After years of ridiculous antics like having Mickey Rooney play a Japanese person (and John Wayne playing Genghis Khan, Emma Stone playing a woman of Chinese/Hawaiian descent, every character in 21 being played by white people even though it was based on something a mostly Asian-American group did… you get the picture) we’re finally getting to see a slew of minority-led films come out of western studios instead of the usual trickle. Nowadays, non-white-led casts are present in fun blockbusters as much as films about the “minority experience,” which means we have a whole lot of great flicks to choose from if we want to watch something with a range of skin tones. Check out our list of the 10 best minority-led movies!
10. Smoke Signals
The coming-of-age story is a classic tale, and this Native American film about two friends who go on a road trip to retreive one of their father’s ashes is a brilliant take on the genre, from a unique perspective. Based on a collection of interconnected short stories by the writer Sherman Alexie (who also wrote the screenplay), this film was directed by and starred a mostly Indigenous cast. Aside from deftly (and hilariously) dealing with plenty of contemporary issues for the community, it’s mostly a wonderful film about friendship, accepting yourself, and growing as a person. Smoke Signals won plenty of awards when it was released back in 1998, and even in today’s world, where we’re more aware of power imbalances and the importance of language when dealing with minorities, it holds up really well.
9. Paris is Burning
Queer, colored, and ungendered: Paris is Burning is the ultimate film to watch to understand the roots of contemporary queer culture. This documentary follows a group of drag queens of various races and classes as they dance their way through the last of ball culture in New York in the eighties, delivering fabulous outfits, catchy tunes, and a lot of tender moments. Filmed at the height of the AIDS crisis, it also offers a unique take on joy in a community that’s been ravaged by disease and political apathy to their plight. The film also helped to popularize oft-used terms that originated in this community, like slay and yas, showing just how wide reaching its impact was, and the influence of non-white LGBTQ+ people in the community (it’s often forgotten that most at Stonewall were people of color). An astounding watch that has to be seen at least once.
8. Love & Basketball
A love story of the best kind, this Spike Lee-produced flick hits all the right notes. The film chronicles the relationship between Quincy (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan), two basketball loving neighbours who eventually grow into highly talented adults, balancing their relationship with the pressures of trying to make it as a professional baller. Set just prior to the creation of the WNBA, this movie not only touches on race issues but gender ones too. Most importantly, though, it’s a classic will-they-won’t-they, with a truly heartwarming ending.
7. Slumdog Millionaire
One of the first minority-led films to really make a splash in the establishment, Slumdog Millionaire turned Dev Patel from a famous actor in his native U.K. into a global superstar. He takes on the role of Jamal, who grew up in the slums of Delhi, facing poverty and sectarian violence from Hindus (a relevant storyline today, given the current Indian PM was in charge of Gujrat when Hindu rioters massacred thousands of Muslims). Jamal wins the grand prize on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but the police think he cheated. However, as he recants his life story to them, they realize that he really did know all the answers. Although there has been plenty of talk of its cliche depiction of slums, and issues around Patel using more native English than Indian English, it’s still a phenomenal watch that’s worthy of the multiple Oscars it picked up.
6. Better Luck Tomorrow
When it was released in 2002, this crime drama and was an underground hit, driven by a grassroots campaign by artists with Asian backgrounds, and was praised for the way it subverted stereotypes of high-achieving, diminutive Asian-Americans. The film follows Ben, a wannabe basketball player and perfect student, who secretly spends his evenings committing petty vandalism with his friends. After getting involved in a school-wide cheating scandal, Ben and his fellow group’s crimes begin to grow in stature, ending in a deadly attack. There is no real redemption for the characters in this film, although there’s no real commupance, either, and that complex ending adds to what’s already a real thinker of a movie.
5. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Maori director Taika Waititi has been making movies in the MCU for a few years now, but his incredible legacy in his native New Zealand goes back way further than that. Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows Ricky (Julian Dennison), a troubled Māori child who is taken in by foster parents Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hector (Sam Neill). As Ricky finally begins to feel at home, Bella suddenly dies, and the local social services decide he should be returned to the state. Ricky burns down Bella and Hector’s home in an attempt to fake his own death, before running off into the bush, followed by Hector. As the pair bond in the wilderness, a local case worker decides Hector kidnapped Ricky, and a manhunt ensues.
4. Get Out
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was an absolute game changer when it came out, and to this day remains one of the best metaphorical representations of racism in America, and the West in general. Get Out stars Daniel Kaluuya as a man who seems like he’s about to be in a Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner remake when his white girlfriend invites him to meet her family. However, what transpires is even more disturbing than he could imagine. Full of fantastic symbolism, gripping performances, and an ideal blend of chills and laughs, this is a must-watch film.
3. Everything Everywhere All At Once
A deserved collector of multiple Oscars and home to a Michelle Yeoh masterclass, it’s almost impossible to describe what happens in Everything Everywhere All at Once, but there’s no doubt you’ll come out of the film a fan. Effectively, the movie is a family drama, but there’s plenty of sci-fi, fantasy, and martial arts elements in it, as well as enough laughs to make you fall off your seat, while providing emotional scenes that will have you in tears. A seriously good film that manages to turn a scene with two inanimate rocks into a tear-jerker, and a shot of two actors with hot dog sausages for fingers into one of the sweetest things committed to film. A special film.
2. Coco
Although it came way after what most consider to be the golden age of Pixar, Coco lives up to the famous studio’s reputation and more. It follows Miguel, a boy whose family banned music after an old relative left to pursue dreams of being a musician and never came back. When Miguel steals a deceased famous guitar player’s instrument and uses it in a talent competition, it begins a trail of events that leads him to the Land of the Dead, where he must find his great-great-grandfather to get back to earth and bring music back to his family. With a majority-Hispanic cast and the mantle of the most highly-rated animated film on RT, there’s no doubt Coco belongs on this list.
1. Four Lions
Considering a lot of films on this list have tackled harmful stereotypes, having number one be a satire about a group of British Muslim terrorists might seem strange, but Four Lions is so uniquely brilliant that it simply has to be at the top. Written and directed by the legendary Chris Morris (The I.T Crowd, Brass Eye) in his feature film directorial debut, this movie is laugh out loud funny, yet also does such great character work that you forget the people you’re following want to commit the mass-murder of innocents, and even start to like them. An astoundingly good film that expertly toes the line between lighthearted and a serious comment on the war on terror.