After some research, I came up with a list of the top ten films that many people find confusing and try to give a small explanation about what concept is being examined, as well as maybe a hint or two that will help with understanding the film as well.
Be forewarned, if you have not seen any of these movies yet, there may be spoilers.
(Anything I do give away, with the possible exception of Fight Club, doesn't ruin the movie. I just try to ruin the confusion you feel after watching these movies.)
At the top (bottom?) of our list, we find Memento. Directed by Christopher Nolan, it follows the difficulties a man, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), with short term memory loss experiences while investigating the murder of his wife. Viewers watching this movie will see events play out from different points in time, in either reverse chronological order or chronological order. A second (or third!) viewing can help the audience solve the mysteries of this mystery.
9. A Clockwork Orange
Set in the futuristic 1995 (It was filmed in 1971 by the late Stanley Kubrick.), A Clockwork Orange follows the extremely delinquent Alex DeLarge as he leads his gang of friends on ultra-violent adventures, which include beating up old men, raping women, and basically anything horrible that you could imagine someone doing to another being. After being convicted of murder, he is sentenced to 14 years in prison, but after a couple years, he makes a deal that will get him on parole. He agrees to take part in experimental aversion therapy that the government believes will help neuter criminals, but will the future of that society be better when the government dictates what morality is to the citizens within it and enforces their version of morality?
Many people say "Well, I read the book, and when I saw the movie, I wasn't confused at all!" Well, that's because you read the book before you saw the movie based on the book, while others only saw the movie based on the book. Most of the confusion this movie creates is solved by the end, except for the very end, which is hard to understand because of how the dark the scenes are, as well as the massive head wound Edward Norton's character, a man suffering from a split-personality disorder, inflicts upon himself with a gun. By physically pulling the trigger, he mentally exterminated his second personality. He survives because he shoots himself through the cheek, avoiding any important organs or veins.
The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, introduced the world's audiences to the idea that maybe what we see everyday is just a virtual reality created for us by advanced machines that keep us imprisoned in pods and harvest our energy for their use. Ok, simple enough, I suppose, but then what are we supposed to make of the two sequels, Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolutions? It seems to have turned into an exploration of philosophy too dense for the majority of viewers, but if you watch with the idea in mind that it is more a journey or quest, it becomes much easier to understand.
6. Donnie Darko
When Donnie Darko, your average high school student, walks outside his house the night of October 2, he starts experiencing a very strange and realistic hallucination of Frank,a being who wears a grotesque bunny costume. Frank tells Donnie things about the world ending and persuades him to do things, such as burning down a motivational speaker's house. Donnie starts investigating time travel and the opinions surrounding it. By avoiding an event that was predestined to happen, an alternate timeline branches off the main timeline, but eventually, the alternate timeline will not be able to sustain itself and must close or risk destroying the main timeline, and with that, the universe as we know it.
5. Vanilla Sky
David Aames has it all: money, women, fame, etc., etc. However, he loses it all when a jealous lover tries to kill him (The old "If I can't have you, nobody will!" routine), and although he survives, he is horribly disfigured and finds it difficult to return to his life as the way it was. There is no one answer to what this movie is about, but instead, questions are answered with more questions about what it all means. (Which, in my opinion, is way more frustrating than just being unsure of what is going on.) It's a question that has puzzled scientists for decades: what happens to us when we are in a coma or cryogenically frozen? And more specifically, what goes on inside our brain during that time? Do we dream? Or is there just blackness behind our eyes?
Jake Green is released from prison, and begins to use a formula he and his solitary confinement neighbors developed to win at all types of gambling ventures. He becomes well-known for his "luck", and begins to take his revenge on the man who put him in prison when two men come to him and tell him he has 3 days to live, and they'll protect him (the revenge business is dangerous business!) so long as he gives them all their money. This film is amazing once you remember that everyone is in their own prison and remember that the mind, just like in Fight Club, is a powerful weapon.
3. I Heart Huckabees
The philosophies that are central to the plot in I Heart Huckabees are existentialism and nihilism and absurdism. Existentialists believe that the only meaning in human existence is to exist, so they embrace their existences and create their own meanings for their lives. Nihilists believe that there is no meaning to existence, and any attempt to create meaning is also meaningless because there is no meaning. Absurdists believe that there may be meaning, but humans will never be able to know it, so it's a 50/50 chance that trying to create your own meaning in your life is worth it. Even if you don't understand these philosophies, the movie is still extremely entertaining - just remember that human existence connects everyone, and we are living the lives that we created for ourselves.
2.(Tied for #1) 2001: A Space Odyssey
I, personally, do not get this movie, but I understand that it's about the history of mankind, its present, and its distant future, and the monoliths are the triggers for the changes in mankind's evolution, such as the ape using the old bone as a tool and a weapon. The meaning of this film is up to you and your own personal interpretation, and like me, there will be many people out there who will still be confused even after thinking about it for a long time.
Talk about complicated! Some of his films will give you a hint or a clue to what the meaning behind the movie is by the end, but for some of his films, including INLAND EMPIRE, there is no discernible meaning for the movie's meaning, not to mention the very existence of it. When it comes to David Lynch, I can't help you, so you're on your own. Sorry!
5 comments:
PRIMER!!! out does ALL of these movies
Yeah easily Primer. It's more confusing then these 10 put together.
You have never seen a David Lynch movie. Eraserhead brought mind fucking movies to a new level. Downloading Primer now, but I seriously doubt it could top a Lynch movie in the bizarre department.
Primer? Primer is confusing because it's like attending a seminar about the advanced workings of jet turbine. Chances are, you have no clue what they're talking about, then throw in a plot, and you have no clue what's going on, but you know something is in fact going on.
Yes, Primer is very confusing. That being said, it is no where near a Lynch film. Primer confuses. Lynch's movies? They make you question your sanity, whether or not you're even here. They make you horrified and confused by a pop-up scare. No, Primer is not "All 10 put together" because it's ALL of Lynch's films due to the open-ness of number 1. You'd be an idiot to say Lynch doesn't deserve the top spot.
The difference between Lynch and Primer (and in my opinion why the later is the better of the two) is that Lynch movies are hard to follow because of a lack of information. Primer simply has *too much* information, it takes multiple viewings to absorb and untangle. You could watch and Lynch movie a thousand times and still not 'get' it because the answers often aren't there, and even taking a guess there's no way to prove you're right. It's like comparing two tests, one on english and one on math, at least with math test if you have the time you can check all your answers are right before you even hand it in.
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