771 Best Thought-provoking Movies to Watch (Page 45)

Challenging movies serve beyond entertainment, pushing us to ask new questions about humanity and the world around us. If you’re hungry for some food for thought, here are the best thought-provoking movies and shows available to stream now.

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661. Bombay, 1995

	
While the world has gotten used to the many variants of the Romeo and Juliet story, Bombay was controversial upon its release, due to the story being centered on an interreligious marriage between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman– it led to bans in at least two countries, and to at least two homemade bombs thrown at the director’s house. The main Muslim leading lady was also portrayed by Nepali Hindu actress, Manisha Koirala, and there’s a bit of a bias with the way certain real-life events were portrayed. Despite this, Bombay still managed to captivate the country, with writer-director Mani Ratman skillfully holding our empathy for the two lovers, integrating their personal relationship in the context of the wider social issues that was shifting India at the time, and doing it all through its dynamic shots, excellent performances, and the spectacular soundtracks. It’s because of this Bombay is remembered as an ambitious masterpiece and commercial success, becoming one of the highest grossing Tamil films ever made.Genre: Drama, Romance
Actor: Arvind Swamy, Kitty, M. V. Vasudeva Rao, Manisha Koirala, Nagendra Prasad, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Priya, Rohini, Sonali Bendre, Tinnu Anand
Director: Mani Ratnam

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662. Blood Vessel, 2023

Pollution disproportionately affects developing nations, and when governments continue to allow the lackluster waste management processes of large-scale industries, sometimes the only option is to leave. That’s what the six protagonists do in Blood Vessel, though escaping the situation isn’t as easy as it sounds. The first half starts out fairly slow, as we get to know the group, but it’s all to bring about emotional devastation as the film unfolds into violent ends. While certain plot elements don’t have a neat resolution, and certain technical aspects sometimes feel distracting, Blood Vessel works through the strength of its six lead performances.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Alex Budin, Bimbo Manuel, David Ezekiel, Dibor Adaobi, Jidekene Achufusi, René Mena, Slyvester Ekanem

Director: Moses Inwang

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663. Blood Tea and Red String, 2006

	
Blood Tea and Red String is cryptic as hell. There’s no dialogue, the film was in production for around 13 years, and the stop-motion animated rats and bat-crow creatures fight over a stuffed human-like doll and her bird-bodied child, spilling some tea and sewing her together with help from frog priests and a spider woman that keeps spinning her web. Whether the film is an allegory for class struggle and the inherent destructiveness of art, or is a straightforward Alice-in-Wonderland-esque fairytale with goth and medieval motifs is up to the viewer, but either way, the symbolism of Blood Tea and Red String is interesting enough to watch and try to make your own conclusions.Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Thriller
Actor: Christiane Cegavske
Director: Christiane Cegavske
Rating: NR

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664. Beyond the Light Barrier, 2023

Documentaries tend to depict real subjects through grounded, true-to-life ways, but the subject matter of Beyond the Light Barrier feels quite fantastic. Based on the autobiography of a South African meteorologist, this documentary isn’t about the science of weather watching – instead, it’s about Elizabeth Klarer and her strange account of her alien lover. Director Uga Carlini reimagines her encounters through 50’s style graphics, comic book-like illustrations, and John Kani’s serene narration. The film doesn’t make the conclusion whether aliens are true, as the film’s interviews vary between believers and skeptics. However, it’s an interesting look into these encounters, and how people use these unusual accounts to express certain fears and ideologies, especially in its last fifteen minutes.

Genre: Documentary, Drama

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665. Bent, 1997

	
In this day and age, it thankfully has become less risky to come out as gay, due to the struggle of many LGBTQ+ people from the past. However, this struggle was hard won– while gay people were persecuted in the Nazi regime, it was only until decades later people started to discuss it, and one reason why research and education about it increased was due to the play Bent, depicted in film in 1997. The screen version admittedly falters compared to the West End original, with static staging and focus on the dialogue over action, but the performances are fairly decent, with an unexpected collection of cast members that maximize each moment they’re in. It’s quite depressing, and sometimes heavy handed, but Bent is a needed perspective.Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Actor: Brian Webber, Clive Owen, Crispian Belfrage, David Meyer, David Phelan, Geraldine Sherman, Gresby Nash, Holly Davidson, Ian McKellen, Johanna Kirby, Jude Law, Lothaire Bluteau, Lou Gish, Mick Jagger, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Paul Bettany, Paul Kynman, Peter Stark, Rachel Weisz, Richard Laing, Rupert Graves, Rupert Penry-Jones, Sadie Frost, Stefan Marling, Suzanne Bertish
Director: Sean Mathias

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666. Atlantics, 2019

A poetic and peculiar movie from Senegal about a girl who is forced to marry a wealthy businessman instead of her love interest. The latter, a poor construction worker, embarks on a risky journey across the sea to Europe. The story takes a supernatural turn thereafter, one that is unlike anything seen before in stories around immigration, but one which makes sense. Still, the excellent acting and the long takes that immerse you in what life is like in Senegal, both in and out of the margins of society, are the reasons to watch here. Atlantics' characters are believable and will capture your interest throughout the usual and unusual parts of the movie. They provide rare insight into narratives that most of us have never been exposed to.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Actor: Abdou Balde, Amadou Mbow, Amina Kane, Aminata Kane, Arame Fall Faye, Babacar Sylla, Coumba Dieng, Diankou Sembene, Ibrahima Mbaye, Ibrahima Traore, Mama Sane, Mame Bineta Sane, Mariama Gassama, Mati Diop, Nicole Sougou, Traore

Director: Mati Diop

Rating: TV-14

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667. Apollo 13: Survival, 2024

	
If you want a powerful, masterful rendition of the ill-fated space mission, go and watch Apollo 13 (1995). But the documentary more than half a century after the mission, and two decades after the feature film, is not half bad. Of course, being a documentary, Apollo 13: Survival is much more factual, but the true tale still manages to hold the tension, the high stakes, and the emotional pull of the actual spaceflight, with excellent editing stitching the never-before-seen archival footage and key interviews into an exciting, compelling account. That being said, older viewers that already watched the Tom Hanks drama would likely not find anything new in this film, but Apollo 13: Survival would be a decent documentary to those who have never heard of the spacecraft.Genre: Documentary, History
Actor: Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, Jim Lovell, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Walter Cronkite
Director: Pete Middleton
Rating: PG-13

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668. Analog Squad, 2023

Before the late 2000s, people didn’t have social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram to connect with loved ones from afar, but every family reunion, there’s still some posturing in order to feel accepted by older family members. Analog Squad takes this to the extreme as Pond hires actors in order to act out the perfect family. It’s… an interesting solution. This premise naturally delivers some comedic hijinks, as lies pile up over time, but it also drives the plot as it creates two mysteries: 1) What happened that was so bad that Pond needed to resort to this? And 2) Who is crazy enough to accept this job? It takes a while to get there, and the story is uneven between the fake family members, but the ensemble charms Pond’s family (and the viewers) with ease as Analog Squad explores how loving families end up being dysfunctional.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Bhumibhat Thavornsiri, Kritsanapoom Pibulsonggram, Kullanat Preeyawat, Nopachai Jayanama, Surasee Ithikul, Wipawee Patnasiri

Director: Nithiwat Tharathorn

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669. American Nightmare, 2024

With stories like Gone Girl and the true crime boom of the 2010s, it’s easy to believe that these depictions are harmless– fake crime stories are fictional, after all, and surely, it’s important to discuss real crime in order to prevent it. New Netflix docu-series American Nightmare portrays a real life case itself, but it questions the impact these stories have towards real life. It depicts what used to be called the “real life Gone Girl” kidnapping, whose investigation and media speculation was colored by these stories, which hindered Huskins’ rescue. The case eventually led to the real culprit, but American Nightmare challenges the viewers themselves, as it stretches the case across three episodes, portraying each angle in the true crime flair we’re used to speculating with.

Genre: Documentary

Rating: TV-MA

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670. A Zed & Two Noughts, 1985

	
Normally, when your beloved wife dies in a car crash, you would be angry at the driver responsible, maybe even avoidant, sad, or incredibly triggered. Instead, in A Zed & Two Noughts, the twin zoologists with dead wives become addicted to the idea of life and death, obsessed with watching and rewatching the origins of life, captivated in photographing decay in time lapse, and strangely attached to the one-legged driver. Because of this, the film is quite bizarre, grotesque, and it definitely wouldn’t be for everyone, even for fans of Peter Greenaway. But the way it’s all filmed is striking, which is probably why Greenaway continued collaborating with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, until his death, and with the film’s unpredictability and excellent scoring, it’s hard to look away.Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Andréa Ferréol, Brian Deacon, David Attenborough, Eric Deacon, Frances Barber, Geoffrey Palmer, Guusje van Tilborgh, Jim Davidson, Joss Ackland, Ken Campbell, Wolf Kahler
Director: Peter Greenaway
Rating: NR

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671. A Time Called You, 2023

Based on the 2019 Taiwanese drama, A Time Called You is a fresh take on the time travel romance with its unique premise and structure. The series seamlessly shifts between the decades, flitting between them with ease. It simultaneously introduces both couples on separate, parallel timelines, 1998 at the start of the love triangle, with 2023 at the untimely end of Jun-hee’s. These two timelines merge through time travel via a gifted cassette tape. Because of these shifts, the show creates the expected nostalgia, but it also effectively drives the show’s mystery, as Jun-hee tries to figure out the photo and the trio on it. While the show takes its sweet time doing so, A Time Called You twists the heart in exploring the grief of lost love, and the hope for a second chance.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Ahn Hyo-seop, Jeon Yeo-been, Kang Hoon

Director: Kim Jin-won

Rating: TV-MA

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672. A Thousand Times Good Night, 2013

	
The choice between practicality and passion is the subject of many a drama, but A Thousand Times Good Night depicts that passion stemming from a different place. Rather than pure expression, or creativity, director Erik Poppe depicts the passion of his former profession of photojournalism stemming from social importance– not just status, but in possibly changing the course of history. The semi-autobiographical story clearly has an understanding of the craft, and with her moving performance, Juliette Binoche proves to be an effective proxy, as her character takes risks her family find it hard to tolerate, and as continually choosing those risks, also entails influencing your family to make that same sacrifice. Some viewers might not agree with these choices, but nevertheless A Thousand Times Good Night is a palpable character study of someone whose career is personally interlinked with their advocacy, their identity, and their philosophy of what the world should prioritize.Genre: Drama
Actor: Adrianna Cramer Curtis, Cathy Belton, Chloë Annett, Denise McCormack, Eve Macklin, Jonathan Byrne, Juliette Binoche, Larry Mullen Jr., Lauryn Canny, Mads Ousdal, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Coonan
Director: Erik Poppe
Rating: NR

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673. A Gentleman in Moscow, 2024

	
After wars and revolutions, there tends to be the nostalgia of the “good old days”– days before the terror and violence have completely and irreparably changed one’s course, whether that be of one’s life, or that of a whole country’s. A Gentleman in Moscow displays that same nostalgia for aristocracy and their way of life before the October Revolution, with Rostov remembering the old days through the classic aspect ratio. It’s a decently made show, and it’s helped by casting Ewan McGregor, who brings the same sort of whimsy he brought to Christopher Robin, and the impeccable soundtrack from Federico Jusid. It’s also helped by expanding the role of Anna Urbanova, performed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. But this nostalgia feels a tad out of place, considering that nothing about the show, except perhaps some of the score, has been created by any Russian, or those that descended from the Russian immigrants that wanted a different life from the Bolshevik regime.Genre: Drama
Actor: Alexa Goodall, Ewan McGregor, Fehinti Balogun, Johnny Harris, Jonny Harris, Marcus Hodson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Rating: TV-MA

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674. A Family Thing, 1996

	
There are certain things in a family that are kept secret from kids, especially when it paints the parents in a negative light. One such secret is that a parent betrayed the other, leading to the existence of another family. A Family Thing takes that secret in Arkansas, in a story of two brothers divided by race, that is more common than acknowledged in America. While the film could have delved deeper into the divide, Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones deliver great performances, crafting brotherhood slowly bridged by curiosity, despite its difficult beginnings. A Family Thing is an underrated family drama that could've gone wrong, but it works because of the writing and the performances.Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: David Keith, Grace Zabriskie, Irma P. Hall, Jacqueline Williams, James Earl Jones, Mary Jackson, Meg Thalken, Michael Beach, Paula Marshall, Phillip Edward Van Lear, Reggie Hayes, Regina Taylor, Richard Lexsee, Robert Duvall, Rufus Thomas, Xander Berkeley
Director: Richard Pearce
Rating: PG-13

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675. Waking Life, 2001

	
Waking Life is composed exclusively of a series of conversations involving the main character, with him sometimes participating and sometimes just as a spectator. The discussions revolve around issues such as metaphysics, free will, social philosophy or the meaning of life. The title refers to a quote from Jorge Santayana: "sanity is a madness put to good uses; waking life is a dream controlled.", and the whole movie wanders around the state of a lucid dream, emphasized by the rotoscoping technique in which it was filmed. Waking Life is not just a movie worth watching, it is a movie worth watching a thousand times, because you will always notice something that you have previously missed out.Genre: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Adam Goldberg, Alex Jones, Bill Wise, Caveh Zahedi, Charles Gunning, Ethan Hawke, Glover Gill, Jason Liebrecht, Jeanine Attaway, John Christensen, Julie Delpy, Kelly Rebecca Nichols, Ken Webster, Kim Krizan, Lorelei Linklater, Louis Black, Mona Lee Fultz, Nicky Katt, Peter Atherton, Richard Linklater, Ryan Power, Steve Brudniak, Steve Fitch, Steven Prince, Steven Soderbergh, Timothy "Speed" Levitch, Trevor Jack Brooks, Wiley Wiggins
Director: Richard Linklater
Rating: R

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