Goddamn, the Nineties were a good time to be a movie fan. The indie film movement was exploding with distinctive voices empowered by cheaper production costs and nurtured by film schools and festivals – including Lisa Cholodenko, who began work on this New Queer Cinema essential while at Columbia and debuted it to acclaim at Sundance in 1998. High Art more than fulfills the promise of its title, but you can throw in another modifier, too: hot. Playing a Nan Goldin-esque photographer on a drug spiral, Brat Packer Ally Sheedy shook audiences with the sensual tractor beam she fixed on the baby-faced neighbor upstairs (Radha Mitchell). Seriously – so much hotness. – Kimberley Jones
