497 Best Challenging Movies to Watch (Page 21)

While zombies weren’t new in film, it wasn’t until writer-director George A. Romero’s Living Dead saga that the zombie as we know it today was created. Day of the Dead is the third in the franchise, and like Night and Dawn, Romero was more interested in the way humans were the threat, more so than the flesh-eating monsters, this time between scientific innovation and military force, both that are pushed to the extremes without any ethical restraint, and both being the very same concerns that America held at the time of release. And with Tom Savini and team’s groundbreaking special effects, it’s no wonder that Day of the Dead became a horror classic.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery

Actor: Anthony Dileo Jr., Barbara Russell, Bruce Kirkpatrick, David Kindlon, Debra Gordon, Don Brockett, Gary Klar, Geoff Burkman, George A. Romero, Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, Jarlath Conroy, John Amplas, Joseph Pilato, Lori Cardille, Mark Tierno, Michael Deak, Sherman Howard, Taso N. Stavrakis, Terry Alexander, Tom Savini

Director: George A. Romero

Rating: NR

Any time someone does something, in public, one mostly thinks about how it affects them personally. We only have one life, after all, working from one timeline, one narrative, and one perspective that naturally forms when we go through it. Code Unknown plays with this idea. It’s as if writer-director Michael Haneke wanted to recreate sonder into film form, as a single littering incident instigates a series of vignettes, each shot in real time, that cuts only when shifting between the strangers who witnessed the incident. Each cut feels intentional, with the way certain scenes linger, while some are cut short before fully concluding, and contrast between the scenes that are shown, and therefore, the treatment given after the incident, is pointedly different, with some finding it inconsequential to their day, and others becoming burdened with subsequent harassment and mistreatment that could have been avoided. Haneke, of course, remains as cryptic in the way he’s best known for, but Code Unknown, nonetheless, reveals just how much empathy is needed and is lacking in real life.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aissa Maiga, Alexandre Hamidi, Andrée Tainsy, Arsinée Khanjian, Bruno Todeschini, Carlo Brandt, Costel Cașcaval, Didier Flamand, Féodor Atkine, Florence Loiret Caille, Ion Haiduc, Josef Bierbichler, Juliette Binoche, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Malick Bowens, Marc Duret, Maurice Bénichou, Nathalie Richard, Sandu Mihai Gruia, Thierry Neuvic, Tsuyu Shimizu, Walid Afkir

Director: Michael Haneke

Given the controversial subject matter, there’s something remarkably placid about the way About Dry Grasses proceeds. Amidst the snowy white steppes of Eastern Anatolia, writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan slowly lets the plot unfold through multiple conversations, where an accusation of inappropriate contact leads to a he-said, she-said investigation, all centered around a misanthropic protagonist Samet. By focusing the entire film on Samet, Ceylan takes the time to understand this difficult, exhausting character in a detached manner, with the camera oftentimes taking in the whole lived-in, rundown places where Samet lives and works in. It’s an interesting perspective, depicting the ways everyone’s fumbling around, trying to create boxes to understand one’s place in the world, but it’s not an easy one to explore. About Dry Grasses dares to do so, anyway.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Cengiz Bozkurt, Deniz Celiloğlu, Ece Bağcı, Elit Andaç Çam, Erdem Şenocak, Eylem Canpolat, Merve Dizdar, Münir Can Cindoruk, Musab Ekici, Nalan Kuruçim, S. Emrah Özdemir, Yıldırım Gücük, Yüksel Aksu

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Formally speaking, 20 Days in Mariupol is little more than a compilation of footage bravely collected by Mstyslav Chernov in Ukraine, excerpts of which may seem familiar from when they were broadcast by major news stations. Unsure of whether or not Chernov would survive long enough to pass on his footage, he shot as much as he could day-in and day-out, resulting in this numbing, relentless compilation of anguish and death. As a documentary, there isn't exactly a unifying idea to 20 Days in Mariupol, with Chernov's narration only meant to provide necessary context and a foreboding score that probably didn't have to impose itself as much as it does.

And yet it's hard to deny the importance of the very existence of this footage, especially in a time when genocide is occurring elsewhere in the world with far fewer cameras on the ground to counter the denialist propaganda of those in power. Chernov's decision to let the images speak for themselves, without feeling the need to dissect every major moment for political analysis, isn't reductive; it's a statement that nothing can rationalize the indiscriminate killing of civilians and children. That the footage becomes overwhelming and hard to watch isn't a reason for us to look away.

Genre: Documentary, War

Actor: Irina Kalinina, Liudmyla Amelkina, Mstyslav Chernov, Vasily Nebenzya, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zhanna Homa

Director: Mstyslav Chernov

Rating: NR

In response to violence, some people consider aggression as the only solution, especially in a place that cannot rely on institutions– fighting fire with fire, but fighting for the good. Tyrannosaur depicts a British town with men that only operate on a mix of this idea, but this rage becomes relentless, unceasing, and never lies to rest, oftentimes at the expense of those more vulnerable around them. The debut feature from indie anti-hero actor Paddy Considine is downright depressing and it’s not an easy watch, but there’s no denying that Tyrannosaur feels incredibly personal and the stellar performances from the three leads makes this bleak drama so compelling to watch.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Archie Lal, Eddie Marsan, Julia Mallam, Lee Rufford, Ned Dennehy, Olivia Colman, Paul Popplewell, Peter Mullan, Sally Carman, Samuel Bottomley, Sian Breckin

Director: Paddy Considine

Rating: NR

It’s not easy to watch films about child abuse, so it makes sense that This Boy’s Life wouldn’t be a hit blockbuster, but it’s still surprising how this 90’s film still remains an underrated gem. For starters, big names like Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio (in his breakthrough role), star as leads, and their performances are top-notch. But what ultimately makes the film a good movie to watch is how surprisingly nuanced it depicts child abuse and neglect. Part of this nuance is due to being based on a true memoir, but director Michael Caton-Jones and writer Robert Getchell capture the insidious way abuse can start and become normalized in a household while still highlighting the ways survivors can escape. It’s not an easy watch, but This Boy’s Life is a moving drama that deserves more time in the sun.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Carla Gugino, Chris Cooper, Eliza Dushku, Ellen Barkin, Frank C. Turner, Gerrit Graham, Jonah Blechman, Kathy Kinney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Brayton, Robert De Niro, Sean Murray, Tobey Maguire, Tracey Ellis, Travis MacDonald, Zachary Ansley

Director: Michael Caton-Jones

Rating: R

As a first feature, The Unbelievable Truth had a startlingly new style at the time, with deadpan humor, intentional stilted dialogue delivery, interrupting intertitles, and randomly posed existential questions, but these stylistic touches was what made Hal Hartley a key figure in the early aughts of American indie filmmaking. It’s a surprising twist to the romantic comedy, the first where Hartley pays homage to his hometown of Long Island. The two leads form an unconventional relationship, that at first, seems objectionable with Josh having a criminal background, and Audry just barely coming of age, but as they recognize the genuine emotion inside of each other– the existential despair, the want of a normal life, and the soul seeking they try to find through art, science, and literature– the romance just works. This, the leap of faith in another person despite appearances, forms the current that makes the portrait of small town America feel real and hopeful, even with its nihilistic humor.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Adrienne Shelly, Bill Sage, Christopher Cooke, David Healy, Edie Falco, Gary Sauer, Jeff Howard, Julia McNeal, Katherine Mayfield, Kelly Reichardt, Mark Chandler Bailey, Matt Malloy, Mike Brady, Paul Schulze, Robert John Burke, Tom Thon

Director: Hal Hartley

Rating: R

Joel Coen's minimalist vision of the Scottish play emphasizes that these monstrous acts of hubris and violence are carried out not because of madness or magical prophecy, but out of the rational yet selfish decisions made by grown adults. It's a distinctly character-focused interpretation of Shakespeare that should be insightful for students and fans alike, as Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand lend more sedate performances to what have become two of the grandest characters in theater history. The Tragedy of Macbeth weaken the impact of some of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies due to the film's more hurried runtime, but it makes for a great tribute nonetheless. Come for the stunningly lit black-and-white sets, stay for the gleefully creepy performance by Kathryn Hunter as the three witches.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, War

Actor: Alex Hassell, Bertie Carvel, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Thompson, Corey Hawkins, Denzel Washington, Ethan Hutchison, Frances McDormand, Harry Melling, Jacob McCarthy, James Udom, Jefferson Mays, Kathryn Hunter, Kayden Alexander Koshelev, Lucas Barker, Matt Helm, Max Baker, Miles Anderson, Moses Ingram, Nancy Daly, Olivia Washington, Peter Janov, Ralph Ineson, Richard Short, Robert Gilbert, Scott Subiono, Sean Patrick Thomas, Stephen Root, Susan James Berger, Wayne T. Carr

Director: Joel Coen

Horse riding. Gunslinging. Revenge and protection. These are notable elements in a Western, Spaghetti or otherwise. But rarely do these movies contemplate the indigenous tribes that originally lived in these desert towns, right before they were chased away and killed by white colonizers. Writer-director Felipe Gálvez Haberle takes these elements to showcase a new perspective in The Settlers, with mestizo Chilean sharpshooter Segundo forced to inflict atrocities onto his fellow native Chileans by the orders of a wealthy Spanish landowner, a British officer, and an American mercenary. The landscapes captured are sublime, the portraits are vignetted, but what’s most striking is the way Gálvez mixes in cinematic Western film style with real life colonial history, dramatic conflict with historical detail on a rarely discussed genocide.

Genre: Drama, Western

Actor: Agustín Rittano, Alfredo Castro, Benjamín Westfall, Camilo Arancibia, Heinz K. Krattiger, Luis Machín, Marcelo Alonso, Mariano Llinás, Mark Stanley, Sam Spruell

Director: Felipe Gálvez

Rating: NR

The Western had its heyday in the 60s, but the decades have proven that there’s still stories from the deserts that we haven’t heard yet, and gems that twist the genre on its head. The Proposition is a unique Western, being from the East, in Australia where the Brits have started to form colonies. As the British Empire builds society, and the police start to enforce the King’s justice, writer Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat crafts a bloody tale, where promises between men are betrayed for the State, where vengeance can only be met through brutality, and where the line between civility and savagery is drawn and moved by the will of an angry majority. The Proposition is quite violent, but it’s performed well, scored by a moody, moving soundtrack, and it surprisingly contemplates Australia’s bloody past.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western

Actor: Bogdan Koca, Boris Brkic, Bryan Probets, Danny Huston, David Gulpilil, David Vallon, David Wenham, Emily Watson, Gary Waddell, Guy Pearce, Iain Gardiner, Jeremy Madrona, John Hurt, Leah Purcell, Mick Roughan, Noah Taylor, Oliver Ackland, Ralph Cotterill, Ray Winstone, Richard Wilson, Robert Morgan, Tom Budge, Tom E. Lewis

Director: John Hillcoat

Rating: R

When the country rises in rebellion against your dictatorial rule, we imagine that could be quite difficult. After a series of failures and atrocities committed to keep power, no one in the world would empathize with the dictator in question. Doing exactly this, however, made for a striking movie in The President. Never naming an actual country, but based generally on real world revolutions, the film plucks a dictator and his grandson into the poverty that his regime has inflicted upon its people. It’s quite cathartic to see the two reap the karmic consequences of what the dictator has done, but it’s also thought-provoking, as the film straightforwardly demonstrates the way revolution eventually takes cyclical form, especially for the movements that allowed the very atrocities they sought to end. It’s not a film with an easy-to-match metaphor, though, given the production country and the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s home country, one could guess certain influences, but The President nonetheless is a striking portrait of a city violently changing hands.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Dachi Orvelashvili, Ia Sukhitashvili, Lasha Ramishvili, Misha Gomiashvili, Zura Begalishvili

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf