# Recommend some complicated films for me...please! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800 "2002-07-07T18:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/1 "2002-07-07T18:34:38Z")
I’ve recently rented or otherwise seen movies that I thought were absolutely amazing because of their complexity. Basically, I couldn’t figure them out from one viewing…or at the very least a second viewing was necessary to catch the plot in retrospect. After seeing these films, I find it necessary to read about them, talk about them, and contemplate them late at night while staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. Most recently, they are Donnie Darko (wow!), Memento, and Mulholland Drive. Does anyone have suggestions for other films along these lines? After seeing Lost Highway (a few times) and Mulholland Drive, I already have plans to explore a bit more David Lynch. Anything else I should make plans for? Laura ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/2 "2002-07-07T18:54:43Z")
Ingmar Bergman’s _Persona_ and Robert Altman’s _3 Women_ Francis Ford Coppola’s _The Conversation_ and David Mamet’s _House of Games_ Anything by Luis Bunuel (for starters, try _Belle de Jour_ or _The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie_) Michelangelo Antonioni’s _L’Eclisse_ and _The Passenger_ with Jack Nicholson. Jacque Rivette’s _Celine and Julie Go Boating_ ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/3 "2002-07-07T18:54:59Z")
Chinatown. The Big Sleep. The Maltese Falcon. All film noir. Most Altman films (from reputation). I have only seen Gosford Park though which was excellent. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/4 "2002-07-07T18:57:47Z")
I’ve seen Chinatown and The Conversation and loved them both. Thanks for all the recommendations. Rented Gosford Park recently and couldn’t get into it. Not sure if it was my mood or the movie. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t convince myself to CARE about what was going on. I’ll have to give it a second shot. L ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/5 "2002-07-07T19:07:37Z")
On a more “mainstream” level I found both The Hunt for Red October (Sean Connery) and Deathtrap (Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve) to be well-plotted, with enough twists to keep you guessing to the end. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/6 "2002-07-07T19:20:23Z")
“The Usual Suspects” is a good one. I’m still trying to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/7 "2002-07-07T19:32:00Z")
ultrafilter beat me to **The Usual Suspects** a great film, so I’ll suggest [bL.A. Confidential\*\* and **The Man Who Wasn’t There** both modern film noir that have some good plot twists. And you might try **Somersby** a Civil War era movie, based on a French movie (yes, the French movie was undoubtable better, but I never saw it, so go be a snob somewhere else). I liked **Somersby** mostly because it did not have an American ending, and that amazed me–Hollywood ruins so many movies by giving them nice, neat, happy endings. (Yeah, so I’m a snob, too, be surprized). ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/8 "2002-07-07T19:39:15Z")
_The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension_. It throws all kinds of characters and plotlines at you right off the bat and never quits. Good fun. I like **CyberPundit** ’s suggestion of _The Big Sleep_. It is definitely complex…so much so that the writers, Raymond Chandler and William Faulkner (!), had trouble explaining some of the plot points. It makes for a dangerous drinking game if you take a swig every time Bogart takes a gun off someone. I’m not a David Lynch fan, but _The Elephant Man_ is good, and _The Straight Story_ is supposed to be excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/9 "2002-07-07T21:01:19Z")
Anything by Terry Gilliam is bound to be pretty complex, such as “Twelve Monkees” and “Brazil”. Other than that, I’ll third the suggestion for “The Big Sleep” - a buddy and I killed three pitches of beers trying to diagram the plot!..Timmy ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/10 "2002-07-07T22:09:27Z")
ANything by Andrei Tarkovsky, starting with _Solaris_. Probably my single favorite director, if I had to pick one. Also, and more recently, _Eyes Wide Shut_ is best appreciated after several viewings. Here’s a fascinating [review](http://www.moviegeek.homestead.com/files/eyeswideshut.htm) by our own Cervaise. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/11 "2002-07-07T22:42:30Z")
**Mystery Train** - three storylines **Julian Donkeyboy** - more difficult than complex **Kingdom** - Dutch miniseries about a haunted hospital, great acting **Through a Glass Darkly** and **Seventh Seal** by Ingmar Bergman ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/12 "2002-07-07T22:48:10Z")
Oh, anything by Peter Greenaway. I highly recommend **The Pillow Book**. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/13 "2002-07-07T23:01:18Z")
Fellini’s [Satyricon](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0064940) Gotta love the Sundance channel. Ingmar Bergman’s [The Seventh Seal](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0050976) Gotta love the Sundance channel. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/14 "2002-07-07T23:03:36Z")
oops :o ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/15 "2002-07-07T23:35:50Z")
I second _Fellini Satyricon_, but I didn’t find it too complicated. Still an excellent film. Try keeping all the characters and their relationships straight in _Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels_. Not deep but fun. _LoneStar_ and much of John Sayles’ other work is complex. _Topsy-Turvy_ - It’s interesting to watch all the conflicts and personality clashes in putting on Gilbert and Sullivan’s _The Mikado_. some others off the top of my head: _Croupier, The Grifters, Ran, Rashomon, Seven Days In May, Gorky Park, City Of Lost Children_ ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/16 "2002-07-07T23:43:42Z")
I’ll throw in **Being John Malkovich**. It’s one of thse films that just when you think you’ve figured out where it’s going it veers off in another direction. **Angel Heart** is another one that keeps you guessing right up until the end. And don’t get me started on the hidden complexity in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/17 "2002-07-08T00:02:30Z")
**Go** has a non-linear structure and was fun too. Someone mentioned \*\*The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover \*\* in the thread about movies you like that no one saw. Layered and very weird. **Fanny and Alexander** is also good if you don’t mind subtitles. I also just finished watbhing **Akira**. I don’t know whether complicated is exactly how I’d describe it. More like confusing. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/18 "2002-07-08T00:18:01Z")
Re: “Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back” A $20 million inside jokefest, requiring you to have seen 4 other films to get them all. I’ve been trying to explain them all to guy at work who liked the movie a little but kept asking "Why was that in there? and “Who was that?”. He’s seen one other film in the ViewAskewniverse, and is totally lost. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/19 "2002-07-08T00:51:41Z")
\*\* Lulu on the Bridge\*\* \*\* Photographing Fairies \*\* **Urbania** (the one from 2000) Or if you want complex and fun, **Go** ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800/20 "2002-07-08T01:04:58Z")
Oooh, I loved **Croupier**. Who else thinks that Clive Owen would make an excellent James Bond when Pierce Brosnan retires? I also loved **Lonestar** and **Being John Malkovitch**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-complicated-films-for-me-please/117800.md?page=2)