What movie was so thought-provoking that you're still thinking about it more than a year later (maybe even more than ten years)?
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Jeruba (
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May 4th, 2011
Not a goofy movie or a scary movie but one that really made you think.
Made a lasting impression. Left you with some new ideas or some things to puzzle over.
What movie has lingered in your consciousness and given you something to ponder for a long while? and why?
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53 Answers
Muholland Drive and strangely, Blow Up
Equilibrium – sorry forgot the why.
It is about how feelings cause war etc., but the quandary is that feelings are also makes life worth living.
Howards End. Even almost two decades later the message of consequences, honor, confused communication and interactional confusion still have me thinking.
Two movies come to mind after digesting your question, Ms. Blanchett:
“How to Make an American Quilt”, which dealt with issues of race, age, and matters of the heart. I watched it in the theatre in 1996 and still remember it clearly.
Erich Segal’s, “Love Story”, because truly, being in love means never having to say you’re sorry.
Dead Man Walking.
Death & the Maiden.
…basically anything with a death-related title. Death to Smoochy… Deathrace2000…
The Matrix – what if we were all in a game? What if someone were able to mess with the variables? My brother did that on a Commodore 64 game.
Se7en really has stayed with me.
The first one that comes to mind is “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”.
It has stayed with me since watching it a couple of years back because it reminded me of the strength of the human spirit. Regardless of the adversity we as people face, deep inside of all of us lies unshakeable strength, faith, beauty… This is what I took from the movie. It’s the inner self that’s important.
Requiem for a Dream
Mulholland Dr.
Smokin’ Aces.
I’m still trying to figure out certain parts of Donnie Darko.
Also, Doubt. I love that this movie really has no closure and you’re left to decide for yourself what really happened from performances that were incredibly convincing. I’m still struggling with my own opinion about who was right and who was wrong.
Oh, and Synecdoche, New York was one of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen. I’ve never been left more confused, yet intrigued by a film.
Wild Strawberries. If you’ve seen it, then you already know why.
Apocalypse Now. Thirty years later it still haunts me. I guess because I knew a few people who were in the Vietnam war.
Soylent Green- I saw it in the 80’s and though it was campy but as the years have passed then I see a lot of things that are poignant and sad, things true about our current reality.
Smokey and the Bandit. I laughed my rear off in this movie. Jackie Gleason stole the whole movie.
I was kinda concerned about all the police vehicles they were wrecking in this movie. I know they were junks, but it still concerned for the safety involved.
“I can’t believe you came from my loins. When I get home, I’m gonna smack your mama in the face”.
The Seventh Seal
Apocalypse Now
Fight Club
Memento
2001: A Space Odyssey
Synecdoche, NY – One of my favorite movies that everyone seems to hate. The ending monologue alone gives me chills.
My apology Jeruba. I just reread the question and see that you requested reasons. The Big Blue‘s reviews pale compared to the actual mystery behind the story. The ending might be bittersweet, but a lot is left to the imagination as to what the real story is behind the main character.
Contact was fascinating throughout in weaving a tale of extraterrestrials gently reaching out to make contact with we Earthlings. It was intriguing enough that I read Carl Sagan’s book after seeing the movie, both of which I enjoyed. How often does that happen?
Interestingly enough, it was Mulholland Drive that prompted this question. That’s not my nominee because I saw it for the first time less than a week ago, but I have an idea it may linger for me. I know it may not have all the deep symbolism and intentionality that some ascribe to it, but it still possesses a provocative and disturbing quality that seems to haunt viewers.
The movie I’d name is Karakter (Character). (Damn, I wish I’d asked everyone to include IMDb links with their titles.) Years later, I find that one still resonating in odd ways. That was a movie with unique characters, two of whom had a quality of absoluteness about them that seemed ennobling even if you found them unlikeable. The focal character, caught between them in their strange dance, was engrossing as a product of their extremes and also as a person fighting for his own identity between two powerful personalities. I found this to be a film free of cliches, a remarkable thing in itself.
The Matrix. What does it all mean?!
Mulholland Drive is great, and it lingered with me for years (admittedly, I am a huge David Lynch fan). However, after some extensive reading, analysis, and a third viewing, the movie made way too much sense to me. In a way, the magic was taken out of it a bit. I enjoy allowing movies to work on me in an emotional, mysterious way.
Eraserhead made me physically and emotionally ill the first couple of times I saw it, yet I consider it a favorite for this very reason.
On the lighter side, Jim Jarmusch has made some movies that I can really connect with. In particular, Dead Man and Stranger Than Paradise.
@Jeruba
I can safely say that Mulholland Drive is my favorite movie of all time. It’s only been a few months since I’ve seen it, but I am definitely still thinking about it and probably will for a long time.
When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I think I found myself actually laughing out loud sometimes because it seemed so confusing and symbolic and I knew that I was not fully getting it. I’ve watched it with friends who just say “what the fuck is going on?” the entire time. Of course, after seeing it multiple times and reading about it online, I do feel that I understand it as much as possible. But it’s the fact that there’s so much in the movie, there’s so much symbolism and mystery and intrigue that keeps me interested. I’ve never thought about a movie so much; I’ve never extra research on a movie like this before. There’s something about Mulholland Drive…
@tom_g
That’s essentially what happened to me. It started to make a lot of sense and it seemed less “mysterious” to me. However, it’s still very mysterious (and interesting) and I love watching it with people who haven’t seen it before and seeing their reactions and hearing their thoughts on it.
Don’t get me wrong, @DominicX, I still consider it one of my favorite films of all time. I just have found that there are times that my obsession with a film can diminish my enjoyment – ever so slightly.
Amazing movie, though. Of course, Angelo Badalamenti does a great job helping with atmosphere as well.
I haven’t seen Mulholland Drive yet…but apparently I have to. You guys are really talking it up lol.
I’d also like to add Palindromes. Weird, man. Weird, weird, weird, weird, weird, uncomfortable and some more weirdness.
As well as The Life Before Her Eyes. The twist at the end really struck a chord in me emotionally.
You’re referring to the composer, of course, @tom_g, and yes, I noticed how much the music contributed to the mood and atmosphere of this film. But I’m not sure the credit is due to him. The director himself, David Lynch, was the sound designer, and I have an idea that his role in merging image and sound was crucial. Also the cinematography and especially the editing played a big part.
@DominicX, it was your touting of Mulholland Drive on another thread that prompted me to rent it this past week.
@Jeruba :D I feel special…I’m glad to be spreading it around… ^_^
@DominicX : Well, you’ve got me intrigued, and I’m wondering how I missed it when it first appeared. I’ll have to track that puppy down and have a look!
Thought provoking?
Deep Throat
Taboo I
The Passion of the Christ
Breakfast Club
@DominicX, you are special, darlin’. And I’ve seen enough of your views on the performing arts to take your recommendations seriously.
Shane.
It’s an oldie. My Dad loved it. I never get tired of it.
Oh @josie, I loved that movie. Thanks for reminding me of it.
Are we still answering “thought-provoking” and “lingered in your consciousness and given you something to ponder,” or have we moved on to favorite?
@Jeruba The “gunfighter with a soft heart” dichotomy has always been thought provoking in my opinion.. It has been an influence on me. And it certainly applied to my father. There ya go.
All right, then! Good enough. The “why” is part of the question.
Fight Club and Stranger than Fiction go in very different directions, but both have deeply existentialist themes to them that I still find interesting.
Inception and The Matrix are fun to watch, but I still find their shared source material to be far more thought-provoking than either film.
“Bridges of Madison County”.The choices we make within life…the what-ifs, commitments, obligations with regard to others and ourself. I think of it often. Almost acted once beCAUSE of it.
I watched Mulholland Drive, and I feel like I watched a great movie (I thought it was), but I couldn’t grasp much of it. I’ve never been into symbolism and take much at face value. I only understood a small portion of the movie :(
Too many to mention. Surely the point of a movie is not only to entertain, but to spark the “little grey cells” into action. Certainly true of my viewing ethos anyhow.
@Blackberry, Mulholland Drive is not for everyone. If it didn’t do it for you, that’s ok. However, if you are still thinking about it in a few days, I recommend reading some online analysis (just a bit) and possibly seeing it a second time. It’s a rather straightforward – and tragic – story when seen from a certain perspective. Second time might be rewarding for you (or it could be torture).
Identity could be classified as a horror film, but it goes quite a bit deeper than that. It troubled me for quite a while afterward. I can’t really say why without giving things away, though.
Memento (also sort of horror-ish) was similar to Mulholland Drive in that you almost have to watch it a number of times to figure it out. I love this movie.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest devastated me. I couldn’t shake it for the longest time.
@Blackberry I’m sure you understood the lesbian make-out scene, didn’t you?
Message in a Bottle
‘A woman finds a romantic letter in a bottle washed ashore and tracks down the author, a widowed shipbuilder whose wife died tragically early. As a deep and mutual attraction blossoms, the man struggles to make peace with his past so that he can move on and find happiness.’
Call me mushy, but I love a good love story and this one has a good message.
@bob_ I understood it, although I’ll need to conduct a more thorough analysis to solidify my understanding :)
I actually just done reading some online analysis of the movie, and it does make perfect sense now lol. That was easy.
21 Grams
Nell
Dead Poet’s Society
Othello
To Kill a Mockingbird
These are movies I will watch over, and over, and still find something new to think about each and every time. Not “favorites,” per se, but more of movies I find fascinating enough to watch once again because I know I’ll get something new out of it.
Bourne Identity—Made me wonder just how easy it would be for someone to steal my identity in this day and age.
Grave Of The Fireflies—Well, it made me cry and think about what I would have done in his place for my baby sister…
Lord of the Flies (the 1963 movie). While I read the book before seeing the movie version, more of the story is remembered from the movie.
It’s surprising that this wasn’t the first to come to mind, since it surfaced frequently with the various supervisors I reported to. I’ve worked for the ‘Ralphs’ and for ‘Jacks’. Both have provided life lessons on what to do and what not to do when it comes to leadership and management.
Of the thousands of movies I have seen (yes, thousands) there is only one movie that had me push the replay button immediately after the end credits rolled. The Nines. Not only did it have my brain itching to figure out the details I missed the first time around, but those 99 minutes were one hell-of-a metaphysical ride.
Star Wars. Because part of me is still ten years old and wants to be a Jedi.
I’ll still muse over The Truman Show, even these many years later. I tend to think of it as a sort of Matrix Lite.
The post-apocalyptic scenario has given me a lot of food for thought, particularly regarding what everybody plans on doing now that there’s no industrial base. That ties in with one of my back-burner concerns about our distance, as a civilization from our own dinners and devices, those of us who aren’t @incendiary_dan and possibly @Coloma. Part of why I’m still pretty cool to the notion of the e-book. Who controls the data? What happens when the company dies? What happens when the e-reader goes out, and you can’t get another one because it’s obsolete, and your collection is lost? What if you’re lost in the woods and are in desperate need of a fire-starter because you can’t tear an extra leaf from your Kindle?
A book, you have the thing and there’s no dithering about it unless you can do solipsism with a straight face. In which case, I suppose that you wouldn’t need the physical article in the first place.
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