8. Slow West
“Slow West,” is a whimsical fairy tale-esque American West fable that puts a wry spin on a dark story of love, revenge and fate. About a young boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who travels from Scotland to America to follow his long-lost love (Caren Pistorius), he crosses paths with a mysterious gunman (Michael Fassbender) who will to grant him safe passage through the perilous Wild West in exchange for money. But he’s saddled with his own moral dilemmas when his former bounty hunting mercenary friends (led by Ben Mendelsohn) come to collect on past debts, spiritual and otherwise. Perhaps a mix of Quentin Tarantino meets the Coen Brothers, “Slow West,” is a moody and yet quick-witted study of the Western that adds humor, humanity and soul to the genre.