There are so many films we love but don't recommend because they are obscure or not of general interest. Though we don't recommend them for discussion viewing perhaps we could each create a discussion thread here where we share some for any one looking for something otherwise.
Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1985 autobiographical film 童年往事 has long been one of my favorites. Although it takes place 25 years before I spent time growing up in Formosa which was a police state at the time, the themes and vistas were familiar and comforting to me when I saw this when it was released.
https://www.kanopy.com/video/time-live-and-time-die
Spanning the years 1947–65, the film follows the maturation of Ah-ha (Ah-hsiao) as he and his family (parents, grandmother, older sister, three brothers) cope with the shock of leaving their homeland (the grandmother keeps talking about returning to the mainland to visit the ancestors). Having been only a child during the move, Ah-ha quickly acclimatizes himself to the new country, often putting him at odds with his more traditional family; he joins a street gang and has to choose between that life and taking the college entrance exam.
This next piece is by renowned Hungarian director Bela Tarr and is an exquisite example of Slow Cinema. For those that do not know Serina is Hungarian.
https://www.kanopy.com/video/turin-horse
Widely considered one of the most important filmmakers in world cinema, Bela Tarr is the director of such revered films as Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies. THE TURIN HORSE, which Tarr has said will be his last film, is a breathtaking masterpiece that uses an obscure Nietzsche anecdote to tell a story about human dignity and survival.
Minimalist composer Phillip Glass scored the remarkable Slow Cinema piece Visitors:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2PZI6YTJZQ
That amazing film is clearly a homage to this video by one of my favorite Kyrgyz composers
Гулзада Рыскулова in her beautiful piece Tolgonuu:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzNiWJ5htUY