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If you watch a lot of arthouse movies, you’re probably going to come across films that weren’t made in America, or by American directors (see La Dolce Vita, The Seventh Seal, In the Mood for Love, etc.). That’s not a criticism of the U.S. film industry, nor a suggestion that international films are automatically better; more just an observation. But there have been American arthouse films, and some of them have been genuinely great.
What follows is a rundown of some of the best films classifiable as arthouse that were U.S. productions. Admittedly, some of these were co-productions between the U.S. and some other territories, but of those films, those that feel American – and feature English dialogue most prominently – are able to qualify for present purposes.
10
‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me’ (1992)
Directed by David Lynch
While it was on the air, Twin Peaks was about as close to arthouse as television got. Even with its age, so much of it still feels strange, offbeat, compelling, and distinctly Lynchian. So, when it came time to do a follow-up, in the form of the prequel/sequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, things were unsurprisingly weird again, arguably even more so than they ever were during the show’s first two seasons.
Much of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me showcases Laura Palmer’s life in the lead-up to her horrific death; the event that kickstarts the main plot of the TV show. It’s very arthouse, quite horrific, and psychologically intense, with David Lynch bringing his style to Twin Peaks in a truly unfiltered way, given there were no limitations here in terms of content or narrative (TV, in the 1990s, could be fairly restrictive).
9
‘Punch-Drunk Love’ (2002)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Before 2002, the idea of Adam Sandler starring in something that could be called an art film might’ve sounded ridiculous, but Punch-Drunk Love showed the usually comedic actor had it in him all along. Sure, the film allows him some opportunities to be funny, but the humor here is considerably darker and more intense than can be found in most of his earlier movies.
Also, Punch-Drunk Love works as a drama alongside being a dark comedy, and it tells an engaging and unusual story about two somewhat strange people finding love, too. It’s a movie that walks a strange line tonally, and it’s all potentially alienating, but those after something a little different as far as romantic dramedies go ought to give Punch-Drunk Love a shot, if they haven’t already.
Punch-Drunk Love
- Release Date
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November 1, 2002
- Runtime
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95 minutes
- Director
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Paul Thomas Anderson
- Writers
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Paul Thomas Anderson
8
‘Poor Things’ (2023)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Trying to single out the most twisted Yorgos Lanthimos movie is difficult, but picking which of his films to date feels the most beautiful or arthouse in nature? That’s a little easier, because it’s probably Poor Things. This is a science fiction movie that’s sometimes funny, and sometimes pretty bleak, telling the story of a woman with a – let’s say – unusual brain going on a lengthy journey filled with self-discovery, heartbreak, adventure, and graphic sex.
Yes, it’s one of those kinds of movies. Poor Things doesn’t want to compromise, and it doesn’t care too much about potentially offending viewers (though other Lanthimos movies are even more confronting and taboo-busting, believe it or not). Poor Things does have a strong sense of style throughout visually, being both gorgeous to look at and quite grotesque at times, and that contrast is just about always interesting.
7
‘Black Swan’ (2010)
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan stands as one of the few horror movies in history to get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, so that’s pretty cool (though it’s uncool on the Academy’s part that it’s such a rarity). It’s about a ballet dancer pushing herself to continual extremes both physically and mentally, all because she wants more than anything else to be perfect, and the part she wants is highly competitive.
On the surface, Black Swan is pretty easy to follow, at least by the standards of arthouse cinema. Stories of this nature aren’t rare, and there are only so many ways such stories can end, too. But it’s everything the movie does visually and stylistically that makes Black Swan feel out of the ordinary, with the intensity at a fever pitch throughout, and so much of it ultimately proving to be devastating.
6
‘The Tree of Life’ (2011)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Though he’s now a little less mysterious as an individual than he used to be, Terrence Malick’s films still carry an otherworldly quality to them, even though most of them are fairly grounded, as far as genres are concerned. The Tree of Life, for example, is mostly a movie about a family, contrasting the different parenting styles of a stern father and an affectionate mother, and what this does to the children they’re raising.
But the presentation of The Tree of Life adds complexity and sometimes even obscurity. The bulk of the scenes are fragmented flashbacks, replicating the way memory functions. The scenes in the present, so to speak, also get increasingly surreal. And there’s even a tangent at one point involving the birth and development of the universe, complete with one sequence involving dinosaurs. It’s overwhelming stuff, but somehow, it all just works surprisingly well.
The Tree of Life
- Release Date
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November 17, 2011
- Runtime
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138minutes
- Director
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Terrence Malick
- Writers
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Terrence Malick
5
‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
2004 was a while ago now, so if you want to say a movie from that year was one of the best of all time, it shouldn’t ring too many alarm bells. As such, 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind might well be an all-timer, because it was great in 2004, it still hit hard about a decade later, and nowadays – with more than 20 years since it first came out – it’s retained all the power it had before.
It revolves around two people who were once in love reconnecting again, but after both have undertaken a procedure that wiped the other from their memories. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind explores one of the most common and relatable themes – love – in a unique and mind-bending way, feeling like an interesting mix of arthouse style and broader storytelling (regarding the latter, on an emotional front, at least).
4
‘The Lighthouse’ (2019)
Directed by Robert Eggers
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While Robert Eggers has made scarier movies than The Lighthouse, he hasn’t made anything weirder – or better – than it, at least so far. The premise is simple, with two men assigned to oversee a lighthouse on a tiny island, with only themselves for company. They clash in subtle ways at first, but gradually drive each other madder and madder as the film goes along.
The Lighthouse is bizarre but in the best of ways, being hard to pin down when it comes to genre; something that can be said about a fair few art films. There are funny, tense, scary, confusing, and shocking moments here, but The Lighthouse always feels consistent and true to itself + its own weird energy. It’s not easy to try and pin down how it works, at least with words, but it does. Watching the film itself makes that abundantly clear.
3
‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)
Directed by David Lynch
As was partially demonstrated by referencing Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me earlier, David Lynch wasn’t afraid of making art films, and was perhaps one of the most prominent American arthouse directors of all time. As such, most of his films could be counted here (even his big blockbuster, 1984’s Dune, is pretty out there), but nothing deserves a spot here as much as Mulholland Drive.
Even compared to other films directed by Lynch, Mulholland Drive feels dreamlike and intensely surreal, with scenes being fantastical, others being crushingly real, and perhaps others, still, occupying some kind of inexplicable state between those two extremes. There’s a ton of mystery here, but also a good deal of beauty, sorrow, and horror, standing as one of those films that’s endlessly rewatchable and always open to further analysis.
Mulholland Drive
- Release Date
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October 19, 2001
- Runtime
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147 minutes
- Director
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David Lynch
- Writers
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David Lynch
2
‘Drive’ (2011)
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
There’s so much style to Drive that the lack of substance doesn’t feel like an issue. It’s a movie about conveying a certain feeling/atmosphere and immersing you in that for a bit under two hours. Otherwise, once you break down the plot, it’s pretty ordinary stuff: there’s a getaway driver, unrequited love, and a heist that goes wrong, leading to violence, betrayal, and heartbreak.
It’s all super cool, arguably in a way that now feels cliché or what some people might consider lame, but Drive did what it had to at the time it came out, and it’s not the movie’s fault that some people might’ve overdone it as far as fandom stuff goes. It’s one of the best arthouse films of the 21st century so far, and easily one of the best English-language ones ever made, too.
Drive
- Release Date
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September 16, 2011
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Director
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Nicolas Winding Refn
- Writers
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Hossein Amini
1
‘Days of Heaven’ (1978)
Directed by Terrence Malick
Days of Heaven is a pretty much perfect film, both as a tragic romantic drama and as a beautifully expressionistic piece of arthouse cinema. It does so much within a fairly short runtime, and manages to tell a story that’s, essentially, about a love triangle in a way that never feels hackneyed or corny. And, even if you did find that central story a bit melodramatic, there’s so much more here to appreciate.
It is, quite simply, one of the best-looking and best-sounding films of all time, so you could either watch it on mute, or with the audio only, and you’d still probably get a lot out of it. Terrence Malick made other great movies, sure (including the aforementioned The Tree of Life), but nothing feels as purely artistic or grand as Days of Heaven.
Days of Heaven
- Release Date
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September 13, 1978
- Runtime
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94 minutes
- Director
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Terrence Malick
- Writers
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Terrence Malick
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