After a few months filled with star-studded releases, September looks slower regarding Netflix’s original movies. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to watch, as the streamer offers heartwarming romantic stories and gut-punching documentaries. In addition, Netflix keeps expanding its international catalog, bringing the best productions from outside Hollywood to the streamer. As usual, there’s something for everyone coming to Netflix in September 2023, which is why we’ve prepared a handy guide with the best original movie releases.
Read more about what’s streaming on Netflix:
‘Happy Ending’
Available on: September 1 | Director: Joosje Duk
Cast: Gaite Jansen, Martijn Lakemeier, Joy Delima, Claire Bender, Sinem Kavus
While sex is an essential part of human life, the subject is still taboo, even between couples. Navigating this delicate theme, Happy Ending offers a steamy story about two people who try to spice things up in the bedroom with a threesome. The event, however, has unexpected consequences, as adding another woman to their relationship forces Luna (Gaite Jansen) and Mink (Martijn Lakemeier) into a journey of self-discovery that might challenge their love for each other. While the trailer for Happy Ending promises to make the temperature rise in your living room, the movie also wants to spread an important message about how people don’t need to be afraid of being honest about their sexuality. Otherwise, there’s no way to have a healthy relationship. Happy Ending is the feature directorial debut of Dutch filmmaker Joosje Duk, who submitted the script for the Netflix New Voices competition in 2021.
‘A Day and a Half’
Available on: September 1 | Director: Fares Fares
Cast: Fares Fares, Alexej Manvelov, Alma Pöysti, Stina Ekblad, Bengt C.W. Carlsson
After starring in hit TV shows like Chernobyl and The Wheel of Time, Fares Fares makes his directorial debut with A Day and a Half, an upcoming Swedish thriller drama inspired by true events. The movie follows the unnerving story of Artan (Alexej Manvelov), a man desperate to reunite with his daughter, to the point he decides to take his Louise (Alma Pöysti) hostage. Police officer Lukas (Fares Fares) also ends up involved in a dangerous trip through the countryside, driving the couple while being held at gunpoint by Artan. A Day and a Half promises to be a nerve-wracking story that asks how far people are willing to go for their families and should be on the radar of everyone looking for a good thriller to watch in September 2023.
‘Scout’s Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts in America’
Available on: September 6 | Director: Brian Knappenberger
The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1908 as an organization that helped children forge a new community while learning valuable survival skills. However, since its origins, the Scouts have decided to cover up hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by instructors, hiding incriminating documents from the police to preserve the institution’s image. Directed by Brian Knappenberger, Scout’s Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts in America is a stomach-turning documentary that reveals how one of the most iconic institutions in America has facilitated the abuse of countless children over decades. Besides showing the documents that prove the organization’s decision to hide criminals, Scouts Honor also features interviews with whistleblowers, survivors, and former employees.
‘Love at First Sight’
Available on: September 15 | Director: Vanessa Caswill
Cast: Haley Lu Richardson, Ben Hardy, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips, Jameela Jamil
Love at First Sight tells the unlikely love story of Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver (Ben Hardy), two strangers who meet by chance at the airport. After spending a flight together and falling in love, Hadley and Oliver split up on arrival, which could be the end of a tragic story of unfulfilled love. However, they are both willing to challenge fate and will do whatever they can to find each other amidst the chaos of life. The movie is based on the novel The Statistical Odds of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith.
‘El Conde’
Available on: September 15 | Director: Pablo Larraín
Cast: Gloria Münchmeyer, Alfredo Castro, Paula Luchsinger
Augusto Pinochet was a cruel dictator who ruled Chile with an iron fist in the 1970s. But what if Pinochet was a vampire who rejoiced in human suffering? El Conde is a horror comedy that stars Jaime Vadell as a version of Pinochet who’s a 250-year-old bloodsucker tired of how he’s remembered by history. Shot in black and white, El Conde is unquestionably the oddest movie coming to Netflix in September 2023, but a great addition to the streamer’s international catalog. Plus, since director Pablo Larraín was also behind the critically acclaimed Spencer, expectations are high for El Conde.
‘Street Flow 2’
Available on: September 27 | Director: Leïla Sy
Cast: Bakary Diombera, Kery James, Jammeh Diangana
Writer Kery James and director Leïla Sy have partnered up once again to bring Netflix’s subscribers a sequel to Street Flow, one of the streamer’s biggest French hits. The first movie focused on fifteen-year-old Noumouké (Bakary Diombera), the youngest of three brothers. Living in a ghetto in Paris, Noumouké was forced to choose between following the footsteps of the criminal Demba (Kery James) and the law student Soulaymaan (Jammeh Diangana). The three brothers return for Street Flow 2, which will follow Demba as he tries to turn his life and find a way to become an honest man.
‘Nowhere’
Available on: September 29 | Director: Albert Pintó
Cast: Anna Castillo, Tamar Novas
Nowhere follows the story of Mia (Anna Castillo), a woman who hides inside a shipping container to escape the horrors of her home country, desolated by a bloody dictatorship. While Mia’s journey is already filled with dangers since it begins, she ends up split apart from her husband when her container falls into the sea. Pregnant and adrift, Mia must fight the coldness of the ocean while trying to survive her dire situation. So, in short, Nowhere makes the most of its confined escape to tell an unnerving story while reflecting on the life-threatening conditions refugees put themselves into in search of a better life for their families.
