10 Independent Films In 2014 That Could Appeal To Mass Audiences

By Marcello Ferrara /

4. Snowpiercer

Starring Captain America himself, Chris Evans, Snowpiercer tells the story of humanity in the aftermath of an ice age, living on a large train travelling the world, with the front cabin housing the wealthiest and best served, while the back cabins waste away in poverty and frost. The Korean/International production was helmed by Bong Joon-Ho, the man behind one of the best monster movies since Godzilla, The Host (take that Cloverfield), and the brutal thriller Mother. Bong Joon-Ho is Korea's second best kept secret, after Oldboy's Park Chan-wook, and Snowpiercer looks to be an unforgettable epic. Why It Has Mass Appeal: The film has been massively successful over in South Korea and in most of Europe, with people calling it equally crowd-pleasing and intellectually challenging. In short, Snowpiercer could be the next District 9. Why It Won't Get A Wide Release: Two words: Harvey Weinstein. The man in charge of the Weinstein company has spent the past half a year holding this back from North America, wanting to cut out a lot of the film's essential content, fearing it will be too subversive. Joon-Ho wouldn't have it, and finally won his case, but, in spite, Weinstein is only releasing the "director's cut" (i.e. the original cut) in limited release.