Film heaven with Mubi

I’ve recently joined Mubi, a video on-demand site for film lovers. Netflix, which, in spite of users having to jump through DNS hoops as it’s not officially available in South Africa, is extremely popular, while Mubi is not well-known at all.

Mubi has some advantages though.

Firstly, it’s officially available to South Africans, so no need to pretend we’re American. It has an interesting model. At any one time, only 30 films are available. Each day, one drops off the list, to be replaced by another. Knowing they’re going to be disappearing soon creates a sense of urgency to watch the films.

So while the range at any one time is limited, most importantly, they show the kind of films I like to watch, which they describe as cult, classic and award-winning films.

To give you an idea of the films they list, here’s what I’ve watched in the last few days (remember these will be dropping off each day so may not be available by the time you read this)
* Lascars, an animated film about two petty crooks set in a French ghetto
* Dancer in the Dark, the Lars von Trier classic featuring the brilliant Björk
* Trash Humpers featuring actors in old people masks humping trashcans (I didn’t get much further than that before moving on to something better, but I’m sure it has a cult following).
* Pink Saris, the award-winning documentary following Sampat Pal Devi, ‘Pink Gang’ leader and her attempts to bring justice to abused women on the streets of Uttar Pradesh in India.

So, after a long drought, I’m in film heaven. I don’t normally like affiliate schemes, but if the site appeals, this one benefits you too. Sign up on your own and get a 7-day free trial, or through this link, and get a 30-day free trial.

And let me know if Trash Humpers turns you on and I’ll be sure to leave the rubbish bin out next time you visit.

1 comment