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The spice must flow, and take over most theaters. While Denis Villeneuve’s gargantuan-sized blockbuster will suck up much of the oxygen when it comes to discussions around March’s releases, there’s plenty more to uncover. From adventurous festival favorites to micro-sized productions to a would-be blockbuster relegated to streaming, here are my picks for what to see next month.

15. Road House (Doug Liman; March 21)

While his recent output hasn’t touched the entertainment value of Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity, or Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Doug Liman seems quite confident in the crowdpleaser appeal of his Jake Gyllenhaal-led Road House remake. While he won’t be getting the theatrical release he believes he deserves, those at SXSW will at least be able to experience it in a crowd before it lands on Prime Video soon after.

14. Yuni (Kamila Andini; March 22)

One of our favorite undistributed films...

One of our favorite undistributed films of 2021 now has a home. Film Movement, who released Kamila Andini’s 2022 festival premiere Before, Now & Then in theaters last summer, has picked up the Indonesian director’s prior feature, the coming-of-age tale Yuni, for a digital release on March 22. Ahead of the debut, were pleased to exclusively debut the U.S. trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: “Having rejected a marriage proposal and now facing limited options after graduation, Indonesian high-school student Yuni (Arawinda Kirana) finds herself having to define her desires within a society attempting to prescribe her fate. Navigating her burgeoning sexuality and educational prospects while coming to terms with the rigid gender politics with which they collide, Yuni observes her peers and the women around her as they reject or give in to the expectations made of them and the consequences their decisions carry.”

Reyzando Nawara said in his review, “Kamila...

Kamila Andini further proves herself of Indonesian cinema’s most vital voices with her third solo feature Yuni. Partly inspired by Sapardi Djoko Damono’s love poem “Rain in June,” the movie paints a candid portrait of what it’s like for a teenage girl in Indonesia, where expectations and dated traditional values often prevent one from fully having the freedom to pursue their dreams.

Yuni (Arawinda Kirana) is a 16-year-old girl obsessed with anything purple—ironically the color purple is largely known in Indonesia as the color of mourning widows. She’s about to finish high school but, like most of her peers, hasn’t quite figured out what to do with her future. When a teacher (Impetigore’s Marissa Anita) encourages Yuni to apply for a college scholarship, her world suddenly gets bigger. The possibility of continuing school and eventually raising her family’s social status excites her.

Firm messages about female liberty and self-determination are delivered with a gentle touch in “Yuni,” a compassionate and engaging coming-of-age tale about a 16-year-old schoolgirl who doesn’t know exactly what she wants to do with her life but does know that she’s not ready to follow tradition and become a teenage bride. The third feature directed solo by Kamila Andini (“The Seen and Unseen”) tackles topics that need to be discussed and further enhances her standing as a vital and intelligent voice in contemporary Indonesian cinema. “Yuni” is sure to travel widely at festivals and has what it takes to become a domestic commercial success that entertains audiences and gets them talking about the pertinent issues it raises.

. The screenplay by Andini and Prima Rusdi doesn’t shy away from anything, but at the same time it never has to stand on a soapbox to get its progressive and persuasive messages across.