If you're looking to watch a great movie, maybe indie and foreign-film streaming service Mubi should be your first port of call. We know what you're about to say: "but I don't have Mubi!". Well, that shouldn't be an issue.
Vancouver International Film Festival is currently going on, and as part of the proceedings, the annual festival is offering a free 60-day membership to Mubi.
This deal isn't exclusive to festival attendees, or even Canadians, or even new subscribers. We managed to get the trial using a UK account that had previously been signed up to the streaming service — Mubi is generally very good at letting returning subscribers enjoy its deals.
You do need to enter your billing details before you get the free trial, but that's par for the course for these streaming service deals.
Mubi is one of the best streaming services for foreign, indie and arthouse films — included in its catalog are Oscar winners like Drive My Car and nominees like The Worst Person in the World, as well as early films from now-famous directors like Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area (you might know this director for Oldboy, but his 2022 movie Decision To Leave is currently wowing viewers) and several early David Cronenberg films.
The service used to operate on a calendar basis, and every day one new film was added and another was removed in rotation, but now it has a library of movies that are changed less frequently.
Normally we'd recommend you check out a streaming service's library before you subscribe (and you can find the Mubi one here), but since this is a two-month free trial, you won't lose anything by subscribing. Well, as long as you remember to cancel if you don't gel with the service.
If you do let your membership continue after 60 days, either by accident or on purpose, do be warned that Mubi is one of the pricier streaming services. It costs $10.99/£10.99 per month, and while the Mubi Amazon Prime Video channel costs a little bit less, it doesn't have the full suite of films (or useful articles to guide your hand).
Mubi isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's sometimes worth pushing the boat out and trying something new — especially when it's free. So if you've looked at our list of new films and TV on Netflix, HBO Max or Hulu, and nothing sparks your interest, maybe it's worth checking out Mubi.
