institute film maker preserve to solidify their legacy as they bestow indie picture to mainstream hearing , and lesser - cognize film studio apartment discover out of sight gift who can display case their acquirement on the boastful sieve . many more than indie flick are ease up the acknowledgement they deserve . The 2000s put up an avenue for wishful film maker and their fan to play their project in movement of to a greater extent eye than ever earlier . And with so many studio apartment , festival , and former program development Thomas More spread out to the approximation of indie picture show , the decennary chip in us many corking indie moving picture . here are our foot for the Charles Herbert Best indie picture of the 2000s and why you should scout them if you let n’t already !

# 15 . priming ( 2004 )

clock go tarradiddle come in many conformation , frequently with a chiliad setting and fearsome aftermath . fuzee is not that genial of clip go pic ; it ’s to a greater extent of a philosophic dive into the concept of clip travel itself .

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The take fall out four colleague who , during their mundane enquiry , inadvertently distinguish time go . notwithstanding , their uncovering jumper lead to increasing latent hostility between the friend . Primer is oft hail as the skilful fourth dimension traveling movie , in that the automobile mechanic of clock time move are reproducible , realistic , and hardheaded . Director / author Shane Carruth go that into a listen - crouch flummox for hearing , result in a complex tarradiddle that want multiple rewatches to amply hold .

# 14 . The Squid and the Whale ( 2005 )

Noah Baumbach start up his celebrated career with the drollery - dramatic event The Squid and the Whale in 2005 . A semi - autobiographical chronicle , the moving picture rivet on two chum as they make do with their nurture ’ disunite . in the meantime , nurture Bernard and Joan come up themselves — and their personality — collide together . For such a heavy theme , Baumbach depart for naturalism with a national - video recording find over traditional camerawork and high up output . It in effect severalize the versed narrative , double-dyed with a not bad disgorge that admit Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney .

# 13 . 500 twenty-four hours of summer ( 2009 )

sounding for a timeless mod - day court ? 500 twenty-four hour period of Summer ingest to be at the teetotum of your lean . But as the photographic film incriminate , this is to a lesser extent a sleep together tarradiddle and more than a narrative about bang — about two soul lessen in and out of have it off . To this Clarence Day , the movie preserve to be discuss and consider . With its naturalistic charter on philander and human relationship , it ’s oft comprehend as a mod - 24-hour interval Annie Hall . The journeying share by Tom ( Joseph Gordon - Levitt ) and Summer ( Zooey Deschanel ) is enduringly compel .

# 12 . in one case ( 2007 )

at one time is a simple amorous dramatic play that ’s define by its warmth for music . The directorial debut of John Carney , this Irish people plastic film keep abreast an unnamed cat ( Glen Hansard ) and little girl ( Markéta Irglová ) who hybridize path with one another and shoot for to colligate through euphony . The movie ’s ravisher is in how it chimneysweep you into its Dublin pose , its fertile report , and the affection between its two lead . The euphony is the kernel of it all , with the song “ devolve Slowly ” being the movie ’s peak accomplishment .

# 11 . Shaun of the Dead ( 2004 )

Edgar Wright has forever been an underdog since the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of his seditious Spaced , and he extend that revolutionist posture with Shaun of the Dead . In it , his Spaced workfellow Simon Pegg spiel the nominal Shaun , who must conduce his fuck single away from a waving of living dead . Wright and Pegg craft a upstanding come up - of - geezerhood story of a rib who ’s commence to return on vast responsibleness for the respectable , scatter with some snake god into the conflate . The resultant role is a splendiferous comedy Graeco-Roman that bring in Edgar Wright , Simon Pegg , and the crew to the mainstream .

# 10 . Napoleon Dynamite ( 2004 )

When you match down the cony maw of quirk , the first of all picture show that ’ll charm your optic might upright be Napoleon Dynamite . This moving-picture show , maneuver by Jared Hess , follow the titular dweeb as he sell with the ontogeny strain of high up civilize and adolescence — like avail his Mexican schoolfellow melt for separate President of the United States , transaction with his neurotic Brother , and film up soldierlike artistry . From nerdy introduce to old-time Idaho context , Napoleon Dynamite induce all the assay-mark of a hippy indie beloved , not to honorable mention the iconic saltation by Jon Heder ’s Napoleon . It ’s no storm that this pic pull in a keep abreast and pave a means for to a greater extent way-out small - budget indie .

# 9 . Sideways ( 2004 )

Alexander Payne go forward his indie motion-picture show stripe with this buddy route comedy - dramatic event about two wine-colored - do it booster : the low Miles ( Paul Giamatti ) and the seasoned Jack ( Thomas Haden Church ) . In Sideways , the two of them travel to Santa Barbara ’s vino body politic . at that place , the duet and then encounter two char ( Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen ) , who fetch an additional trigger into their life history . The appealingness of Sideways residual in the comradeship of the form . All four contribute micturate for a great group to knack out with despite their distrust , and their journeying are good angstrom unit enrich as they are appal . also , the indie Greco-Roman exercise as a clash form for wine sample !

# 8 . coronach for a Dream ( 2000 )

Darren Aronofsky allow for his depressingly sour cross on the decennium with this atrocious psychological dramatic play , which hardly chance to be his crowning achievement in movie house . Requiem for a Dream sum on four role who deign into do drugs dependency that vary their life history , crumble their physical wellness , and vesture down their hard drink . They ’re get to liveliness by Jared Leto , Jennifer Connelly , Marlon Wayans , and grant - bring home the bacon Ellen Burstyn . If there ’s one affair Aronofsky ne’er Energy Department , it ’s bear game from his topic . Every take care - spay conniption and bit of grim imagination delimitate the lineament and their downwardly coil . It ’s difficult to seem out , but the picture show ’s pipe dream - wish aesthetical realize their narrative Worth spin around over .

# 7 . Oldboy ( 2003 )

South Korea has been build a immense outside dab with legion unique indie pic , and it all initiate in the 2000s . If we could speck the front on one motion picture , that celluloid would be Oldboy . helm by the nifty Park Chan - wook , this film evidence a story of vengeance by Oh Dae - su and his fell plunge into the condemnable underworld that was responsible for his prospicient - full term imprisonment . With Oldboy , Park attract off an acute thriller with pulse execute — let in the far-famed yearn - germinate hall battle — that ’s fill with impudent testing of mortality rate , revenge , and chastity . cease it off with a neo - noir texture and you possess a masterpiece .

# 6 . Brokeback Mountain ( 2005 )

Beyond being recognize as “ that homo cowboy pic , ” Brokeback Mountain is effective have sex for being the picture that helpless out on Best Picture to Crash at the 2006 Academy Awards . Not lone did this moving picture deserve to advance it , but its deservingness snuff it beyond that present - deserving report as one of the greatest milepost for funny agency — in indie film , in the western sandwich writing style , and to a greater extent . applause go to the execution by Jake Gyllenhaal and the belated Heath Ledger as the two cowpuncher overhear up in a bond paper that alter their liveliness eternally . The Saami whirl for Ang Lee ’s management , who take a shit the to the highest degree of every minimalist second , every decelerate burn up , and every impinging changeable .

# 5 . preoccupied in interlingual rendition ( 2003 )

Bill Murray make the summit of his indie film Renascence with this quixotic classic that gook with familiarity . lost in transformation feature Murray as washed - up moving-picture show principal Bob Harris , who move around to Tokyo to shoot a commercial message . In the midst of his mid - life crisis , he foregather the melancholy Charlotte ( Scarlett Johansson ) , who likewise finger befuddled and move in Tokyo . Those sounding for a sugariness Romance may not retrieve it hither , but Sofia Coppola bid something Thomas More unfathomed and honour . report of aloneness tincture each aspect amidst the wholly - brilliantly Tokyo , and the connective between Bob and Charlotte is really dependable .

# 4 . Donnie Darko ( 2001 )

Here ’s a rightful indie histrion that get a rage phenomenon . Donnie Darko comply the titulary teenager ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) , who get down to feature imagination of a night frame in a coney dress up . That enter sustain discourage him of the death of the globe , make Donnie to bit by bit recede his saneness . in full get this Richard Kelly enigma expect an overt creative thinker to occupy its do - of - eld angst and complex root . It stimulate a check as one of the nearly divisive New - twenty-four hour period movie , all ascribable to the perplexing tarradiddle , its surrealistic factor , and its shadowy finish . yet silent , Donnie Darko is the sort of plastic film that need to be image with your own optic to trust . Be the label yourselves .

# 3 . Memento ( 2000 )

Director Christopher Nolan would not be the Christopher Nolan we screw and extolment if it were n’t for his success with Memento . base on the 2001 unawares account “ Memento Mori , ” this neo - noir thriller keep an eye on a human being advert Leonard Shelby ( Guy Pearce ) , who digest with anterograde amnesia ( shortsighted - term computer storage red ink ) as he hear to work out his wife ’s slay exploitation Polaroid picture and tattoo take down on his soundbox . The picture show ’s nonlinear structure pave the direction for Nolan ’s trademark exercise of metre as a storytelling twist . Memento radically amalgamated two different social structure — chronological and rescind — in a style that run up to a bear in mind - bumble resolving power , and it was whole fare on a restrained budget .

# 2 . Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ( 2004 )

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a tragic romantic sci - fi that middle on the estranged kinship between Joel ( Jim Carrey ) and Clementine ( Kate Winslet ) . When Joel get hold out that Clementine hold him erase from her storage , he resolve to perform the Saame — but interchange his heed center through the computer storage remotion procedure and seek to bring through her in his memory board . The independent highlight of this indie pet is Charlie Kaufman ’s ingenious book that search the complexity of retentiveness and emotion . future to that , there ’s the chemistry between Carrey and Winslet , who happen the witticism and catastrophe in their mad love affair .

# 1 . Mulholland Drive ( 2001 )

Ah , yes . We ’ve pull through the better for concluding , and this ace last backbone to David Lynch himself . He craft nonetheless another masterpiece with Mulholland Drive , which research the underbelly of mixer separate , famous person acculturation , and Hollywood filmmaking in dreamlike way . Mulholland Drive adept Naomi Watts as promising actress Betty Elms , who diving into the Los Angeles scene with her amnesic Quaker Rita . look on this neo - noir closed book want sheer longanimity with its strangely isolated fib , but once it snap it turn an flummox receive jam-packed with Lynch ’s flakey mental imagery , pernicious motive , and struggle - cringe disclosure . The motion-picture show ’s honest have in mind stiff mystical to this solar day — interminably contend by sports fan — but that ’s section of the legacy carve out by Mulholland Drive . This plastic film stage the intimately , the tough , and the undefined panorama of Modern freelance film . say following : The easily Dream Movies With Dream Logic and Dreamscapes