I heart Netflix...

A little over a month ago I finally gave in to the insistent pressure of the constant Internet ads for Netflix. I am so glad I did. I love movies. Always have, always will. But I was unprepared for the absolute divine selection of films Netflix has to offer. I find myself browsing and searching and adding to my queue on a regular basis. I get three DVD's delivered to my home but I am often watching the films they have that can be streamed right on my computer all the time.

I've seen the best films - not just the new releases (which, by the way, you can get much quicker than at the local video store)- but also the coolest documentaries and foreign films. Stuff I never in a million years would have access to. I love it!

Tonight was my movie night. Back to back films and each one was great. Here's the run down:

Lilya 4-Ever: This film was gritty and hard to take in places but the lead actress, Oksana Akinshina, played Lilya with such innocent passion and soulful hurt that it was as compelling as it was dark. Lilya is 16 and abandoned by her mother in a poor little Russian town. She resorts to prostitution to live. She meets Andrei and thinks she met the love of her life. He promises her a good life with him in Sweden. But he never gets there and her life there is even worse than she could imagine.

Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg: This is the story of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish businessman who, during WWII, helped 60,000 Jews escape Adolph Eichman's wrath in Budapest. He is only one of two foreigners to be given an Honorary American Citizenship. The other was Winston Churchill. I was all over this one. It is a great story, a beautiful film and shows what the human spirit can do when faced with adversity.

Slim Susie: I watched this one on Netflix streaming video. This is a very quirky but dark comedy of errors. A brother is alerted that his sister, Slim Susie or Smala Susie in Swedish, is missing. He rushed to their country town in Värmland to try to figure out what happened to her. The story he falls into and the events that lead to her disappearance are some of the oddest, funniest scenarios I've ever seen. The cast of characters in this one is what makes it.

I still have The Wrestler to watch yet but I think three films in one night is enough for me. Did I mention I love Netflix? Who invented this thing? I would like to shake his hand!