegal immigrants |
| The Edukators | 2005 | Young rebels are confronted with deep questions as their pranks accidentally escalate… |
| Let the Right One In | 2008 | The sweetest and creepiest vampire / kid love story… |
| Just Another Love Story | 2007 | Mystery & suspense with a dash of love |
| Boys Don’t Cry | 1999 | The struggles of a lesbian trying to understand her self and find love |
| The Return | 2003 | Two Russian brothers end up on an island with their dangerous father |
| A Prophet | 2009 | Gangsters fight over a Turkish immigrant who is willing to go as far as needed to survive |
| Tell No One | 2006 | French murder mystery |
| 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days | 2007 | Harsh realism in this Eastern European film about abortion |
| Syriana | 2005 | Expresses the problems of the Middle East & America from many perspectives |
UPDATE: movies I missed or were recently added: Malena, Constant Gardner, Cinema Paradiso
Posted on July 6, 2011, in Film. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
Austin Neudecker 
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