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THEME EXPLORATION

idealism vs reality

12 films · 3 directors
FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
The Matrix
The Matrix
1999 · Lana Wachowski & Lilly Wachowski
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
2018 · Terry Gilliam
Avalon
Avalon
2001 · Mamoru Oshii
Dream Girl
Dream Girl
1948 · Mitchell Leisen
Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon
1937 · Frank Capra
Immersion
Immersion
2023 · Takashi Shimizu
Masculin Feminin
Masculin Feminin
1966 · Jean-Luc Godard
The Act of Killing
The Act of Killing
2012 · Joshua Oppenheimer
Primary Colors
Primary Colors
1998 · Mike Nichols
Close-Up
Close-Up
1990 · Abbas Kiarostami
El espiritu de la colmena
El espiritu de la colmena
1973 · Victor Erice
Alice
Alice
1988 · Jan Švankmajer
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Andrei Tarkovsky → Soviet Union

His philosophical films explore the gap between spiritual idealism and the material constraints of human existence through meditative, introspective narratives.

Wong Kar-wai → Hong Kong

He contrasts romantic idealism with the harsh realities of urban life, using visual poetry to capture the melancholy distance between desire and fulfillment.

Ken Loach → United Kingdom

His realist cinema directly confronts idealistic social visions against the grinding realities of systemic poverty and institutional failure.

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