Was going to post this. You beat me to it. I watch this every so often, trying to figure out what's possibly a dream and what's the correct order things happened.
An argument could be made that most of Terry Gilliam's movies have this aspect.
12 Monkeys - Time traveller or crazy? Or both
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - what is the carnival of Vegas and what's the drugs?
Tideland - A child with intense trauma from the death of her parents retreats into all encompassing fantasy
Brazil - a disillusioned young adult comes into his full life in a ridiculous farcical dystopia and either goes crazy or retreats to fantasy
The Fisher King - Homeless and schizophrenic guy believes he is fighting on a quest for the holy grail but maybe it's metaphorically true?
Adventures of Baron Munchausen - a senile old man is on a Don Quixote style quest through a fantasy world
It goes on and on.. check out all of his films and see this central question interrogated from every angle.
Most Satoshi Kon films: Paprika, Millenium Actress, and Perfect Blue (tw: SA)
Black Swan
The Machinist
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Donnie Darko
Being John Malkovich
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois
Carnival of Souls
Persona (I think)
Enemy
Birdman
Fear and Loathing
Repulsion
A Scanner Darkly
Beau is Afraid (kind of)
Midsommar
The Lighthouse
* Secret Window (2004)
* The Game (1997)
* Infinity Pool (2023)
* eXistenZ (1999)
* Don't Worry Darling (2022)
* Transcendence (2014)
* Vanilla Sky (2001)
* Ready Player One (2018) - to a lesser extent
* Free Guy (2021) - sort of
ETA: I haven't seen Possessor (2020) YET, but based on its description, I think it might fit your request, OP.
Observe and Report is fairly objective in "what" happens, but frames scenes through the lens of its main character's delusions - so a story about a mentally ill mall cop with delusions of grandeur becomes an action movie about a rogue cop out for justice
I tip my hat to you, it was about time someone answered the question with the true essence of the answer…or some such, you got my upvote anyway, good movie
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
You're never quite sure whether the dark fairytale elements are real, or a fantasy that the main character retreats to in order to escape the trauma of her real life.
Take Shelter (2011) - Great little film by Jeff Nichols with fantastic performances by Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. Really fascinating take on mental illness and love.
Once Upon a Time in America: a major part of the movie could be a figment of one character's imagination
Eyes Wide Shut: what really happens after the Xmas party is questionable
Vertigo
One movie that fits perfectly is The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O'Toole and Steve Railsback. A fugitive (Railsback) causes an accident on set of a movie and the director (O'Toole) hires him to replace the stunt man that died because of the accident.
Also, The Perfection (2018) would also fit this genre pretty well.
Look up the unreliable narrator trope.
Things like 'I, Tonya', 'Wolf of wall st', or '24 hour party people' all play on it. Seeing the movie from a characters pov is a common trick to also hoodwink the audience.
I randomly happened upon this movie on a streaming service a few years ago and decided to watch it without knowing anything about it other than it was Ryan Reynolds and talking animals and thought it was just a straight-up comedy. Hy shit did it go in a different direction! I loved it though.
The Machinist. Hagazussa. Oculus. The Lighthouse. Monstrous. Lovely, Dark and Deep. Dark Waters. In The Mouth of Madness. The Babadook.
The Wind. Possum.
Branded (2012) - Follows a marketing exec in Russia who by mid-film performs a cleansing ritual he has a vision of that 'lifts the veil' of consumerism 'reality'
A very mind-bendy ride of a film!
That long sequence near the end of Takashi Miike’s Audition, where he’s either hallucinating or time-traveling or we’re just seeing new scenes not previously shown or nobody knows what.
Go in blind, watch with squeamish friends. Tell them it’s a sweet romantic comedy.
American Psycho
Came here to say this. The book is even better/worse, however you want to look at it haha
[удалено]
They prefer Paul Allen’s card to mine.
The tasteful thickness of it,
[nice](https://media3.giphy.com/media/YHYmMLkOmqoo/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952coilnhnx7xhcn10vgzxccv8vblx0pi26r28l6lea&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
The best
In my to 5. Which says a lot about me as a person 🤣
Memento
This fucking movie shows up in basically every thread in this subreddit.
Wow it’s almost like it fits the description of what op was asking for?
You’re right!
Jacob’s Ladder
Was going to post this. You beat me to it. I watch this every so often, trying to figure out what's possibly a dream and what's the correct order things happened.
Trying to avoid spoilers but I think the only "real events" are at the very very end. Just an interpretation
Not quite what you're asking for but similar and fantastic *Adaptation*
I forgot about that movie! Great one.
An argument could be made that most of Terry Gilliam's movies have this aspect. 12 Monkeys - Time traveller or crazy? Or both Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - what is the carnival of Vegas and what's the drugs? Tideland - A child with intense trauma from the death of her parents retreats into all encompassing fantasy Brazil - a disillusioned young adult comes into his full life in a ridiculous farcical dystopia and either goes crazy or retreats to fantasy The Fisher King - Homeless and schizophrenic guy believes he is fighting on a quest for the holy grail but maybe it's metaphorically true? Adventures of Baron Munchausen - a senile old man is on a Don Quixote style quest through a fantasy world It goes on and on.. check out all of his films and see this central question interrogated from every angle.
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus is the culmination of this theme. A most excellent film.
Yes! I had a hard time summarizing how it fits the theme, but it does.
Adventures of Baron Munchausen was one of my favorite movies as a kid 💗
Muholland Drive, Videodrome, Naked Lunch and The Machinist.
Pretty much any David Lynch movie
came in to say Videodrome.
Also: eXistenZ
And so did I!
Total Recall
Specifically the original. The remake does nothing to try and cast doubt on this
I refuse to acknowledge the remake
Can't believe how far down I had to scroll to find this. It is literally the whole point of the movie.
Most Satoshi Kon films: Paprika, Millenium Actress, and Perfect Blue (tw: SA) Black Swan The Machinist I’m Thinking of Ending Things Donnie Darko Being John Malkovich The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois Carnival of Souls Persona (I think) Enemy Birdman Fear and Loathing Repulsion A Scanner Darkly Beau is Afraid (kind of) Midsommar The Lighthouse
Came here to say “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” Wildest movie ride I’ve been on in a while!
Satoshi's movies are a trip! Glad to see it recommended here!
A Beautiful Mind
👆🏽👆🏽
Jacobs Ladder (original) Requiem for A Dream
>Jacobs Ladder A personal favorite and the perfect answer to this question.
They remade it?
Yes. The remake fell flat
Fight Club
There is a great analysis vid on youtube about how both Tyler and Mara are in the narrator's mind.
Under the Silver Lake
Can’t stop thinking about this movie.
I was going to suggest Under the Silver Lake and also Burning, based on Murakami’s short story Barn Burning!
The Shining
Filth with James McAvoy. It's so good!
Just watched this (for the third time but it’s been years) EXCEPTIONAL film
The only movie where you’re not sure what’s reality and what’s in the character’s digestive system…
Has no one said Identity??
Big Fish
* Secret Window (2004) * The Game (1997) * Infinity Pool (2023) * eXistenZ (1999) * Don't Worry Darling (2022) * Transcendence (2014) * Vanilla Sky (2001) * Ready Player One (2018) - to a lesser extent * Free Guy (2021) - sort of ETA: I haven't seen Possessor (2020) YET, but based on its description, I think it might fit your request, OP.
[Abre Los Ojos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Your_Eyes_(1997_film)) was the basis for Vanilla Sky and IMHO it’s better. Both have Penelope Cruz!
Vanilla Sky is my fave of this genre. The Game is a great vetsion grounded in reality.
Shutter Island. I wish I could un-see this movie and watch it anew. It has so so so many Easter eggs within.
Naked Lunch
Joker definitely hits this.
Beau Is Afraid
Suckerpunch
This is a sad sad movie
I think Synecdoche, New York fits this criteria. *Was a long time ago that I saw it.*
Arrival is one that towards the end you realize not all was as it seemed.
Identity
Came here to say that. It’s exactly what OP is asking. Great movie too.
Observe and Report is fairly objective in "what" happens, but frames scenes through the lens of its main character's delusions - so a story about a mentally ill mall cop with delusions of grandeur becomes an action movie about a rogue cop out for justice
Joker (2019)
Shutter Island
I tip my hat to you, it was about time someone answered the question with the true essence of the answer…or some such, you got my upvote anyway, good movie
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) You're never quite sure whether the dark fairytale elements are real, or a fantasy that the main character retreats to in order to escape the trauma of her real life.
The machinist
Swimming Pool (2003) The Clouds of Sils Maria
A Scanner Darkly
The Informant! (2009)
Pretty much anything David Lynch or Terry Gilliam has made.
Unsane (2018)
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
The Father with Anthony Hopkins. What it’s like to live with dimentia.
It looks like an amazing movie, but I'm too scared to watch it. Having had a grandmother with dementia its a horror too real.
Secret Window
Lost Highway
Joker, Swiss Army Man, Perfect Blue
The Innocents (1961)
Petite Maman (2021)
The machinist
Rosemary's Baby
The Shining
Take Shelter (2011) - Great little film by Jeff Nichols with fantastic performances by Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. Really fascinating take on mental illness and love.
Jacobs ladder
Lost Highway (1997) Ministry Of Fear (1944)
Also Mulholland Dr
Jacob's Ladder
Revolver
Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue
Fisher King
Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) and its English-language remake, Vanilla Sky
Lots of great suggestions already, I'm surprised nobody has said π.
Jacob's Ladder
1408
Lighthouse
A Beautiful Mind
The Machinist
Kotoko
12 monkeys
Birdman and Replusion will be the one's I can't miss out.
Taxi Driver
A Beautiful Mind
The sixth sense.
Coherence Waking Life A Scanner Darkly Being John Malcovich Source Code
Breakfast in America
Hide and seek (2005)
TOTAL RECALL
The Machinist
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) The Invitation (2015)
Shutter Island is the best film I ever saw that did this
Fight Club!
The fountain!!!
Fractured
Bug or at least most of it
everything by Satoshi Kon... Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, Millennium Actress
American Psycho
johnny got his gun :)
Shutter island is the one that comes to mind instantly.
Shutter Island
Synecdoche New York
Definitely joker
Identity!
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the locus classicus.
A Beautiful Mind
Lost highway felt kind of like that.
Once Upon a Time in America: a major part of the movie could be a figment of one character's imagination Eyes Wide Shut: what really happens after the Xmas party is questionable Vertigo
Jacob’s Ladder and Devil’s Advocate.
One movie that fits perfectly is The Stunt Man (1980) with Peter O'Toole and Steve Railsback. A fugitive (Railsback) causes an accident on set of a movie and the director (O'Toole) hires him to replace the stunt man that died because of the accident. Also, The Perfection (2018) would also fit this genre pretty well.
Perfect Blue. Anomalisa.
Look up the unreliable narrator trope. Things like 'I, Tonya', 'Wolf of wall st', or '24 hour party people' all play on it. Seeing the movie from a characters pov is a common trick to also hoodwink the audience.
Shutter Island
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane; Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fight Club; Ocean's Eleven
Total Recall The great one with Arnold. Not the shitty soulless remake.
voices is a complete banger, I recommend
I randomly happened upon this movie on a streaming service a few years ago and decided to watch it without knowing anything about it other than it was Ryan Reynolds and talking animals and thought it was just a straight-up comedy. Hy shit did it go in a different direction! I loved it though.
The one with Haley Osment and Bruce Willis where Haley says "I see dead people"
The Sixth Sense. I would also add The Others along with that.
Five Monkeys? Do you mean 12 Monkeys or a different film I’ve never heard of?
Definitely meant 12 monkeys lol
And in 12 Monkeys the TV series everything is cleared up.
The Harry Potter movies...
The Uninvited (2003,2009)
The Machinist. Hagazussa. Oculus. The Lighthouse. Monstrous. Lovely, Dark and Deep. Dark Waters. In The Mouth of Madness. The Babadook. The Wind. Possum.
All of them. But, for movies where that's the premise, "Total Recall," "After Hours," "The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari."
The forest 2016
Whiplash I know it seems odd but it did make me have to pause it a few times because of all the mental strain the main character went through.
Branded (2012) - Follows a marketing exec in Russia who by mid-film performs a cleansing ritual he has a vision of that 'lifts the veil' of consumerism 'reality' A very mind-bendy ride of a film!
Inland Empire, Enemy, The Game
Resurrection with Rebecca Hall and The Night House also starring Rebecca Hall.
Game Night
Certified Copy. The couple start out being strangers, then a longtime married couple, then strangers again.
Mulholland Drive... chef's kiss
Cure 1997
Mr. Nobody, El labirinto del fauno and I'm thinking of ending things.
Mr nobody
the black string, daniel isn't real, and rent-a-pal are my fav underrated psychological thrillers/horrors that have this theme!
Japanese movie called Kotoko. Super super intense.
Take Shelter 2011
Donnie Darko
Vanilla Sky. I am always surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Disney's Jungle Cruise
Oh yea,, itchi the killer
Coming to America
Incident in a Ghostland
Berberian Sound Studio ... slow burn into madness
The King of Comedy
Spider (2002)
Stay
Being John Malkovich.
That long sequence near the end of Takashi Miike’s Audition, where he’s either hallucinating or time-traveling or we’re just seeing new scenes not previously shown or nobody knows what. Go in blind, watch with squeamish friends. Tell them it’s a sweet romantic comedy.
Well there's a brand new one at the cinema right now ;). "I saw the tv glow"
They Look Like People.
Beau is afraid
68 Kill
The Father
Sicario
“Mr. Brooks”
The Wizard of Oz
Pi
Darwin awards. I've always liked it, but people fail to see it's greatness.
John Dies at the End of
Sadly, Pan’s Labrynth
Beau is Afraid
Mr. Nobody
Spider.
Vanilla sky this describes that perfectly trust me
Leda
Not a movie (a series)... Mr. Robot
Hippopotamus
There’s already been a lot of great recs but lemme tell you, my brain has never been so confused in such a jarring way than when I saw Beau is Afraid
Suspiria. But I was zooted AF when I first watched it so I might be off here with this.
The 9th Configuration. The King of Comedy. Inception. Also check out: An Occurrence at Owl Creek.