Friday Flicks: ‘Wilding’, ‘The Rider’, ‘Zama’
Independent cinema in 2018 delivered four distinctive films that continue to reward viewers years later. Each one approached its subject with a sharp eye and a willingness to linger on human detail, whether through music, rodeo dust, forest shadows, or the slow decay of colonial ambition. Their stories remain accessible, and their craft stands up to repeat viewings.
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (Kino Lorber)
Sophie Fiennes mixes concert footage with private moments to show Grace Jones as performer, daughter, and mother. The film travels between Jamaica, recording studios, and international stages, letting the icon speak for herself without heavy narration. Jones moves between fierce stage presence and quieter domestic scenes with the same command. Now streaming on Criterion Channel and Tubi, the documentary reaches audiences far beyond its original limited run.
The Rider (Sony Pictures Classics)
Chloé Zhao’s drama follows Brady Blackburn, a rodeo rider recovering from a head injury that ends his competitive career. Brady Jandreau plays a version of himself, drawing on his own accident and life on the plains. The film watches him search for purpose outside the arena, surrounded by family and friends who share the same landscape and risks. It earned Independent Spirit nominations for Best Film and Best Director. Zhao later directed Nomadland, bringing the same patient attention to place and work.
Wildling (IFC Midnight)
Fritz Böhm’s debut follows Anna, raised in isolation by a man she calls Daddy. When she reaches young adulthood she is released into the care of a police officer played by Liv Tyler. Bel Powley portrays Anna’s growing awareness of her own body and appetites, which soon pull her toward the woods. Contemporary reviews described the film as a clever and unsettling horror that refreshes werewolf lore through its focus on female transformation.
Streaming and Home Media Availability
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami is currently available on Criterion Channel and Tubi. The Rider and Wildling moved to video-on-demand platforms after their theatrical windows. Zama remains accessible through specialty streaming services and physical media from Strand Releasing. Viewers no longer need festival passes or city arthouses to catch these titles.
Director Career Trajectories Since 2018
Chloé Zhao followed The Rider with Nomadland, which expanded her interest in American landscapes and labor into an Oscar-winning feature. Lucrecia Martel continued her exacting approach to period and power dynamics, with new projects announced for 2025. Both filmmakers carried forward the observational style first visible in these earlier works.
Retrospective Critical Recognition
Zama earned a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and later ranked nineteenth on a 2022 poll of the greatest Argentine films. TIFF Cinematheque named it the best film of the decade in 2019. The Rider collected Independent Spirit nods and still appears on lists of essential modern westerns. These later rankings confirm what early viewers sensed: the films aged well.
Non-Professional Casting and Authenticity
Brady Jandreau’s rodeo background supplied The Rider with lived-in detail that no amount of rehearsal could manufacture. His performance sits between acting and testimony. Wildling takes the opposite route, placing trained actors Bel Powley and Liv Tyler inside a genre debut that still feels grounded. Both approaches show how directors can borrow from real experience without losing dramatic shape.
Together the four titles form a loose map of independent cinema’s range in that moment. One celebrates a living legend, one tracks a young man rebuilding after injury, one watches a girl discover her own hunger, and one follows a colonial officer waiting for orders that never arrive. Their continued availability on streaming platforms keeps the conversation open.
