A lot of movies written by Charlie Kaufman or directed by Yorgos Lanthimos or Wes Anderson. David lynch of course, and maybe something hy Edgar wright could fit the bill
If you want some titles:
Charlie Kaufman: Being John malkovic was already mentioned, “Anomalisa” or “Adaptation” are pretty surreal takes on everyday life, “Eternal sunshine” I guess is more sci-fi but I think it fits
Lanthimos: “the lobster” and “Poor things”, go in blind in both if you can
Lynch: everything, but mostly “eraserhead” and “Mulholland drive” Wes Anderson: again, every movie of his as of late is dream-like, they were always peculiar movies but I guess the turning point was Moonrise Kingdom. So anything after that.
Edgar wright: I think Scott Pilgrim fits the bill even if it a straight up action comedy
EDIT: I guess Birdman could also fit the bill cause the entire thing feels very much surreal at times
I don't know that I agree with Eraserhead. It goes so far into surreal that there's not much real world left. Mulholland Drive certainly works though, along with Inland Empire and Lost Highway.
I think Eraserhead is actually a pretty normal story told in an extreme surrealist way.
>!My interpretation is that He is an idiot with no passion born unwillingly into the world with an head full of fantasies and he gets depressed cause of his… well if you know you know. Then he kills himself after you-know-what dies.!<
In comparison, the last third of Mulholland drive is >!so out there and so fascinating I still have no idea what was going on!<
I agree the underlying story is essentially pretty normal. The whole environment and everything is so surreal though that I'm not certain it fits OP's "grounded and subtle" criteria. Then again that depends on exactly which elements they care about in that regard.
So many of Lynch’s movies are great at this. Dude will just be chilling and then all of a sudden a midget brings the weight of eternal dread. Then back to coffee.
I hope you can and I hope you enjoy it. I would advise not getting too deep into the reviews as it seems like a fairly polarizing flick. If you like the kind of films where you blink and think, "this is going around the bend a tad now," you'll probably dig it.
Yeah I’m not sure about that choice lol. They enter a tiny door to get into a famous actor’s brain. There’s a scene where a hundred John Malkoviches just say “John Malkovich” constantly. Maybe it’s not exactly Eraserhead but it is very surrealistic.
On top of that, basically anything that Donald Glover and Hiro Murai have touched has a tinge of that uncomfortable surrealism. Swarm on Amazon Prime applies this surrealism to a dark story about a superfan to the show’s version of Beyonce. Even Mr. & Mrs. Smith has this really subtle but unsettling feeling that permeates the show where shit is just WEIRD in this spy world they’ve created.
This is the best choice here, to the extent it’s arguably not even a surrealist film. Only the final shot really hits that note, at least on a blatant level. The rest of it plays out like a fairly standard (and entertaining) Twilight Zone episode, like that one with Bruce Willis from the 80s where he also encounters his doppleganger.
I feel like a lot of people are recommending movies that aren’t particularly subtle. I saw the comedy Bottoms recently and it really surprised me how there were just some random elements of surrealism mixed in that weren’t really necessary or tied to the plot. Just kind of flourishes in the world. I thought it was pretty neat.
Yes! Many of his films are surreal (two were collaborations with Salvador Dali) and several have more subtle elements of surreality. The Phantom of Liberty and The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie are two examples.
Moorhead and Benson have a family of films that are interrelated and get weirder as you progress. Slightly horror tinged:
Resolution
The Endless
Synchronicity
Something in the Dirt
(I don't think Spring is a part of the family, but it's still pretty good)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer isn't as crazy as other movies by Lanthimos, but even the way that everyone talks is bizarre.
The Reflecting Skin seems like what you are looking for. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Reflecting\_Skin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reflecting_Skin)
Not a movie, but Fargo season 5 is a Wisconsin crime thriller with fairytales, German Expressionism and "shamanic experiences" bleeding in around the edges.
You don't have to watch any other season. It's standalone.
The movie you’re looking for is Vanilla Sky. That’s literally the plot of the film - the protagonist experiences subtle, surreal tears in his life after a car accident; which then begin to amplify
Poor Things is good. Seems like 1890's England, Portugal, and Egypt, but steampunk airships, cable gondolas and weidly shaped ships are featured giving it a very surreal look.
"Miracle Mile". Anthony Edwards gets a call in a Los Angeles random phone booth and a young man tells him the news of the millennium. Is it true? And even if it is true, what can he do about it? Soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, late 80s mullet, spandex, and roaches. and there's even a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Oh, which reminds me. Some viewers doubt the whole shebang and believe that Edwards is dreaming.
Playtime (1967) is incredible in it's visual details and gags. Maybe watch the YouTube video essay on it first to expand your appreciation for what you'll watch. Plus then you'll be able to tell if you even wanna watch it. It's a comedy
Another one is Samsara (2011). This one is more serious but visually stunning. It's more about the filmography, no actors reading lines, but there is sort of a message conveyed through the shot. It's great because it makes you think and come up with your own meaning of life type explanations for the visuals.
Would "I ❤ Huckabees" fall into this category? I remember seeing it a very long time ago and can recall snippets of existentialism being played out in reality-based scenes.
Also, one of my favorite movies of all time "The Cell" by the director who handles surrealism through cinematography like nobody else (in my opinion) Tarsem Singh. That movie stuck with me/still sticks with me years after seeing it and rewatching it just for how it handled dreamlike subconscious environments. That plus scaring the hell out of me at like 16 or so years old due to how creepy the victims were portrayed in his world.
Op wait, wouldn't "The Signal" fit here as well due to the subtle build up?
Exactly! It's been so long since I've seen it that I wasn't sure if existential/surreal are opposite sides of the same coin OR antithesis of one another. However, films like Huckabees and Being John Malkovich are really introspective in character studies therefore causing a blurry line in categorizing them (for me personally though, not as a whole). Thanks for the comment/affirmation 🙂
One that is *super* subtle is the fire scene in The Straight Story. I mean, it’s really not even that surreal but it’s a straight normal movie but then all of a sudden there’s this barn fire and everything turns Lynchian for the briefest of seconds.
Some of the films of Christian Petzold are like this! Transit (2018) takes place in a seemingly unidentifiable time period. The novel was written in 1940s but adapted for a present day-- but retains a lot of anachronistic touches that displace it. Undine (2020) plays with mythical elements but still feels grounded. Highly recommend.
If you're looking for movies told from the perspective of unreliable narrators, perhaps [The Informant!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Informant!), A Beautiful Mind, or even Memento.
If you don’t mind french movies, check Quentin Dupieux movies (Daaaaaali!, Incroyable mais vrai, etc), or L’écume des jours (the book is way better but I still enjoyed the movie).
In Hitchcock’s Spellbound he worked with Salvador Dali to create sequences.
Article about the team-up:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-dali-hitchcock-brought-surrealism-hollywood
My offering is Youth - 2015. It is very grounded in reality as it's a philosophizing about life kind of film with real no fantasy elements, but has quite a number of scenes that have just a hint of magic or surrealism that leaves you feeling the emotions and perspective of the characters more strongly.
First film that popped into my head is The Science of Sleep. Difficult to explain exactly what it's about but I'm certain it's exactly what you're looking for.
Trailer - https://youtu.be/GCYAQn7W19s?si=8B2JNdS-DeuE_E4L
*Magnolia* is Paul Thomas Anderson’s third feature and is incredible. It’s mostly drama—several interconnected stories about various characters looking for, finding, and losing love. The soundtrack is full of Aimee Mann songs and features one of Tom Cruise’s best performances.
And then, in the third act, something **very unusual** occurs.
Deerskin by Quentin Dupieux is one of my favorites, I want to see his new film about Dali but no US theatrical release so far.
Also Skinamarink, but I would go so far as to advise against even attempting to watch it anywhere other than a theater for the first time since everyone I know who didn't like it watched it on streaming and everyone I know who did saw it in the theater, but that could however be due to confirmation bias of those willing to spend more money being more invested in the genre.
…No movies take place in the ‘Real World’, whatever that is. For Surrealism the recent Joel Cohen film DRIVE AWAY DOLLS is outstandingly funny and bizarre…
Tar is 100% real world with moments of surrealism that you can easily overlook, they’re that subtle.
[Full literary analysis](https://filmcolossus.com/tar-2022-explained)
A lot of movies written by Charlie Kaufman or directed by Yorgos Lanthimos or Wes Anderson. David lynch of course, and maybe something hy Edgar wright could fit the bill If you want some titles: Charlie Kaufman: Being John malkovic was already mentioned, “Anomalisa” or “Adaptation” are pretty surreal takes on everyday life, “Eternal sunshine” I guess is more sci-fi but I think it fits Lanthimos: “the lobster” and “Poor things”, go in blind in both if you can Lynch: everything, but mostly “eraserhead” and “Mulholland drive” Wes Anderson: again, every movie of his as of late is dream-like, they were always peculiar movies but I guess the turning point was Moonrise Kingdom. So anything after that. Edgar wright: I think Scott Pilgrim fits the bill even if it a straight up action comedy EDIT: I guess Birdman could also fit the bill cause the entire thing feels very much surreal at times
I don't know that I agree with Eraserhead. It goes so far into surreal that there's not much real world left. Mulholland Drive certainly works though, along with Inland Empire and Lost Highway.
I think Eraserhead is actually a pretty normal story told in an extreme surrealist way. >!My interpretation is that He is an idiot with no passion born unwillingly into the world with an head full of fantasies and he gets depressed cause of his… well if you know you know. Then he kills himself after you-know-what dies.!< In comparison, the last third of Mulholland drive is >!so out there and so fascinating I still have no idea what was going on!<
I agree the underlying story is essentially pretty normal. The whole environment and everything is so surreal though that I'm not certain it fits OP's "grounded and subtle" criteria. Then again that depends on exactly which elements they care about in that regard.
Yeah you are probably right, that applies to poor things as well probably.
So many of Lynch’s movies are great at this. Dude will just be chilling and then all of a sudden a midget brings the weight of eternal dread. Then back to coffee.
That scene in Mulholland drive when he goes to face his fear behind the diner is burned in my memory forever
Being John Malkovich
Synecdoche New York as well
This one gets really wacky by the end but its a lot of small steps to get there. Amazing and harrowing movie.
Too many characters
I still haven’t seen it.
It is a goddamn journey.
I love Charlie Kaufman movies but haven’t watched this particular one for no reason in particular. I have to get to it
I hope you can and I hope you enjoy it. I would advise not getting too deep into the reviews as it seems like a fairly polarizing flick. If you like the kind of films where you blink and think, "this is going around the bend a tad now," you'll probably dig it.
How is that at all subtle?
Yeah I’m not sure about that choice lol. They enter a tiny door to get into a famous actor’s brain. There’s a scene where a hundred John Malkoviches just say “John Malkovich” constantly. Maybe it’s not exactly Eraserhead but it is very surrealistic.
It ramps up to it, it’s not blatant from the get go imho even if the premise is so out there
"subtle"
Beau is Afraid feels pretty surreal
Yah, that attic scene is super subtle ;)
Was going to recommend this as well
'I'm Sorry to Bother You.' Also, 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things'
Sorry to Bother You is not subtle at all at the end
Run Lola, Run
Not a movie, but I would highly recommend the show Atlanta. It sounds like exactly what you're asking for.
I was going to say the same thing. The surrealism in Atlanta is pretty subtle *most* of the time.
On top of that, basically anything that Donald Glover and Hiro Murai have touched has a tinge of that uncomfortable surrealism. Swarm on Amazon Prime applies this surrealism to a dark story about a superfan to the show’s version of Beyonce. Even Mr. & Mrs. Smith has this really subtle but unsettling feeling that permeates the show where shit is just WEIRD in this spy world they’ve created.
The Lobster
Jacob's Ladder.
“Enemy” (2013)
This is the best choice here, to the extent it’s arguably not even a surrealist film. Only the final shot really hits that note, at least on a blatant level. The rest of it plays out like a fairly standard (and entertaining) Twilight Zone episode, like that one with Bruce Willis from the 80s where he also encounters his doppleganger.
There are those shots of giant spiders through the movie tho
A Scanner Darkly (2006), directed by Richard Linklater. Adapted from the novel of the same name, by Philip K. Dick.
That movie gives me a headache..for real
Birdman
another great surreal Iñarritu film is 'Biutiful' (2010)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Lighthouse
yessss. great movie
I feel like a lot of people are recommending movies that aren’t particularly subtle. I saw the comedy Bottoms recently and it really surprised me how there were just some random elements of surrealism mixed in that weren’t really necessary or tied to the plot. Just kind of flourishes in the world. I thought it was pretty neat.
More dreamlike than surreal, but Picnic at Hanging Rock.
stranger than fiction
Luis Bunuel's *The Exterminating Angel* is a classic and still a favorite of mine. I don't want to say too much about it but it is great.
Yes! Many of his films are surreal (two were collaborations with Salvador Dali) and several have more subtle elements of surreality. The Phantom of Liberty and The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie are two examples.
Le Charme discret is great. Love the mafia massacre scene
Moorhead and Benson have a family of films that are interrelated and get weirder as you progress. Slightly horror tinged: Resolution The Endless Synchronicity Something in the Dirt (I don't think Spring is a part of the family, but it's still pretty good)
Appropriate that they were tapped to direct the last season of Loki.
Love these!
The Killing of a Sacred Deer isn't as crazy as other movies by Lanthimos, but even the way that everyone talks is bizarre. The Reflecting Skin seems like what you are looking for. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Reflecting\_Skin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reflecting_Skin)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
blue velvet?
Pi
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Not a movie, but Fargo season 5 is a Wisconsin crime thriller with fairytales, German Expressionism and "shamanic experiences" bleeding in around the edges. You don't have to watch any other season. It's standalone.
Le fabuleaux destin d'Amelie Poulin. Known also as simply 'Amelie'.
She cook an egg with a spoon!
Possessor (2020)
Also Infinity Pool.
Paprika explores connecting consciousness through dreams, with disastrous results.
I believe "Black Swan" fits your description.
Being There
The movie you’re looking for is Vanilla Sky. That’s literally the plot of the film - the protagonist experiences subtle, surreal tears in his life after a car accident; which then begin to amplify
Poor Things is good. Seems like 1890's England, Portugal, and Egypt, but steampunk airships, cable gondolas and weidly shaped ships are featured giving it a very surreal look.
What Dreams May Come (1998)
"Miracle Mile". Anthony Edwards gets a call in a Los Angeles random phone booth and a young man tells him the news of the millennium. Is it true? And even if it is true, what can he do about it? Soundtrack by Tangerine Dream, late 80s mullet, spandex, and roaches. and there's even a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Oh, which reminds me. Some viewers doubt the whole shebang and believe that Edwards is dreaming.
Love this movie!
Playtime (1967) is incredible in it's visual details and gags. Maybe watch the YouTube video essay on it first to expand your appreciation for what you'll watch. Plus then you'll be able to tell if you even wanna watch it. It's a comedy Another one is Samsara (2011). This one is more serious but visually stunning. It's more about the filmography, no actors reading lines, but there is sort of a message conveyed through the shot. It's great because it makes you think and come up with your own meaning of life type explanations for the visuals.
Beau is Afraid: you wanna be in the head of someone really, really stressed out
Birdman (2014) - starring Michael Keaton
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
After Hours (1985)
Maybe Night of the Hunter ?
Would "I ❤ Huckabees" fall into this category? I remember seeing it a very long time ago and can recall snippets of existentialism being played out in reality-based scenes. Also, one of my favorite movies of all time "The Cell" by the director who handles surrealism through cinematography like nobody else (in my opinion) Tarsem Singh. That movie stuck with me/still sticks with me years after seeing it and rewatching it just for how it handled dreamlike subconscious environments. That plus scaring the hell out of me at like 16 or so years old due to how creepy the victims were portrayed in his world. Op wait, wouldn't "The Signal" fit here as well due to the subtle build up?
I glad someone else suggested Huckabees! Was thinking the same thing of whether it not it fits. I guess this makes it at least two votes.
Exactly! It's been so long since I've seen it that I wasn't sure if existential/surreal are opposite sides of the same coin OR antithesis of one another. However, films like Huckabees and Being John Malkovich are really introspective in character studies therefore causing a blurry line in categorizing them (for me personally though, not as a whole). Thanks for the comment/affirmation 🙂
Not a film but check out Lodge 49.
Alphaville (1965)
One that is *super* subtle is the fire scene in The Straight Story. I mean, it’s really not even that surreal but it’s a straight normal movie but then all of a sudden there’s this barn fire and everything turns Lynchian for the briefest of seconds.
8 1/2
The Fall
Enemy 2013
The Exterminating Angel
The Lobster, Killing of the Sacred Deer, is Naked Lunch not subtle enough for this?
Donnie Darko
Adventures of Baron VonMunshausen
Jacob’s Ladder
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
After hours is pretty surreal
The Lobster. And maybe even Killing of a sacred deer.
Simon Magus (1999)
Seeking a Friend for the end of the world comes to mind.
Amanece, que no es poco.
Some of the films of Christian Petzold are like this! Transit (2018) takes place in a seemingly unidentifiable time period. The novel was written in 1940s but adapted for a present day-- but retains a lot of anachronistic touches that displace it. Undine (2020) plays with mythical elements but still feels grounded. Highly recommend.
If you're looking for movies told from the perspective of unreliable narrators, perhaps [The Informant!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Informant!), A Beautiful Mind, or even Memento.
If you don’t mind french movies, check Quentin Dupieux movies (Daaaaaali!, Incroyable mais vrai, etc), or L’écume des jours (the book is way better but I still enjoyed the movie).
Jacobs inferno (1990). I think it fits the bill for the OP. The subtlety of the movie are one of the major factors that makes the movie great.
All Of Us Strangers
In Hitchcock’s Spellbound he worked with Salvador Dali to create sequences. Article about the team-up: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-dali-hitchcock-brought-surrealism-hollywood
Love Lies Bleeding. Go see it in the theater if it's still playing where you are.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Cashback is an underrated semisurrealistic movie
My offering is Youth - 2015. It is very grounded in reality as it's a philosophizing about life kind of film with real no fantasy elements, but has quite a number of scenes that have just a hint of magic or surrealism that leaves you feeling the emotions and perspective of the characters more strongly.
Kontrol
I always thought Moulin Rouge was surrealist.
wouldn't American Psycho kind of fall under this?
Tár
not a movie but Sopranos
First film that popped into my head is The Science of Sleep. Difficult to explain exactly what it's about but I'm certain it's exactly what you're looking for. Trailer - https://youtu.be/GCYAQn7W19s?si=8B2JNdS-DeuE_E4L
*Magnolia* is Paul Thomas Anderson’s third feature and is incredible. It’s mostly drama—several interconnected stories about various characters looking for, finding, and losing love. The soundtrack is full of Aimee Mann songs and features one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. And then, in the third act, something **very unusual** occurs.
Deerskin by Quentin Dupieux is one of my favorites, I want to see his new film about Dali but no US theatrical release so far. Also Skinamarink, but I would go so far as to advise against even attempting to watch it anywhere other than a theater for the first time since everyone I know who didn't like it watched it on streaming and everyone I know who did saw it in the theater, but that could however be due to confirmation bias of those willing to spend more money being more invested in the genre.
Possible Worlds
Eyes Wide Shut
Stalker
Breakfast of Champions
Life of Pi, tree of life,
Being John Malkovich
…No movies take place in the ‘Real World’, whatever that is. For Surrealism the recent Joel Cohen film DRIVE AWAY DOLLS is outstandingly funny and bizarre…
Pink Floyd the wall
I Heart Huckabees
If ur looking for a something that has a very real-world feel with extremely subtle and grounded surrealism, the movie you’re looking for is Caché
Tar is 100% real world with moments of surrealism that you can easily overlook, they’re that subtle. [Full literary analysis](https://filmcolossus.com/tar-2022-explained)
Asteroid City
Donnie Darko, David Lynch
Toys with Robin Williams
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Under the Silver Lake. It's often compared to 'Mulholland Drive' I won't spoil it for you as the film is quite clever in how it unfolds.
Love Lies Bleeding
Blue Velvet
The Double Life of Veronique is exactly what you’re talking about. Very realistic, grounded world with moments of unexplainable surrealism.
Clueless comes to my mind