Every movie should have something to say, or at least raise questions. For me, that’s what distinguishes a great movie from a good one.
Every well-made movie philosophizes one idea or another, irrespective of its genre. Be it a rom-com like When Harry Met Sally or an intense sci-fi like Blade Runner, without philosophy, art might just cease to exist, and films are no different.
It’s one of the reasons why compiling this list felt like quite a herculean task. Also, we know every cinephile’s list will differ from this one.
Here’s my list of the best philosophical movies of all time.
8 Philosophical Movies That Feel Like Food for the Mind
1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Often considered to be a Christmas movie, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life reminds us to be grateful for every day.
The narrative follows James Stewart’s George Bailey, an extremely distressed lender who has picked Christmas as the last day of his mortal existence. Worried that he might take the wrong step, his guardian angel joins him on Earth to stop him. The angel Clarence then takes George on a journey in which he learns what the world would be like if he weren’t in it.
It’s a Wonderful Life is an excellent lesson on self-worth. So many times, we declare ourselves to be useless, unaware of how our existence might be positively shaping others’ lives. It helps you realize that every soul has its purpose to serve, and no one is irrelevant.
2. Rashomon (1950)
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon made audiences question the truth in the face of divided perceptions and helped create the Rashomon Effect. This narrative tool uses misdirection to explore life beyond true and false.
Set in 19th-century Japan, the narrative follows four characters who end up in court to testify about a rape and murder. One of them is the accused, another one is the victim, while the rest are eyewitnesses. Surprisingly, each one presents a different recollection of the same event before the judge, ultimately making it impossible to uncover the truth.
By denying us a straight answer, Rashomon forces us to give our verdict based on the varying testimonies of the witnesses, all of which sound true on their own grounds. This brings us to the most important question: “What is truth, if not merely a particular perception of a particular event?”
3. Death By Hanging (1968)
Nagisa Oshima’s Death by Hanging, a Martin Scorsese favorite, follows a Korean man who’s sentenced to death after being convicted of rape and murder. Somehow, he survives his own execution, but is wiped clean of all memories.
After struggling with what to do with the survivor, the prison authorities decide that they will get him to confess his crimes and then execute him once again, based on the confession. Thus begins the desperate attempts by the prison officers to re-enact his life, focusing on his past crimes, to get him to confess. However, in doing so, the prison officers come face-to-face with their cultural biases and hypocrisies that were buried deep inside all the while.
Death by Hanging deeply explores cultural bias while balancing the intensity with the right dose of humor.
4. The Man Who Sleeps (1974)
One of the things that I often overthink is, “What would life be like if I were to cut off ties with everybody around me?”
The Man Who Sleeps feels like a similar overthinking episode, but in a way that forces us to consider the deflating psychological effects of chronic loneliness, depression, and urban nuclearity, where people hardly want anything to do with each other.
The narrative follows a 25-year-old student living in Paris who has denounced the world and the people around him, choosing not to interact with them.
5. Stalker (1979)
Andrei Tarkovsky is one of the greatest philosophical filmmakers, and Stalker is one of his greatest creations. Tarkovsky explores idealism and pragmatism by pitting the two against each other in this surrealistic sci-fi movie.
The narrative follows two men on a quest to find a mysterious patch of land, the Zone, which houses a room that grants an individual their innermost desire. However, it analyzes your unconscious mind to uncover those desires.
The narrative opens up a discussion about motives and intentions. “Are our innermost desires as selfless as we claim them to be?” The mystery further thickens as the two individuals, anxious to discover their true selves, fear that their innermost wishes may be granted.
6. Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is a milestone in cyberpunk. For me, it’s a milestone in the philosophical films genre, too. Blade Runner asks the most difficult questions, the most important of which is, “What does it mean to be human?”
Set in a dystopian, futuristic L.A., the narrative revolves around the fatal confrontation between replicants, humanoid robots created to be mankind’s labor force, and their creator, man.
Rick Deckard, a Blade Runner, is hired to kill four replicants who’ve returned to Earth and are in hiding. As he sets out to track his targets, his journey and final confrontation with Roy Batty, the leader of the replicants, forces us to think about the true nature of humanity.
7. The Tree of Life (2011)
Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, and Tye Sheridan in lead roles, Terrence Malick’s experimental film The Tree of Life is an intense exploration of the purpose of life.
Think of it as a spiritual journey through the eldest son of a Texan family who struggles with his parents’ conflicting teachings. The story unfolds through the perspective of the now middle-aged son, who looks back at his life under his oppressive father and the untimely death of his younger brother.
The Tree of Life earned three Academy Award nominations and is revered for its deep meditation on life’s transience.
8. The Truman Show (1998)
Peter Weir’s The Truman Show is probably one of the most unique explorations of the power and nature of free will.
The narrative follows an insurance sales clerk who suddenly discovers that his life is a scripted reality show, The Truman Show, being broadcast live on television 24/7.
Everything from whom he meets to the weather of the day is being controlled by Christoff, the all-powerful TV-producer. Thus begins his quest for freedom.
The Truman Show is a lesson in the importance of free will, reminding us that our lives are meant to be only ours. Living up to others’ expectations is nothing but a self-inflicted imprisonment.
Did your favorite movie make it to the list? Let us know which of the above movies you watched.