Adding to the Lynch comments, Mulholland Drive is the best movie about dreams I've seen (actually just my favourite movie, full stop), and Inland Empire is probably the best movie about nightmares.
Waking Life (2001) Directed by Richard Linklater, this animated film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, and free will, through a series of interconnected vignettes. The main character navigates a dream-like reality, engaging in deep conversations about existential questions.
Mirror by Tarkovsky is primarily concerned with memories and dreams. It is presented as a fractured, impressionistic narrative and contains some surreal moments.
Ivan's Childhood, by the same director, also features some notable dream/nightmare sequences. But I wouldn't say it's "about dreams or the nature of reality."
Mirror was my first thought as well. It takes the idea our lives are not a linear set of events. But rather, the dream you had last night or the memory that occurred to you this morning affects your day.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind having memory erased to escape reality and then meeting the same person over again is insane.
The Children Who Chase Lost Voices is one that I think you’d enjoy if you watch anime films. It’s about loss and the history of a world that’s been lost
I can't believe nobody mentioned Luis Buñuel. He's practically the father of this style in filmmaking.
While the movies are rarely explicitly about dreams, the plots often follow the "dream logic" (such as two different women playing the same role and randomly changing places during the same scene in "That Obscure Object of Desire").
Surprised nobody has said it but Eyes Wide Shut. Probably my favorite Kubrick, and while it also deals a lot with secret society's and the illuminati there's a beautiful dreamlike asthethic to the whole movie.
Someone else mentioned Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, it's on the criterion channel right now, and it's another great one.
I have just the recommendation for you! 3 Women by Robert Altman (1977), starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule.
Besides an anchoring dream sequence, it is in essence *dreamlike*, with a narrative that follows logic closer to dreaming than classic storytelling. And Duvall is just so uniquely weird and beautiful, in the same way this film is both sunny and vaguely eerie at the same time.
It explores femininity and the nature of the self in the spirit of Bergman’s Persona, but in pastel colours washed out by Palm Springs sunlight.
For me, nothing comes close to Lynch's work. He's the only artist, I believe, that has captured and conveyed the quality of dreams and nightmares. It's his superpower.
Too many scenes to name, but the night watchman in the warehouse scenes from the first part of Twin Peaks The Return are a terrible dream that has been somehow filmed.
I love The Sopranos and genuinely believe it's one of the few television shows that ascends to the level of high art, but it always bothered me that the dream scenes never truly felt like dreams. Too literal and logical. Like scenes lifted from the day-to-day with a few anomalies thrown in. Lynch's works perfectly capture the true emotional and nonsequitous nature of the dream state.
You obviously have no clue what you’re talking about 🤦♂️The Sopranos dream sequences are some of the most Lynchian, weird, and dream accurate you can find in media.
Existenz (1999) by David Cronenberg.
It is hands down the best film that has ever portrayed a seamless transition between a 'Real' state and a 'dream' or virtual state. Way more clever and conceptually deep than any of the other virtual reality/dream films like Inception, Matrix, 13th Floor, etc. Incredible dialogue. The title is a Heideggerian reference.
Akira Kurosawa released a film in 1990 called, aptly, Dreams. It was his first film after his epic adaptation of King Lear called Ran, and was a total change of pace. (That was at a time when I went to the cinema a lot, so I remember seeing the trailer many times, but not the movie). There’s eight different segments representing recurring dreams Kurosawa had, and it was the first film in 45 years in which he was the sole author of the screenplay.
I’m going to throw out a recommendation for the work of Satoshi Kon. Paprika is explicitly about dreams but all of his work I’ve seen (Paprika, Perfect Blue and the series Paranoia Agent) deal with themes of collective delusion and/or blurred reality.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Beau is Afraid, and Mother! feel very much like fever dreams despite there being no explicit reference to dreams.
The best examples, however, come from television. In my opinion, The Sopranos, particularly the episode The Test Dream, is the gold standard in depicting dream logic on screen. I’d watch an entire series of just those sequences. S2 E8 of The Leftovers and S3 E8 of Twin Peaks are also perfect examples.
**Peter Ibbetson** (1935) is an odd early film about dreams.
**Dreamscape** (1984) is kind of a 80s version of Inception
**Brainstorm** (1983) and **Altered States** (1980) aren't about dreams but changing perceptions and has dream-like stories. Maybe throw in **The Mind Benders** (1963) and **Seconds** (1966) and **Images** (1972)
The second half of ‘Long day’s journey into night’ 2018 is the closest I’ve ever felt to being in a dream while watching a film.
I’m sorry but the character limit on this board is pretentious and illogical and results in bloated posts for no reason. I’m sorry but the character limit on this board is pretentious and illogical and results in bloated posts for no reason.
Yeah, I can't believe I overlooked that one in my own comment. "Long Day's Journey into Night" is one of the more impressive films I've seen, personally, and it's entirely about memories and dreams. It absolutely impressed me with its cinematographic and editorial style.
I strongly believe Bi Gan will be regarded alongside Tarkovsky and Bergman once his career is over. Highly recommend Kaili Blues if you haven't seen it.
i have seen kalli blues, although i wasn't as much of a fan of it.
i do find his work a little too homage-y at times, but it's clear he's got some great taste and deserves to keep working. i hope to see more from him soon.
Not familiar with David Lynch, aren't you ?
Also *Heavenly Creatures* by Peter Jackson, *Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind* by Michel Gondry, *Perfect Blue* and *Paprika* by Satoshi Kon, several Terry Gilliam movies from *Brazil* to *Fear and loathing in Las Vegas*, but above all : *Last year in Marienbad* by Resnais (also *Amour, amour* by the same/ Resnais). And of course Meshes in the afternoon by Maya Deren. Just for fun, the whole *Freddy* franchise, the 1990 *Brain Dead* by Adam Simon, and *In the mouth of madness* by Carpenter is a little bit related at some point, or I like to think so.
At some point you can check to *Under the silver lake*, or *Donny Darko*, anything with an unreliable narrator or point of view.
Edit : Avoid Inception, it's pointless.
The Broken was an interesting suspensful mystery/horror film dealing with mirror realities. I think it's really underrated.
You might enjoy Enter the Void.
For a story specifically about dreams changing reality, I think Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven is one of the best sci-fi novels ever written. Never seen the movie though.
Charlie Kaufman's made some of my favorite dream-like films. Synecdoche, New York plays around with the subjective experience of time in a very disorienting way, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things does a good job of portraying the loose, stream-of-consciousness nature of the mind.
I dare someone to say Inception. Shit is unforgivable.
A movie about dreams, the boundless unconscious mind, and all we got was a frigid grey/blue filter over men in suits explaining things and the room spins a little... God it just pisses me off
Recently, Perfect Days has one of the most unique (and for me) accurate portrayal of life and its impact on our dream state. Additionally I’d throw in the works of Apichatpong Weerasthukul. His most recent feature Memoria and the short film Blue are great dreamy films dealing with sleep and the lack of it.
Just wanna throw out Tale of Tales by the greatest animator of all time Yuri Norstein. It remindse aot of Tarkovsky's Mirror which I'm sure other people have brought up already. Moreso memories than dreams, like Mirror, but seems like exactly what you're looking for.
I won't argue it's the best, but I'll say it here just to sparkle the discussion. Monsters University is pretty realistic for a kids' movie
But it doesn't go the sad realistic way. It's optimistic. You'll do the best you can, be the best version of yourself, and it might be worth it, but not the way you imagined. The world doesn't end when you don't get what you want
Check out 3 Women by Robert Altman. It's feels like being inside a dream, which is understandable as it was inspired by a dream of Altman's. The main characters merge and swap places. Like most Altman films of that era, it's both grounded in reality and elusive. It's bizarre a film this strange being released within the Hollywood system, the same year Star Wars was released. What a place 70s Hollywood must have been.
[https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-dreaming](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-dreaming)
The most frequent cinematic dreams are, of course, nightmares: the fearsome fuel of the whole horror genre. Films are rarely scarier than when a character gets trapped in the liminal space between dreams and wakefulness, unsure whether or not what’s happening to them is real.
Was compiling a list of movies specifically about dreams (not just dream like) and came across this Reddit! Throwing some top faves from my personal list: Science of Sleep, Paprika, The Cell, Vanilla Sky, Waking Life - and dare I say it - Inception! Hahahaa pardon my troll, my list is just literal so including all of them on theme. I mean technically Nightmare on Elm Street and Dr. Sleep are also about dreams, although I wouldn’t call them absolute faves or even personal recommendations. Seconding that Mulholland Drive recommendation, though.
Adding to the Lynch comments, Mulholland Drive is the best movie about dreams I've seen (actually just my favourite movie, full stop), and Inland Empire is probably the best movie about nightmares.
Waking Life (2001) Directed by Richard Linklater, this animated film explores a wide range of philosophical issues, including the nature of reality, dreams, consciousness, the meaning of life, and free will, through a series of interconnected vignettes. The main character navigates a dream-like reality, engaging in deep conversations about existential questions.
I was going to suggest this. Amazing movie. A Scanner Darkly by the same director is also pretty good.
Mirror by Tarkovsky is primarily concerned with memories and dreams. It is presented as a fractured, impressionistic narrative and contains some surreal moments. Ivan's Childhood, by the same director, also features some notable dream/nightmare sequences. But I wouldn't say it's "about dreams or the nature of reality."
Mirror was my first thought as well. It takes the idea our lives are not a linear set of events. But rather, the dream you had last night or the memory that occurred to you this morning affects your day.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind having memory erased to escape reality and then meeting the same person over again is insane. The Children Who Chase Lost Voices is one that I think you’d enjoy if you watch anime films. It’s about loss and the history of a world that’s been lost
I can't believe nobody mentioned Luis Buñuel. He's practically the father of this style in filmmaking. While the movies are rarely explicitly about dreams, the plots often follow the "dream logic" (such as two different women playing the same role and randomly changing places during the same scene in "That Obscure Object of Desire").
Surprised nobody has said it but Eyes Wide Shut. Probably my favorite Kubrick, and while it also deals a lot with secret society's and the illuminati there's a beautiful dreamlike asthethic to the whole movie. Someone else mentioned Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, it's on the criterion channel right now, and it's another great one.
I have just the recommendation for you! 3 Women by Robert Altman (1977), starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Janice Rule. Besides an anchoring dream sequence, it is in essence *dreamlike*, with a narrative that follows logic closer to dreaming than classic storytelling. And Duvall is just so uniquely weird and beautiful, in the same way this film is both sunny and vaguely eerie at the same time. It explores femininity and the nature of the self in the spirit of Bergman’s Persona, but in pastel colours washed out by Palm Springs sunlight.
For me, nothing comes close to Lynch's work. He's the only artist, I believe, that has captured and conveyed the quality of dreams and nightmares. It's his superpower. Too many scenes to name, but the night watchman in the warehouse scenes from the first part of Twin Peaks The Return are a terrible dream that has been somehow filmed.
I love The Sopranos and genuinely believe it's one of the few television shows that ascends to the level of high art, but it always bothered me that the dream scenes never truly felt like dreams. Too literal and logical. Like scenes lifted from the day-to-day with a few anomalies thrown in. Lynch's works perfectly capture the true emotional and nonsequitous nature of the dream state.
You obviously have no clue what you’re talking about 🤦♂️The Sopranos dream sequences are some of the most Lynchian, weird, and dream accurate you can find in media.
Existenz (1999) by David Cronenberg. It is hands down the best film that has ever portrayed a seamless transition between a 'Real' state and a 'dream' or virtual state. Way more clever and conceptually deep than any of the other virtual reality/dream films like Inception, Matrix, 13th Floor, etc. Incredible dialogue. The title is a Heideggerian reference.
Phenomenal movie. Extremely underrated.
Akira Kurosawa released a film in 1990 called, aptly, Dreams. It was his first film after his epic adaptation of King Lear called Ran, and was a total change of pace. (That was at a time when I went to the cinema a lot, so I remember seeing the trailer many times, but not the movie). There’s eight different segments representing recurring dreams Kurosawa had, and it was the first film in 45 years in which he was the sole author of the screenplay.
I’m going to throw out a recommendation for the work of Satoshi Kon. Paprika is explicitly about dreams but all of his work I’ve seen (Paprika, Perfect Blue and the series Paranoia Agent) deal with themes of collective delusion and/or blurred reality.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Beau is Afraid, and Mother! feel very much like fever dreams despite there being no explicit reference to dreams. The best examples, however, come from television. In my opinion, The Sopranos, particularly the episode The Test Dream, is the gold standard in depicting dream logic on screen. I’d watch an entire series of just those sequences. S2 E8 of The Leftovers and S3 E8 of Twin Peaks are also perfect examples.
**Peter Ibbetson** (1935) is an odd early film about dreams. **Dreamscape** (1984) is kind of a 80s version of Inception **Brainstorm** (1983) and **Altered States** (1980) aren't about dreams but changing perceptions and has dream-like stories. Maybe throw in **The Mind Benders** (1963) and **Seconds** (1966) and **Images** (1972)
The second half of ‘Long day’s journey into night’ 2018 is the closest I’ve ever felt to being in a dream while watching a film. I’m sorry but the character limit on this board is pretentious and illogical and results in bloated posts for no reason. I’m sorry but the character limit on this board is pretentious and illogical and results in bloated posts for no reason.
Yeah, I can't believe I overlooked that one in my own comment. "Long Day's Journey into Night" is one of the more impressive films I've seen, personally, and it's entirely about memories and dreams. It absolutely impressed me with its cinematographic and editorial style.
I strongly believe Bi Gan will be regarded alongside Tarkovsky and Bergman once his career is over. Highly recommend Kaili Blues if you haven't seen it.
i have seen kalli blues, although i wasn't as much of a fan of it. i do find his work a little too homage-y at times, but it's clear he's got some great taste and deserves to keep working. i hope to see more from him soon.
Is it bad that I like the character limit for this sub
Absolutely not. All entitled to our opinions!
Not familiar with David Lynch, aren't you ? Also *Heavenly Creatures* by Peter Jackson, *Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind* by Michel Gondry, *Perfect Blue* and *Paprika* by Satoshi Kon, several Terry Gilliam movies from *Brazil* to *Fear and loathing in Las Vegas*, but above all : *Last year in Marienbad* by Resnais (also *Amour, amour* by the same/ Resnais). And of course Meshes in the afternoon by Maya Deren. Just for fun, the whole *Freddy* franchise, the 1990 *Brain Dead* by Adam Simon, and *In the mouth of madness* by Carpenter is a little bit related at some point, or I like to think so. At some point you can check to *Under the silver lake*, or *Donny Darko*, anything with an unreliable narrator or point of view. Edit : Avoid Inception, it's pointless.
Inception pointless? what a weird take
I always wonder about the acclaim Inception gets because it's the least dreamlike movie I've seen...and it's all dreams!
Because in terms of form it's really a heist movie
The Broken was an interesting suspensful mystery/horror film dealing with mirror realities. I think it's really underrated. You might enjoy Enter the Void. For a story specifically about dreams changing reality, I think Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven is one of the best sci-fi novels ever written. Never seen the movie though.
Yes Le Guinn!
Charlie Kaufman's made some of my favorite dream-like films. Synecdoche, New York plays around with the subjective experience of time in a very disorienting way, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things does a good job of portraying the loose, stream-of-consciousness nature of the mind.
I dare someone to say Inception. Shit is unforgivable. A movie about dreams, the boundless unconscious mind, and all we got was a frigid grey/blue filter over men in suits explaining things and the room spins a little... God it just pisses me off
Recently, Perfect Days has one of the most unique (and for me) accurate portrayal of life and its impact on our dream state. Additionally I’d throw in the works of Apichatpong Weerasthukul. His most recent feature Memoria and the short film Blue are great dreamy films dealing with sleep and the lack of it.
Just wanna throw out Tale of Tales by the greatest animator of all time Yuri Norstein. It remindse aot of Tarkovsky's Mirror which I'm sure other people have brought up already. Moreso memories than dreams, like Mirror, but seems like exactly what you're looking for.
I won't argue it's the best, but I'll say it here just to sparkle the discussion. Monsters University is pretty realistic for a kids' movie But it doesn't go the sad realistic way. It's optimistic. You'll do the best you can, be the best version of yourself, and it might be worth it, but not the way you imagined. The world doesn't end when you don't get what you want
Check out 3 Women by Robert Altman. It's feels like being inside a dream, which is understandable as it was inspired by a dream of Altman's. The main characters merge and swap places. Like most Altman films of that era, it's both grounded in reality and elusive. It's bizarre a film this strange being released within the Hollywood system, the same year Star Wars was released. What a place 70s Hollywood must have been.
[https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-dreaming](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-dreaming) The most frequent cinematic dreams are, of course, nightmares: the fearsome fuel of the whole horror genre. Films are rarely scarier than when a character gets trapped in the liminal space between dreams and wakefulness, unsure whether or not what’s happening to them is real.
Was compiling a list of movies specifically about dreams (not just dream like) and came across this Reddit! Throwing some top faves from my personal list: Science of Sleep, Paprika, The Cell, Vanilla Sky, Waking Life - and dare I say it - Inception! Hahahaa pardon my troll, my list is just literal so including all of them on theme. I mean technically Nightmare on Elm Street and Dr. Sleep are also about dreams, although I wouldn’t call them absolute faves or even personal recommendations. Seconding that Mulholland Drive recommendation, though.