10 philosophical films on identity

A review of ten must-see titles for philosophy lovers.

Think you have too much time on your hands? Nothing like philosophical films to fill that existential void with hours of footage, hours of reflection afterwards and hours of repeat viewings to see if this time you understand something.

Here is a list of ten of those titles that will make you think more than usual and that show to what extent cinema and philosophy can go together.

10 philosophical films that combine storytelling and reflection

The Matrix (1999)

Predictable, yes, and to a certain extent disappointing, considering the sentence that closed the introduction to this article: The Matrix is much more about cinema than philosophy. But the truth is that no article on philosophical films should be without this title; not so much for the originality of its approach, but for the accessibility of the theme of the conflict between the senses, reality and identity. Thanks to The Matrix, any Westerner can intuit the Platonic and Cartesian idea that we live in a world of shadows that hide the true, and all this without the need to read the classics.

Because the world of the "true" and the "false" is represented here very explicitly and with rather little subtlety. Great contrasts that mark the differences between reality and the Matrix, a fictional world created to dominate the human species, but that also serves to give the film a spectacularity that it seeks from the first moment.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

It has been said many times that the people we know live in our mindsWhat happens when that "someone" who lives in us is a very important person from whom we want to distance ourselves? This film takes that principle to the extreme, creating an interesting narrative.

3. The Truman Show (1998)

Along the lines of The Matrix, but somewhat more subtle (though not much more). However, here the true/false dichotomy is also the division between the private and the public. between the private and the public. Curiously, Truman Burbank lives in a public space mediated by a private entity that does not hesitate to profit from the poor protagonist's daily secrets.

4. Gattaca (1997)

Gattaca is many things, but among them is that of presenting itself as a narrative in which the conflict between genetic predispositions and freedom is posed. genetic predispositions and freedom. Biological pressures are presented here as an extension of a very complex bureaucratic apparatus in which certain people have no place.

5. Solaris (1972)

Solaris is, perhaps, the king of philosophical films. It's easy to look for similarities with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but talking about Solaris... that's a big word. Tarkovsky uses a SciFi setting to articulate a narration based on the reflections and narrative based on reflections and philosophy..

6. Memento (2001)

We repeat with Memento, which already appeared in another article entitled "10 movies about Psychology and mental disorders". As a title included in a list of philosophical films, Memento deals with the relationship between identity and memorythat is, those experiences that metamorphose and appear independently of our will to try to control them. It is also about our ability to deceive ourselves for practical purposes or because of our eagerness to give meaning to our lives.

7. Blade Runner (1982)

The classic film based on the novel Do Androis Dream of Electric Sheep?by Philip K. Dick. The film Blade Runner deals with the nature of human consciousness and the use we make of it to create a moral wall that separates us from other entities. What is it that makes us human?

8. Waking Life (2001)

Waking Life takes place in the terrain where reason is most painfully compromised: the world of dreams. Therefore, it is not surprising that reflections and experiences are agglomerated in it through an orderly chaos, always one step ahead of logic and the expected. Throughout its almost two-hour duration, we witness a parade of discourses that, having been crouched behind the director's consciousness, decide to reveal themselves while he sleeps.

It is worth noting that, although the film lends itself well to make us think about the relationship between our own way of thinking and the discourses and ideologies that culture instills in us, each dream has its own message and its own raison d'être.

9. Strange Coincidences (2004)

The lives of ordinary people, examined through the eyes of someone who struggles to give them a coherent meaning. coherent meaning meaning to everything he sees. The detective work will serve to change the way of perceiving others, but also to recognize the importance of one's own point of view when judging people.

10. Persona (1966)

You wanted philosophical films? Have two cups. Persona talks about masks, identity and silences. The narrative is dominated by lyricism, the way in which Bergman suggests that none of what he is showing is true, and he does so by contrasting two facets of human life: the irrational silence and the discourse that articulates identity.