# Recommend intelligent, thought provoking films please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903 "2011-04-02T02:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/21 "2011-04-02T15:11:50Z")
[Gandhi.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083987/) it’s a wonderful film, looking at individual morality, group morality, nation-building, nation-breaking and one man’s influence. Two scenes that are still with me, even though it’s been years since I watched it. The fasting-unto-death Gandhiji, trying to stop the rioting and deaths. A Hindu man is brought to him - he’s mourning the death of his son in the riots and who has killed a Muslim in retaliation. The man says “I am in hell.” Gandhiji says: “I know the way out of hell.” And then, the sequence of independence and partition scenes: the shot of the Indian flag being raised in Delhi, with pomp and ceremony; the Pakistan flag being raised in Karachi, with more pomp and ceremony; and then Gandhi’s ashram, with no flags at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/22 "2011-04-02T15:28:42Z")
**To Kill A Mockingbird The Oxbow Incident Treasure of the Sierra Madre** (not so much thought-provoking as it is just good film making) **Of Mice and Men** , with Gary Sinise, John Malkovich and Ray Walston ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/23 "2011-04-02T16:01:38Z")
I loved both [The Visitor](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008820-visitor/) and [In America.](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/in_america/) ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/24 "2011-04-02T16:02:41Z")
**The Life of David Gale** was a very thought provoking movie for me - Kevin Spacey stars as the eponymous character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/25 "2011-04-02T16:34:01Z")
> [@grimpixie](#): > > **The Life of David Gale** was a very thought provoking movie for me - Kevin Spacey stars as the eponymous character, a college professor and longtime activist against capital punishment who is sentenced to death for killing a fellow capital punishment opponent. However, the ending(which I won’t spoiler here) is outrageous and ridiculous enough to really bring the movie down a lot, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/26 "2011-04-02T17:37:01Z")
**Heavenly Creatures**. It is worthwhile to try to find the European version; the US version has several missing scenes. **The Hairdresser’s Husband**. Don’t read about it, just watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/27 "2011-04-02T17:39:16Z")
I really enjoyed [Good Night, and Good Luck](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433383/). Then again, [David Strathairn](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000657/) would make reading the phone book entertaining. [LA Confidential](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119488/) is a great, intelligent movie as well. And I liked [Little Children](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404203/), also. From the IMDB page: “The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/28 "2011-04-02T17:48:30Z")
I don’t get much of an opportunity to offer this one up, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen it, so this might not be the right place, but how about [Rabbit-Proof Fence.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252444/) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/29 "2011-04-02T18:02:52Z")
**The Gods Must Be Crazy** ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/30 "2011-04-02T18:14:53Z")
**Hereafter** - Overlooked film directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Matt Damon. Really really good, reminds me of Magnolia ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/31 "2011-04-02T18:19:05Z")
I had a much longer post, but the hamsters ate it. Maybe, like you, they had an appetite for substantive films. In any case, here are three movies you might like: [ul] [li][The Chess Players](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zCsn-he5Kk). This is the movie that first got Martin Scorcese interested in films, IIRC. The whole thing’s up on YouTube now, with subtitles. [/li][li][Brave New Land](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263156/), a film that’s about colonialism, cultural identity, and brutality in the formation of Brazil. It’s also an exploration of how otherwise cultured, good, and sensitive people can do horrible things.[/li][li][Once Upon A Time in America](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhX2PD6Srw) IMHO, this is actually a much better film than The Godfather. It’s a mafia epic, but it’s also a critique of the American class structure, an acute observation of how everyone changes over time, and a meditation on the relationship between truth and memory.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/32 "2011-04-02T18:55:24Z")
[The White Dawn](http://www.amazon.com/White-Dawn-Warren-Oates/dp/B000291Q4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1301770362&sr=1-1): based on the book by the same name, about seagoing hunters who become stranded in an Inuit village in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/33 "2011-04-02T19:10:20Z")
For my money, the best science fiction movie ever: [Primer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/). It will make you think and think and think and think again in order to get what actually happened. I also really like [The Machinist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/), which features a terrific performance from Christian Bale. [Green](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183137/) is another movie that requires thinking to keep up with what’s going on and will linger in the back of your mind for years. I’m kind of surprised that nobody’s mentioned [The Stunt Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081568/) yet; it’s one of my all-time favorites. I could list lots more (I have several thousand movies in my collection), but I’ll give others a chance to post. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/34 "2011-04-02T19:20:56Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > For my money, the best science fiction movie ever: [Primer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390384/). It will make you think and think and think and think again in order to get what actually happened. That’s what I came in here to recommend. Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/35 "2011-04-02T19:58:51Z")
Two of my favorite films [Traffic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/) and [Syriana](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365737/), both written by Stephen Gaghan, are incredibly real and involved depictions of the war on drugs and the wars for oil, respectively. Neither give simple answers and both suggest that the problems are too complex for any single person to fully understand, let alone solve. The latter point is highlighted by the complete lack of exposition in either movie. There’s no character that explains what’s going on, you’re simply presented with the events as they unfold. > [@Scribble](#): > > [Once Upon A Time in America](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzhX2PD6Srw) IMHO, this is actually a much better film than The Godfather. It’s a mafia epic, but it’s also a critique of the American class structure, an acute observation of how everyone changes over time, and a meditation on the relationship between truth and memory. Agreed. Perhaps the best movie most people have not seen. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/36 "2011-04-02T20:40:00Z")
_The Dresser Gosford Park Seven Samurai Remains Of The Day The Vanishing Chinatown_ ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/37 "2011-04-02T21:06:13Z")
[Saaraba](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KldbrUdr4h8), a film that’s about romance, social inequality, and post-colonial culture in Senegal. The plot and the people are much more complex than they seem. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/38 "2011-04-02T21:08:09Z")
_The Kids Are Alright_ really had me discussing the characters and their possible future with many friends afterwards - a very moving, human story that just feels very “real” and raises a lot of questions without giving you the answers to go with it. For head-scratching, “What was that?”-type amazement I recommend\* Mulholland Drive\*, what a rollercoaster! Beautifully shot, and also will make you think about what you just saw. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/39 "2011-04-02T21:09:51Z")
Another vote for _The Lives Of Others_. Brilliant film. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903/40 "2011-04-02T23:15:50Z")
I’m actually watching [White Dog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_dog) at the moment, which is something I had never heard of and, seeing as how it’s on Netflix Instant, figured it wasn’t going to be great. I have to say, it’s a pretty good movie and might fit the OPs criteria. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-intelligent-thought-provoking-films-please/576903.md?page=3)