THEME EXPLORATION

manipulation and control

12 films · 3 directors
FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Dogtooth
Dogtooth
2009 · Yorgos Lanthimos
Gone Girl
Gone Girl
2014 · David Fincher
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry
1945 · Robert Siodmak
Sweet Smell of Success
Sweet Smell of Success
1957 · Alexander Mackendrick
A Certain Kind of Silence
A Certain Kind of Silence
2019 · Michal Hogenauer
The Wave
The Wave
2008 · Dennis Gansel
Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury
2003 · Gary Fleder
Chaste and Pure
Chaste and Pure
1981 · Salvatore Samperi
The Sacrament
The Sacrament
2014 · Ti West
Tahan
Tahan
2022 · Bobby Bonifacio
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1933 · Fritz Lang
Alphaville
Alphaville
1965 · Jean-Luc Godard
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Stanley Kubrick United States

His films systematically deconstruct systems of power and control, from military hierarchy in Full Metal Jacket to psychological manipulation in A Clockwork Orange.

 Walter Lang Germany

Pioneer of exploring authoritarian control and surveillance, most powerfully in Metropolis and M, where systems and individuals weaponize manipulation.

 David Fincher United States

Obsessively examines psychological manipulation, institutional control, and power dynamics in works like Se7en, The Social Network, and Gone Girl.