It is hard to imagine that cinema without thought can exist at all. After all, the meaning of any work of art is born in the head of the viewer. Although many Youtube bloggers would argue. But there are films that are so sophisticated that it really becomes difficult to understand what it’s all about. A classic example of such a picture is Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, so overloaded with symbols and the author’s attempts to speak out on a complex topic in blockbuster language that it has become synonymous with stupidity.
And we will try to dig into world cinema and look at some of the most profound films 2021 year.
Best movies with hidden meanings 2021
The Card Counter
Paul Schroeder, writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, is often accused of copying himself. From time to time, he talks about the same character – a war veteran who cannot come to terms with the imperfections of society. But in Cold Calculation, this formula has changed slightly.
The protagonist, professional poker player William Tell, is not a sociopath, but a lost man, almost a ghost, wandering in the world of the living. And unlike Travis Bickle and the priest Ernst Toller, he desperately wants to become an ordinary person. But as happens with Schroeder, he will not achieve this goal. This is a very sensual and tender film about people with no future who dream of forgetting the past.
Undergods
The directorial debut of Spanish music video director Chino Moya, a strange surreal fable about two worlds: a gray alternative reality and a post-apocalypse in which people are slaughtered for meat and the survivors are forced to work in nightmarish conditions.
A viscous, ominous movie with three instructive stories about the weak human nature. Filmed in familiar post-socialist ruins – Estonia, Serbia – but closest to Hoffmann and Kafka. In the sense that you can’t brush aside The Gods, this film gives rise to a feeling of growing, sticky anxiety, it sucks you in like a swamp. Nothing like this came out this year.
Encanto
in “Encanto” there is not even a conditional embodiment of evil. The whole film is a colorful musical about how untreated psychological trauma from the past can gradually destroy an entire family if it is not dealt with in time.
The main character of “Encanto” is the only one in the family of wizards who was born without any abilities, but that is why she knows how not only to listen to her relatives, but also to truly hear them. And such a “therapy” is furnished in the form of very beautiful musical numbers.
Don’t Look Up
A topical comedy with a stellar cast, where the characters ironically beat the most absurd vices of modern society. Two astronomers, a professor and his graduate student, discover that a meteorite approaching Earth will destroy it in six months. They are trying to attract public attention, but everyone, including the president , has more important things to do – the election race, sexual revelations, the divorce of a popular artist and other problems.
The Green Knight
Calling David Lowry’s film a “screen adaptation” of a 14th-century chivalric poem is a bit of a stretch: here the word “arrangement” would be much more appropriate. The plot details and accents have changed, a significant part of the timing is occupied by events mentioned in just a couple of stanzas, but the essence remains the same in many ways, and the theme of personal growth has not gone away.
The journey of Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, who went to receive a retaliatory blow from the magical Green Knight, is not retold in the film as a straightforward parable. Now this is a real fantasy story with witchcraft, talking animals and holy martyrs, and the main character in it is clearly not distinguished by special valor. There are symbols, metaphors and fragments of folk legends all around, understanding which is the same pleasure as just watching what is happening. Moreover, due to the high-quality camera work, costumes and location shooting, the movie looks ten times more expensive than those ridiculous by today’s standards of 15 million dollars that it was shot with.
It’s definitely one of the most beautiful films of the year, and a wonderful story that chivalry lives on even when knights die.
Annette
A musical phantasmagoria about stand-up comedian Henry McHenry, who is trying to figure out how to be a husband, father, artist, and makes several fatally wrong decisions.
The cinema of the Frenchman Leos Carax, who clearly talks about himself and his daughter, is imperfect – there are enough conventions in it, and the timing sometimes seems exhausting. But for the most part, the film is beautiful, and sometimes brilliant. Adam Driver, who played the title role, is, as usual, beyond praise. And the ending to this story is incredible
The Power of the Dog
This drama about the complicated relationship of several people on a ranch in Montana at the beginning of the 20th century is unlikely to appear very often in the information field of the mass audience. Although, perhaps, even a person who does not follow film festivals could see the headlines about Benedict Cumberbatch, who did not leave the image of a cowboy during filming, did not bathe for several days and learned to castrate bulls.
In the center of the plot are successful ranchers Phil and George Burbank. The good-natured George marries a widow named Rose, but his brother does not like her or her son, who is unfit for physical labor. Angry Phil is trying to survive them from the ranch, and in the course of his quiet “war” we see how human vices are exposed and wounds are opened, we learn about the injuries and secret desires that drive these people.
Jane Campion, for whom this is her first directorial work in almost 12 years, is already predicting a second Oscar in her career, and for good reason. She does not try to chew anything to the viewer, and always shows exactly as much as is necessary to understand what is happening. The tension between the central characters grows inexorably, it becomes clear that things will not end well, but it is difficult to predict where exactly and when the tragedy will strike. “The Power of the Dog” is one of those films that stays in the memory for a long time.
The Matrix Resurrections
By and large, the fourth “Matrix” was not needed, and the film is very noticeable. He practically does not offer new concepts, does not complement the lore, does not turn the canons upside down, and cannot boast of entertainment. But Lana Wachowski wanted to finish the story of Neo and Trinity one more time, not as tragically as in the past, and did it – why not?
Moreover, this “uselessness” is embedded in the film itself and even becomes its core. The war between AI and humanity is over, now people can coexist peacefully with some machines and grow strawberries for themselves. The machines themselves updated the Matrix and, it seems, completely “scored” what was happening inside there – they didn’t even bother to clean out the virus in the person of Smith. People-batteries live quietly and do not blow in their mustache. Who needs the Chosen One and what should he fight against now? The titular resurrection is happening, but it is absolutely meaningless. And how such a post-irony, the fourth “Matrix” even looks interesting.
It is quite another thing that over time this universe became a cult one, changed our reality, a whole generation managed to grow up on it. It was too disrespectful to the many fans. In any case, you should not miss the film, but be prepared: it will most likely break your heart.
The Last Duel
Ridley Scott’s film is so titled because it tells the story of the last officially sanctioned duel in French history, but after its release, it took on a second meaning. The historical blockbuster failed at the box office, because with the onset of the pandemic, mostly teenagers returned to cinemas, and movies for older viewers and with older actors in the lead roles turned out to be not particularly needed by anyone. And Ridley Scott has no choice but to “yell at the cloud” – like a typical grandfather who feels that the world is once again irrevocably changing.
Nevertheless, The Last Duel is worth watching, even if you hate knights and historical dramas. The action of the picture takes place in the distant past, but it turned out to be relevant. Scott tells the story of one rape from the point of view of three different people. In each of the three chapters, the emphasis is placed differently, and small details change in the same scenes to show that each character has his own truth.
In a way, “Duel” is a sister movie to “Don’t Look Up.” Scott also talks in a rather creepy way about how difficult it is for people to agree on the simplest things. But how can they find a common language when it comes to global conflicts like wars, sanctions, and clashes not of individuals, but of entire countries and cultures? No way. And that is why in the finale the one who was stronger and more dexterous is right, and cold steel becomes the best argument.
Oxygène
Talented horror and body-horror director Alexandre Azha made a near-perfect streaming movie for Netflix. “Oxygen” goes on for a little over an hour and a half, but it keeps you in suspense and surprises almost every few minutes. During this time, the story goes from a trivial story about a man in prison to something really grandiose. It’s better for you not to know.
Nomadland
Fern, a 60-year-old woman, is left jobless and homeless when the only factory in her small town closes during an economic crisis. The only way out is to load your poor belongings into a van and become one of a tribe of modern nomads traveling from state to state in search of seasonal earnings.The Father
Fern, 60, decides to move into a mobile home after the plant closes and become a nomad. She travels around the country, meeting others like her. At the same time, the heroine does not feel lost and lonely.
The Father
Anthony is far from young. He lives alone in London, which greatly worries his daughter. She does not want to leave her father unattended and is trying to find him a nurse. Anthony dismisses all the proposed options. However, planning to move to Paris, the daughter is in no hurry to give up. She becomes more persistent in her attempts to find the perfect woman for the stubborn daddy …
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
The biographical drama tells the life and work of the famous artist Louis Wayne, who created stunning paintings with anthropomorphic cats. Alas, in parallel this man went crazy.
