Cinema Atlas
Discover Ask the Atlas World Map Directors My List Newsletter
THEME EXPLORATION

desire and manipulation

12 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
A Woman Is a Woman
A Woman Is a Woman
1961 · Jean-Luc Godard
Summer Storm
Summer Storm
1944 · Douglas Sirk
Audition
Audition
2000 · Takashi Miike
Gone Girl
Gone Girl
2014 · David Fincher
Partner
Partner
1968 · Bernardo Bertolucci
I Want You
I Want You
1998 · Michael Winterbottom
Saltburn
Saltburn
2023 · Emerald Fennell
Basic Instinct 2
Basic Instinct 2
2006 · Michael Caton-Jones
Come Play With Me
Come Play With Me
1968 · Salvatore Samperi
Hedda
Hedda
2025 · Nia DaCosta
Little Tony
Little Tony
1998 · Alex van Warmerdam
One Night at McCool's
One Night at McCool's
2001 · Harald Zwart
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
David Lynch → United States

His films expose how desire warps perception and reality, with characters manipulated by their own obsessions and shadowy external forces.

Pedro Almodóvar → Spain

He crafts intricate narratives where characters manipulate each other through passion and desire, creating dark comedies of emotional entanglement.

Brian De Palma → United States

His psychological thrillers dissect how desire and voyeurism become tools of manipulation, blending suspense with explorations of obsession.

Cinema Atlas
About Newsletter Privacy Terms
© Cinema Atlas 2026 · An independent world-cinema guide
Discover Search Ask the Atlas My List Newsletter