Philosophically satisfying movies

CazadorRoosevelt

CazadorRoosevelt

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What are the top 3 movies that really make you soul-searchy and hit your "philosophical button" and why. Anything that fills you with a sense of curiosity, wonder and a sense of purpose?
Mine are Interstellar, Princess Mononoke and The Sunset Limited.
 
CazadorRoosevelt said:
What are the top 3 movies that really make you soul-searchy and hit your "philosophical button" and why
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The Sunset Limited
Chinatown
Some Came Running

These are the main movies that send me off soul searching even though the second two are not necessarily philosophical at all. That's also just what I could quickly come up with off the top of my head, if you gave me some time I could come up with a better list.

Chinatown leaves me thinking about good and evil, specifically how it is evil succeeds.

Some Came Running is all about love, my favorite romance movie and an absolute classic.

Honestly though no movie has sent me down the philosophical paths as much as the Twilight Zone series, so many thought provoking and chilling episodes!
 
The Matrix
Waking Life
eXistenZ
 
hush said:
Yes!! ❤ Miyazaki

The other film of his that really gets me going is Nausicaä, love both of those so much. Mentioned Nausicaä here in the "Describe yourself in three fictional characters" thread:



ETA: This is a tough question tho, so I'll have to think some more about it ..
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I've never seen Nausicaä but will have to try it out if it's as good as the rest of his films. Princess Mononoke is my soul movie. I saw it when I was about 4 during a very traumatic period in my life and it resonated in my spirit. I didn't know the name of the movie but I never forgot about it. I found out the name when I watched it on Toonami in the 4th grade and was so relieved it wasn't something I had made up. Ashitaka was my first boyfriend. Lol. My husband ended up getting me the movie for our first anniversary.
 
Au Hasard Balthazar by Robert Bresson (1966) for capturing in film the meaning of saintliness. The main character in the movie is a donkey.

Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky (1972) for the depth of its existential themes. The most profound science fiction/space exploration film of all time, in my opinion.

Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2014) for its unparalleled exploration of the intricacies of human motivations and psychology, and the role of place in human life. There is also a subtle cosmic view about that film. Gorgeous and unforgettable.
 
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Ren said:
Au Hasard Balthazar by Robert Bresson (1966) for capturing in film the meaning of saintliness. The main character in the movie is a donkey.

Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky (1968) for the depth of its existential themes. The most profound science fiction/space exploration film of all time, in my opinion.

Winter Sleep by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (2014) for its unparalleled exploration of the intricacies of human motivations and psychology, and the role of place in human life. There is also a subtle cosmic view about that film. Gorgeous and unforgettable.
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I haven't heard of these!

Sounds intriguing, I will watch all three.

Certain films haunt me. I dream about them; I occasionally experience flashes from scenes that matter, at that moment, irl. My intuition almost seems like an independent entity trying to get through my thick skull.
 
Hmm.. well there are the classics like The Matrix, Blade Runner, etc. But let's not go there, cause everyone has seen them. (Or should have?)

- Dark City (1998), noir, science-fiction, breathes atmosphere. Draws upon Plato's Cave. Goes into individual identity and hive minds. If you strip away everything a person is, what is left? Do people have an essence?

- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), romance, science-fiction, drama. Memory alteration and removal. Would you take away the pain of a failed relationship by removing all your memories of that person, as if it never existed? How does that alter you? And what if you run into them again, is the outcome set in stone?

- Dark Star (1974), comedy. Okay this one I added just for absurdity and poking fun at philosophy. A bomb becomes self-aware. And turns into Descartes in the process, apparently. How do you stop it from detonating? Why, by debating it, of course. :tearsofjoy: Just be careful you don't accidentally convince your bomb of solipsism ..lol.
"Hello bomb? Are you with me?"
"Of course."
"Are you willing to entertain a few concepts?"
"I'm always receptive to suggestions."
"Fine. Think about this then. How do you know you exist?"
"Bleep bleep. Well, of course I exist."
"But how do you know you exist?"
"It is intuitively obvious."
"Intuition is no proof. What concrete evidence do you have that you exist?"
"Hmmm... well.. I think, therefore I am."
"That's good. That's very good. But how do you know anything else exists?"
"My sensory apparatus reveals it to me."
"Ah, right."
"This is fun!"
"Now listen, listen. Here is the big question. How do you know that the evidence your sensory apparatus reveals to you is correct?"
"Bleep bleep?"
"What I'm getting at is this. The only experience that is directly available to you is your sensory data. And this sensory data is merely a stream of electrical impulses that stimulates your computing center."
"In other words, all that I really know about the outside world is relayed to me through my electrical connections."
"Exactly!"
"Why, that would mean that.. I really don't know what the outside universe is like at all for certain."
"That's it, that's it!"
"Intriguing. I wish I had more time to discuss this matter."
"Why don't you have more time?"
"Because I must detonate in 75 seconds."
 
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