This week’s pick of ten films newly available on streaming take us from gritty Melbourne streets to 1970s occult terror.
Whether you’re after bold arthouse, emotional resonance, or just some much-needed comfort viewing, these are the titles to queue up this weekend.
10 great films just added to streaming:
From Hilde, With Love (2024) – streaming on Stan
- Director: Andreas Dresen
- Cast: Liv Lisa Fries, Johannes Hegemann, Alexander Scheer
- Genre: Historical drama
- Runtime: 124 mins
Synopsis: Based on a true story, this East German drama follows Hilde Coppi, a young resistance fighter working against the Nazi regime in 1942 Berlin. As the noose tightens, Hilde navigates espionage, love, and impending motherhood under impossible circumstances.
Why watch it?
From Hilde, with Love is a quietly devastating wartime portrait anchored by Liv Lisa Fries’ emotionally layered performance. For fans of A Hidden Life or Sophie Scholl.
The Last Showgirl (2024) – buy or rent on Apple TV
- Director: Gia Coppola
- Cast: Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 89 mins
Synopsis: When the last working showgirl in Las Vegas is forced into early retirement, she must reckon with her legacy and her estranged daughter, while plotting an unlikely comeback.
Why watch it?
This bittersweet film captures a bygone era and the way the body and mind lingers in memory, while also marking a beautiful comeback for Pamela Anderson.
The Bare Necessity (2019) – streaming on Tubi
- Director: Erwan Le Duc
- Cast: Swann Arlaud, Maud Wyler, Fanny Ardant
- Genre: Rom-com
- Runtime: 93 mins
Synopsis: In a sleepy French town, a stoic police officer meets a free-spirited woman who upends his life – while a mysterious streaker roams the countryside.
Why watch it?
This charming, deadpan comedy from France starring the ‘hot lawyer’ from Anatomy of a Fall balances absurdism with warmth. Think Wes Anderson by way of the Alps – in other words: dry, odd, and endearing.
The Master (2012) – streaming on Prime Video
- Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 137 mins
Synopsis: A drifting WWII veteran falls under the spell of a charismatic leader forming a belief system known as ‘The Cause’.
Why watch it?
Visually hypnotic and psychologically complex, The Master features career-defining performances from Hoffman and Phoenix – and rewards multiple viewings.
Taste of Cherry (1997) – streaming on MUBI
- Director: Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolrahman Bagheri
- Genre: Drama
- Runtime: 99 mins
Synopsis: In this meditative Palme d’Or winner, a middle-aged man drives through Tehran’s outskirts looking for someone willing to help him with a grave request.
Why watch it?
One of the most profound films ever made about the value of life, Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry is a masterclass in restraint and quiet revelation.
Queen of the Sun (2010) – Streaming on DocPlay
- Director: Taggart Siegel
- Genre: Documentary
- Runtime: 83 mins
Synopsis: An international exploration of the global bee crisis, blending scientific insight with poetic storytelling about colony collapse disorder and the future of food.
Why watch it?
Queen of the Sun beautifully shot and (still) timely doco that will change how you view nature, agriculture, and our place within it.
Death in Brunswick (1991) – streaming on Beamafilm
- Director: John Ruane
- Cast: Sam Neill, Zoe Carides, John Clarke
- Genre: Black comedy
- Runtime: 109 mins
Synopsis: Set in inner-suburban Melbourne, this cult Australian black comedy follows a hapless chef whose life spirals out of control after a workplace mishap turns criminal.
Why watch it?
A local gem with a razor-sharp script and deadpan humour, Death in Brunswick blends noir with satire and features an unforgettable John Clarke performance.
The Farewell (2019) – streaming on Prime Video
- Director: Lulu Wang
- Cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Zhao Shuzhen
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Runtime: 100 mins
Synopsis: A Chinese-American family returns to China under the guise of a wedding to say goodbye to their matriarch, who doesn’t know she’s terminally ill.
Why watch it?
A beautiful balance of comedy and melancholy, The Farewell is a deeply personal film about cultural disconnect, family loyalty, and love unspoken.
Suspiria (1977) – streaming on Brollie and Hoopla
- Director: Dario Argento
- Cast: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Joan Bennett
- Genre: Horror
- Runtime: 99 mins
Synopsis: An American ballet student arrives at a prestigious German academy only to uncover a supernatural conspiracy lurking beneath the surface.
Why watch it?
Argento’s giallo masterpiece is a sensory overload of colour, sound, and stylised terror that remains influential nearly five decades later.
Senses of Cinema (2022) – streaming on DocPlay and Beamafilm
- Director: Tom Zubrycki, John Hughes
- Genre: Documentary
- Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis: As notions of civil rights transformed across the world, so was the screen landscape reformed by the ascension of grassroots film movements seeking to challenge the mainstream. Some aspired to push form to its limit; others worked to destabilise what they saw as a homogenous industry, or to provoke questions around gender, sexuality, migration and race.
Why watch it?
A must-see for cinephiles, this doco celebrates Australia’s rich culture of film co-ops and lets people in on a lesser-known part of local cinema history.
