It is very difficult to grasp the reality of the moment we are in. After a certain time has passed, the boundaries of that moment become clearer in our minds. Therefore, a long take in which acting, camera movements, mise en scene and many other elements are designed perfectly can completely reflect the ambiguity of reality.

The relationship of these scenes with reality is always discussed, since the long take has no possibility to manipulate time and editing. Long takes can give a high sense of tempo by circling around the characters and following them, and also can become a form to emphasize the sullenness of the routine in slow cinema.

Here are 15 films that are located at these two sides, which proves this contrast is the power of cinema.

15. Birdman (2014)

Known for his films “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Academy Award-winning “Birdman” is one of the most remarkable works of recent years.

Telling the story of an actor who played a superhero in the past but is now a discredited player, “Birdman” masterfully manages to reveal the critique of populism and hide its philosophical inquiry into the subtext.

Although there are cuts in the film, the director has managed to give the feeling of being shot with one take thanks to its strong atmosphere.

One of the most influential aspects of “Birdman,” which manages to keep the audience in the story at any moment with the use of high-rhythm music, is the wonderful performances of Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, and many other stars.

Even though sometimes this stylistic choice gives the sense that the film turns into what it criticizes, “Birdman” is still one of the best ‘one take’ examples in recent years.

14. The Player (1992)

“The Player,” as its name reveals, is a tough and funny Hollywood critique. Emphasizing the dependence on shallow stories embellished with stars, happy endings, chase scenes, and so on, the film also shows how easy the audience is being deceived by this appealing illusion.

Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) rejects hundreds of scenarios every day. But one day he starts receiving death threats from a screenwriter and finds himself in the middle of dark events.

Director Robert Altman skillfully builds the narrative by using his technical skills in the highly dynamic opening scene, while also saluting films that are mentioned in Hollywood with long takes.

The narrative, which gives continuous reference to the codes of the genre, old films, and directors, plays with the perceptions of the story-addicted audience. Altman’s criticism, which points to the limit between the film and the reality, to a sector stuck in patterns, becomes more noticeable on this red line.

13. Touch of Evil (1958)

“Touch of Evil” focuses on a case where Mexican police officer Ramon Miguel Vargas left his honeymoon halfway and collaborated with American detectives for a mysterious murder.

Pushing the technical limits of the cinema, this great film by Orson Welles starts with one of the most memorable scenes in the history of cinema with its four-minute one-take opening sequence. The film’s brilliant beginning also contains many film noir codes like a passionate femme fatale, a bomb, evil appearing in the dark streets, and a detective…

“Touch of Evil” is one of the most important films of the genre with its visual structure that skillfully reflects the atmosphere of the story, the use of light that strengthens the dramatic structure, and excellent acting performances.

12. 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days (2007)

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu’s second feature film has attracted a great deal of interest since its debut in many respects, with its harsh realism and minimalist side.

The film, which took place in the 1980s when Çavuşevsku was in power, tells about a day of a girl who had to have an abortion illegally.

Standing out with its dynamic shooting technique and impressive screenplay, the film reveals the destruction by minimizing unnecessary details. Themes such as solidarity, sacrifice, freedom, oppression, and sexuality are conveyed with an extraordinary reality. Mungiu trusts the effect of this reality so much that he does not need to use music throughout the film.

At the end of “4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days,” the details and feelings, which are seen during the long takes, gain completely different meanings in a tension process where the worst is always expected.

11. 1917 (2019)

Returning from the 77th Golden Globes with the Best Film and Best Director awards, “1917” takes the audience to the dark atmosphere of World War I.

Focusing on the task of transmitting a message that will save the lives of 1,600 soldiers by passing through to the enemy region of two British soldiers named Schofield and Blake, “1917” offers a unique experience with its strong harmony between the dramatic structure and sound use, splendid acting performances, dark interior shots, and realistic period depictions.

Roger Deakins, one of the best cinematographers in history, takes the film up with flawless cinematography. The visual and audio preferences of the film that reflect the time and place perfectly also prove director Sam Mendes’ talent again.

10. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)

“A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” the last part of the Living Trilogy that returned from Berlin with the Golden Bear, is a pure Roy Andersson film.

The master auteur, by using long takes, creates a suffocating atmosphere that reveals the reality we live in around the theme of death. With exaggerated acting performances, and the use of color and places, Andersson also emphasizes how tragicomic this world is.

The simple questions and confessions by the characters in the plastic world point to the unpleasant answers about the world we live in. Expressionless faces, long silences, never-ending repetitions, and a sharp melancholy penetrate every moment as we are used to in his films.

9. Sieranevada (2016)

Following a road frequently followed by the Romanian New Wave, “Sieranevada” establishes a dark narrative of contemporary Romanian society through individual relations.

Cristi Puiu traps the audience inside a family’s house, pushing to reflect on many concepts such as family, loyalty, marriage, religion, and politics. While doing this, the distance between his camera and the characters creates an intimate atmosphere and it helps the audience to be positioned inside the house.

With technical skills such as building great mise an scene and skillful camera use, he transforms this low-paced story into a different experience. The success in the construction of the characters and the inner precession between them skillfully sustains the story that might go to quite unbearable points.

The year 2019 will definitely be remembered as one of the most special years in the history of cinema. We’ve seen great films from many different countries in various genres.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Korean Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, while Israeli Nadav Lapid’s “Synonyms” was awarded with the Golden Bear in Berlin. The wonderful films of Pedro Almodovar and Mati Diop, which also received various awards and acclaim from important festivals, were among the special works.

Here are the 10 best non-English language films of 2019.

10. Synonyms

Returning with the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival, in “Synonyms,” Nadav Lapid creates an extraordinary satire from the tension caused by jamming between the two cultures.

“Synonyms,” which follows an immigrant man who completely denies his identity, has traces of Lapid’s life. Its leading character, Yoav, moves from Israel, a country he never enjoyed, to Paris, where he decided to seize it to the end. He wants to erase his origins, be French, be buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, but his essence is in his body; his double identity never leaves him.

It makes original findings on the identity crisis, and it also takes a close look at the concepts of rootlessness and belonging through a stroller. The great performance of Tom Mercier is one of the most important factors that strengthen the effect of this wonderful film.

In a very unique way, it generates questions that push the audience to think within the framework of the concepts of race, homeland, language, assimilation.

9. Bacurau

Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who attracted attention with films such as “Oma ao Redor” and “Aquarius,” received the Special Jury Prize at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival with “Bacurau,” which he directed with Juliano Dornelles.

“Bacurau,” which travels between genres and has very bold scenes, creates a harsh narrative through the sociological atmosphere of the country.

Teresa, a young woman, travels to Bacurau, a small town in Brazil, to attend her grandmother’s funeral. Her grandmother, the town’s leader, Carmelita, died at the age of 94 and the mood of mourning prevails in the town.

Meanwhile, Teresa observes that Bacurau has important problems. A few days later, residents notice that the area has been wiped off the map and that fatalities have occurred.

Combining sci-fi, adventure, and western genres, “Bacurau” is a film that shows its political position from the beginning. Director Filho says that he made this film in response to passive and submissive representation of people who live in regions like Bacurau. The invasion in the film and the behaviors of the townsmen who do not comply with this representation serve the purpose skillfully.

8. Talking About Trees

The “Talking About Trees” documentary from Sudanese director Suhaib Gasmelbari, which won the Best Documentary Award at the Berlin Film Festival, focuses on the struggle of four old friends in their seventies who try to reopen the doors of the cinema that closed 30 years ago after the coup.

While Gasmelbari conveys the passion of the four friends who struggled to re-establish the Sudan cinema and re-open the movie theaters, he emphasizes the results of attempts to erase all the achievements of modernity, all the archives and memory in Sudan.

Abandoned movie theaters without even functional seats, reels left in piles of dust, closed old open-air cinemas… four friends who did not lose hope in an environment where there was no budget for cinema at all, remain to be patient.

Shortly after the movie, the demolition of El Beşer’s dictatorial regime as a result of the uprisings in Sudan will probably cheer them up.

Following Sudan’s intentionally erased visual memory, “Talking About Trees” is one of the best documentaries of the year.

7. Atlantique

Returning from the 72nd Cannes Film Festival with the Grand Prix, Senegal’s Oscar nominee “Atlantique” has an intriguing and hypnotic atmosphere.

It tells the story of 17-year-old Ada, who lives in the suburbs of Dakar. When the workers in a futuristic skyscraper leave the country in hopes of a better future because they have not been able to get their money for months, Ada is led into an unexpected situation. Because Souleiman, the lover of Ada, is among them.

Concerned for Souleiman, Ada confronts the possibility of marrying a man she doesn’t like. As the opening of the skyscraper approaches, an unexplained epidemic in the city begins.

“Atlantique” stands out with beautiful cinematography, subtle sound design, and absorbing atmosphere, while offering an original perspective on the social problems in Senegal.

6. Beanpole

“Beanpole,” screened in a A Certain Look section of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and winning the Best Director award to Balagov, takes the audience to Leningrad in 1945 and reveals the destruction and despair created by World War II through the city and people that have been destroyed.

Despite months after the war, Iya, who lives in this period where the effects are quite fresh, tries to rebuild her life with her friend Masha, who returned from the front. Separating from other people in terms of appearance, Iya begins to live under the authority of Masha, and this causes the relationship of the two women to get unusual.

“Beanpole” has a very vague narrative style. With his clever choices, Balagov neither distances the viewer by using the coldness of realism, nor benefit from the emotionality of melodrama codes that directly addresses emotions.

The film embraces the world it creates, even if it takes place in a difficult time. It stays away from a pessimistic atmosphere and doesn’t try to say big things about the future. The indifference of the film turns into its own attitude.

The year 2019 was one of the best cinema years of the last decade. We’ve seen a lot of masterpieces and marvelous films that will be remembered and become classics.

Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half hour film “The Irishman” was screened on Netflix and won great acclaim; “The Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is considered by many to be a modern masterpiece; and “Joker” has been on top of the film agenda for a long time.

In short, it was a very high-quality year for cinema. Here are the 10 most rewatchable films of 2019.

10. Pain and Glory

“Pain and Glory” is one of the most personal and special films of Pedro Almodovar, who has made fearless films about gender, nationality, sexuality, society’s view on women, and has also been harshly criticized.

Veteran director Salvador Mallo, who stopped making films, often returns to the past. He travels back to the years of his childhood, the village where he lived with his mother, the hardships he experienced, his young love in Madrid, and the time he began writing that was an escape for him. The story undoubtedly carries strong autobiographical traces of Almodovar’s life.

Although Almodovar has a career with ups and downs, he is one of the most special directors living today, with the innovations and perspectives he has brought to the cinema. With all of that, “Pain and Glory” is nothing but a great opportunity to take a closer look at the life, dreams, contradictions, and passions of this great auteur.

It uses the power of the vague field between reality and fiction through constantly emphasizing on the cinema screen and the audience.

Almodovar adds a piece to the numerous masterpieces of the directors who shot their films based on their personal stories.

9. The Lighthouse

“The Lighthouse,” directed by Robert Eggers, who made one of the most exciting horror films of the 2010s with his first feature “The Witch,” is the most bizarre film on this list.

Thomas Wake, a former sailor, is a lighthouse guard on a mysterious island. Ephraim Winslow is sent to help this lonely guard on the island for years with his work. Thomas and Ephraim begin to work together, and a great and dark battle of power between these two men emerges.

Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, in a duo which reminds Prometheus and Proteus, amaze with perhaps the most impressive performances of their careers, and this makes a tremendous contribution to the film’s atmosphere.

In addition to the power struggle between the two men, “The Lighthouse” also uses numerous toxic elements of the masculinity of the characters to escalate tension and imprison the atmosphere.

Setting the cinematic language to create a sense of dream, Eggers lifts the line between hallucination and reality as the film progresses. With its uncomfortable sound design, visual choices that keep the audience on their toes, and references and layered structure, it becomes one of the best films of the year.

8. The Souvenir

Joanna Hogg is absolutely one of the most underrated filmmakers today. And after “Unrelated” and “Archipelago,” in “The Souvenir,” Hogg manages to create an enormous impact once again.

“The Souvenir,” which won critical acclaim and Grand Prize of the Jury in the World Cinema section at the Sundance Film Festival, follows Julie’s relationship with the charismatic but unreliable Anthony, and her challenge against her protective mother to preserve her love.

This magnificent drama that tells its story from the first moment to the unforgettable finale in detail, breaking the clichés of love movies, is a shocking and emotionally intense experience.

It gives a subtle view into every aspect of life, but also becomes a powerful and unique narrative for those notebly interested in cinema as an art form.

The perfect final scene that focuses on the close relationship between cinema and reality, where the boundaries of the screen and life are intertwined, is a powerful enough factor to make it one of the most special films of the last year.

7. Atlantique

Returning from the 72nd Cannes Film Festival with the Grand Prix, Senegal’s Oscar nominee “Atlantique” is in fact the hardest film on the list. And what makes this film rewatchable is its intriguing and hypnotic atmosphere.

It tells the story of 17-year-old Ada, who lives in the suburbs of Dakar. When the workers in a futuristic skyscraper leave the country in hopes of a better future because they have not been able to get their money for months, Ada is led into an unexpected situation. Because Souleiman, the lover of Ada, is among them.

Concerned for Souleiman, Ada confronts the possibility of marrying a man she doesn’t like. As the opening of the skyscraper approaches, an unexplained epidemic in the city begins.

Offering an original perspective on the social problems in Senegal, “Atlantique” stands out with its beautiful cinematography and subtle sound design.

Its absorbing atmosphere is one of the biggest pluses of the film. And considering the self-questioning, while it reminds Lucrecia Martel’s “La Cienaga,” it also salutes Luigi Pirandello’s great book “One, No One and One Hundred Thousand.”

6. Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach, one of the most important representatives of American independent cinema, fascinates with his best film since “Frances Ha.”

“Marriage Story” focuses on the destruction of the human psyche and the sadness of unresolved dilemmas caused by strange legal procedures, blurred areas, and psychological and social pressures that emerge during the divorce phase.

Baumbach follows the story of both characters with patience and faithfulness and this gives an intimate atmosphere to the story that travels between conflicts and compromises.

Framing choices that emphasize the close bond between the two characters, as well as contrasts, the film outlines its unpretentious yet powerful cinematic language.

Aside from its original script, one of the most important reasons why the narrative can remain strong without the need for big moves is the great performances from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.

When you consider the aesthetic pleasure of gazing upon masterfully shot and edited scenes that draw the strength from unique elements of cinema, along with the inescapable sympathy that great screenplays and atmospheres combine, the impact might be enormous at the end of the film.

Whether it’s catharses, events, or situations that infiltrate our lives, as well as atmospheres that are strong enough to exceed the limits of the screen, there are so many great elements of cinema that are uplifting, promising, and which allow us to look at our lives more carefully.

Here are the 10 most uplifting movie endings of all time.

10. Whiplash (2014)

Damien Chazelle offers a ride that reinforces its purpose by approaching his role as a musician. He manages to control a script that could have turned into a cliche, with clever moves from great acting performances.

Having played the drums from an early age, Andrew wants to become a true master of his work. He enters the Shaffer Conservatory, which he considers to be the best music school in the country. He trains hard and eventually draws the attention of one of the school’s toughest teachers, jazz veteran Terence Fletcher.

Fletcher, who is notorious for his brutality as much as his success, wants to push Andrew’s capacity to the end. In front of the young drummer, there is not only a professional test but also a psychological test.

In the finale, we see the band play “Whiplash,” a piece Andrew has struggled with throughout the movie. And his incredible, fiery, and unplanned drum solo leaves Fletcher, the band, and the audience stunned.

Chazelle does not completely bless the success stories and the path to them, nor does he deny the attractiveness of the situation. In all of this, he conveys the struggle for success and perfection with all its nakedness.

9. Sideways (2004)

Adapted from Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name, “Sideways” is a warm comedy-drama road film directed and co-written by Alexander Payne.

Miles, who became depressed after his separation from his wife, is also an artist who suffers artistic blockages. Miles has a vacation planned with his close friend Jack, who will marry a few days later, to distract him before the wedding. But nothing will go along with Miles during this journey, as they walk through California’s roads and vineyards.

The film’s simple and great finale shows that sometimes we can find the secrets we have kept even from ourselves on the road, and despite all of the despair that sometimes surrounds us, we can easily discover our own reality.

After the journey, Miles finds out that his ex-wife is pregnant from her new husband. He becomes devastated. Time passes, and Miles returns to his routine life, and one day he receives a voicemail from Maya, who says she enjoyed his manuscript and invites him to visit. Miles drives back to wine country and knocks on Maya’s door for a new beginning.

8. Billy Elliot (2000)

“Billy Elliot” is a harsh film that demonstrates the social and economic situation of the working class that struggles with forced conditions. It also touches on issues such as homophobia and social environmental pressure against homosexual individuals.

In England 1984, the period in which miners strike against the conditions due to the methods employed in the North, Billy Elliot is a mature, 11-year-old boy despite his age. He participates in strikes with his father and older brother.

One day, he quits boxing and says he wants to practice ballet, and his family opposes him. Following his father’s ban on ballet, Billy continues to lessons with the help of his teacher. And finally his father catches Billy dancing in the gym and realises his son is truly gifted.

Thanks to the money collected by those around him, he auditions for the Royal Ballet School. Despite the fight in the audition, Billy is accepted to the school and leaves home to attend. And in the finale, the 25-year-old Billy takes the stage to perform the Swan in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, as his father, brother and best friend watch from the audience.

When the tale of a boy who follows his dream despite all obstacles and describes dancing as “like electricity,” uniting with the one the most emotional endings in history, the impact is sublime.

7. The Truman Show (1998)

The inhabitants of one of the most beautiful islands in the world leads an enviable utopian life. With a beautiful wife, Truman was buried in his perfect life until the day he saw his father, who he thought was dead, on the street. He is sure to see his father, but he suddenly disappears. Truman realizes that something is not going well and begins to question the reality of his life.

With the development of the television industry, advertising and the elements of the capitalist order is often emphasized with subliminal messages. Everything we see on TV is a life sold to us. The human being turned into an object must obey authority. This points to the pit in which modern man has fallen.

In the finale, we see Truman finally reach the edge of the huge dome and find an exit door from this fake world. He takes control of his own destiny and steps out the door to a complete unknown.

“The Truman Show” reveals that we’re becoming a monotype. Even though we realize this and want to get out, we just can’t do it, because we are miserably accustomed. But when this film’s excellent finale leaves us speechless, we realize that our own consciousness forms the world and subjectivity is the center of the world.

6. Harold and Maude (1971)

Harold, a young, wealthy man who is obsessed with death, finds himself forever changed when he meets Maude, who is 70 years old, at a funeral. They soon develop a pleasant friendship. Maude is one who is full of life, and is his exact opposite. With the energy transfer between them, Harold comes to such a level that he tells his family that he wants to marry Maude.

“Harold and Maude” has the spirit of an era in which concepts such as anti-war, civil rights and sexual revolution rise up. Through the liberating love of the characters, it demolishes the fusty and rotten structures and the ideology they represent that tries to dominate the individual in various ways.

In its splendid finale, legendary director Hal Ashby emphasizes that Maude’s death is not an end. It is a beginning that will make Harold aware of the other beauties that will come, and make it possible to love more.

“Well, if you want to sing out, sing out, And if you want to be free, be free.”

The 2010s have been a rich decade for cinema. In addition to innovative films that bring different perspectives to the narrative, we have seen countless great films dancing with the codes of different genres.

Although there are many elements that make a film “cool,” such as the use of mise-en-scene, acting, places, costumes, and sounds, the most important of all is the feeling it gives you while watching it.

Here are the 10 great films of the 2010s that have succeeded at this and which have proved the magic of cinema.

10. Frances Ha (2010)

Noah Baumbach, who has earned acclaim with great films like “Marriage Story” (2019), “The Squid and the Whale” (2005) and “Mistress America” (2015), is one of the most intriguing directors of our time. And “Frances Ha,” which he built with Greta Gerwig, is probably his most intriguing work.

Frances, a 27-year-old apprentice with a dance troupe, is a dancer who does not have a brilliant career. She does not have a stable job, and only dreams of being a permanent employee of this company.

On the other hand, as she applies for many different jobs, none are successful. The only person who fully understands Frances is Sophie, with whom she shares an apartment. However, Sophie’s move to the city of her dreams will shake their relationship, causing Frances to meet a cruel reality.

Although it is reminiscent of Woody Allen’s “Manhattan” in its black-and-white images, with Frances’ optimism and love, it also brings to mind Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amelie” and its colorful world.

It masterfully salutes the French New Wave cinema with its warm expressions; it manages to be sincere and cool at the same time.

9. Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Tom Ford’s second feature, “Nocturnal Animals,” is a marvelous thriller based on Austin Wright’s novel “Tony and Susan.” Ford created a masterpiece based on the harmony of form and content.

Nineteen years ago, Susan Morrow left her husband, Edward Sheffield, who is a writer. In her second marriage, she lives a normal life as the wife of a doctor. One day, she finds a sketch of her first husband’s novel, which has never been published. The ex-wife asks for her opinion.

She can’t leave this book called “Nocturnal Animals.” Susan remembers her past as the life of the book’s character becomes miserable. These dangerous emotions change her life.

While heralding the enormous visuality with the opening sequence that will make its mark in the history of cinema, it fascinates with its deep and impressive narrative. Flawless performances from Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon also help to create a dark and disturbing atmosphere.

8. Under the Skin (2013)

“Under the Skin,” directed by Jonathan Glazer, is one of the most controversial science fiction films of the 2010s. It is loosely based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Michel Faber.

We follow a mysterious young woman as she seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.

Whilst this attractive, captivating, and eerie story travels among genres, it also presents interesting cinematographic elements. By combining social reality and science fiction, it brings a unique experience.

Bringing a new dimension to noir cinema with its foggy Scotland landscapes, Glazer draws strength from the unique femme fatale character he has created, and undersigns one of the most stylized and exclusive works in film history.

7. The Great Beauty (2013)

Paolo Sorrentino’s magnificent film opens with a quote from Céline’s “Journey to the End of the Night”: “Traveling is very useful: it makes your imagination work, everything else is just disappointment and trouble. Our journey is entirely imaginary, which is its strength.” And that perfectly divulges the film.

Jep Gamberdella, who lives in the charming and glorious atmosphere of Rome, is a 65-year-old writer who often misses his youth. He had great success in his youth and was accepted into the high society of Rome, and started a splendid life.

He tries to see the world as a better place by masking degenerated people and frustrations with his cynical attitude. The only thing that keeps its innocence in his dreams is the love of youth. Jep realizes that he has lived superficially, so he begins the search for great beauty.

It is a quest story that turns its narrative into a kind of feast with references to Fellini. This hybrid aesthetic is adorned with absurd humor while intertwining fake with sincere, fiction with reality, sacred with vulgar.

6. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

“Only Lovers Left Alive” is one of the coolest pieces in Jim Jarmusch’s great filmography.

Eve and Adam are immortal lovers, two depressive vampires who have lost faith in most things. Adam is a successful musician who devotes all his time to music and songs. He lives in Detroit, which has the appearance of a largely abandoned ghost town.

His only love, Eve, has been living in Morocco for a long time. When Eve comes to visit Adam, they encounter the unexpected visit of her sister Ava. Until then, Ava has brought nothing but trouble, and once again she leads them to a difficult point.

This film discovers vampires’ extraordinary relationships with science and technique, their production as artists, and their passion for intellectual knowledge.

In addition to Jarmusch’s ingenious touches, the strange and charming performances of Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are enough to make it quite cool and enjoyable.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, cinema has continued its path with many new expansions. Today, digital platforms have become an indispensable part of our lives and we have gained new viewing habits. The debate regarding the essence of cinema, how films should be made, and what is ideal, will probably never end.

Beyond all of these discussions, good films that have been released in recent years have been able to gain extra attention with the influence of social media. And the lists, which have been published on different websites in recent years and have become much more popular, create an entertaining and discovery process for cinephiles to catch great movies that don’t get the attention they deserve, or are waiting to be discovered.

Here are the 10 great recent movies you may have missed:

10. My Life as a Courgette (2016)

Claude Barras’ stop-motion animated film “My Life As A Courgette,” co-produced by Switzerland and France, is one of the most impressive works of recent years. Adapted from the French writer Gilles Paris’s novel “Autobiographie d’une Courgette,” this warm film deals with a fundamental issue in the midst of everyday life without dramatizing it.

Courgette is the nickname of the 9-year-old in the film. After his mother’s sudden death, Raymond, a police officer, takes care of Courgette at the orphanage. At first Courgette sees this place as hostile and unfamiliar, but with the help of the police officer, he will make new friends, learn to trust, built a new family, and find true love.

It is appealing to audiences of all ages with its dark and naive style. Although it doesn’t have the rhythm we are used to in popular animations, it is still a great stop with its sharp transitions between sadness and happiness, adorable characters, social realistic approach, and great sound use.

This marvelous animated film was nominated for Academy Awards and won the Best Film and Audience Special Award at the Annecy Festival.

9. The Rider (2017)

After her great first film “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” Chloé Zhao’s second feature film “The Rider” masterfully combines the reality of life with the magic of cinema.

The young rider Brady struggles to recover from an almost fatal blow to the head during a rodeo. When it is impossible for him to ride a horse again, unanswered questions arise in his mind about who he is and what he wants to do.

Zhao transforms the story of a cowboy into a visual miracle and a realistic critique of American-type masculinity. It reminds us of Terrence Malick with its visual world, Cassavetes with the instant approach, and Kelly Reichardt with social observations. Zhao smoothly combines the documentarist approach with Wild West elements.

This magnificent cinematic poetry cleverly demonstrates the normality and masculine energy and this inevitably strengthens the narrative. It also leaves the audience with one of the most intense finales of recent years.

8. Taxi (2015)

Taxi, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin, is a masterpiece of legendary director Jafar Panahi, who continues to make great films despite being banned in Iran.

The story takes place in a yellow taxi that strolls through the streets of Iran’s capital Tehran, apparently no different from the others. Moving through the colorful streets of Tehran, the taxi welcomes all types of passengers, and the driver seeks to interview each passenger on a different topic.

The person behind the wheel is no one but the famous director Panahi. He presents a rich portrait of Iran, where drama and comedy come together in conversations on different topics, turning the camera mounted on the front panel of the taxi to the passengers.

“Taxi” is an extraordinary work that builds a very creative relationship with reality, using all of its political background for its original idea. It offers an entertaining ride with its flowing editing that does not disturb the audience in the sense of a single space.

Panahi takes a journey not only in Tehran but also in his own cinema. It’s both a fun comedy and a powerful questioning about what is real, what is fiction, and what is criminal.

It constantly deals with freedom of expression and a feeling of hope, with strong references to respect for the freedom of the artist and cinema. After a certain point, this miraculous masterpiece reaches such an extreme that it forces the audience to bring new perspectives on the boundaries of cinema.

7. The Red Turtle (2016)

A Wild Bunch and Studio Ghibli co-production, “The Red Turtle,” which won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, is Dutch director Michael Dudok de Wit’s first feature film.

“The Red Turtle” has the creativity, simplicity, and poetic traditions of Japanese animations, and it is a meditative narrative without any dialogue, which makes inferences about the meaning of existence, identity and love.

“La Tortue Rouge,” which deals with life cycles and universal aspects of existence with emotion-appealing music and memorable cinematography, is absolutely one of the best animations of recent years.

The film has an impressive cinematic feeling and it is a spiritual experience with its quiet and unique world. And for those who postpone watching with the knowledge that the film does not contain dialogue, it is certainly a great reason to regret.

One of the most original examples of pure cinema.

6. Lady Macbeth (2016)

Based on the novel by Russian writer Nikolai Leskov in 1865, “Lady Macbeth” describes the search for the sexual freedom of a desperate woman in the 19th century world of Northern England.

It sheds a realistic light on the system of Britain in the 1800s, where women are despised in the gender hierarchy, where men dominate women sexistically within the framework of the dominant culture.

It contains quite harsh and disturbing scenes. It is a revolt film that skillfully blends erotic and thriller elements and an interesting experience with its uncompromising and unpredictable structure.

The film stands out with its ability to visualize the desire of the female character. One of the elements that strengthens its feeling is the wonderful performance from Florence Pugh.

And with the elegance of music, it also can capture a beauty reminiscent of an opera.

No matter how often we watch movies, the feeling of knowing that there are still many good movies that we haven’t seen can sometimes be relaxing. Today, it is not so easy to find special films in cinema, which is a medium that has the potential to evolve into something new, especially with the changing habits of modern people.

Fortunately, plenty of classic films that give a sense of pure cinema are still waiting to be explored. Besides, it’s a great reason to stay positive.

Here are 10 great movie classics you’ve probably never seen:

10. The Silence (1963)

“The Silence” is one of Ingmar Bergman’s most personal films, and it is the first one of his bleak trilogy.

It focuses on the emotional bond between two sisters, Ester and Anna, who are becoming increasingly distant from each other. The two women, along with Anna’s 10-year-old son, set out to a central European country on the verge of war.

However, Ester’s illness during the journey forces their plans to change. They have to settle in a hotel in a small town called Timoka, and face unexpected situations.

This black-and-white masterpiece, which has a totally different sound in its silence, leads the audience into a suffocating atmosphere, and questions the need to create new and cleaner aspects in our own world.

Tystnaden’s lack of monologue and dialogue and the gaps in the script are entirely the steps of endless search and exploration.

It’s a quite hard and sometimes unbearable film that pushes the audience’s limits and forces inevitable self-questioning. But obviously, it’s also a great stop for the ones who admire Bergman’s unique cinematography.

9. Seventh Continent (1989)

Haneke, who loves to reflect the ideology of the social structure through the smallest but most important representative family, shows that he will be the bogy of Europe from his debut feature film. It is also the first of his glaciation trilogy.

The couple Georg and Anna, despite their normal and silent appearance, cannot experience any significant pleasure in their lives and live completely indifferent. Their child Evi is most affected by this situation.

Evi pretends to be blind as punishment for the indifference of his parents. Seeing this, Georg and Anna realize the meaninglessness of their lives and enter a quite pessimistic process.

This monotone and dark story acts as a mirror to modern society by presenting the daily life of an ordinary family that is forced to live behind closed doors.

The film, which is based on a newspaper report, is a call for help from the robotic modern man who has an unconscious longing for a nonexistent seventh continent.

Haneke manipulates the traditional understanding of film with the screen that is darkened for a long time to show time shifts and emotional transitions. The audience is free to reflect on the film and draw their own conclusions.

8. Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Taiwanese director Tsaï Ming-liang, one of the underappreciated names even among cinephiles, has made flawless films like “What Time Is It There?”, “Goodbye, Dragon Inn” and “Vive L’Amour.” In “Rebels of the Neon God,” which is his first feature film, he takes us on a special revenge story.

The introverted Hsiao Kang feels cooped up at home. A high school dropout, he spends his days killing time. He has no friends to speak of. When petty criminal Ah-Tze turns up on his motorcycle and damages Hsiao Kang’s father’s taxi, he begins to stalk him and his girlfriend with a mixture of doggedness and fascination. Ah-Tze’s motorcycle becomes an obsession for him.

Tsai allows us to enter the world of this character with a convincing atmosphere. And of course, Lee Kang-sheng’s superb performance is one of the key elements of its success.

Hypnotic and visually stunning scenes build the exquisite cinematography and that just that is enough to prove why Tsai Ming-liang is underappreciated.

7. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)

“The Wind Will Carry Us” takes its name from the poem of the same name by the Iranian female poet Forough Farrokhzad. The film, which has a still atmosphere like the other films of Abbas Kiarostami, is one of the best works of the master director.

This marvelous masterpiece, which conveys a combination of life and death with poetic purity, is one of the films where the symbolic narrative structure of Iranian New Wave cinema can be seen most clearly.

It stands out with its structure that reveals the clash between the traditional and ritual and the modern and the differences between the urban and peasant perspectives. “The Wind Will Carry Us” is intensely fed on life and death poems by Farrokhzad and Omar Khayyam.

It emphasizes that we must take a journey toward life by feeding the darkness with light throughout the film. And it turns into a masterpiece in which a constant search, a desire for hope and rebirth, are delicately assembled.

The images that direct the symbolic and poetic narrative, and constantly repeat, stand out as the characteristic of the film.

It was nominated for the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival, and won the Grand Special Jury Prize (Silver Lion), and the FIPRESCI Prize at the festival.

6. Touki Bouki (1973)

Djibril Diop Mambéty is the screenwriter and director of this flawless Senegalese classic.

Mory and Anta, who have crossed paths, find money in a way, and embark on a journey with vague thoughts in their minds and many different and similar hopes in their hearts. This journey is headed for Paris, where they hope to make money and live a better life.

This journey is also the character’s inner journey and contains great visual magic. This epic journey, where nature, man, god and money are intertwined, ends with a satisfactory finale.

This film is some of the best evidence that cinema has no time, place, nation or language, and that this journey is unidentified and will affect anyone wherever it takes place in the world.

An anarchist narrative technique and bold visual world position the film in a very original place in cinema history.

Generally, it’s hard to expect a happy ending in bleak movies.. Nevertheless, great directors sometimes choose unexpected hopeful and warm endings. These endings maybe tell us that even in a dark world, there are still plenty of positive points of view. And thanks to these new sights, maybe, just maybe, we can make the world a better place with our choices and attitude.

Here are the 10 fabulous films that insist on seeking beauty and meaning in their gloomy and sad atmosphere and offer us great endings.

10. Toni Erdmann (2016)

This film may be the most bizarre choice on this list, because although “Toni Erdmann” has a sad and cold atmosphere, it is undeniably a very entertaining film.

Ines (Sandra Hüller) is an ambitious business woman obsessed with her job and career, working for an international consulting firm in Bucharest. When she returns to her hometown in Germany for a short time for her birthday, she meets her father, Winfried (Peter Simonischek). In spite of his advanced age, Winfried, who is almost a childlike character with unwarranted jokes and attitudes, goes to Bucharest unannounced to spend some more time with his daughter.

Maren Ade, one of the most talented directors of our time, offers a lot of annoying and absurd moments in her 160-minute film. And she also manages to create fascinating scenes with little touches. Ade constructs the father-daughter conflict with a subtle text, and all of the conflicts in the story begin to work on this text.

“Toni Erdmann: is a harsh capitalism story and a unique father-daughter relationship tale where humor and sadness are perfectly synchronized.

The magnetic and magical bond of being a family deeply affects the audience with a combination of sadness and very bizarre events.

And its great finale, which is hard to define, gives an infinite feeling and proves the power of pure cinema.

9. Wild at Heart (1990)

Based on Barry Gifford’s novel, “Wild at Heart” is one of David Lynch’s most controversial films. It won the Palme d’Or in Cannes and split the audience in two with applause and booing. Its off-line finale probably helped a lot this division.

Lula and Sailor are irresistibly in love with each other. Lula’s slightly insane mother hates Sailor completely, so she hires a very troubled man to follow Sailor. Sailor loses himself and causes the death of this mad man and is arrested. When he is released from prison, he takes Lula, who had waited for him the whole time, and leaves for California. This time, a private detective and a hired killer follow them.

At each stage of Sailor and Lula’s escape journey, the characters they confront spread mystery and suspicion and keep us alert at all times.

This strange “lovers on the run’ story, with its sick tale atmosphere, establishes a structure that develops the element of femme fatale.

“Wild at Heart,” which stands out with its great editing and full embodiment of the elements of Lynch’s cinema, ends with the disturbing optimism we are not used to in his films.

8. The Man Without a Past (2002)

“The Man Without a Past,” directed by Aki Kaurismäki, won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. The second part of the Finland trilogy is a great example for his gracious and uncompromising cinema.

The film begins with an unknown man being beaten to death by three bandits. The man, who originally came to Helsinki with the hope of establishing a new order, suddenly had no idea who he was when he regained consciousness. Although he calls for support to survive, he doesn’t get the attention he needs from anyone. And one day he meets Irma, one of the employees of the institution, during a free meal distributed by an institution that helps the poor.

It traces the footsteps of Kaurismäki’s other films with an extraordinary emphasis on satire, warmth, innocence, pain, and honesty.

The film’s attitude toward the lives of the poor and homeless is extremely sublime. Kaurismaki certainly does not present it as an object of exploitation by dramatizing it.

“The Man Without a Past” conveys the prosperous Finland in a strong and detailed observation by shedding light on the existence of a deprived segment.

With a minimalist style of directing, it leaves us with a warm finale in the cold and gloomy atmosphere of Finland.

7. Billy Elliot (2000)

In England in 1984, the period in which miners strike against the conditions due to the methods employed in the North, Billy Elliot is a mature, 11-year-old boy despite his age. He participates in strikes with his father and older brother. Billy tries to make his decisions with the same determination as an adult.

One day, he quits boxing and says he wants to practice ballet, and his family opposes him. But along with Billy, there will be people who support his decision.

“Billy Elliot” demonstrates the social and economic situation of the working class that struggle with the forced conditions, and also touches on issues such as homophobia and social environmental pressure against homosexual individuals.

In the inspiring final scene, which leads to complex emotions, Billy’s position still opens the door to a hopeful world.

A sincere story of self-discovery and emancipation in the dark atmosphere of chaos.

6. Arctic (2019)

The life of Overgård, a young man, is turned upside down after his flight. Overgård’s plane falls as they pass through the polar region. Overgård, who survived the incident, has no choice but to wait. In this process, he makes a shelter to protect himself against harsh weather conditions.

In the middle of nowhere, there are two options in front of Overgård, who is left in harsh natural conditions. Either he will stay in his relatively safe refuge and protect himself from the relentless natural disasters, or he will embark on a fatal journey in which he does not know the end.

Mads Mikkelsen, who appears in almost every scene of the film, performs extremely well in reflecting the physical and psychological impact of the difficult physical conditions on the character.

“Arctic” is an almost dialogue-free film with only two actors. Throughout the film, the harmony between the style that gradually forms its story and the geographical region where the events take place is emphasized. Wide shots also give a sense of openness in a disturbing way and helps the story.

The legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami once said:

“I think a good film is one that has a lasting power, and you start to reconstruct it right after you leave the theater. There are a lot of films that seem to be boring, but they are decent films. On the other hand, there are films that nail you to your seat and overwhelm you to the point that you forget everything, but you feel cheated later. These are the films that take you hostage. I absolutely don’t like the films in which the filmmakers take their viewers hostage and provoke them.”

And he added, “I prefer the films that put their audience to sleep in the theater. I think those films are kind enough to allow you a nice nap … Some films have made me doze off in the theater, but the same films have made me stay up at night, wake up thinking about them in the morning, and keep on thinking about them for weeks. Those are the kinds of films I like.”

Undoubtedly that is a very sharp and controversial way to think about cinema. Even though there are plenty of flawless arthouse films that are a perfect match to this definition, sometimes these overly self-indulgent films can be tiring or might look pointless.

Even though sometimes these works lead us to very special feelings with their uncompromising structures, the personal, difficult-to-understand films with strange forms can be very compelling for the audience.

Inevitably, this way of filmmaking has lots of pros and cons. Keeping the balance between ambiguity, weirdness, calmness, thought-provoking dialogue, and all of the elements in an arthouse film, and wandering on that thin red line is very difficult.

Can these films, which are not scared to lose their control, challenge the audience and manage to do that? Be our guest!

Although these films are very hard to deal with, there is no doubt that they speak cinema’s own language.

10. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2007)

Cristi Puiu’s sincere film, which won the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival, is one of the greatest masterpieces of Romanian cinema.

It contains plenty of black humor, and stands out with its shocking realism and criticism of the health sector.

Mr. Lazarescu is a 60-year-old alcoholic who lives alone in an apartment in Bucharest with his three cats. One night when he wakes up with stomach cramps and nausea, he calls the emergency room and waits. When the ambulance finally arrives, Lazarescu’s dark journey into the medical world begins. Lazarescu is lugged from one hospital to another, is misdiagnosed, re-diagnosed, put on hold, and his condition worsens as the hours go by.

Of course, aside from all tragicomic elements in Lazarescu’s journey, it inevitably becomes annoying and tiring. Piui’s choices makes it nerve-wracking and real as daily life. It’s not a ride for everyone. Nevertheless, Bucharest can be any city in the world, and Mr. Lazarescu can be your neighbor…

9. Alps (2011)

Yorgos Lanthimos has made many wonderful and compelling films such as “Dogtooth,” “The Lobster” and “The Killing of a Sacred Deer.” But the most difficult one to digest in his filmography is “Alps.”

We follow the story of four people working in different jobs forming a secret group called “Alps.” They provide special services to families who have recently lost their loved ones. This strange group offers, for a fee, to play the recently deceased during visits of their grieving relatives.

About the film, Lanthimos once said, “‘Dogtooth’ is the story of a person who tries to escape a fictitious world. ‘Alps’ is about a person who tries to enter a fabricated world.” Surely, both of the worlds he created are very dark and uncompromising.

Cold acting, harsh scenes, and the oddness we are used to in Lanthimos’ movies combine to create a troublesome structure. And even for fans of the director, it’s far from watchable.

8. The Turin Horse (2011)

Nietzsche is undoubtedly one of the most important philosophers in history with his philosophical thoughts and personality. The film, based on the Turin Horse story of this famous thinker who re-founded nihilism, offers a very challenging journey.

What was the real reason for Nietzsche’s breakup and isolation from the world? What happened to that horse that affected Nietzsche so much, and what did it really mean to Nietzsche? “The Turin Horse,” which aims to make the audience think about these questions throughout the film, pumps a great sense of nothingness with the numerous repeated scenes.

It also tries to answer the three fundamental questions of philosophy with a materialistic approach in the language of cinema: who am I, where did I come from, and where do I go?

In this dark and desperate world of Hungarian master director Bela Tarr, it is a dream to seek pleasure or a relaxed journey.

The darkest reality the century has ever seen.

7. Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

“Berberian Sound Studio” is British director Peter Strickland’s second feature film, and probably his best so far.

Gilderoy, an English sound technician, encounters many strange things on the set of “The Equestrian Vortex,” a “Suspiria”-like horror film from an Italian director. While the post-production of the film is never-ending, the women who are constantly screaming and the cynical producers at the studio become quite annoying.

In this dark and bizarre place, Gilderoy begins a struggle between truth and delusions. Strickland, who builds the story on sound rather than on the image, makes an important critique of cinema with his frequent mention of alienation while he salutes “giallo” films.

Gilderoy confronts his own demons to protect his mental health, but in this confrontation we are dragged into infinite darkness.

Throughout the film, Strickland doesn’t show any visuals about the sound-edited film, the only visuals we see are fruits and vegetables shattered in the foley stage of the film and Tony’s reactions. With this wise move, Strickland encourages us to create the film in our own minds.

On the one hand, it criticizes the industry in a harsh language, and on the other hand, it offers examples of the vast beauty of cinema.

Although such a subject seems distant to the audience who is not familiar with the technical part of the cinema, it turns into a remarkable experience with its nightmarish atmosphere.

6. Inland Empire (2006)

“Inland Empire,” which is David Lynch’s last feature film, is one of his most underrated works.

Lynch, who breaks the emotional boundaries of his characters with the events he creates by making jumps in time, does not let the audience breathe easily for a moment by sprinkling his riddles in every second of the film.

“Inland Empire” follows the fragmented and nightmarish events surrounding a Hollywood actress (Laura Dern) who begins to take on the personality of a character she plays in a film.

Lynch increases the inconvenience with his camera angles and Dern’s splendid acting leads to create a frightening atmosphere.

He didn’t write any scripts before filming. “Inland Empire,” which wrote itself while the film was being shot, perfectly reflects this uncertainty and uncanny feeling.

Aside from all that, its three-hour running time helps a lot to make it quite challenging.

The number of people who argue that cinema is a slow medium for our era and will gradually lose its effect or turn into something else is increasing. Nevertheless, it is a fact that cinema still has a unique power that can affect our lives directly. And arthouse films might be the best part of this inspiring journey.

Directors such as Ingmar Bergman, Yasujirō Ozu, Jean-Luc Godard and Andrei Tarkovsky defined arthouse cinema. They made extraordinary and innovative films that led us to think, and question our existence, morality and virtues. And today names like Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Lynne Ramsay, Andrey Zvyagintsev and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who are also mentioned in this list, continue to provide peerless cinematic experiences.

Thanks to all these special filmmakers, we continue to feel the magic. Feelings like ambiguity, calmness, self-questioning, and even weirdness are still feeding our souls.

Here are the 10 great arthouse movies you have probably never seen!

1. The Tribe (2014)

“The Tribe” is a great Ukrainian drama film written and directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. It is one of the best examples of contemporary arthouse cinema and absolutely an extraordinary, daring experience.

Sergey is a speech and hearing-impaired youngster and enrolls in a maritime school where students like him are educated. The film opened on the first day of school, and examines Sergey’s meeting with the rigorous hierarchical order that the students have established among themselves. And inevitably, he becomes a part of it.

Sergey, who passed the first exam in this order where the gang of students was involved in various crimes, is now a member of this chain. However, unexpectedly falling in love with one of the other members deeply shakes the process.

“Plemya” is a striking work that keeps the audience engaged and is skillfully handled with every element. It masterfully reflects the anger dynamics of young people who are looking for a way out.

In this film, sign language is spoken. No subtitles, no dubbing. As a matter of fact, we don’t need a voice to understand love and hate. The director shakes the dialogue follow-up mechanism and directs us to different thinking principles and details.

The fact that the characters are deaf and mute actually emphasizes primitiveness and salutes the name of the film. It is a spiral of silence and violence that will remain in the mind for a long time thanks to its hard and provocative structure.

At the end, ruthlessness, hardness, errantry at school, out-of-school relationships, money flow, trafficking in women, theft, assault, all in a sense, turns into rotten sides of a country, and details to show how the system works.

2. Distant (2003)

When “Uzak” won the Grand Prix at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, Nuri Bilge Ceylan was mentioned alongside Pasolini, Tarkovsky and Lars von Trier. It was the sign for his other masterpieces, “Once Upon A Time in Anatolia” and “Winter Sleep.” One of the most original names of arthouse cinema, Ceylan’s film “Distant,” which brings him to the forefront on the world stage, is a wonderful example of his serene works.

“Distant” is a minimal story that travels around the dilemmas of middle-class intellectuals. The film questions life in the modern city, loneliness and lost values, and offers an exquisite visual and stagnant atmosphere. The alienation of modern man from himself and everything is emphasized through the clash of two characters.

It also demonstrates the changes of human behaviours on the city-village axis. Uzak, though not in the countryside, traces the signs of the countryside through the characters that filled with those signs in different ways.

In the beginning, the use of extreme wide shot is one of the most important features of his cinema. The individual is in a tiny position in life, and stationary camera enhances the sense of congestion.

Even though it’s a pessimistic film with sharp moments of tension and conflict, and characters that desperately think about past misfortunes, “Distant” is a unique stop for those who want to make peace – or fight – with their existence, and begin an uncertain and eternal journey to the ‘end of night.’

3. El Club (2015)

Pablo Larrain, who has made films such as “Tony Manero,” “Post Mortem” and “No,” which are the most important films of contemporary Chilean cinema, won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival with “The Club.”

We follow the confrontation of a group of priests who have been removed from the church with their sins in a dark and calm atmosphere. Larrarin, who attracts with his political approach toward Chilean history, creates a critical story about the Catholic Church and that certainly leads us to very original and tight film.

The misty and dark images make us feel the weight of religious pressure and the rules of the Catholic Church throughout the film. As a matter of fact, when a religious investigation is initiated through such intense tradition and modern conflict, the emergence of an existential field is inevitable.

‘El Club’ says important things about pedophilia cases in the church and debates about homosexuality, and offers a unique experience with its tense atmosphere that is feeded by silence. It stands out with powerful cinematography, humor, and expression that demolishes the authority of the church.

4. Benny’s Video (1992)

Michael Haneke, who presents violence in its purest form, is like the bogy of Western civilization with his lurid films and strange beard.

Haneke is a director who touches on real-life fears. He must be one of the best directors to explain how a modern civilization with so many rules can suddenly lead to chaos. In this respect, it can be said that Haneke has serious problems with the institutions and bureaucracy of the state, and his films are inevitably affected.

Violence in mainstream cinema is coded as an indispensable part of life, an action that must be met normally, a commodity is put there for us to consume. Whatever the genre of film – horror, thriller or action – violence is served on decorated plates. Haneke just wants the audience to realize this madness through his films that are very hard to digest.

Gradually alienated from his life and his family, Benny is a 14-year-old who spends almost all his time watching violent videos and shooting with his own handheld camera through his room window. As Benny begins to lose his mental health and his perception of reality changes day by day, he decides to make a violent film with a girl…

This is a horror film without a ghost, vampire, or monster. It takes place in everyday life. Our indifference to the world we watch from the screen is one of the most horrific facts for Haneke.

The narcissistic individuals of the consumer society and the fragile nature of the family institution are his other obsessions, and “Benny’s Video” perfectly manages to emphasize these issues.

Whilst it reveals how violent the family as an institution is in a much more brutal and realistic way than the newspapers, it also pushes the audience to think about violence in today’s life.

5. The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973)

This splendid film is an adaptation of Bruno Schulz’s story collection “Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass.”

“The Hourglass Sanatorium,” which was postponed several times by the political authority and completed only years later, was sent to Cannes illegally. Despite being nominated for the Palme d’Or and returning from France with the Jury Prize, the film was banned in Poland. And the most frightening part was the film ban on director Wojciech Has.

We follow the story of a young Jewish man travels to the sanatorium to visit his father. This journey into a dream-like world becomes aurally dazzling thanks to the magic of the uncertainty and temporariness of time.

This surrealist masterpiece offers a unique and uncanny experience with strange characters, memories, delusions, images from Poland’s past, and an extraordinary soundtrack.

It’s a stunning cult film that pushes the audience to stay in balance at the junction between existence and nothingness, real and unreal.

“The Hourglass Sanatorium” is among 21 digitally restored classic Polish films chosen for Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema.