THEME EXPLORATION

Social convention versus passion

33 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate
1992 · Alfonso Arau
...And God Created Woman
...And God Created Woman
1956 · Roger Vadim
Umberto D.
Umberto D.
1952 · Vittorio De Sica
The Leopard
The Leopard
1963 · Luchino Visconti
Aladdin
Aladdin
1992 · Ron Clements and John Musker
Goya: Or the Hard Way to Enlightenment
Goya: Or the Hard Way to Enlightenment
1971 · Konrad Wolf
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
2000 · Yoshiaki Kawajiri
La La Land
La La Land
2016 · Damien Chazelle
Dersu Uzala
Dersu Uzala
1975 · —
Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
1997 · Hayao Miyazaki
Accused
Accused
1964 · Anubhuti Kashyap
State of Fear
State of Fear
1990 · Janusz Kijowski
The Marginal Ones
The Marginal Ones
1978 · Mrinal Sen
Une vieille maîtresse
Une vieille maîtresse
2007 · Catherine Breillat
The Plague
The Plague
2026 · Charlie Polinger
Fraulein
Fraulein
1986 · Michael Haneke
Francisco Perales, Luis García Berlanga , Madrid, Cátedra
Francisco Perales, Luis García Berlanga , Madrid, Cátedra
1997 · Luis García Berlanga
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth
2000 · Terence Davies
Marketa Lazarová
Marketa Lazarová
1967 · František Vláčil
Areso kai kykloforo
Areso kai kykloforo
1986 · Yannis Dalianidis
The Holy Mountain
The Holy Mountain
1973 · Alejandro Jodorowsky
Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndon
1975 · Stanley Kubrick
Flowers of Shanghai
Flowers of Shanghai
1998 · Hou Hsiao-hsien
My Little Pony: A New Generation
My Little Pony: A New Generation
2022 · José Luis Ucha
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
1927 · F. W. Murnau
Parasite
Parasite
2019 · Bong Joon-ho
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love
2000 · Wong Kar-wai
Close-Up
Close-Up
1990 · Abbas Kiarostami
El espiritu de la colmena
El espiritu de la colmena
1973 · Victor Erice
Festen
Festen
1998 · Thomas Vinterberg
The Shop on Main Street
The Shop on Main Street
1965 · Ján Kadár
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
1994 · Peter Jackson
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008 · Guillermo del Toro
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Vittorio De Sica Italy

His neorealist films like 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'Umberto D.' expose the tension between individual dignity and societal pressures, showing how social conventions crush personal passion and survival.

 Wong Kar-wai Hong Kong

His visually poetic films such as 'In the Mood for Love' and '2046' capture the melancholic struggle between societal propriety and suppressed romantic desire with stunning aesthetic precision.

 Rainer Werner Fassbinder Germany

His provocative melodramas like 'The Marriage of Maria Braun' and 'Ali: Fear Eats the Soul' directly confront how social conventions—class, race, morality—violently constrain authentic human passion.