30 Indie Masterpieces from 2002 That Deserve Your Attention

Valentin

2002 • 86 min • Box office $1M

Romance, Drama, Comedy

In late 1960s Buenos Aires, nine-year-old Valentin feels responsible for fixing his family's troubles. He longs for his mother, who is estranged from his abusive father, and holds onto the hope of their reunion.

7.4

7.5

13+

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Inside

2002 • 6 min • Budget $5K

Drama, Horror, Mystery

A patient with a mental illness is interviewed to determine if he is ready to be discharged from the institution.

7.0

7.5

House of Fools

2002 • 104 min • Budget $2M • Box office $157K

Drama, Romance, War

Set against the backdrop of the Chechen war, this film focuses on a mental institution and its patients. The story follows the individuals within the institution as they navigate daily life following two invasions on the Russian-Chechen border. They must…

5.8

7.0

17+

Golden Chicken

2002 • 106 min

Comedy, Drama

When a robbery goes wrong, a thief becomes captivated by his target: a charismatic prostitute who starts sharing her life with him.

6.4

7.1

Hukkle

2002 • 78 min

Crime, Drama, Mystery

The film observes the lives of various inhabitants – people and animals – in a small Hungarian village: an elderly man plagued by hiccups, a shepherdess with her flock, a mysterious old woman, and folk singers at a wedding. Primarily…

6.8

7.0

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Stolen Summer

2002 • 91 min • Budget $1M • Box office $163K

Drama, Family, Comedy

In the mid-1970s, eight-year-old Pete, a Catholic student in suburban Chicago, is told by his school's sister to choose the path of faith over evil as summer begins. Taking this advice very seriously, Pete sets out on a mission to…

6.2

6.5

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Unknown Pleasures

2002 • 112 min

Comedy, Drama

Two young men in a Chinese industrial town, feeling lost and without work, spend their days wandering the streets. Their lives intersect with a local singer and dancer who promotes liquor as a spokesperson for a company.

6.4

6.8

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State Property

2002 • 88 min • Box office $2M

Crime, Action, Drama

In Philadelphia, a young man rises through the ranks of a street gang, eventually becoming a powerful drug kingpin. His pursuit of wealth and status ignites a dangerous conflict with ruthless rivals, testing the limits of his ambition and loyalty…

6.4

4.3

17+

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+15

Divine Intervention

2002 • 92 min

Drama, Romance, Comedy

A series of brief scenes depict aspects of Palestinian life in Israel, set in a Nazareth neighborhood and at the Al-Ram checkpoint in East Jerusalem. The stories range from humorous to surreal, with minimal dialogue. A man suffers a heart…

6.7

6.6

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Da zero a dieci

2002 • 99 min

Drama

Two decades after a tragedy ended their 1980 graduation trip prematurely, four friends return to the same place to complete their unfinished business. They soon discover that revisiting the past is impossible.

6.1

6.0

Sonny

2002 • 110 min • Budget $4M • Box office $132K

Crime, Drama

New Orleans, 1981. Sonny Phillips returns home after being discharged from the Army. He's spent his life as a male escort for his mother, but he's determined to change. A job promised by a fellow soldier falls through, leaving him…

5.0

5.6

17+

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Darkened Room

2002 • 8 min

Drama, Horror

Two young women are trapped in a dimly lit room with an unsettling atmosphere.

5.4

5.5

Amnèsia

2002 • 114 min

Comedy, Drama, Crime

In Ibiza, the lives of porn filmmaker Sandro and Angelino, who manages a beach bar, unexpectedly intersect. At the same time, the island's police chief, struggling with his rebellious son Jorge, investigates the accidental death of a drug dealer involving…

5.5

6.1

How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

2002 • 107 min • Budget $7M

Comedy, Drama

Peter McGowan is a playwright in Los Angeles struggling with writer's block, impotence, and insomnia. Once a successful artist, he’s endured ten years of failed productions. He forms an unexpected connection with his new neighbor's lonely young daughter, who has…

5.9

6.8

17+

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Igby Goes Down

2002 • 97 min • Budget $9M • Box office $4M

Comedy, Drama

Igby Slocumb, a cynical 17-year-old, clashes with the restrictive world of his privileged upbringing. He struggles with a father who has schizophrenia, a mother who is emotionally unavailable, and a competitive older brother. Convinced a better life exists elsewhere, Igby…

6.6

6.8

17+

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The Cat Returns

2002 • 75 min • Box office $54M

Adventure, Fantasy, Animation

Haru saves a cat from an accident and discovers it's not just any cat – it's the Prince of the Cats.

7.1

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The Cuckoo

2002 • 100 min

Drama, History, Romance

September 1944, with Finland on the verge of ending its involvement in World War II. Veikko, a Finnish sniper-kamikaze chained to a rock, manages to break free. Simultaneously, Ivan, a Soviet Army captain, narrowly escapes arrest by the Soviet secret…

7.0

7.7

13+

The Man Without a Past

2002 • 97 min • Box office $921

Comedy, Drama, Romance

A man arrives in Helsinki and is brutally attacked by thugs, surviving only to wake up with complete amnesia. He starts over with no past, forming a bond with a stray dog and developing feelings for a Salvation Army volunteer.

7.4

7.6

13+

The Son

2002 • 103 min

Drama

A skilled joinery instructor at a rehabilitation center initially rejects a new teenage patient as an apprentice. However, he soon starts discreetly observing the boy as he moves throughout the facility and into the surrounding community.

7.5

Abandon

2002 • 99 min • Budget $25M • Box office $10M

Drama, Mystery, Thriller

This psychological thriller follows a senior at a top American university. Katie faces intense pressure to finish her thesis and secure a coveted position at a leading consulting firm, all while still grieving the unexplained disappearance of her first love…

4.9

4.8

13+

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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

2002 • 116 min • Budget $27M • Box office $73M

Comedy, Drama

A conflict between a mother and daughter is resolved by the mother's close female friends, known as the "Yaya sisterhood."

6.1

13+

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Orange County

2002 • 82 min • Budget $18M • Box office $43M

Comedy, Drama

Shaun Brumder, a surfer from Orange County, wants to leave his troubled home life behind and attend Stanford to study writing. His plans are derailed when his college application is rejected due to a clerical error by his guidance counselor.

6.0

6.2

13+

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Black Angel

2002 • 128 min • Box office $347K

Drama, Romance, Thriller

A woman in a loveless marriage to a powerful Fascist official embarks on a risky and destructive affair with a deceptive SS officer.

5.3

5.0

The Four Feathers

2002 • 132 min • Budget $35M • Box office $29M

Action, Adventure, Drama

A young British officer quits his job after discovering his regiment is deploying to Sudan for war with the Mahdi. His friends and girlfriend see his decision as a sign of weakness and send him four white feathers to emphasize…

6.6

6.5

13+

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Solaris

2002 • 99 min • Budget $47M • Box office $30M

Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery

A psychologist with personal problems is dispatched to a remote research station in orbit around an unusual planet to assess the well-being of the crew.

5.9

6.2

13+

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Trapped

2002 • 106 min • Budget $30M • Box office $13M

Thriller, Crime

When their daughter is kidnapped by professionals, the Jennings family fights back against the meticulously crafted scheme.

6.2

6.1

17+

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City by the Sea

2002 • 108 min • Budget $40M • Box office $22M

Crime, Drama, Mystery

Detective Vincent LaMarca is a highly respected NYPD officer who has carefully built a life away from his troubled past. His world is shattered when he discovers his own son has become involved in criminal activity.

5.8

6.1

17+

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Love Hurts

2002 • 104 min • Budget $10M

Drama, Romance

A young woman from a wealthy family begins a relationship with a student from a less privileged background. Her family and friends actively work to prevent the romance from progressing.

8.0

6.7

17+

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Visitor Q

2001 • 84 min • Budget $60K

Comedy, Drama, Horror

In a deeply troubled home, a mother struggles with heroin addiction and prostitution, enduring abuse from her son while the father, a former TV reporter, engages in incest with his daughter and films his son's beatings. The arrival of a…

6.4

6.5

17+

Gangs of New York

2002 • 168 min • Budget $100M • Box office $193M

Drama, History, Crime

In the early 1860s, Amsterdam Vallon, an Irish immigrant, is released from prison and returns to the Five Points. He intends to avenge his father's death by targeting William Cutting, a powerful gang leader who hates immigrants. To achieve this,…

7.3

7.5

17+

Stream on

+17