How to search for a film without knowing its name, in 8 tips

Several general tips to find that cinematographic work whose name resists us.

It has happened to all of us that on some occasion we are talking about or looking for some concept, aspect, person or work of which we suddenly realize that we don't know the name. It is possible that it is on the tip of our tongue but we do not remember it. And it's possible that it's a work that we're really looking forward to seeing, or just remembering. Maybe we'll start looking for it.

But... how to do it? How to look for a movie without knowing its name? Throughout this brief article we are going to try to visualize some ways or elements that we can use in order to carry out this search successfully.

Ways to search for a movie without knowing the name

Finding a film without knowing the name can be complicated, since the seventh art has generated a huge range of very diverse works of art. But this does not make it impossible. The main strategy to employ is to make the most of all the information we remember or know about the film in question, and with it to take advantage of the available resources to try to locate the one we want to find..

Although it is possible to resort to search engines and specialized programs, we can also simply search in our usual search engine on the Internet or go to a film library or even to a friend. Among the different data that we can use to try to locate the film, the following stand out.

1. General plot

We may not remember the name of a film, but most likely we do have an idea of the plot of the film in question. an idea of the plot of the film in question.

For example, we may be looking for a movie that despite not knowing its name, we remember that it was about a group of humans who got into the bodies of blue synthetic aliens to make contact with the natives of the same species on a planet called Pandora. Or that in a gloomy castle located on top of a hill that had an excessively colorful village at the foot of it, there lived a man who instead of hands had scissors.

2. Genre, theme and setting.

Also and linked to the above, another way to try to find a movie is taking into account the genre of the film (comedy, drama. (comedy, drama... although sometimes it can be complicated to define some films concretely), or the themes or the place and time in which the action took place.

For example, it may be easier to remember that it is a musical set in France during the years before and after the beginning of the French Revolution than to remember the title of "Les Miserables".

3. Name of one of the leading characters

Another way to identify or try to find a movie is to try to remember or base your search on the name of the main character, as long as he or she is recognizable. Search engines place a high value on proper names when it comes to filtering movie results.

You may not remember the movie Braveheart, but you will probably find it much easier to find if you remember that it is based on the character of William Wallace. It doesn't have to be a historical character to be recognizable: Scarlett O'Hara, Simba or Freddy Krueger can lead us to find the films of "Gone with the Wind", "The Lion King" or "Nightmare on Elm Street".

4. Director's name

While not everyone looks at the name of the film directors, names like Peter Jackson, Night Shyamalan, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro or Pedro Almodovar are well known. Knowing who has made the film makes it much easier to search for the right person.to the point of being able to rely on it to find the work.

5. Part of the names of the main actors and actresses

It is possible that in order to find a film whose name we do not know, it can be very useful to know who participates in it, especially with regard to the main characters. If we know the name of the actor or actress in question, we can search for the roles in which he or she has participated, among which we could find the film in question.

6. Has he/she won any awards?

This method is only useful if it so happens that the film we are looking for is highly recognized and has been awarded or nominated for some kind of award (either at the level of the film or at the level of one of the actors or actresses). If we know the specific award or nomination and the gala where it was given, it will be enough to look at the lists of nominees/awardees to find it.

This is especially easy if we are looking at major awards, such as the Oscars.such as the Oscars. However, it is not necessary for it to be a positive recognition: remember that there are also awards for the worst movies, such as the Razzie Awards.

7. Salient features and artistic style of the film

Another element we can take into account is whether the film in question has some characteristic in terms of artistic style that is noteworthy.

For example, although nowadays almost all films are in color and with sound, if the film we are looking for is old or has a different approach than usual, we may have to focus our search on black and white or silent films.

We may also be looking for an animated film, or one that is structured as a puzzle instead of running in a linear fashion. Another aspect that we may remember if it is something salient is its duration (for example, there are films that last around four hours and others that hardly reach the hour).

8. Use an identifying phrase/line of dialogue.

There are unique phrases and lines of dialogue from specific movies that can lead us to search for a movie even if we do not know the name of the movie we are looking for, and can serve as a reference when it comes to finding its name. either by asking or searching for it in databases or in large Internet search engines..

Examples of this are phrases and lines of dialogue such as "are you talking to me?", "my house... telephone", "Luke, I am your father" (although curiously this one, despite being remembered, was never said in this way) or "My name is Iñigo Montoya. You killed my father. Get ready to die", which simply searching in Google or other search engines quickly leads us to find the titles: "Taxi Driver", "E.T.", "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" or "The Princess Bride". However, this last method can be really complicated if the phrase or line of dialogue is excessively generic, colloquial or unfamiliar.