10 visually spectacular films to stream now on Mubi

Let’s face it: even if galleries and restaurants are slowly reopening (at least here in Berlin), we’ve spent so long inside that we’re thoroughly starved of visual stimulation. Thankfully, here to give us some aesthetic relief is Mubi—the film-streaming platform touted as the cinephile’s equivalent to Netflix. Known for its “Now Showing” feature—a curated selection of thirty films, each streaming for a period of thirty days—it has decided to switch things up by introducing a library of arthouse gems. 

An education in the art of cinema, it runs through a back catalogue of black and white classics, prominent auteurs and recent film festival favourites. Having spent the weekend delving through the library’s many titles, we now bring you a hand-picked selection of the most visually-stunning films it has to offer. Buckle in for a Givenchy-clad Audrey Hepburn, blood-drenched Italian giallo and a neo-noir set in the golden age of gay porn.

Ida (2003)

Unravelling under the long shadow of WWII, Ida follows its eponymous protagonist as she goes from cloistered convent life to grappling with the discovery of her Jewish parents’ persecution. Sparse and shot in hard-focus black-and-white, each meticulously-composed shot takes you deep into the characters’ psyches. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015, its emotional subtlety is brought to life through this sublime cinematography—proving that sometimes style is substance.

Charade (1963) 

Say the name “Audrey Hepburn” and what films come to mind? Likely, it’s light-hearted fare like Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Funny Face that pop into your head, but the Hollywood beauty could play it straight as well—as evidenced by her turn in Hitchcockian murder mystery, Charade. Besides its sizzling screenplay and Henry Mancini score, it’s a winner for Hepburn’s delicious Givenchy outfits. Think the kind of picture-perfect pillbox hats and prim button-up skirt suits that could only belong in the ‘60s.

Knife + Heart (2018)

Knife + Heart is a lot to wrap your head around, even before a masked killer shows up. Set in the summer of 1979 and starring Vanessa Paradis as a lesbian porn director, there’s plenty of sex and slasher-style violence, but what really steals the show is its aesthetic excess. With neon lighting, forays into fetish-wear and free-spirited Parisian discos, all wrapped around an overblown soundtrack by M83, it’s a lesson in “more is more”. 

Persepolis (2007)

Told through an extended flashback, Persepolis recounts its director’s (Marjane Satrapi’s) childhood during the Iranian Revolution, as well as tackling larger questions around national identity and familial duty. In the fighting spirit of the Bruce Lee films she loves as a child, we see Satrapi’s on-screen alter-ego morph from overconfident young girl to a rebellious young woman, keen to take on the injustices of the world around her. Adapted from Satrapi’s comic book of the same name, Persepolis stands out as much for its story as for the stunning simplicity of its bold black and white animation. Who says animation is just for kids?

Contempt (1963)

Brigitte Bardot doing her bombshell best, summer languor in Capri and Jean-Luc Godard behind the lens— need we say more? Contempt might not be the French New Wave auteur’s best work, but it is one of his most stunning, channeling the Mediterranean glamour of the ‘60s and evoking a certain joie de vivre with tracking shots of the stunning Italian landscape and a beautiful use of natural light. Oh, quanto è bello.

Neighbouring Sounds (2012)

Kleber Mendonça Filho may have burst back onto the scene this year with the hyper-violent Bacurau, but the Brazilian director’s first feature was more subdued, though no less visually impressive. Released in 2012, Neighbouring Sounds offers a 360 view of class in a bourgeois neighbourhood, stitching minute episodes of privilege together to sew a panorama of exploitation, guilt and colonialism. Flitting past characters with no fixed point of view, the film races through an encyclopaedia of shots and edit styles—zooming, tracking and fading with abandon. Try not to get dizzy keeping up with the camera. 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

You’re probably wondering what marks Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire apart from the many, many white lesbian period dramas flooding the festival circuit in recent years. On a narrative level, not much. But the stunning vistas of the French seaside, lingering shots and luminous lighting, all courtesy of cinematographer Claire Mathon, catapult the feature from limp bodice ripper to treatise on the female gaze. Watch it to leave The Favourite quaking in its boots.

Moonlight (2016)

Yes, this an obvious choice but don’t let that put you off: several years later, Moonlight still deserves the hype. Barry Jenkin’s poetic screenplay, Trevante Rhodes’ understated performance as Chiron and its genre-blending score all combine to make it one of the past decade’s most striking films—and we’ve not even got onto the cinematography yet. Visually, its hyper-saturated, high-contrast colours create a dreamscape to get lost in. If you’re not already under its spell, watch it ASAP. 

Belle de Jour (1967)

Released in 1967, Catherine Deneuve’s role as Séverine, a bourgeois housewife (and closet sadomasochist) stifling her boredom with a day job as a high-class prostitute, has made Belle de Jour one of Luis Buñuel’s best-known films. Nowadays, its sexual politics seem more voyeuristic than radical, but its decadent French interiors and stellar YSL wardrobe have stood the test of time. With high-shine leather coats and chic black sunglasses, Séverine’s style is equal parts incognito and catwalk-ready. 

Suspiria (1977)

As violent as it is stylistically decadent, Dario Argento’s Suspiria gave the initially low-rent genre of giallo its lasting cult status. With Art Nouveau-inspired set design in red, white and black, and a rainbow-coloured satin wardrobe, its beautiful (but blood-spattered) facade enchants viewers time and time again. Fall into this fantasy world of witches, Bolshoi ballet and supernatural gore: we dare you. …But don’t get us started on the Guadagnino remake.