PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS

IDENTITY
The Prestige … the reappearance of the artist (director, author) is in the form of the recipient of the art-
(2006) work (audience member). One subject of this film, then, is metaphor (art and theory) as both
deception and revelation in multiple contexts. This theme leads to the most important questions
concerning metaphysics and knowledge, philosophy and science, illusion and reality, identity
and meaning. - http://wwwcriticalvision.blogspot.com/2007/05/prestige-movie-review.html
Memento (2001) SYNOPSIS: After witnessing his wife’s murder, Lenny becomes afflicted with short term
memory loss. If he’s distracted, he permanently loses the train of his thought, and, even if
undistracted, his recent memories are wiped clean when he falls asleep. Bent on solving his
wife’s murder, he tattoos clues on his body and is in search for a mysterious suspect named
“John G.” At one point he discovers that he is being manipulated by a corrupt cop who has him
perform various assignations, deluding Lenny that the target is John G. In response, Lenny sets
in motion a series of events and clues that result in Lenny killing the cop. To allow the audience
to experience Lenny’s problem, the scenes in the movie appear in reverse-chronology – later
events appearing first, and events scenes presented last.
-http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/memento.htm
Being John SYNOPSIS: Unhappy with his marriage and unsuccessful as a career puppeteer, Craig takes
Malkovich (1999) a job filing documents in a Manhattan office. He meets and falls in love with office worker
Maxine, who cares nothing for him. One day Craig finds a tunnel in a wall behind a filing
cabinet. He climbs through it, and at the end he can see through the eyes of actor John
Malkovich. Craig and Maxine embark on a business venture, charging people to crawl through
the Malkovich portal. To woo Maxine, Craig stays within Malkovich, and redirects Malkovich’s
career from acting to puppetry. But, Maxine loses interest in Craig, and has a lesbian
relationship with Craig’s wife, Lottie. Craig is trapped forever in another portal. The film received
Academy Awards nominations for best director, best original screenplay, and best actress
(Catherine Keener). -http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/being.htm
Mulholland In the middle of the night, a limousine stops on Mulholland Drive. Inside, an elegant brunette
Drive (2001) (Laura Harring) is about to be murdered when an unexpected accident saves her. The wounded
young woman falls through the forest in the direction of the lights that attract her, those of
sleepy Los Angeles. The next day, a provincial blonde named Betty (Naomi Watts) arrives in
Los Angeles to become a star. When she goes to the apartment that her aunt has lent her, she
discovers an amnesiac brunette, following the accident. Betty decides to help her to find her
identity. From there, the film slides into a Lynchian universe.
Mulholland Drive is undoubtedly the film which will delight the fans of Twin Peaks (and not
only because of the presence of a dwarf in an empty room). The director offers the same quasi-
surgical study of a microcosm (Hollywood replaces Middle America) into which he plunges an
inextricable mystery, a surrealist climate and strange characters. - http://www.plume-
noire.com/movies/reviews/mulhollanddrive.html
Solaris (1972 / ((1972 in Russian; planet re-creates dead people based on memories; 2002 English release)
2002) - http://hubpages.com/hub/Philosophy-and-Film-Personal-reviews-of-philosophical-films
Victim of the Victim of the Brain is a 1988 film by Dutch director Piet Hoenderdos, loosely based on The
Brain (1988) Mind's I, a compilation of texts and stories on the philosophy of mind and self, co-edited by
Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett. The film weaves interviews with Hofstadter with
adaptations of several works in the book: Dennett's Where am I?, The Soul of the Mark III Beast
by Terrel Miedaner, and also the short story The Seventh Sally by Stanisław Lem. The film was
shown several times on television in the Netherlands in the late eighties. -wikipedia
Gattaca (1997) Gattaca Corp. is an aerospace firm in the future. During this time society analyzes your DNA
and determines where you belong in life. Ethan Hawke's character was born with a congenital
heart condition which would cast him out of getting a chance to travel in space. So in turn he
assumes the identity of an athlete who has genes that would allow him to achieve his dream of
space travel. Written by AVision200@aol.com,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/plotsummary
 The Cabinet of A horror film that surpasses all others. Alan relates the story of traveling magician Dr Caligari
Dr. Caligari (1920 / and Cesare. Their arrival in a town coincides with savage killings. Secretly Caligari was an
2005) asylum director who hypnotizes Cesare to re enact murders. But the final reel contains
something which will leave an audience shattered. It blows away all your moral certainties and
beliefs. This is the true power of its horror. To leave you vulnerable and uncertain of what you
feel was secure and certain. Written by f reid, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/plotsummary
Eternal This is the story of a guy, Joel, who discovers that his long-time girlfriend, Clementine, has
Sunshine of the undergone a psychiatrist's experimental procedure in which all of her memory of Joel is
Spotless Mind removed, after the couple has tried for years to get their relationship working fluidly. Frustrated
(2004) by the idea of still being in love with a woman who doesn't remember their time together, Joel
agrees to undergo the procedure as well, to erase his memories of Clementine. The film, which
takes place mostly within Joel's mind, follows his memories of Clementine backwards in time as
each recent memory is replaced, and the procedure then goes on to the previous one, which is
likewise seen, and then erased. Once the process starts, however, Joel realizes he doesn't
really want to forget Clementine, so he starts smuggling her away into parts of his memory
where she doesn't belong which alters other things about his memories as well... Written by
austin4577@aol.com -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/plotsummary
Reality
Waking Life Dreams. What are they? An escape from reality or reality itself? Waking Life follows the
(2001) dream(s) of one man and his attempt to find and discern the absolute difference between
waking life and the dreamworld. While trying to figure out a way to wake up, he runs into many
people on his way; some of which offer one sentence asides on life, others delving deeply into
existential questions and life's mysteries. We become the main character. It becomes our
dream and our questions being asked and answered. Can we control our dreams? What are
they telling us about life? About death? About ourselves and where we come from and where
we are going? The film does not answer all these for us. Instead, it inspires us to ask the
questions and find the answers ourselves. Written by Jeff Mellinger
<jmell@uclink4.berkeley.edu> - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/plotsummary
A Brief History documentary based on Stephen Hawking’s life and book
of Time (1991)
The Matrix Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer
(1999) and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality but the
truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he is
contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government.
Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world, a ravaged wasteland where most of humanity have
been captured by a race of machines which live off of their body heat and imprison their minds
within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. As a rebel against the machines, Neo must return
to the Matrix and confront the agents, super powerful computer programs devoted to snuffing
out Neo and the entire human rebellion. Written by redcommander27,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/plotsummary
The Thirteenth Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something extremely important. He's about to
Floor (1999) tell the discovery to his colleague, Douglas Hall, but knowing someone is after him, the old man
leaves a letter in his computer generated parallel world that's just like the 30's with seemingly
real people with real emotions. Fuller is murdered in our real world the same night, and his
colleague is suspected. Douglas discovers a bloody shirt in his bathroom and he cannot recall
what he was doing the night Fuller was murdered. He logs into the system in order to find the
letter, but has to confront the unexpected. The truth is harsher than he could ever imagine...
Written by Danny Rosenbluth , http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139809/plotsummary
Existenz (1999) Allegra Geller, the leading game designer in the world, is testing her new virtual reality game,
eXistenZ with a focus group. As they begin, she is attacked by a fanatic assassin employing a
bizarre organic gun. She flees with a young marketing trainee, Ted Pikul, who is suddenly
assigned as her bodyguard. Unfortunately, her pod, an organic gaming device that contains the
only copy of the eXistenZ game program, is damaged. To inspect it, she talks Ted into
accepting a gameport in his own body so he can play the game with her. The events leading up
to this, and the resulting game lead the pair on a strange adventure where reality and their
 actions are impossible to determine from either their own or the game's perspective. Written by
Kenneth Chisholm kchishol@execulink.com, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120907/plotsummary
Inception (2010) Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing
valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at
its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new
world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him
everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job
could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of
the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not
to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of
careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to
predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. Written by Warner
Bros. Pictures, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/plotsummary
Paprika (2006) Three scientists at the Foundation for Psychiatric Research fail to secure a device they've
invented, the D.C. Mini, which allows people to record and watch their dreams. A thief uses the
device to enter people's minds, when awake, and distract them with their own dreams and
those of others. Chaos ensues. The trio - Chiba, Tokita, and Shima - assisted by a police
inspector and by a sprite named Paprika must try to identify the thief as they ward off the thief's
attacks on their own psyches. Dreams, reality, and the movies merge, while characters question
the limits of science and the wisdom of Big Brother. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851578/plotsummary
Abre Los Ojos The handsome and wealthy César is very successful with women and is having difficulties
(1997) getting rid off Nuria, his last affair. His best friend, Pelayo, is unlucky with women and jealous of
César. In his birthday party, César meets the gorgeous and sexy Sofia, currently dating Pelayo,
but they are immediately attracted to each other and spend the night together in her apartment.
The next morning, César finds Nuria outside of Sofia's building and he accepts her offer of a
ride home. However, she commits suicide, crashing her car against a wall but César survives
the crash, but with his face completely destroyed. The doctors do not have the technology to
restore his face and César is absolutely depressed and missing Sofia. One night, César meets
Sofia and Pelayo in a bar but he drinks too much and passes out on the street. However, the
next morning, Sofia finds César on the street and kisses him telling that she loves him. Then the
doctors tell him that they are able to fix his face. Out of the blue, César's happiness changes
and he finds that he is trapped in a nightmare. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil -http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125659/plotsummary
Vanilla Sky David Aames, a tycoon's son who, in the eyes of many, is a spoiled child who has no realization
(2001; remake of of his wealth or luck. Inhereting his fathers company after both parents were killed in a road
“Abre Los Ojos”) accident some years prior, David meets a girl whom his friend brings to a lavish house party
one night and instantly falls in love with her. Desperate to find out more about this mystery girl,
he gets chatting to her, unfortunately a jilted lover is watching David at all times and plans her
final plot. After surviving a car crash and having his face reconstructed courtesy of his 'jilted
lover', David struggles to find out the truth when his dreams turn into reality, and what he thinks
is reality, turns into nightmares. He knows he wants the Mystery girl he met at the party that
night, but where is she? who is she? Everything seems muddled slightly, until a doctor
manages to repair his face, and life is back to the way it should be, together with his mystery
girl, or is it? Questions need to be answered, but who is to be asked and who has the answers.
Written by Stezo Tullichewan - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259711/plotsummary