Independent Dramas on Netflix
Last updated April 19, 2024
C.R.A.Z.Y.
2005 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThere are five boys in the Beaulieu family -- Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan. But Zac (played by Emile Vallee and Marc-Andre Grondin) is the only one who's gay. That's why growing up in Montreal alongside his heterosexual brothers and his strict, emotionally distant father (Michel Cote) proves especially challenging for the blossoming outsider, who finds solace in the music of Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.
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Paraiso Travel
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAfter a long journey from Colombia to a new life in New York City, Marlon (Aldemar Correa) is separated from his beloved, Reina (Angelica Blandon), and must fend for his own in the dangerous streets of Queens, where he gets a menial job in a restaurant. While flashbacks reveal details of the couple's trek to America, Marlon starts to fall for an aspiring singer (Margarita Rosa de Francisco) in this gripping drama that also stars John Leguizamo.
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We the Party
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsMario Van Peebles directs this dramedy that explores the ups and downs of a group of high school friends trying to negotiate their way through the sometimes treacherous waters of relationships, money, sex, identity and social media.
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La Mission
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsUltra-macho ex-con Che Rivera learns the true meaning of being a father when he discovers his son is gay. At first, he turns violent. But when a beautiful neighbor helps him see through his anger, he begins to reconcile his long-held beliefs.
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Soda Springs
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThe story of a man's struggle to claim his future by confronting his past. The road is not an easy one though, as old demons resurface to threaten everything Eden has fought to overcome.
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After the Wedding
2006 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsTo save the failing orphanage he runs in India, Danish transplant Jacob Petersen returns to his homeland to meet a self-indulgent businessman named Jørgen who's offered a generous donation -- and represents everything the noble-minded Jacob abhors.
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Eye of the Dolphin
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAfter her mother's death, troubled 14-year-old Alyssa (Carly Schroeder) is sent to live with her estranged father (Adrian Dunbar) at his dolphin research lab in the Bahamas, where she takes refuge in the sea animals and discovers her innate gift for communicating with them. When the lab is threatened with closure, Alyssa may be the key to saving her father's life's work. Katharine Ross also stars in this award-winning family drama.
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Christopher and His Kind
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis intimate adaptation of acclaimed novelist Christopher Isherwood's memoir conjures the young explorer's 1931 arrival, with poet W.H. Auden, on Berlin's decadent cabaret scene, along with the hearts he gained and lost in that anything-goes era.
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Y Tu Mamá También
2001 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen two rich teens meet the alluring, older Luisa, they try to impress her with stories of a road trip to a secret beach, then convince her to join them. What follows is an escapade involving seduction, conflict and the harsh realities of poverty.
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Rain
2007 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsRain (Brooklyn Sudano), a young black musical prodigy, finds trouble and heartbreak when she witnesses her sister's murder by gangbangers. In order to protect her daughter, Rain's mother secretly contacts Rain's biological mother, and Rain learns the truth of her parentage: She is the daughter of a white socialite. Sent to live with her wealthy grandmother (Faye Dunaway), Rain adjusts to boarding school life, where her musical talents flourish.
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Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.
1992 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsConfident high school student Chantel Mitchell (Ariyan A. Johnson) dreams of escaping her tough, poor Brooklyn neighborhood to one day become a doctor. But her college dreams are jeopardized when she realizes she is pregnant.
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Smile
2005 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsSheltered and privileged in sunny California, Katie's (Mika Boorem) perspective on life changes when she travels to China and meets Lin (Yi Ding), who hides her face because of a severe deformity. Brought together by a volunteer medical program, the young girls learn they share a birthday -- and a need to connect despite their divergent cultures. Sean Astin, Beau Bridges and Linda Hamilton co-star in this affecting coming-of-age drama.
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Redemption Road
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen a compulsive fear of performing threatens to derail his career, white bluesman Jefferson Bailey sets off on a life-changing drive from Austin, Texas, to Huntsville, Ala., accompanied by a kindly African American stranger.
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Red
2007 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen it becomes apparent that the three teenage miscreants who murdered his dearly loved dog, Red, won't be held accountable for their senseless deed, the normally reclusive and affable Avery Ludlow (Brian Cox) resolves to take matters into his own hands. Trygve Diesen and Lucky McKee direct this disquieting thriller that also stars Tom Sizemore, Robert Englund, Richard Riehle, Noel Fisher and Amanda Plummer.
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Puncture
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDrug-addicted attorney Mike and his business partner Paul take on a case involving an emergency room nurse who has been pricked by an infected needle. Uncovering a web of corporate conspiracies, Mike and Paul quickly find themselves outmatched.
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Eve's Bayou
1997 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsLouis Batiste is a popular physician in 1960s Louisiana who has a beautiful wife, a loving family and a weakness for women. While his wife ignores his infidelities, his daughter is crushed when she catches her father in a compromising position.
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Dirty Girl
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen promiscuous teen Danielle is sentenced to special ed for making sexually charged comments in class, she befriends gay, overweight Clarke, who agrees to join her on a search to find her father -- in part so he can get away from his own.
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Archie's Final Project
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsAfter declaring that he's going to film himself committing suicide for a school project, Archie videotapes his surprising interactions with worried family members, interested classmates, unreliable medical experts and the hottest girl in school.
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Ocean of Pearls
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen young Sikh surgeon Amrit Singh (Omid Abtahi) senses that his outward appearance could cost him dearly when it comes to professional opportunities in America, he shuns his traditional family, takes off his turban and cuts his long, black hair. But shedding his religious convictions proves far more complicated in this penetrating tale about racism and self-realization. Heather McComb, Ron Canada and Navi Rawat also star.
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Electrick Children
2012 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIdealistic teenager Rachel astonishes her fundamentalist Mormon family when she announces that she's been impregnated by listening to a rock song. Rachel then runs off to Las Vegas to escape an arranged marriage and to find the father of her baby.
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Kidulthood
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this gritty, powerful drama about lost innocence, classes are suspended when a schoolgirl who's been bullied one too many times hangs herself, allowing a clique of tough-as-nails teenagers to have free rein of the inner-city streets.
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April Showers
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsFollowing a horrible outburst of violence at their high school, students and teachers struggle to get their lives back on track. As reporters hound victims for stories, teenage Sean (Kelly Blatz) agonizes over the loss of his friend April (Ellen Woglom). Based on writer-director Andrew Robinson's personal experiences surviving the Columbine High School tragedy, this drama also stars Tom Arnold, Illeana Douglas and Daryl Sabara.
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Thursday
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCasey Wells, a married architect with a sordid past, encounters an old cohort with a large quantity of heroin. Now, he finds his newly respectable life on the line as he gets involved with various other lowlifes he thought he had rid himself of.
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An American Crime
2007 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsBased on an appalling true story, this drama follows the grim fate of Sylvia Likens, a teenager who is left to live with Gertrude Baniszewski, a mentally unbalanced Indiana housewife who imprisons and tortures the girl in the basement.
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Miller's Crossing
1990 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsTrusted adviser to 1920s Irish crime boss Lee O'Bannon, Tom Reagan's loyalty is tested when he takes up with O'Bannon's gal pal, Verna Bernbaum. Meanwhile, rivals Johnny Caspar and Eddie Dane threaten O'Bannon's racket. Gabriel Byrne, John Turturro, Albert Finney, Steve Buscemi, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman and Marcia Gay Harden star in this marvelously crafted, unnerving crime-era epic helmed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.
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