The Most Important Philosophical Films of World Cinema

From Mel Gibson to Seth MacFarlane, Federico Fellini to Ridley Scott, and of course Hitchcock, all have made films in which their own particular messages are embedded; from symbolic storytelling to clever, subtextual dialogue. According to Saba, ideologies, theories, or any other message are always encoded in films in the hope that audiences will receive those messages, for the secret to making a successful film, especially a narrative film, is to avoid preaching. From Mel Gibson to Seth MacFarlane, Federico Fellini to Ridley Scott, and of course Hitchcock, all have made films in which their own particular messages are embedded; from symbolic storytelling to clever, subtextual dialogue. Here is a list of films that contain encoded philosophical messages for their audiences. Please note that these films are numbered according to their production date. Whether you are the type of filmgoer who pays no attention to the artistic aspects of filmmaking, or one of its art-house cinephiles, it is worth knowing that there are filmmakers and writers who consider the medium of cinema the best option for bringing their mental desires to life in their artistic work.

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1- "Rope" 1948 (Alfred Hitchcock)

Hitchcock, the master of suspense, always draws his audiences into a shocking world. "Rope" is also one of his most audacious films, a film deliberately made in a single take. The actors in this valuable, sparsely populated classic are John Stewart, Farley Granger, and John Dall. This film is one of the most unique films of its time, both from a specialized and a general perspective. "Rope" is an anti-existentialist film, referencing Nietzsche's philosophy of the "Übermensch," and also contains many Freudian allusions.

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2- "The Fountainhead" 1949 (King Vidor)

"The Fountainhead" is an adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel and an individualistic melodrama filmed in the style of German Expressionists. Gary Cooper plays an independent architect striving to maintain his existential integrity. This film is a portrait of a metaphysical statement: a manifesto of cognition-based aesthetics and a commentary on American architecture and its ethical and political principles.

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3- "The Seventh Seal" 1957 (Ingmar Bergman)

Ingmar Bergman, the distinguished director who has films like "Persona," "Wild Strawberries," and "Fanny and Alexander" in his oeuvre, made "The Seventh Seal" as a model of existentialist-centered films. A man in his apocalyptic quest seeks to find meaning, and its unusual story is about a knight who challenges Death to a game of chess. Although the film raises many metaphysical and philosophical questions, its Swedish director intends for audiences to also experience the issue concerning religious philosophy and existentialism. This film raises many issues but does not belittle or disparage any belief; instead, it expresses many perspectives and allows its audiences to discuss them themselves.

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4- "La Dolce Vita" 1960 (Federico Fellini)

The renowned Federico Fellini, whom we know for films such as 8½, Amarcord, Roma, and Satyricon, in La Dolce Vita tackles the extravagant lifestyle of the people of Rome with black humor. The film's star, Marcello Mastroianni, appears in the role of a gossip columnist. In this film, Fellini attempts to guide the audience through the seven deadly sins, which occur over seven nights and seven days. The film's general atmosphere often unfolds in Rome's Via Veneto, its streets, and café sidewalks. Just close your eyes and recall Vincent van Gogh's Café Terrace at Night. La Dolce Vita is one of those rare films where, with each viewing, you discover new concepts regarding the philosophical understanding of life and death. Perhaps there is no such thing as the good life, but the choices you make in your life can also be its determining factor.

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5 - My Night at Maud's 1969 (Éric Rohmer)

The story is about a young mechanic (Jean) who is spying on a woman, but when he spends the entire night discussing religion and philosophy with his friend Pascal, the course of his life is suspended. The two friends agree to meet the next day at Maud's house to continue their discussion. In the debate, Pascal says he considers the chance of God's non-existence to be one in a hundred. They make a wager on this matter: if God exists, then their lives have meaning, and the prize is eternal life for them. The characters in this film are intelligent, self-confident, and possess a strong communicative spirit, as well as a masterful skill in deception and self-deception.

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6 - Love and Death 1975 (Woody Allen)

The film is a sweeping satire about the Russians, from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Sergei Eisenstein. Woody Allen has succeeded in blending a mixture of Kafkaesque anxiety and Kierkegaardian dread with a non-stop comedy about Tolstoy's War and Peace, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and Turgenev's Fathers and Sons. Allen plays a character named Boris, who cannot sleep at night without a light. He is to be executed for a crime he did not commit. In the end, Allen engages us with love and death and depicts what a human being has learned from life.

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7 - Being There 1979 (Hal Ashby)

Being There is an adaptation of the novel by Jerzy Kosiński, written in 1970. Peter Sellers plays a simple gardener who has never left his employer's estate until the man's death. The funeral creates interesting issues in the gardener's life. The current president and other political operatives debate the next president, and Chance (Peter Sellers) becomes their favored candidate. The film addresses the moral consequences of television's presence in people's lives, though it does not particularly insult the television-addicted audience in this regard. He has been well able to make his story a success by incorporating humorous touches that do not harm the film's serious theme. Portraying the human aspects of the characters is just one of the talents Ashby has devoted to his film. His film is a satirical comedy that leaves you alone with a dozen ideas about the philosophies raised by Heidegger.

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8 - My Dinner with Andre 1981 (Louis Malle)

André Gregory and Wallace Shawn are the stars of the film as well as the screenwriters. The story is about two men who eat their dinner in a fancy restaurant and discuss life. Yes, that is the whole story. Of course, this minimalist screenplay includes captivating and thought-provoking conversations and debates that engage the mind. The main debate takes shape between André, an advocate of mysticism and an idealistic worldview, and Wallace, a realist humanist with a practical, reality-based worldview. André and Wallace are two different human beings, one unconventional and eccentric, the other balanced. This film has become a cult classic among independent cinema critics, philosophical filmmakers, and those of a minimalist persuasion. A film that debates the human condition, religion, and communication. The beauty of this film is that both sides are simultaneously right and wrong. In fact, this film is a depiction of the noblest and most honest form of human connection in the visual medium.

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9 - "Blade Runner" 1982 (Ridley Scott)

"Blade Runner" is based on the science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The film depicts the meaning of being human in the cybernetic age and raises many questions, including: if artificial intelligence is placed in a body and that robot moves and behaves like a human, can it be considered a human being? And then, in terms of importance, what difference does that android have from a human? In a word, existentialism is the lifeblood of this film!

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10- "Barton Fink" 1991 (Coen Brothers)

The writing and directing of this film are by Joel and Ethan Coen. Brothers who have made extraordinary films such as "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski," "No Country for Old Men," and "Blood Simple." They have used the visual medium to its fullest power to recount the story of Barton Fink. This film portrays Fink as an ineffectual, self-compromised intellectual. Sometimes we ourselves do not know to what extent we are seduced by fascistic thoughts in daily life. This film is very close to the metaphor of "Heaven and Hell."

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11- "The Addiction" 1995 (Abel Ferrara)

A girl named Kathleen, a philosophy graduate student, is always wandering around New York City. Until one night she is attacked by a female vampire. Kathleen is drawn into a strange challenge by a sentence the vampire says to her: "Don't beg me. Just ask me to let you go, and say it from the bottom of your heart." Kathleen realizes that deep down she wants to be bitten and truly wants to become a vampire. After being bitten, with her new way of life, which is morbid and carries a craving for human blood, she roams around the city. She consciously and deliberately begins to ask questions about the significance of humanity's existence and thinks that sciences like philosophy are aimless, that human history is nothing but a mask and a cover to hide human weaknesses and its chaos, and that the civilization humanity claims to know is nothing but a mass of unburied dead bodies caused by soulless spirits used only for war. Abel Ferrara is the creator of one of the most entertaining, engaging, and interesting moral films, which also fits into the vampire film category.

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12- "The Truman Show" 1998 (Peter Weir)

The lead role in The Truman Show is played by movie star Jim Carrey. Everything about Truman's life is artificial. His relationships, work, and life are followed by millions of television viewers. He stars in a series without knowing it. The film draws on the thoughts and ideas of history's great philosophers, from Sartre and Descartes to Schopenhauer and Plato.

The Truman Show is the life of a character named Truman, who is monitored by five thousand cameras, and his life is broadcast live on television screens for his audience 24 hours a day, uninterrupted. It is as if each viewer is a god who created Truman and now sits watching his life, following his every move and observing everything he does, but Truman does not even imagine that his actions are being watched by millions of viewers and does not know that in the world he inhabits, he is the only real member. The subject of this film raises many questions and challenges in the minds of audiences and critics. The Truman Show is a complex film, but it also allows viewers to engage with the subject and ultimately form their own personal judgment about the social behavior in this story.

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13- The Matrix (1999, The Wachowskis)

Keanu Reeves, who plays Neo in The Matrix, is a computer programmer by day and a hacker by night. Neo's life undergoes major changes when, during his nightly hacks while trying to change a client's identity, he receives a mysterious message from a man named Morpheus. Meeting this unknown man teaches Neo that the reality that exists is very different from the reality most people think exists.

The film contains very weighty concepts from religious and philosophical discussions raised by many philosophers and still taught by university professors around the world. Plato says: "What we see is only a shadow of what exists." So what is reality? Remember that there is no malevolent force deceiving humans about the true nature of reality; it is the senses and thoughts of humans, with the limitations they create for themselves, that cause deception and the disregard of reality. The Matrix tells us just how astonishing and bewildering our brain can be.

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14- Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan)

Christopher Nolan's film Memento is actually an adaptation of a short story written by Jonathan Nolan called "Memento Mori." Memento is a neo-noir psychological thriller that is told from end to beginning, and due to its non-linear story, it sufficiently challenges its audience without considering other aspects of the film.

Nolan wants the audience to become part of Leonard's life. Therefore, the audience witnesses all angles of his life and learns about the nature of his memory loss condition. The former insurance investigator is looking into a brutal and cold-blooded assault that led to his wife's murder during a robbery. An incident that also caused his amnesia due to a blow to the skull sustained in the same incident. This film reviews memories that include perception, sorrow, grief, self-deception, revenge, and human behaviors, and discusses the importance of body and soul and its practical concept in time.

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15- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, Michel Gondry)

The film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is a romantic comedy-drama starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, written by Charlie Kaufman, a writer who has been instrumental in shaping unique screenplays such as "New York" and "Being John Malkovich." The film tells the story of a couple who undergo an unusual procedure to erase their memories of each other. Eternal Sunshine is a film with deep yet fragile characters. Michel Gondry intelligently explores memories, the relationships and losses within them, and the spiritual connection between two people. This film is one of the best surreal romantic films one can watch.

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The Most Important Philosophical Films of World Cinema

Source: Mashregh