After being unable to watch the Wong Kar-wai masterpiece In the Mood For Love online, Efe Cakarel decided to create a new streaming platform so in 2007 Mubi was launched. Now, like the amazing Criterion Channel, it has become another popular streaming platform for cinephiles and those who craved international or arthouse titles, and has gradually become a film distributor that brings an array of movies from emerging and established filmmakers.

Mubi is a wonderful and relatively cheap provider, which introduces us to a new film each day, offering a constantly evolving catalog of hand-picked films. They also have new exciting content exclusively available, or distributed solely by them. Discovering smaller independent movies, Mubi has a great collection of movies and 2019 was their first big year as a distributor, offering viewers an array of fantastic movies from every genre that they couldn't see anywhere else. Let’s take a look at some of the best.

7 First Cow

First Cow movie from A24 on MUBI
A24

First Cow is a 2019 American drama film from A24, directed by Kelly Reichardt. With a delightful ensemble cast that includes John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer, and Lily Gladstone, First Cow also features René Auberjonois in one of his final film roles.

Set in the 1820s, we follow a reserved and skilled cook who meets a Chinese immigrant while traveling West. Together they collaborate on a business venture to seek their fortune. We watch as their friendship blossoms, as they scheme to steal milk from a wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey Cow.

6 Beanpole

Beanpole
MUBI

Beanpole is a 2019 Russian historical drama film directed by Kantemir Balagov and follows the story of two young women, Lya and Masha who, after being witness to the turmoil of World War II and see buildings demolished and the devastation across the city, begin their search for meaning and hope. We become immersed in their journey as we see the women call on their resilience and start to rebuild their lives amid the ruins of Leningrad.

5 Matthias & Maxime

Matthias and Maxime movie from Xavier Dolan on MUBI
Les Films Séville

Written and directed by the great Xavier Dolan, Matthias & Maxime is a 2019 Canadian drama film starring Dolan, Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas, Pier-Luc Funk, Samuel Gauthier, Antoine Pilon, Adib Alkhalidey, Anne Dorval, Micheline Bernard, Marilyn Castonguay and Catherine Brunet.

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The film is a story of two childhood best friends whose relationship is challenged following the making of a student short film, where they are asked to share a kiss. As doubt sets in, they are confronted with their preferences, hidden feelings which come to light and the impact of their actions threatens not just their friendship but that of their group of friends in their late 20s.

4 Nimic

nimic
MUBI

This short 12-minute film, Nimic, directed by the great Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite, Dogtooth, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), opens with a man (Matt Dillon) waking up from sleep to an orchestral piece of music running in the background. We follow as he continues with his normal everyday life until he has a chance encounter with a woman when he asks her the time. She responds with the same question and goes on to follow him, mimicking his every move and even entering his home to flirt with his wife. Watching this short, funny but freaky film may leave you wondering about individualism and identity, and just how much you actually matter.

3 State Funeral

State Funeral movie about Stalin on MUBI
MUBI

With archive footage from March 1953, State Funeral presents the funeral of Joseph Stalin following his death on 5th March 1953. The entire Soviet Union was shocked to its core by his untimely death and tens of thousands of mourners attended his burial ceremony. One of the best 21st century films about politics, State Funeral depicts every strange stage of the funeral and gives unprecedented access to the absurdities experienced under Stalin’s reign. The film leaves us fascinated not knowing how much of it is real or fantasized, and gives us an insight into the brutal regime that still haunts the contemporary world today.

2 Olla

olla
MUBI

Olla sees French actress Ariane Labed (Attenberg, The Lobster) make her directing debut, which has been described as nothing short of explosive. We watch as Olla leaves the Ukraine and heads to a suburb in France after answering an ad on a dating website for Eastern European women. She arrives in France and meets her new partner Pierre, and there is friction immediately. Olla is an independent, strong-willed woman, and is challenged by Pierre’s intense desire for control.

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Wanting to keep her own identity, she is able to reclaim her name in moments of her own power when Pierre attempts to change her name to Lola. Representing independent and powerful women, Olla is unwilling to submit to Pierre’s control and dominance and uses it for her own empowerment with light-hearted rebellion in this fantastic psychological dramedy.

1 A Dog Called Money

a dog called money
MUBI

Award-winning war photographer and filmmaker Seamus Murphy provides us with this thought-provoking documentary, A Dog Called Money, which explores the creative inspiration behind PJ Harvey’s album The Hope Six Demolition Project. The film is so much more than a documentary about music or musicians, though. Together, Harvey and Murphy travel across Afghanistan, Kosovo, and low-income Black neighborhoods in Washington DC, and Murphy films and charts their intimate and heart-warming journey through war zones and places of social unrest.