The work of Jared Hess, director of “Napoleon Dynamite” and the new “Gentlemen Broncos,” is a prime example of a film subgenre all its own: quirk, defined by Michael Hirschorn in the Atlantic as “mannered ingenuousness, an embrace of small moments, narrative randomness, situationally amusing but not hilarious character juxtapositions … and unexplainable but nonetheless charming character traits.” Who are some other exemplars of the genre?
1. Wes Anderson — Arguably the king of modern quirk, Mr. Anderson intrigues (and, occasionally, frustrates) audiences with his fussy stylizations and interesting characters. Perhaps the best example of this is Max Fischer, the precocious high school student with a knack for starting clubs in “Rushmore.”
2. The Coen brothers — Comfortable working within and without the milieu of quirk, Joel and Ethan Coen have brought together a wide variety of crazy characters over the years. Where would the world be without the Dude (“The Big Lebowski”) or H.I. (“Raising Arizona”)?
3. Rian Johnson — Some would say “Brick” wasn’t quirk; it was just a hard-boiled noir set in high school. To which we reply: That’s not quirky?
4. Terry Gilliam — Perhaps he’s a stretch for this list — Mr. Gilliam might be more absurdist than quirky — but it’s probably fair to say his work with Monty Python and later in films (including “Time Bandits,” “Brazil” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”) are a source of inspiration for the modern quirksters.
5. Edgar Wright — “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” may have been parodies of the zombie and cop-drama genres, respectively, but they also were full of memorably quirky moments.
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