24 Movies That Will Stay With You For More Than Just 2 Hours

You don’t often come across a movie that really stays with you. By that I mean it lingers even after the popcorn is over, the reel has stopped spinning and the curtains are drawn. It could be the message, the character, a revelation, or even the plot.

For me it was these. Here is a list of movies that you won’t be able to shake off, in a good way.

1. Highway

This Alia Bhatt starrer had so many expectations hanging on it and it met every single one of them. Okay, I don’t know if falling for your kidnapper is a thing in Bollywood, but in this movie it fit perfectly. So, towards the end you start to get hopeful that they’ll live happily ever after, before someone shoots your dream right down. I was hoping for a miracle or for someone like Melisandre to revive him, because I just wasn’t satisfied with the end.

 

2. Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind

Okay, it takes some serious guts to erase a whole person out of your mind, but that’s exactly what happened here. It’s such a heartbreaking love story that at the end you’re left thinking if this was some twisted way of getting them to see the light. The kind of love they share will remain with you for a long time.

 

3. Margarita With A Straw

Some say the Indian Society wasn’t ready for such a movie, but I don’t think that’s true at all. I think that was some of Kalki’s best work and the movie is so powerful, it makes you think what if, you were in her place, would it be the same? It’s one of the most honest movies I’ve seen in a while and it should definitely make your list.

 

4. Aks

Manoj Bajpayee will sweep you off your feet with his stellar acting. This movie shows you that there isn’t a clear demarcation between good and bad men, it’s just situational. It’s quite a watch and it will leave you pondering about evil v/s good.

 

5. Interstellar

This movie is something else. I’ve watched a couple of times just to get a grip about what was happening. It talks about the space and time continuum and when he discovers that he was Murphy’s ghost all along, it’s the best thing ever. It makes you think out of the box, it makes you realize that there is something apart from just here and now.

 

6. Blade Runner

It’s a tiny bit sci-fi and really touching. It’s about this man who finds people with modified abilities and retire them, but little does he know he’d fall in love with one of them. But it’s the monologue in the end that really stays with you.

 

7. Life of Pi

It has such an ambiguous ending. You never know if it was for real/ a dream/ or a distorted version of reality. I want to believe that it was exactly as shown but the ending will leave you wondering what’s real and what’s not.

 

8. Lost In Translation

This another widely talked about flick. It’s like a dalliance with love but the only catch is none of them are really available. It takes you through the ups and downs of their short romance but what makes this movie stand out is the words he whispers in her ear. If I could figure out what those were, I’d die satisfied.

 

9. American Beauty

The movie comes a full circle, right from the beauty of Ricky’s documentary to the beauty Lester finds even in his afterlife. Everyone has a lot going on in this movie. Their stories are so intertwined it’s difficult to imagine it without even one character, but Lester sort of holds the narrative together.

 

10. Into The Wild

The protagonist has done what we think of doing every day, just packing up and leaving to disappear with no responsibility, no worries, just us and wilderness. Along his journey, he affects other people’s lives, experiences a lot of emotions and sort of resonates with the viewers.

 

11. Big Fish

The father-son’s estranged relationship will make you think about your own relationship with your parents. After being on bad terms for so long the son realizes that his dad has cancer. His desperate quest of getting to know his father better will bring you to tears.

 

12. Man from Earth

This blew my mind. The movie is so minimalistic in terms of cinematography that you wouldn’t expect such a powerful story. It’s a man’s monologue to a room full of bright minds, explaining how he’s immortal. But the religious revelations are the ones that will shake your faith and force you to think.

 

13. Boyhood

First of all, this movie has been filmed over 12 years with the same cast. It makes you feel a deep connection with the protagonist who is shown dealing with struggles of growing up. It’s a really striking movie because it’s all very real, stories of people who exist in and around you.

 

14. Clockwork Orange

In a world full of crime, should one’s moral decisions be controlled or should one depend on humanity to make the right choices ? After a life subjected to moral policing, Alex finds himself at peace in his old life, capable of moral choices, evil moral choices and it’s something you really need to watch.

 

15. Birdman

He’s a man like every other, his career runs off track and he tries like hell to fight it. But when everything goes wrong for him, his former Birdman avatar, or rather his days of success sweep him away, but we’re left wondering if they dropped him to his death or lifted him to success.

 

16. Requiem For A Dream

A beautiful movie about addiction. It shows you the reality of drug use and sort of wakens you from your ignorant state. It gets so bad that you want to stop watching but you can’t because it’s absolutely eye-opening.

 

17. Black Swan

It’s really twisted. The movie revolves around a ballerina, Nina, and it’s basically her journey to discovering her inner black swan, makes me wonder if we all have that in us.

 

18. Taxi Driver

Is a hero really a hero or just made to look like one? The question will haunt you after you watch this movie. It’s reveals the bloodshed, the psychosis and the disturbance underlying something so heroic and grand, that it’s scary.

 

19. The Wrestler

It’s so sad that even thinking about it makes me want to cry! It’s about a wrestler who’s put his career ahead of everything, including his daughter. But when he can’t do what he loves anymore, he comes back to find solace in family and love but the rejection really hits home and makes your heart go out for him.

 

20. Dead Poet’s Society

This movie was something else. If you don’t know what ‘O’ Captain My Captain’ means, you haven’t lived life completely. So, stop whatever you’re doing and watch the best movie that I’ve ever seen.

 

21. Rang De Basanti

Yeah, this one’s almost everyone’s favourite but it’s one of the good Bollywood movies that made me think. These 5 men did so much for a change, for awareness, for their friend and their country that it sort of helps you see beyond yourself.

 

22. Mulholland Drive

If this movie didn’t make you think, none of the others will be successful. Infact this one was so thought provoking that I came back and googled what the story line really was. When you watch it for the first time, it’s just a bunch of disjointed scenes that seem to have no correlation, but really they do.

 

23. The Butterfly Effect

It’s a little of time travel and a lot of childhood trauma. Ashton Kutcher stars in it and that’s only one of the reasons to watch this movie. It’s his alteration of the past that really messes with you.

 

24. Perks of Being a Wallflower

The tunnel scene isn’t the best part of the movie, it’s actually the message.  The same one that teaches us life moves on, friends leave but you will always have yourself. It’s one strong undertone and it will stay with you forever.

Which ones did you resonate with the most?

Cover Image Source 1 & 2