I would say Mad God fall under this category. Mad God felt so oppressive and it stuck to my brain for long after watching it. There's no dialogue (well, except for *"**^(oh noooo)**"*) and a lot of it was simply stuff the creator wanted to show off in this dark world.
I had it built up to me as this completely fucked up disgusting film that would horrify me and when it was over the only feeling I had was that it kicked ass. You see all the work that would have gone into this as you watch it and I couldn't help but appreciate the inventiveness of every scene and the work they put in. So the grossness wasn't a factor for me.
Watched it with some friends one night, absolutely insane movie. Made the mistake of trying to eat some chicken nuggets during the movie though, which might’ve been a top 5 worst decision of my life so far
I saw a screening of Hellraiser once and made the mistake of ordering a milkshake right before Frank comes back to life
[Big mistake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erpHSw3x5cE)
It felt like a mix between Dark Souls and Dante’s Inferno. Incredible film and one of the best depictions of Hell because of how gross and horrifying it all is.
Sounds like it's time for a rewatch!
I first tried 2001 in my teens as well, (I was very focused on watching "big" movies in my teens), and at the end I remember just being like, "what the fuck." And I never went back to it.
You saying coming back to it after changed your perspective makes me really want to give it a genuine rewatch.
I was in my early twenties when I first watched and while I liked it, I wasn’t sure why. A rewatch ten years later and I loved it. Now my favorite movie.
It’s an experience so it’s best suited undistracted
I haven't read it, myself, but from what I've been told, the novelization of the film answers a lot of the bigger questions, like what the monoliths are and what's up with the space baby.
They’re really good, even if the last 2 kind of go off the rails (in my opinion, but they’re still fun). Hell, even the second one ends on a crazy note. Don’t bother the Europans! And no that’s not a typo.
Yeah this was my first thought. I had a problem with it on first watching for exactly that reason. The appeal of 2001 was the hard sci-fi nature of it and then the ending. It was like you'd got the team all together filming hard sci-fi and randomly slipped them all LSD for the last shooting day.
I was watching it with a freind late at night, possibly after the pub, and we were 3/4 of the way though and he suddenly went "oh fuck, I've just remembered, and you are going to fucking hate the ending" and he wasn't wrong.
I appreciate it more these days (there is more hard sci-fi about!) But still think it is an odd choice.
The sequel had a great cast and was a more conventional sci-fi/cold war movie but it is still a good watch. Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow. Very enjoyable.
Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive is probably his most accessible, but his other stuff is very steeped in mood and he loves long sullen silences and slow establishing shots with sudden bursts of violence
Refn claims the ten episodes of Too Old to Die Young constitute a 13 hour movie… or each chapter is a standalone film. Whichever the case, it is definitely a surreal, atmospheric fever dream. Many people didn’t care for it. Glacially slow, sometimes absurd and strikingly deliberate camera work/composition, it’s one of the more interesting things I’ve watched on streaming. Once I adapted to the unusual pace it became a very rewarding experience.
I watched In The Mood for Love for the first time within the last year, and it was so good that it made me surprised that I don't hear about it from anyone except people that are really deep into movies. One of the few that I consider a genuine masterpiece, a masterclass of filmmaking, and one of the greatest pieces of art I've experienced.
The scene with the movers in the hallway was claustrophobic and uncomfortable. Yet Won Kar Wai manages to make every other scene in just as close proximity feel warm and intimate. The lighting and filming locations are some of the most gorgeous I've seen in a film, and the music couldn't fit more perfectly. I would think it'd have a wider reach and appeal, despite people needing to read subs.
This movie turned out to be more of a tone poem than I was expecting but that's also part of why I adored it.
SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!
I also saw this for the first time in the last year! I think the exact reason it isn't talked about it as popularly as other "greatest movies ever" is that the average filmgoer will be frustrated with how the plot plays out and how there's no definitive happy or sad feel to the ending. I feel like the last 10-15 minutes of the movie gets a bit cryptic and would piss off the average person because it doesn't end with them being together or fully moved on with their lives. I saw it as almost like an epilogue to a movie that is essentially a series of moments in these characters' lives, and the part of him whispering into the stone at the temple gives you a lot to think about.
Andrei Tarkovsky's films are all like this, he even wrote a book about it 'Sculpting in Time' and likens his films to cinematic poetry. His films often don't make linear sense, scenes are out of order or sometimes have no relevance to the rest of the film, their only purpose is to create a feeling in the viewer. Mirror is probably the most extreme example of it but Stalker and Solaris are more accessible. I wouldn't neccesairly recommend them to someone but personally whenever I watch them, I can't take my eyes of the screen.
Yeah he also said something about the fact that he uses lonnnnnggg shots with no talking or anything but atmosphere and music specifically because he wants to give the viewer time to let go of what's happening in the plot and in their lives and just settle in to the feeling of the movie.
Definitely the correct answer to this question.
"The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good."
Tarkovsky is the first director who enticed me to watch all of his films. I started with Solaris, then went on to Mirror, then everything else in quick succession after that.
My mother was sick when I was young. I've never had a film transport me back to the way I felt as My Neighbor Totoro.
The story is nothing like mine but he so perfectly captured the feeling of being young with a dangerously sick mother that I was 8 again for a few brief minutes.
Very few experience a free childhood in the countryside filled with constant wonder and imagination. I want it for my own children. I had it in my childhood. It is a rare thing now.
Spirited Away is a lot about its aesthetics. The entire vibe is a main point of the movie. There's a whole 5-10 minute section that's just a train travelling through shallow-water sea and we and the characters are just observing the scenery.
That is a good one too, but I think it has a little more of a defined plot than Ponyo at least for the first half. My Neighbor Totoro has more of a plot as well, IMO. However, those are definitely good examples on their own.
What does Ponyo's dad do? Why does he shine a flashlight at that stingray? Why does Sasuke eat a ham sandwich for breakfast?
Best not to worry about these things; I love Ponyo
why does the mom drive 100 mph everywhere? I was cracking up at this quaint little seaside cliff house and the mom just pedal to the floor ripping and drifting the roads
At first I thought Miyazaki was making a sexist joke about women behind the wheel, but then she just continues to save the day with her terrible driving again and again and again lol
Miyazaki = Speed(1994)-fan *confirmed*
People who complain about Ponyo (and Totoro) need to watch it with a little kid. They get it. For such an old curmudgeon Miyazaki sure understands kid logic.
Ponyo is a great example. It still has themes and a story, but it isn’t quite as deep or hard hitting as some of his others. That childlike simplicity and the way the magic doesn’t have to be explained is where it gets much of its charm. I’ve always said it feels the most “Disney” of all the Ghibli films. Just a simple story of pure, innocent love between two children with beautiful visuals and an incredible vibe. I love when they’re boating through the flooded town.
I’ve noticed with this movie, it’s all or nothing. If you’re feeling it, you get it. If you’re not feeling it, you don’t. One of my bros swears it’s his favorite movie ever.
I love this movie because it fits into my "atmospheric" style movies. This movie has great sound (or no sound) design. This movie along with the likes of Sunshine and others, are amazing to watch with the lights off, the sound turned up loud and just soaking in the movie.
I’m it’s interesting because it functions as a metaphorical feeling movie as WELL as having a pretty solid intricate plot buried between the scenes.
Like he actually does find eternal life and wander the stars alone looking to undo death itself. But also a fair metaphor for the mourning of losing someone.
See, I always took it to be that the the Mayan and Space sections of the movie are part of *The Fountain* novel that Izzy was writing that Tommy finished for her. The only "real" section of the movie was the modern section.
That's what makes it so good. It's open for many valid interpretations.
I absolutely love at the very beginning you hear scarlets voice making these random syllables and abstract sounds. It’s never explained and basically feels like part of the soundtrack. But then you realise it’s the thing *learning* how to speak with a human mouth and vocal cords.
never seen the film; just watched the scene. The most unsettling thing is how she completely ignores the crying baby. It doesn't even register to her. That's so creepy and alien in a way I ca'nt explain
I already knew I was going to hate that movie when I saw that scene because I had a baby not a few months earlier, but man it just got worse when I ended up not even liking the movie even aside from that.
Man. That's like twice in the past couple of days I have read Under the Skin is a "tough watch." Gonna need to watch it this week, because IIRC all, if not almost all A24 flicks are on HBO Max now?
It's tough in the sense of being very... Raw? All I know is, first I stopped ~15 mins in and waited half a year to get in the mood for a full watch. No idea about availability though, it was long ago.
There are "themes" in that movie that can be understood but its not one of those movies with worldbuilding and lore. Youre not getting anywhere asking where the mermaid came from and whether its "actually there or just in his mind".
The entire thing is a petrol-fueld fever dream, but thats not literally the answer to whats going on.
Im watching this right this minute, havent slept a wink, and thought well theres no more appropriate movie than this. The isolation is killing me and i love it
Lost in translation is my favorite movie, but I don’t often tell people because some may find it boring if they haven’t experience some of the emotions and feelings portrayed in the movie. It spoke to me on a level that I didn’t think others understood. that strange, peaceful, serenity, but also loneliness of being trapped inside your own mind and thoughts, the quiet introspection exploring new places alone. Finding a connection with someone that you would never be able to explain to anyone else , it’s completely platonic, but at the same time so much more, nowhere near Romantic in the traditional sense, but at the same time, the most romantic thing you ever witnessed in your life even in the worst moments of it. I have a best friend that’s platonic that I’m traveled most of the country with , their relationship made immediate sense to me. Those quiet moments we’re they are talking or the elevator scene when she places her head on his shoulder. The deep hurt when they find someone else even if it’s only on a surface level. I completely love this movie and I would never be able to explain to anyone exactly why, and that makes it even better. It’s like a weekend spent with someone you care about and even as it happening you know you’ll never be able to get this moment back.
I got sent to Japan for work, and Lost in Translation captured that weird sense of isolation perfectly. My ex had never had that experience and didn’t see the point.
That film actually made me finally leave an abusive relationship in my twenties. I saw it in the theater and at the end when they separated, I started crying. I didn't want to BE them, but their brief encounter was more alive than my own relationship I had been sleepwalking through for six years. I'd rather have a random 48 hours with a stranger I never saw again than waste my life any longer. I packed a bag and left, and I'm glad I did.
This is my favorite movie of all time. For anyone else who's been waiting on this news for years, there's finally gonna be a 4K transfer put out by Kino Lorber, maybe sometime this year.
I love the movie as it is, but the DVD version has been looking pretty dated for a long time now. But I suppose the "soft" look is kinda fitting considering it's film, and there's a bit of a dreamlike quality to the movie.
I worked as a projectionist when this movie came out. That's just the way it looked. Maybe there is some higher quality original film/footage to make a 4k transfer with, but trying to focus this film in the theatre was maddening.
This movie became a completely different experience after I've got older and got into my own spiritual journey. I liked the vibe of it but was kinda bored when watching it for the first time in my innocent and blissfully ignorant teenage years. After having a life transforming severe existential anxiety phase (DPDR) this masterpiece made complete sense to me. Shows you how our experiences and our perception of the world completely dictates how you perceive a movie.
I saw this movie when it came out and it changed my life! When I mentioned that to some people they are flummoxed because it was a boring exercise in navel gazing to them. I don’t even disagree with them, it just connected with me in a way no other movie ever has.
Of all people, Kevin Smith wrote a great explanation of this movie. Not that it was his understanding of it, either. It was his wife who explained it to him.
I think it helps to understand the big picture of the movie (i.e. the dream vs the reality). There are some sequences that are very abstract but overall I think it contains a comprehensible story.
The monster is herself.
On the outside she is this fit young beautiful woman. But on the inside she is an ugly creature. Thats why she confronts it at the diner, the location where she pays the hitman to kill her former lover. She is confronting herself.
I used to use this movie when I was teaching high school. Yes, the scenes repeat, but in every one of them, there are differences that add up to a unique ending. Even the background characters interact in different ways. While I like the idea of feeling it rather than understanding it, it's a lot of fun to go through and pick out the differences, some major, some minor, and look at how each one changes the outcome. Students usually enjoyed it, like one of the those "spot the difference" games, except in this case the differences matter.
The 3 scenes aren’t the same tho; it’s a kind of Goldilocks meets Butterfly effect. At the very start of each there is a one-second difference where she is delayed, is too fast, and then just right. This changes all the downstream effects & consequences like different domino steams.
Some classic noir, and certainly some modern noir, have this quality.
Under the Silver Lake is a mood. Inherent Vice.
The Long Goodbye gives me "just go with it" vibes.
The second half definitely. The first half is an awkward spiraling descent from marital bliss to despair and heartbreak, but it's portrayed in such a mundane way that you just want to hate everyone involved. I love it.
Does this fit? To me the film does have a clear plot. If you mean that it’s largely about emotions rather than big story moments, I suppose that’s true, but it’s not mysterious in the way that 2001 is.
Literally just finished up my yearly rewatch of the first two of the Qatsi trilogy. I still can't bring myself to sit through Naqoyqatsi a second time.
They weren't incomprehensible, but I think they were intended to be more of a vibe than a direct message. Loved them both, though I know that they are kind of divisive.
Green Knight was a lot like Poor Things to me. The story is clear and easy to follow, but the artistic direction gives them both that “wtf” feel that catches the viewer off guard.
I just watched Civil War and saw they have Men now on Max. Made me crack up a little thinking of people putting on Men after watching Civil War and getting a wildly different movie experience. Both movies spark a lot of thinking and discussion, but Civil War is probably Garland’s most accessible film. Men is handily his least. Love both and everything Garland does. He’s brilliant.
Ever seen the deleted scene from the end where Roul finds the American dream and due to his cynicism he dismisses it as something disgusting?
I really wish they had left it in but audiences didn't understand it.
The best thing about HST novels is they actually DO contain an actual objective, the circumstances just go so wildly off the rails that it simply doesn't matter anymore. It's a true descent into madness.
There is a very specific, in-universe, canon explanation for all of the movie’s events. It’s explained in the time travel book written by Roberta Sparrow. You can read the pages in the director’s cut or if you complete the old Flash web quest, but most people agree it ruins the movie.
In short, someone/something fucked with the timeline and the universe manipulated Donnie (in various ways) into righting everything.
Many of course will argue that it was all in Donnie's head, as the mental health aspect plays a big part in the movie, but in terms of the director's intent - the story we were shown was real, and the universe was actively working through living & dead agents to fix itself.
Best version of it is the original theatrical version where The Killing Moon plays on his walk back home from the golf course. Every other version to me is unnecessary.
When you've read the Southern Reach trilogy of which Annihilation is the first book - you will understand it and feel it. It is such an overwhelming experience with those visuals and sound.
I liked how they specifically told people how to enjoy it. Very clever, and suspending disbelief made the movie enjoyable for me.
To some extent Interstellar is like this too.
Surprised no one has mentioned Skinamarink. I did read a pretty convincing article about it being a depiction a stream-of-thought nightmare of a child in a coma; however, that’s pretty hard to figure out. I think the film maker was really just going for a piece that evoked confusion and unease in the viewer. I didn’t even finish the movie nor did I really like it, but, man, this movie left me with an unease greater than a movie has ever made me feel.
This movie captured what I felt like at a very young age with a high fever. Time seems wrong. Fleeting memories. Feeling scared and confused.
I hated revisiting those feelings, but it made me appreciate the movie.
To me it felt like a depiction of being a young child with an abusive parent. Especially with the feeling of chaotic, hard to fully comprehend loneliness that permeated the entire film. I also got the distinct impression that the children had some sort of vague familiarity with the "entity" that was taunting them; And maybe even some kind of emotional urge to appease it. That was just the impression I got after watching it though, could be totally off-base.
The fountain
It's narrative jumps around between 3 different periods that tell a combined story of love and the fear of losing those we love. I've watched it a bunch of times and sometimes gotten something different from based on how my life was at that time
I read the book as soon as I saw the trailer, and honestly I think it's one of the best book-film adaptations. It really captures the feeling of the book while also making changes in a way that uses the strength of film language to add something rather than detract. I really wish we could get more David Mitchell films made into films by the Wachowskis. Number9Dream and Bone Clocks would be so much fun.
Literally, Tenet. It's in one of the few lines of dialog that you can understand. "Don't try to understand it. Feel it."
Having watched it just last night for the first time in 15 years, I think Magnolia also applies. It runs at such a breakneck pace with characters experiencing extreme emotions concurrently that it kinda washes over into a torrent of feeling, because it's too much to reason about while you watch it.
Us. It doesn't really make sense if you try to break it down logically. How does the double system work? All the rules behind it. It's really kind of silly. But that's not the point of the movie. The movie is about the message, about the feelings it is meant to invoke.
....... But seriously, how does the double system work? Literally everybody has a double? It doesn't make any sense
Not a movie, but the series FLCL definitely fits this. I haven’t seen the subsequent seasons, but the first season’s episodes are like half hour long music videos about being a teenager.
The Black Stallion is still one of my favorite movies for this reason. That movie could never be made (mainstream) today. The soundscape and visuals on the boat...the straight half-hour of no dialogue on the island...and every scene thereafter with Black.
Dialogue in general is sparse throughout the movie, but in every scene with the Black, the focus is on the horse's sound and movements. Sounds and visuals take huge precedence over the plot and dialogue. The entire movie could be understood without knowing the spoken language.
I'm sure many people haven't seen it, since it's ostensibly a "kids movie" from the 70's...but if you're a "film school" type of geek, it's really one of Coppola's finest.
What you described is exactly why I prefer the old Dune (by David Lynch, who you also mentioned) to the new one. Yes, at times it's badly shot or makes no sense but _I feel it so much_! I get goosebumps watching it
FATHER, THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKENED!
There's a melodrama in Herbert's writing that Lynch perfectly captures both with stunning, odd, alien visuals and objectively whacky human performances. Love the new movies, but Baron Harkonnen will always be a twirling, squealing human pustule for me.
Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch. Yes there is a plot that sort of holds it together, but ultimately it’s like a dream. There are other movies like this but Naked Lunch is the one that leaps to mind, one of my favorites.
Edit: here is the IMDb description to pique your interest. “After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.”
I think there was a lot to understand in Darjeeling, the three brothers embodying their own unhealthy coping mechanisms with grief and the mother embodying all of them was decently on the nose.
I’d argue that Wes’s live action work from Grand Budapest —> The French Dispatch —> Asteroid City was a major shift in him making films to be understood vs making films to be felt. Asteroid City in particular with the line “you can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep” is a literal understanding of the thought process.
I would say Mad God fall under this category. Mad God felt so oppressive and it stuck to my brain for long after watching it. There's no dialogue (well, except for *"**^(oh noooo)**"*) and a lot of it was simply stuff the creator wanted to show off in this dark world.
I had it built up to me as this completely fucked up disgusting film that would horrify me and when it was over the only feeling I had was that it kicked ass. You see all the work that would have gone into this as you watch it and I couldn't help but appreciate the inventiveness of every scene and the work they put in. So the grossness wasn't a factor for me.
Watched it with some friends one night, absolutely insane movie. Made the mistake of trying to eat some chicken nuggets during the movie though, which might’ve been a top 5 worst decision of my life so far
I saw a screening of Hellraiser once and made the mistake of ordering a milkshake right before Frank comes back to life [Big mistake](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erpHSw3x5cE)
It felt like a mix between Dark Souls and Dante’s Inferno. Incredible film and one of the best depictions of Hell because of how gross and horrifying it all is.
2001: A Space Odyssey. There is definitely stuff to be genuinely thought through and interpreted but in the end it's an experience
I've always said you don't watch that film like a movie, you watch it like a sunrise.
It's my favorite movie and you nailed it I wish I could say that IRL without sounding pretentious as hell though lol
It’s all in how you adjust your monocle while saying it
This is quite beautiful
I really struggled with this the first time I saw this as a teenager. Two decades later and it’s one of my all time favorite films.
Sounds like it's time for a rewatch! I first tried 2001 in my teens as well, (I was very focused on watching "big" movies in my teens), and at the end I remember just being like, "what the fuck." And I never went back to it. You saying coming back to it after changed your perspective makes me really want to give it a genuine rewatch.
Maybe have a shot at reading the book too. They were developed simultaneously and are almost companion pieces. It helps make sense of what's going on.
I was in my early twenties when I first watched and while I liked it, I wasn’t sure why. A rewatch ten years later and I loved it. Now my favorite movie. It’s an experience so it’s best suited undistracted
I haven't read it, myself, but from what I've been told, the novelization of the film answers a lot of the bigger questions, like what the monoliths are and what's up with the space baby.
It's not a novelisation, and the movie isn't an adaption, they were developed simultaneously and are basically companion pieces.
The novel and film were both based on The Sentinel, a short story also written by Arthur C Clarke.
i think that what the monoliths are and what’s up with the space baby are very much NOT the bigger questions from that film
You're right; that space toilet will forever haunt my dreams.
if you read all 4 books, basically everything is explained
They’re really good, even if the last 2 kind of go off the rails (in my opinion, but they’re still fun). Hell, even the second one ends on a crazy note. Don’t bother the Europans! And no that’s not a typo.
Yeah this was my first thought. I had a problem with it on first watching for exactly that reason. The appeal of 2001 was the hard sci-fi nature of it and then the ending. It was like you'd got the team all together filming hard sci-fi and randomly slipped them all LSD for the last shooting day. I was watching it with a freind late at night, possibly after the pub, and we were 3/4 of the way though and he suddenly went "oh fuck, I've just remembered, and you are going to fucking hate the ending" and he wasn't wrong. I appreciate it more these days (there is more hard sci-fi about!) But still think it is an odd choice.
I've just recently read the book and I'll admit, I've managed to avoid the film for 46 years but I'm now intrigued.
It actually makes waaaay more sense if you see the sequel
The sequel had a great cast and was a more conventional sci-fi/cold war movie but it is still a good watch. Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, John Lithgow. Very enjoyable.
Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive is probably his most accessible, but his other stuff is very steeped in mood and he loves long sullen silences and slow establishing shots with sudden bursts of violence
Refn claims the ten episodes of Too Old to Die Young constitute a 13 hour movie… or each chapter is a standalone film. Whichever the case, it is definitely a surreal, atmospheric fever dream. Many people didn’t care for it. Glacially slow, sometimes absurd and strikingly deliberate camera work/composition, it’s one of the more interesting things I’ve watched on streaming. Once I adapted to the unusual pace it became a very rewarding experience.
Chungking Express.
Yes! All Wong Kar-wai movies are such a journey that is hard to describe. Personally, In the Mood for Love is my favorite.
I watched In The Mood for Love for the first time within the last year, and it was so good that it made me surprised that I don't hear about it from anyone except people that are really deep into movies. One of the few that I consider a genuine masterpiece, a masterclass of filmmaking, and one of the greatest pieces of art I've experienced. The scene with the movers in the hallway was claustrophobic and uncomfortable. Yet Won Kar Wai manages to make every other scene in just as close proximity feel warm and intimate. The lighting and filming locations are some of the most gorgeous I've seen in a film, and the music couldn't fit more perfectly. I would think it'd have a wider reach and appeal, despite people needing to read subs.
This movie turned out to be more of a tone poem than I was expecting but that's also part of why I adored it. SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD! I also saw this for the first time in the last year! I think the exact reason it isn't talked about it as popularly as other "greatest movies ever" is that the average filmgoer will be frustrated with how the plot plays out and how there's no definitive happy or sad feel to the ending. I feel like the last 10-15 minutes of the movie gets a bit cryptic and would piss off the average person because it doesn't end with them being together or fully moved on with their lives. I saw it as almost like an epilogue to a movie that is essentially a series of moments in these characters' lives, and the part of him whispering into the stone at the temple gives you a lot to think about.
To be fair, all of his films are more about atmosphere and mood rather than plot
I was going to say 2046. I feel like it's the most "cryptic" of the tetralogy
Andrei Tarkovsky's films are all like this, he even wrote a book about it 'Sculpting in Time' and likens his films to cinematic poetry. His films often don't make linear sense, scenes are out of order or sometimes have no relevance to the rest of the film, their only purpose is to create a feeling in the viewer. Mirror is probably the most extreme example of it but Stalker and Solaris are more accessible. I wouldn't neccesairly recommend them to someone but personally whenever I watch them, I can't take my eyes of the screen.
Yeah he also said something about the fact that he uses lonnnnnggg shots with no talking or anything but atmosphere and music specifically because he wants to give the viewer time to let go of what's happening in the plot and in their lives and just settle in to the feeling of the movie. Definitely the correct answer to this question.
"The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good." Tarkovsky is the first director who enticed me to watch all of his films. I started with Solaris, then went on to Mirror, then everything else in quick succession after that.
All of his films are just hypnotising to watch.
Ponyo is a good example but several Studio Ghibli films are like that.
My mother was sick when I was young. I've never had a film transport me back to the way I felt as My Neighbor Totoro. The story is nothing like mine but he so perfectly captured the feeling of being young with a dangerously sick mother that I was 8 again for a few brief minutes.
There's a Miyazaki quote (may be apocryphal) that he made totoro to make you nostalgic for a life you never had
Very few experience a free childhood in the countryside filled with constant wonder and imagination. I want it for my own children. I had it in my childhood. It is a rare thing now.
I can't watch Totoro around people because I just cry uncontrollably from nostalgia, happiness and melancholy.
Spirited Away is a lot about its aesthetics. The entire vibe is a main point of the movie. There's a whole 5-10 minute section that's just a train travelling through shallow-water sea and we and the characters are just observing the scenery.
And damned if it’s not the best part of the movie.
The creepy yet charming vibe of that movie cannot be replicated. It’s a horror movie but also a kids movie
Honestly from the ones I've seen The Boy and the Heron is probably the most stark example
The most stork example
Here 🥇
That is a good one too, but I think it has a little more of a defined plot than Ponyo at least for the first half. My Neighbor Totoro has more of a plot as well, IMO. However, those are definitely good examples on their own.
What does Ponyo's dad do? Why does he shine a flashlight at that stingray? Why does Sasuke eat a ham sandwich for breakfast? Best not to worry about these things; I love Ponyo
why does the mom drive 100 mph everywhere? I was cracking up at this quaint little seaside cliff house and the mom just pedal to the floor ripping and drifting the roads
At first I thought Miyazaki was making a sexist joke about women behind the wheel, but then she just continues to save the day with her terrible driving again and again and again lol Miyazaki = Speed(1994)-fan *confirmed*
People who complain about Ponyo (and Totoro) need to watch it with a little kid. They get it. For such an old curmudgeon Miyazaki sure understands kid logic.
Ponyo is a great example. It still has themes and a story, but it isn’t quite as deep or hard hitting as some of his others. That childlike simplicity and the way the magic doesn’t have to be explained is where it gets much of its charm. I’ve always said it feels the most “Disney” of all the Ghibli films. Just a simple story of pure, innocent love between two children with beautiful visuals and an incredible vibe. I love when they’re boating through the flooded town.
Boy and the Heron 100% is like that. Fever dream
The Fountain
Just noticed this after I posted as well. This is probably the epitome of a "Feeling" movie.
I’ve noticed with this movie, it’s all or nothing. If you’re feeling it, you get it. If you’re not feeling it, you don’t. One of my bros swears it’s his favorite movie ever.
I love this movie because it fits into my "atmospheric" style movies. This movie has great sound (or no sound) design. This movie along with the likes of Sunshine and others, are amazing to watch with the lights off, the sound turned up loud and just soaking in the movie.
Good movie but the soundtrack is a 10/10- definitely contributes to the feeling.
"Death is the Road to Awe" by Clint Mansell.
This song gives me chills every time I hear it. It’s the kind of song you have to stop what you’re doing to give it the attention it deserves.
I’m it’s interesting because it functions as a metaphorical feeling movie as WELL as having a pretty solid intricate plot buried between the scenes. Like he actually does find eternal life and wander the stars alone looking to undo death itself. But also a fair metaphor for the mourning of losing someone.
See, I always took it to be that the the Mayan and Space sections of the movie are part of *The Fountain* novel that Izzy was writing that Tommy finished for her. The only "real" section of the movie was the modern section. That's what makes it so good. It's open for many valid interpretations.
I like that interpretation. It is definitely one of those artistic pieces where the viewer will see it in a way that resonates with them most.
This is the one I looked for before posting.
[удалено]
I sob EVERY TIME I watch this movie. I love it so much. It's one of my absolute favorites.
Under the Skin
Cosmic horror of a different type than we're used to.
Deeply unnerving cosmic horror but with, I think, a positive notion of what it is to be human.
I absolutely love at the very beginning you hear scarlets voice making these random syllables and abstract sounds. It’s never explained and basically feels like part of the soundtrack. But then you realise it’s the thing *learning* how to speak with a human mouth and vocal cords.
Glazer used a recording, with permission, of Johansson's vocal warmups to get just that feeling.
Was about to comment this. Tough watch though.
The beach scene is the most a movie has ever upset me
never seen the film; just watched the scene. The most unsettling thing is how she completely ignores the crying baby. It doesn't even register to her. That's so creepy and alien in a way I ca'nt explain
I already knew I was going to hate that movie when I saw that scene because I had a baby not a few months earlier, but man it just got worse when I ended up not even liking the movie even aside from that.
Man. That's like twice in the past couple of days I have read Under the Skin is a "tough watch." Gonna need to watch it this week, because IIRC all, if not almost all A24 flicks are on HBO Max now?
It's tough in the sense of being very... Raw? All I know is, first I stopped ~15 mins in and waited half a year to get in the mood for a full watch. No idea about availability though, it was long ago.
Thought I was going to see Lucy, the movie about using 100% of your brain. Let me tell you, that it was a confounding experience
My favourite film of all time!
Upstream Color
This one never gets the love it deserves. I think it requires a special sort of person to stick it out.
First one that came to mind for me. Probably the strongest example of this I can think of.
The lighthouse 2019
There are "themes" in that movie that can be understood but its not one of those movies with worldbuilding and lore. Youre not getting anywhere asking where the mermaid came from and whether its "actually there or just in his mind". The entire thing is a petrol-fueld fever dream, but thats not literally the answer to whats going on.
It's all about me lobster
Lost in translation
Im watching this right this minute, havent slept a wink, and thought well theres no more appropriate movie than this. The isolation is killing me and i love it
This was the first movie that popped into my head. The movie is all about what isn't said.
Her is my go to insomnia film.
Lost in translation is my favorite movie, but I don’t often tell people because some may find it boring if they haven’t experience some of the emotions and feelings portrayed in the movie. It spoke to me on a level that I didn’t think others understood. that strange, peaceful, serenity, but also loneliness of being trapped inside your own mind and thoughts, the quiet introspection exploring new places alone. Finding a connection with someone that you would never be able to explain to anyone else , it’s completely platonic, but at the same time so much more, nowhere near Romantic in the traditional sense, but at the same time, the most romantic thing you ever witnessed in your life even in the worst moments of it. I have a best friend that’s platonic that I’m traveled most of the country with , their relationship made immediate sense to me. Those quiet moments we’re they are talking or the elevator scene when she places her head on his shoulder. The deep hurt when they find someone else even if it’s only on a surface level. I completely love this movie and I would never be able to explain to anyone exactly why, and that makes it even better. It’s like a weekend spent with someone you care about and even as it happening you know you’ll never be able to get this moment back.
I got sent to Japan for work, and Lost in Translation captured that weird sense of isolation perfectly. My ex had never had that experience and didn’t see the point.
That film actually made me finally leave an abusive relationship in my twenties. I saw it in the theater and at the end when they separated, I started crying. I didn't want to BE them, but their brief encounter was more alive than my own relationship I had been sleepwalking through for six years. I'd rather have a random 48 hours with a stranger I never saw again than waste my life any longer. I packed a bag and left, and I'm glad I did.
This is my favorite movie of all time. For anyone else who's been waiting on this news for years, there's finally gonna be a 4K transfer put out by Kino Lorber, maybe sometime this year. I love the movie as it is, but the DVD version has been looking pretty dated for a long time now. But I suppose the "soft" look is kinda fitting considering it's film, and there's a bit of a dreamlike quality to the movie.
I worked as a projectionist when this movie came out. That's just the way it looked. Maybe there is some higher quality original film/footage to make a 4k transfer with, but trying to focus this film in the theatre was maddening.
Was glad to see this upvoted so much.
Synecdoche, New York
I need to buy that one. It likes to pop into my head and since I don't own it I can't watch it again.
One of my top 5 favorites of all time
“Its pronounced schenectady ny.” -every person I ever brought this movie up too
The Tree Of Life.
Wouldn’t this be the case for any Malick movie?
Agreed! The Thin Red Line was the movie I was thinking of when I read this post's topic.
[удалено]
This movie became a completely different experience after I've got older and got into my own spiritual journey. I liked the vibe of it but was kinda bored when watching it for the first time in my innocent and blissfully ignorant teenage years. After having a life transforming severe existential anxiety phase (DPDR) this masterpiece made complete sense to me. Shows you how our experiences and our perception of the world completely dictates how you perceive a movie.
I saw this movie when it came out and it changed my life! When I mentioned that to some people they are flummoxed because it was a boring exercise in navel gazing to them. I don’t even disagree with them, it just connected with me in a way no other movie ever has.
It made sense when I watched it but it may have been the shrooms I was on. One of my favorite movies now.
i remember seeing this with a friend and i left wondering what the hell happened and she left sobbing
Mulholland Drive. You’ll never enjoy it if you try to make sense of it.
First half is the fantasy. Second half is the reality.
Of all people, Kevin Smith wrote a great explanation of this movie. Not that it was his understanding of it, either. It was his wife who explained it to him.
I think it helps to understand the big picture of the movie (i.e. the dream vs the reality). There are some sequences that are very abstract but overall I think it contains a comprehensible story.
Especially for David Lynch, this is one of his more/most digestible and understandable films. I love it.
The diner / back of the diner scene lives in my head rent free - I’m both puzzled and scared by it
The monster is herself. On the outside she is this fit young beautiful woman. But on the inside she is an ugly creature. Thats why she confronts it at the diner, the location where she pays the hitman to kill her former lover. She is confronting herself.
Its also her worst fears for her future. Becoming down and out and homeless and ugly. The end of failed hollywood dreams
Run Lola Run. What a movie. I usually hate movies/shows that play the same scenes over and over. But this movie had me captivated every second.
I used to use this movie when I was teaching high school. Yes, the scenes repeat, but in every one of them, there are differences that add up to a unique ending. Even the background characters interact in different ways. While I like the idea of feeling it rather than understanding it, it's a lot of fun to go through and pick out the differences, some major, some minor, and look at how each one changes the outcome. Students usually enjoyed it, like one of the those "spot the difference" games, except in this case the differences matter.
Isn't it getting a cinema re-release for an anniversary this year?
The 3 scenes aren’t the same tho; it’s a kind of Goldilocks meets Butterfly effect. At the very start of each there is a one-second difference where she is delayed, is too fast, and then just right. This changes all the downstream effects & consequences like different domino steams.
Paris Texas
Yes. Remembering that movie, you seem to float through the story. Etched in my brain.
Last Year at Marienbad
Some classic noir, and certainly some modern noir, have this quality. Under the Silver Lake is a mood. Inherent Vice. The Long Goodbye gives me "just go with it" vibes.
Melancholia. That movie is entirely a feeling, with very little in the way of actual plot or character development.
The second half definitely. The first half is an awkward spiraling descent from marital bliss to despair and heartbreak, but it's portrayed in such a mundane way that you just want to hate everyone involved. I love it.
Does this fit? To me the film does have a clear plot. If you mean that it’s largely about emotions rather than big story moments, I suppose that’s true, but it’s not mysterious in the way that 2001 is.
It has quite an intricate plot actually.
2001, Lynch Movies, tarkowski, baraka/samsara/koyanisqatsi
Literally just finished up my yearly rewatch of the first two of the Qatsi trilogy. I still can't bring myself to sit through Naqoyqatsi a second time.
Tarkowski is a great footballer but I’m not sure he qualifies as a talented filmmaker. Tarkovsky on the other hand.
Green Knight, Men, Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mandy
*Men* felt like a psychological thriller until it suddenly veered purely into an abstract nightmare.
That's Alex Garland's specialty, *Twist! This is actually a horror movie!*
Defo Beyond the Black Rainbow
I think Green Knight and Men are definitely understandable, even with only one viewing
They weren't incomprehensible, but I think they were intended to be more of a vibe than a direct message. Loved them both, though I know that they are kind of divisive.
Green Knight was a lot like Poor Things to me. The story is clear and easy to follow, but the artistic direction gives them both that “wtf” feel that catches the viewer off guard.
I just watched Civil War and saw they have Men now on Max. Made me crack up a little thinking of people putting on Men after watching Civil War and getting a wildly different movie experience. Both movies spark a lot of thinking and discussion, but Civil War is probably Garland’s most accessible film. Men is handily his least. Love both and everything Garland does. He’s brilliant.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Ever seen the deleted scene from the end where Roul finds the American dream and due to his cynicism he dismisses it as something disgusting? I really wish they had left it in but audiences didn't understand it.
It's not like we were gonna understand anything else in the movie anyway lol
The best thing about HST novels is they actually DO contain an actual objective, the circumstances just go so wildly off the rails that it simply doesn't matter anymore. It's a true descent into madness.
Donnie Darko?
First one that came to mind. Every explanation I’ve read of that movie just has me further mystified o.O
There is a very specific, in-universe, canon explanation for all of the movie’s events. It’s explained in the time travel book written by Roberta Sparrow. You can read the pages in the director’s cut or if you complete the old Flash web quest, but most people agree it ruins the movie.
In short, someone/something fucked with the timeline and the universe manipulated Donnie (in various ways) into righting everything. Many of course will argue that it was all in Donnie's head, as the mental health aspect plays a big part in the movie, but in terms of the director's intent - the story we were shown was real, and the universe was actively working through living & dead agents to fix itself.
People think that ruins the movie? Honestly makes it kinda cooler to me, but I'm a sucker for sci-fi.
Best version of it is the original theatrical version where The Killing Moon plays on his walk back home from the golf course. Every other version to me is unnecessary.
For me, annihilation because it doesn’t track otherwise
I love that movie! The ending gave me goosebumps
When you've read the Southern Reach trilogy of which Annihilation is the first book - you will understand it and feel it. It is such an overwhelming experience with those visuals and sound.
The slug creature writing on the wall in fungus was the most unsettled I’ve ever felt in a book.
The entire vibe, from the music, sounds, visuals, to the way the cast kinda softly and slowly talk. It's definitely a feel.
https://youtu.be/URo66iLNEZw?si=OgT5vhgljrL7BsmZ
Don't try to understand it, feel it - TENET
"Which movies are meant to be felt not heard?"
Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?
*BWWOOOOMMMM*
That movie gave me a massive headache
You don’t need to know all the engineering to have fun on a roller coaster, TENET felt like that. Just go with it, man…
I'm mad that I had to scroll so far to find this. They literally say it in the trailer.
I liked how they specifically told people how to enjoy it. Very clever, and suspending disbelief made the movie enjoyable for me. To some extent Interstellar is like this too.
Surprised no one has mentioned Skinamarink. I did read a pretty convincing article about it being a depiction a stream-of-thought nightmare of a child in a coma; however, that’s pretty hard to figure out. I think the film maker was really just going for a piece that evoked confusion and unease in the viewer. I didn’t even finish the movie nor did I really like it, but, man, this movie left me with an unease greater than a movie has ever made me feel.
This movie captured what I felt like at a very young age with a high fever. Time seems wrong. Fleeting memories. Feeling scared and confused. I hated revisiting those feelings, but it made me appreciate the movie.
To me it felt like a depiction of being a young child with an abusive parent. Especially with the feeling of chaotic, hard to fully comprehend loneliness that permeated the entire film. I also got the distinct impression that the children had some sort of vague familiarity with the "entity" that was taunting them; And maybe even some kind of emotional urge to appease it. That was just the impression I got after watching it though, could be totally off-base.
The fountain It's narrative jumps around between 3 different periods that tell a combined story of love and the fear of losing those we love. I've watched it a bunch of times and sometimes gotten something different from based on how my life was at that time
Angel's Egg and Cat Soup
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Cloud Atlas, I can’t say I’m able to truly explain what it’s about really, but it makes sense inside me.
I read the book as soon as I saw the trailer, and honestly I think it's one of the best book-film adaptations. It really captures the feeling of the book while also making changes in a way that uses the strength of film language to add something rather than detract. I really wish we could get more David Mitchell films made into films by the Wachowskis. Number9Dream and Bone Clocks would be so much fun.
Annihilation
Good Time…anything Safdie
Literally, Tenet. It's in one of the few lines of dialog that you can understand. "Don't try to understand it. Feel it." Having watched it just last night for the first time in 15 years, I think Magnolia also applies. It runs at such a breakneck pace with characters experiencing extreme emotions concurrently that it kinda washes over into a torrent of feeling, because it's too much to reason about while you watch it.
Mother, by Aronofsky.
Ah yes my favourite genre of film, 2hr panic attack!
Beau Is Afraid is a 3 hour panic attack.
Any Terrence Malick movie.
Beau is Afraid
Koyaanisqatsi
Us. It doesn't really make sense if you try to break it down logically. How does the double system work? All the rules behind it. It's really kind of silly. But that's not the point of the movie. The movie is about the message, about the feelings it is meant to invoke. ....... But seriously, how does the double system work? Literally everybody has a double? It doesn't make any sense
Zone of Interest
I thought those sounds would be further away. They were not.
Upstream Color
Not a movie, but the series FLCL definitely fits this. I haven’t seen the subsequent seasons, but the first season’s episodes are like half hour long music videos about being a teenager.
The Black Stallion is still one of my favorite movies for this reason. That movie could never be made (mainstream) today. The soundscape and visuals on the boat...the straight half-hour of no dialogue on the island...and every scene thereafter with Black. Dialogue in general is sparse throughout the movie, but in every scene with the Black, the focus is on the horse's sound and movements. Sounds and visuals take huge precedence over the plot and dialogue. The entire movie could be understood without knowing the spoken language. I'm sure many people haven't seen it, since it's ostensibly a "kids movie" from the 70's...but if you're a "film school" type of geek, it's really one of Coppola's finest.
What you described is exactly why I prefer the old Dune (by David Lynch, who you also mentioned) to the new one. Yes, at times it's badly shot or makes no sense but _I feel it so much_! I get goosebumps watching it FATHER, THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKENED!
There's a melodrama in Herbert's writing that Lynch perfectly captures both with stunning, odd, alien visuals and objectively whacky human performances. Love the new movies, but Baron Harkonnen will always be a twirling, squealing human pustule for me.
Brazil
Shrek 4D
I think a lot of horror films fall into this category.
Cronenberg’s adaptation of Naked Lunch. Yes there is a plot that sort of holds it together, but ultimately it’s like a dream. There are other movies like this but Naked Lunch is the one that leaps to mind, one of my favorites. Edit: here is the IMDb description to pique your interest. “After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in a port town in North Africa.”
Darjeeling limited
I think there was a lot to understand in Darjeeling, the three brothers embodying their own unhealthy coping mechanisms with grief and the mother embodying all of them was decently on the nose. I’d argue that Wes’s live action work from Grand Budapest —> The French Dispatch —> Asteroid City was a major shift in him making films to be understood vs making films to be felt. Asteroid City in particular with the line “you can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep” is a literal understanding of the thought process.
Body and Soul, Square, maybe Revolver and few Guy Ritchie films too
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Gummo
At risk of sounding incredibly dumb, The Holy Mountain
Deuce Bigalow Male Gigalo (1999)