68 articles
Kontroll
Kontroll (Control) is a 2003 Hungarian thriller, Nimród Antal's debut feature, set entirely in the Budapest metro, following ticket inspector Bulcsú (Sándor Csányi) amid a serial killer; it won the Cannes Youth Award and was Hungary's top 2003 draw.
La Comunidad
La Comunidad (Common Wealth) is a 2000 Spanish black comedy by Álex de la Iglesia starring Carmen Maura as an estate agent who finds 300 million pesetas in a dead neighbor's Madrid flat; it was Spain's top-grossing Spanish film of 2000 and won three Goyas.
La Ley de Herodes
La ley de Herodes (Herod's Law) is Luis Estrada's 1999 Mexican black-comedy satire in which a naive PRI mayor becomes corrupt in 1949; it was censored by IMCINE, then won 10 Ariels and became a box-office hit.
Let the Bullets Fly (让子弹飞)
Let the Bullets Fly (让子弹飞) is Jiang Wen's 2010 action comedy adapted from Ma Shitu's 夜谭十记, starring Jiang Wen, Chow Yun-fat, and Ge You; it earned 659 million yuan, won Golden Horse screenplay and cinematography awards, and opened Jiang Wen's Republic trilogy.
Maps to the Stars
Maps to the Stars is a 2014 satirical drama film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Bruce Wagner, about a dysfunctional Hollywood family chasing celebrity while haunted by ghosts.
Miss Meadows
Miss Meadows (2014) is an American black comedy crime film written and directed by Karen Leigh Hopkins, starring Katie Holmes as a tap-dancing schoolteacher vigilante. Premiered at Tribeca April 21, 2014; released November 14, 2014; 88 minutes; 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, Metascore 43.
Mr. Donkey (驴得水)
Mr. Donkey (驴得水) is a 2016 Chinese black-comedy film by Zhou Shen and Liu Lu, Mahua FunAge's second feature, adapted from their 2012 stage play about a rural school's donkey posing as a teacher; it earned 172 million yuan and a 476% return rate.
No Man's Land (2001 film)
No Man's Land (Ničija zemlja) is Danis Tanović's 2001 Bosnian war satire about a Bosnian and a Serb trapped in a trench with a wounded man on a spring mine; it won Cannes Best Screenplay 2001 and the 2002 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
O Cheiro do Ralo
O Cheiro do Ralo (Drained) is a 2006 Brazilian dark comedy by Heitor Dhalia, adapted from Lourenço Mutarelli's 2002 novel, starring Selton Mello as pawn shop owner Lourenço; low-budget, FIPRESCI-winning, Sundance 2007.
Orphans (1998 film)
Orphans (1998) is Peter Mullan's debut feature, a Glasgow-set black comedy-drama about four siblings scattered through a stormy night before their mother's funeral; it won Best Film at Venice Critics' Week 1998.
Parasite (기생충) (2019 film)
Parasite (기생충, Gisaengchung) is Bong Joon Ho's 2019 South Korean dark comedy thriller about the poor Kim family infiltrating the wealthy Park household. First Korean Palme d'Or winner and first non-English-language Best Picture Oscar winner, with four 2020 Academy Awards.
Personal Tailor (私人订制)
Personal Tailor (私人订制, aka 私人定制) is Feng Xiaogang's 2013 Chinese New Year comedy, written by Wang Shuo, starring Ge You, about a wish-fulfillment company; it set Chinese-language opening-day records (84 million yuan) and grossed 713 million yuan despite poor reviews.
Silent Night (2021 film)
Silent Night (2021) is Camille Griffin's British apocalyptic comedy-drama debut, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode at a last Christmas before a toxic climate cloud ends humanity; distinct from Will Thorne's 2021 crime thriller and John Woo's 2023 action film.
Skins (2017 film)
Skins (Pieles) is a 2017 Spanish drama and black comedy, the feature debut of Eduardo Casanova, about deformed outsiders including Samantha, Laura, and Ana; it premiered at Berlin Panorama and earned three Goya nominations.
Slack Bay
Slack Bay (Ma Loute) is Bruno Dumont's 2016 French-German absurdist comedy, set in 1910 on the Bay of the Slack, starring Juliette Binoche and Fabrice Luchini, in Competition at Cannes 2016.
Spin Me Round
Spin Me Round is a 2022 comedy directed by Jeff Baena, co-written with star Alison Brie, about a chain-restaurant manager whose Italian company retreat turns chaotic; released by IFC Films, mixed reviews.
Taxidermia (Таксидермия)
Taxidermia (Таксидермия) is György Pálfi's 2006 Hungarian-Austrian-French body-horror drama, premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard, following three generations of Hungarian men: wartime orderly, champion speed eater, taxidermist.
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) is Martin McDonagh's dark comedy-drama starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan; set in 1923 on an Irish island during the Civil War, it earned nine Oscar nominations and won Golden Globe and BAFTA awards.
The Coffee Table
The Coffee Table (La mesita del comedor) is a 2022 Spanish black-comedy horror film by Caye Casas, starring David Pareja and Estefanía de los Santos, about a couple whose glass coffee table purchase precedes an offscreen family tragedy.
The Death of Stalin
The Death of Stalin (2017) is Armando Iannucci's satirical black comedy, adapted from Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin's French graphic novel, about the power struggle after Stalin's 1953 death; starring Buscemi, Beale, Tambor; banned in Russia; Metascore 88.
The Double (2013 film)
The Double (2013) is Richard Ayoade's second feature, a British comedy-drama adapting Dostoevsky's novella, starring Jesse Eisenberg as both Simon James and his doppelganger James Simon, with Mia Wasikowska; premiered at TIFF 2013, released 2014.
The Great Buddha+
The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯) is Huang Hsin-yao's 2017 Taiwanese black comedy debut, expanded from his short The Buddha. Night guard Pickle and friend Belly Button watch their boss's dashcam and find a murder; five Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan's 91st Oscars entry.
The Guard (2011 film)
The Guard (2011) is an Irish black comedy-thriller, John Michael McDonagh's directorial debut, starring Brendan Gleeson as Garda sergeant Gerry Boyle and Don Cheadle as FBI agent Wendell Everett; it set the Irish box office record for an independent Irish film.
The Heavenly Kings (四大天王)
The Heavenly Kings (四大天王) is Daniel Wu's 2006 Hong Kong mockumentary debut about the fake boy band Alive, whose staged single-leak prank angered the press; it won Wu the 26th Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Director.
The Idiots
The Idiots (Idioterne) is Lars von Trier's 1998 Danish Dogme 95 comedy-drama about a commune pretending to be intellectually disabled to find their 'inner idiots', premiered at Cannes 1998.
The Last Circus
The Last Circus (Balada triste de trompeta) is Álex de la Iglesia's 2010 Spanish-French dark comedy-horror film about rival clowns fighting over an acrobat in Franco-era Spain; it won Venice Silver Lions for director and screenplay.
The Missing Gun (寻枪)
The Missing Gun (寻枪) is Lu Chuan's 2002 feature debut, adapted from Fan Yiping's 《寻枪记》, starring Jiang Wen as policeman Ma Shan, who hunts his lost pistol with three bullets in a Guizhou-dialect neo-noir shown at Venice.
The Motive
The Motive (El autor) is a 2017 Spanish-Mexican dark comedy thriller by Manuel Martín Cuenca, adapted from Javier Cercas's novel El móvil, starring Javier Gutiérrez as a failed writer who manipulates his Seville neighbors; FIPRESCI at TIFF 2017 and two Goyas.
The Movie Emperor
The Movie Emperor (红毯先生, formerly Red Carpet) is a 2024 Chinese comedy-drama by Ning Hao starring Andy Lau as a Hong Kong star chasing an award by playing a farmer; premiered at TIFF 2023, released in China February 10, 2024.
The Party (2017 film)
The Party is Sally Potter's 2017 British black-and-white comedy-drama, 71 minutes, in which Janet's promotion dinner party collapses after Bill's announcement; premiered in competition at Berlin 2017.