THEME EXPLORATION

fantasy escapism

28 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Pause
Pause
2018 · Tonia Mishiali
Boyhood Daze
Boyhood Daze
1957 · Chuck Jones
The Purple Rose of Cairo
The Purple Rose of Cairo
1985 · Woody Allen
Overlord: The Undead King
Overlord: The Undead King
2017 · Naoyuki Ito
The Magic Faraway Tree
The Magic Faraway Tree
2026 · Ben Gregor
El espiritu de la colmena
El espiritu de la colmena
1973 · Victor Erice
Miracle in Milan
Miracle in Milan
1951 · Vittorio De Sica
Dillinger Is Dead
Dillinger Is Dead
1969 · Marco Ferreri
Alice
Alice
1988 · Jan Švankmajer
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
1994 · Peter Jackson
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008 · Guillermo del Toro
Touki Bouki
Touki Bouki
1973 · Djibril Diop Mambéty
Tony Manero
Tony Manero
2008 · Pablo Larraín
Ali Zaoua Prince of the Streets
Ali Zaoua Prince of the Streets
2000 · Nabil Ayouch
Blue
Blue
2018 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Los amantes pasajeros (I’m So Excited!
Los amantes pasajeros (I’m So Excited!
2013 · Pedro Almodóvar
Winter Flies
Winter Flies
2018 · Olmo Omerzu
Pilots
Pilots
1995 · Christian Petzold
Erupcja
Erupcja
2026 · Pete Ohs
A Thousand and One Nights with Toho
A Thousand and One Nights with Toho
1947 · Kon Ichikawa
Her First Mate
Her First Mate
1933 · William Wyler
The Moon Is a Green Cheese
The Moon Is a Green Cheese
1977 · Mai Zetterling
The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast
1986 · Peter Weir
The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick
1987 · George Miller
Red Rooms
Red Rooms
2023 · Pascal Plante
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
2013 · Harald Zwart
Cendrillon
Cendrillon
1899 · Georges Méliès
Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark
2000 · Lars von Trier
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Guillermo del Toro Mexico

His films like Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water use fantastical worlds and creatures to explore how imagination becomes a refuge from harsh reality and human cruelty.

 Hayao Miyazaki Japan

His Studio Ghibli masterpieces transport viewers into richly detailed magical realms where characters escape ordinary life to discover wonder, identity, and inner strength.

 Terry Gilliam United Kingdom/United States

His surreal, visually inventive films like Brazil and Time Bandits blur reality and imagination to critique the mundane world while celebrating the power of creative escape.