Independent films are an essential counterpoint to the big studio system within cinema. Unbound by the need to focus on topical themes, indie cinema has offered up beautiful movies that sit outside the mainstream creative trends. At the same time, they also bring attention to talented filmmakers who didn’t get a chance with the big studios.
Indie films today have come to denote a genre of their own, and the 2000s were the best years for this style of filmmaking. From heartfelt romances to mind-bending thrillers, some of the most memorable films from the decade were indie productions. Here is our take on the best indie movie of every year in the 2000s.
2000: Memento
The indie filmmaking circles tend to have their own giants, composed of filmmakers who prefer the creative freedom afforded by independent productions. On the other hand, some of the most revered mainstream filmmakers today found their starts with indie films. Christopher Nolan, who is possibly the biggest brand in Hollywood at this time, was one such filmmaker.
Armed with a confident and clearly defined style, he made Memento on a less-than-ideal budget yet managed to showcase all the qualities that make his work so compelling. The movie starred Guy Pearce as a person suffering from retrograde amnesia on a quest of revenge against his wife’s killer. Mimicking the protagonist’s mental state, Memento used reverse chronology in a spectacular manner, basically telling the story in reverse, and captivated the audiences purely with his masterful writing. It is considered one of Nolan’s classic movies today.
2001: Donnie Darko
The feature film debut of filmmaker Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko continues to baffle viewers today with its one-of-a-kind story. The movie presents as a complex sci-fi psychological thriller and the true meaning behind its ending continues to be speculated to this day.
Jake Gyllenhaal appears in the titular role as a teenager who wakes up one day and finds himself haunted by disturbing visions about the impending end of the world. A complex take on time travel comes into play, and Donnie sets off on a mission to stop the world from ending. Set in the year 1988 amidst the American suburbia, the movie featured many themes including coming-of-age and the American psychology during the 80s.
2002: City of God
Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles created one of the great films of the 21st Century when he made City of God, a story about the poverty and violence present in a city of Rio de Janeiro. Deviating from the clearly defined cinematic styles of Brazil at the time, Meirelles adopted a flashy, fast-moving style that better resembled Hollywood action.
The movie followed a period of time in the city known as Cidade de Deus, during which a local street gang comes into power, and enters into all-out conflict with another gang. Packaging its violence in a stylistic, flashy style, the movie nevertheless succeeded in presenting it in all its casual brutality.
2003: Lost in Translation
Indie filmmakers are responsible for some of the most poignant romances of modern cinema, and many of these films were released in the decade of the 2000s. Lost in Translation is a particularly memorable title in this category, an unconventional slice-of-life drama where two individuals from very different walks of life form a very brief connection in a foreign land.
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, the movie stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as the two leads who meet each other in a hotel in Tokyo. Separated by age and involved in separate romantic commitments, the two individuals connect through sheer loneliness and spend a few short days having heartfelt conversations with each other.
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is remembered today as one of the most timeless romance movies ever. The movie utilized an unusual premise to examine the bittersweet fallout of a broken relationship, and capturing sorrow, regret, and nostalgia in a way that is simply unforgettable.
Jim Carrey appears in the lead role as a man who hires a tech company to remove all memories of his ex-girlfriend from his memory. Reliving his memories as they are being erased, he realizes that he doesn’t want to forget her after all. The movie made stunning use of real-life settings and practical effects to create the scenes set in Carrey’s memory, creating a beautiful ambiance against which to deliver its gut punch.
2005: Brokeback Mountain
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Brokeback Mountain is one of those indie films that hold significance for cinema as a whole. The Ang Lee-directed movie was a groundbreaking moment for queer representation in cinema, and proved that LGBTQ+ stories could also find acceptance in the mainstream. The emotionally charged performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, and the heartrending way in which the leads’ pining for each other was shown to persist over the course of years, made for a romance story that was undeniably masterful.
2006: Little Miss Sunshine
The best indie movies often delve into more abstract questions like the meaning and value of life, exploring such topics in unforgettable ways. Little Miss Sunshine is one such movie that remains a life-affirming tonic for many fans, producing lessons about human resilience and the beauty of non-conformity in the best way.
The movie follows the chaotic antics of a family composed of eclectic characters, who go on a cross-country trip so that their seven-year-old daughter can participate in a well-known children’s pageant. Featuring such characters like a failed motivational speaker (Greg Kinnear), a teenage son on a vow of silence (Paul Dano), and a drug-addicted grandfather (Alan Arkin), it is up to the life-loving young daughter to show them what living is all about.
2007: Into the Wild
Into the Wild is a cinematic retelling of a famous story about a man who decided to leave everything behind to go live in nature. Based on the eponymous book by Jon Krakauer, the movie relates the experiences of Christopher McCandless as he traveled around the country and his final foray into the wilderness of Alaska.
The movie is shot gorgeously and captures a sense of breadth and beauty of the world in a way that is rarely found in cinema. With a soundtrack supplied by Eddie Vedder, Into the Wild is truly a beautiful experience to behold.
2008: Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir is a critically acclaimed war docudrama by Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman that explores the 1982 Lebanese War. The movie originally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became the topic of conversation for the unique way in which it explored its subject matter.
Folman frames the movie as the record of a personal journey, in which he seeks to overcome his own traumas to recover his own memories of the war, which he has forgotten. Dealing so intimately with human memory, the docudrama uses the animated medium, and follows Folman as he interviews various people from former soldiers to therapists in his attempts to remember his own experiences during the war.
2009: 500 Days of Summer
Yet another iconic romance movie released during the 2000s, 500 Days of Summer is an evergreen classic and delivers a take on love that isn’t often seen. The movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an aspiring architect and believer in true love, who falls for the enigmatic Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel.
Utilizing a non-linear narrative, the movie takes its viewers through various points in their romantic relationship, ultimately making a point about such concepts like falling in love with the idea of someone.
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