Okay, nothing will dislodge "ghostbusters" or "midnight run" from my favorites. I'm not saying that. Still, there are movies, a specific category of them, that leave you with more than the joy of two entertaining hours. Movies that have a discourse, or shed a light on a specific aspect of history or society. And, right now, I'm in the mood for that. In the mood for stuff like Bertolucci's "the conformist", Loach's "land and freedom", Kubrick's "paths of glory", Jaoui & Bacri's "kitchen with apartment", Costa-Gavras' "Z" or even Coppola's "the conversation". I intend to watch "the lives of others", and will probably inflict myself "the wave" at some point. But I realise there are quite few of these in my current backlog, and I have to expand it.

So, what do you suggest for movies that convey an actual discourse or that help us see life through an unusual angle, adding a perspective to our understanding of our surrounding ? Or, generally speaking, some depth, as in René Clair humanist movies or Verneuil political movies, or anything more recent ? Thinking of watching "grapes of wrath", good candidate ?

I mean, I love myself some Buckaroo Banzai, but at this time I'm in mood for more substantial content than "well, there's a watermelon in it".

(Also, I'm looking for stuff a bit more relevant than "liek meybe its all a matrisx omg" or "fear leads to little red horned midichlorians [fig.3]".)

I'd recommend Memento to everyone who uses GOG, it's never too early to learn how to cope with memory loss, especially at a certain age. I watched that one in class years ago, It's not bad at all.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Gods_and_Men_(film)]Of Gods and Men[/url]

DON'T get the special edition. It's almost impossible to get the movie to play!

As for the topic I'll throw out Gilliam's "The Fisher King" though most anything by Kubrick (minus "Eyes Wide Shut") will stay with you and keep you thinking.

Seems like a modern "agora" ("agora" was great). I guess lambert wilson the the price one must pay to access lonsdale's performance.

Funny how lonsdale is, like, the official french cinema monk. In movies and in real life..

FIght club.

The film that comes to my mind is Ashes of Time. Based very loosely on Legend of the Condor Heroes, it has awe inspiring cinematography, a haunting soundtrack and a theme of unrequited love. I found it, strangely enough, in the martial arts/kung fu section (though it has a few fight scenes, they are extremely minimal) and after looking over the case over several visits, decided to give it a go. Got home and fell asleep the first night I watched it. The next day after work I immediately popped it in and watched it all the way through and it has been in my top 3 ever since. I can't recommend it enough, unless you are one of those who simply can't stand to watch movies with subtitles.

I recommend the Redux version for the cinemaphile due to video restoration and resynched subtitles, though the purist should seek the original cut which has additional scenes and the superior soundtrack. Both, however, are worth watching.

Trailer here: http://youtu.be/ZTEuVzLTPeI

Wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashes_of_Time

Soundtrack sample: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL60657A38EC4B325E

Good one. A lot of people don't know about that picture and it totally screwed me up when I saw it.

So there's brazilian Tropa de elite, german Baader Meinhof komplex, Lord of war and probably others but it's too hot here so i can't remember

- Lord of the flies (1963/1990)
- Zardoz (1974)
- Possession (1981)
- Seconds (1966)
- Dangerous Parking (2007)

Well if you are already missing the deeper cultural significance of Buckaroo Banzai then I'm afraid my other suggestions won't help.

John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)

A discourse on paranoia, trust, and sheer awesomeness.

Bubba Ho-Tep

Manages to be a great comedy and an interesting look into how our youth-oriented society treats its senior citizens.

Not sure if this fits the bill but City of God is a different perspective on Rio De Janiero's gang and slum culture.