By Lucas Coyne

2013 was a great year for movies. That’s not to say that it didn’t have its forgettables and flops – did we really need two Die Hard knockoffs about terrorists blowing up the White House? – but when taking a look back at the year, it’s most impressive how many films were really rather enjoyable. Even without a defining summer film, we got some tremendously fun movies in Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, and Pacific Rim. Gravity took full advantage of the medium’s capability to create revelatory experiences. The World’s End gave us the last in the Cornetto Trilogy and managed to hide some sharp insights beneath a riotously funny surface. Even The Hunger Games: Catching Fire continued its franchise’s streak of being way better than they have any right to be, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug… well. At least that scene in the river was pretty neat, huh? But those are all movies you managed to catch… hopefully. Last year also had some true gems that are easily overlooked – movies that never got much of a wide theatrical release, but are for their own reasons equally affecting, if not more so, than anything else showing in the past twelve months. Here’s six of the best, all worth seeking out. They may be less immediate than the average blockbuster, but if given a chance, these films have some truly unique stories to tell.

Much Ado About Nothing

Joss Whedon is good at what he does. At this point he’s demonstrated enough capability in crafting profoundly satisfying plots and relatable characters to make any project he’s involved with worth a look – see: Avengers, The – so it makes perfect sense that he’s just the director to infuse a fresh sense of delight into one of Shakespeare’s most enjoyable works. Despite the black and white filmography and use of the original language, the film is modernized in light touches and anchored by strong acting by many of Whedon’s normal collaborators. It never loses sight of the fact that the play is a comedy, and pulls off a sharp and funny vibe that helps it maneuver past elements that would otherwise seem archaic. Most impressive, considering the entire thing was filmed in under two weeks at Whedon’s own house.

Inside Llewyn Davis

New York’s folk scene in the 1960s at first seems like an awfully specific and niche backdrop to base a movie on, but the Coen brothers have proven themselves time and time again adept at evoking engaging atmospheres, no matter what the setting. The fact that this milieu provides an excuse for startling soulful vocal performances – and one that’s flat-out hilarious – only further buoys the film. Oscar Isaac seamlessly inhabits the title role and puts forward a remarkable performance full of contradictions. Llewyn is a character easy to love and hate in equal measure, deserving of pity, scorn… and ultimately understanding. For a movie light on plot and heavy on experience, the end result is strikingly melancholy and moving.

Her

You may have heard about the movie in which a guy falls in love with Siri. What you probably don’t realize is, innate joke in that premise aside, it actually makes for a very affecting story in capable hands. And Spike Jonze has already demonstrated in Being John Malkovich the ability to take such a high concept and turn it into something oddly touching – and never ever boring. He commits wholeheartedly to his vision of the world of the immediate future, but the focus always remains solidly on the people within. The result is a more authentic portrayal of a relationship from beginning to end than nearly any romantic comedy of the past few years, astounding all the more given the oddity of the central conceit.

Frances Ha

Noah Baumbach is an acquired taste, primarily because his films can lean so strongly to the acerbic and painful that it makes them tough to watch. Still brilliant – such as in The Squid and the Whale’s exploration of the realities and consequences of children in the middle of a divorce – but tough to watch. Frances Ha has moments just as uncomfortable as ever, but softens the pain with the unflagging charisma that Greta Gerwig displays in the title role. It’s still a movie that could be easily dismissed for a myopic focus on the existential crises of young hipsters, but to do so would be a disservice to its many moments of relatability and joy. Baumbach has a very definite something to say about the ways that we become adults and how friendships change over time, and his message is one that’s ultimately rather uplifting and worth the time.

Upstream Color

This is a movie that’s built on meditations about relationships, cycles, and shared connections based around rebuilding your life after deep trauma. It also a movie about parasitic worms and psychic connections with pigs. Anyone who’s had the chance to watch Primer should know that director Shane Carruth knows how to spin a complicated science fiction story, but really the specifics are of distant second importance to the exploration of emotions and memory. This is not a film for everyone – it requires a very definite patience and willingness to come along for the ride. But what a beautiful, touching ride it is! If nothing else, I’d put this as the most unique movie I saw this year…

Computer Chess

…If it wasn’t for Computer Chess. More than any other film on this list, it does little to hide its indie nature. Its framing is simple: a few teams of programmers gather together in order to pit competing chess programs against one another, all in the era of the 1980s when artificial intelligence was a field still in its infancy. But it stretches from that basic concept to strange heights. What begins as a dryly funny and remarkably accurate look into an insular community of eccentrics begins to shift and twist, incorporating a sense of indescribable mystery as the view pulls back to much larger spiritual questions about the nature of humanity. Its answers are never quite clear, but does that matter? Andrew Bujalski has a singular voice, and the film is an experience that manages some level of transcendent in its own right.

Frances Ha, Upstream Color, and Computer Chess are currently streaming on Netflix Instant. Inside Llewyn Davis and Much Ado About Nothing are available on DVD and Blu-ray.