In 1988, an unlikely Danish film about the plight of Swedish immigrants swept up award after award, including the Gran Prix at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Bille August’s Pelle the Conqueror has won the hearts of just about every Criticker user who’s seen it, earning it a place in our list of Neglected Gems.

In the late 19th century, Lasse and his son Pelle arrive on a boat full of Swedish immigrants, onto the Danish island of Bornhom, full of hopes for what all immigrants seek: a better life. It doesn’t take long, though, for their dreams to be punctured by the harsh realities of life as a foreigner amongst people that don’t want them there.

Max von Sydow plays the part of Lasse, and his amazing performance as a simple father following his dreams earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. But it’s Pelle whom the plot focuses on. Pelle is a youngster who, however much he tries to learn the language and fit in, finds himself constantly tormented and abused by his peers as a foreigner. The plot is an account of Pelle’s efforts to discover and attain a future happiness.

Pelle the Conqueror is a wonderful movie for the holidays. Although Santa Claus doesn’t make an appearance, it’s replete with the themes of family and hope that everyone is susceptible to at this time of year. Check out this great fan-created trailer, if you’re not sure:

Before Matt Damon was even born, French heartthrob Alain Delon turned in a chilling and memorable performance as Tom Ripley in 1960’s French version of the tale, Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) — one of Criticker’s Neglected Gems.

René Clément’s version of The Talented Mr. Ripley was a hit with both critics and audiences, and launched Delon into stardom. Shot in ravishing locations on the Mediterranean, Clément maintains a brisk, suspenseful pace in crafting a film which is much more a thriller than Anthony Minghella’s slower, more langorous (and more faithful) 1999 version. And the French version is better (at least according to Criticker users!)

Less than 25 of this site’s users have seen this classic, which is a shame. But their rankings have been unanimously positive, which is quite a feat. Plein Soleil has been compared to the best of Hitchcock and has become a cult classic, championed by no less an authority than Martin Scorsese, who organized its theatrical re-release in 1996 (three years before Minghella’s version).

Along with the striking Mediterranean settings, Alain Delon is the film’s magnetic attraction — his indecipherable, soulless Tom Ripley is as oddly repellent as he is seductive. His is much less sympathetic than Damon’s portrayal, but more compelling. It’s a performance, and a film, you shouldn’t miss.

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control @ Amazon

Errol Morris presents a master class in the power of editing with 1997’s “non-fiction” work, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control. The film chronicles the lives of 4 men with interesting careers, who are seemingly unconnected in any meaningful way, and has been classified as a “non-fiction” work as opposed to a documentary thanks to its eschewing of conventional methods.

In the movie, we are introduced to a lion tamer, an expert in hairless mole rats, a man who creates topiaries, and a robotics scientist from M.I.T. As the film progresses, Morris interweaves their disparate stories by cutting footage together, and showing visuals from one story with narration from another. In a unique way, Morris effectively demonstrates how interconnected everyone is, and how common themes permeate the lives of all humanity.

Fast, Cheap & Out of Control utilizes a number of film formats, and even introduced an invention new to filmmaking: the Interrotron, with which interview subjects are able to see both the camera and the person who is interviewing them, creating the illusion of eye contact with the audience.

Hairless Mole Rat Expert Ray Mendez

The movie is a singular experience, entirely unconventional and intelligently constructed. It’s earned a spot on our list of Neglected Gems because the few Criticker users who have seen it have given high marks to it. Errol Morris is one of our most talented documentarians, and his consistently wonderful films, and this one in particular, deserve not to be neglected…