10 Underrated Movies to Add to Your Watchlist

10 Underrated Movies to Add to Your Watchlist

Personal Growth

August 17, 2021

As we have all probably heard of the more popular movies, like “After”, “The Kissing Booth”, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, and plenty of other popular teen movies, I am here to share 10 underrated movies that you need to add to your watchlist. Some of the movies in this list are not on Netflix, at least in some countries. However, they are definitely worth a watch.

1. Miracle In Cell C7

At number 1 on this list, we have Miracle in Cell n7, a 2013 drama. This is a Turkish movie based on the Korean 7-beon-bang-ui seon-mul. A mentally ill father is wrongly accused of a murder he did not commit.

After being separated from her father, the six-year-old girl reconnects with him in prison, their new home. This was probably one of the saddest movies I have ever seen, so you definitely need to be prepared with some tissues. This movie has an 8.2 rating on IMDB.

2. Blinded By The Light

The next movie on our list is something completely different that will help you recover from the tears you shed in the first one. Blinded by the light is a 2019 comedy, drama and music movie. A story inspired by the journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love for Bruce Springsteen. The movie follows a Pakistani teenager who lives in 1987 England, Javed.

He loves rock, but his parents don’t really appreciate it. He writes lyrics for his best friend Matt’s band, but they find them very depressing. He learns to live his life and understand his family, at the same time as finding his own voice. This movie has a 6.9 rating on IMDB.

3. Cuba And The Cameraman

What kind of movie list would this be if it didn’t have a documentary?! This is probably the best one I have ever seen and that you can find on Netflix. This documentary, directed by Jon Alpert, follows Cuba and three struggling families over the course of 45 years, where you can see brutal changes that will move your heart. You can notice a drastic change between the 70’s optimism, to the 90’s Soviet Union fall, to the death of Fidel Castro in 2016. This documentary has an 8.3 rating on IMDB.

4. Spotlight

This is a shocking movie that follows the true story of how a group of journalists, who worked for the Boston Globe, uncovered the massive scandal around the local Catholic Archdiocese and its cover-up of child molestation that was practised by priests. This movie has an 8.1 rating on IMDB.

5. Marriage Story

This next one, even though it won an Oscar and other awards and got nominated for many others, still feels underrated. With a great cast starring Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson, this follows the story of a married couple, a theatre director and an actress, with a child, who decide to get a divorce. Along with the process and fighting and changes, they move from New York to Los Angeles. This movie has a 7.9 rating on IMDB.

6. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

You have probably all seen the original Dirty Dancing, however, this 2004 version is totally worth the watch. It follows a high school senior, Katey, when she moves to Havana in November of 1958, when her dad gets a job promotion. There, she meets a local waiter, who teaches her how to dance and move to the Cuban style.

After he gets fired, they decide to enter a dance contest for the money price. The movie has a 6.0 rating on IMDB.

7. Under the Riccione Sun

This is an Italian rom-com that is definitely worth a watch (and don’t worry, it’s on Netflix). This movie follows a summer holiday at the Riccione beach and a group of teenagers that get to know each other through parties, old friendships and work. That summer, they fall in love, but also learn how to deal with heartbreaks. This movie has a 5.4 rating on IMDB and it’s perfect for when you are feeling sad.

8. And While We Were Here

Another movie with a great summer and holiday vibe. This 2012 American movie follows a couple who travel to the island of Ischia, when Leonard, the husband, is invited to teach cello lessons. The woman, Jane, who is working on a writing project, finds herself involved in a love affair with a younger “native” man. This movie has a 5.8 rating on IMDB (while it is not super high, the vibes are worth a watch, just like the last one, and can we talk about this title?!).

9. Special Correspondents

Now, this movie will definitely leave you in a great mood. Written and directed by the one and only Ricky Gervais (a British genius), this movie follows a radio journalist (Eric Bana) and his technician (Ricky Gervais), when they decide to fake their own kidnapping, after not being able to enter Ecuador, since they lost their passports and boarding tickets. They find themselves documenting the uprising in South America from a New York apartment. This movie has a 5.8 rating on IMDB.

10. The Platform

To end this list in a good way, how about I show you a horror movie?! (notice the sarcasm). If you are anything like me, you don’t really vibe with horror movies. However, this is one that I truly recommend. More on the thriller and sci-fi side, this movie will leave you thinking and wondering about the world we are building for ourselves.

This Spanish movie tells the story of the prisoners in a vertical prison, with one cell per level. Two people per cell, who will have to fight for food. A food platform that only lasts two minutes goes from the higher levels to the lowest, being the first two prisoners who eat the most.

Every day, the prisoners wake up on a different level, the same way they can wake up in the first one as they can wake up in the last. This movie has a 7.0 rating on IMDB.

While this is only a list of 10 of the best-underrated movies, there are many more waiting to be watched and loved. My advice for you is to obviously watch these movies, and then keep an eye out for good, underrated movies. And also don't forget to share your finds with the people close to you, they might also enjoy the movie, and they didn't even know it existed.

Rita Duque
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Writer since Jun, 2021 · 8 published articles

Rita is a junior at a Portuguese high school. When she was 16, during quarantine, decided to start following her passion, writing. She hopes to become a journalist after college, where she will study Communication Sciences. She loves to read, write and spend time with her friends and family.

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