THEME EXPLORATION

creative conflict

41 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Fighting Blood
Fighting Blood
1911 · D.W. Griffith
The Pornographer
The Pornographer
2001 · Bertrand Bonello
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
1964 · Jacques Demy
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
1952 · Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Chinese Roulette
Chinese Roulette
1976 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Das Madchen vom Moorhof
Das Madchen vom Moorhof
1935 · Douglas Sirk
Tokyo Story
Tokyo Story
1953 · Yasujirō Ozu
A Separation
A Separation
2011 · Asghar Farhadi
Memories of Underdevelopment
Memories of Underdevelopment
1968 · Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
1968 · Sergio Leone
The Night of Counting the Years
The Night of Counting the Years
1969 · Shadi Abdel Salam
Chronicle of the Years of Fire
Chronicle of the Years of Fire
1975 · Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
1994 · Peter Jackson
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008 · Guillermo del Toro
High and Low
High and Low
1963 · Akira Kurosawa
Paradise Now
Paradise Now
2005 · Hany Abu-Assad
Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashir
2008 · Ari Folman
Wild Tales
Wild Tales
2014 · Damián Szifron
Winter Sleep
Winter Sleep
2014 · Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Atlantics
Atlantics
2019 · Mati Diop
Clash
Clash
2016 · Mohamed Diab
Family Life
Family Life
1971 · Ken Loach
Force Majeure
Force Majeure
2014 · Ruben Östlund
Melancholia
Melancholia
2011 · Lars von Trier
I Even Met Happy Gypsies
I Even Met Happy Gypsies
1967 · Aleksandar Petrović
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
1951 · Ida Lupino
Rocco and His Brothers
Rocco and His Brothers
1960 · Luchino Visconti
Tangerines
Tangerines
2013 · Zaza Urushadze
The Insult
The Insult
2017 · Ziad Doueiri
Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight
1973 · Paul Verhoeven
Cabaret Balkan
Cabaret Balkan
1998 · Goran Paskaljević
Donbass
Donbass
2018 · Sergei Loznitsa
Empire
Empire
2010 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Pain and Glory
Pain and Glory
2019 · Pedro Almodóvar
The Time That Remains
The Time That Remains
2009 · Elia Suleiman
Where Do We Go Now
Where Do We Go Now
2011 · Nadine Labaki
Chico
Chico
2001 · Ibolya Fekete
Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back
1967 · D.A. Pennebaker
Hibiscus Town
Hibiscus Town
1988 · Xie Jin
Honeymoon
Honeymoon
2013 · Jan Hřebejk
León and Olvido
León and Olvido
2004 · Xavier Bermúdez
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Ken Loach United Kingdom

His films chronicle social and political conflicts through intimate character studies, exploring how systemic tensions manifest in everyday human struggles.

 Ari Aster United States

He weaponizes genre conventions and audience expectations to create deeply unsettling explorations of internal and interpersonal psychological conflict.

 Yorgos Lanthimos Greece

His films deliberately cultivate stylistic and narrative friction, using formalist conflict between tone, dialogue, and imagery to interrogate human relationships and social norms.