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10 Existential Films for Philosophy Students

<h1><strong>What is an Existential Film&quest;<&sol;strong><&sol;h1>&NewLine;<p>It is important to state&comma; first and foremost&comma; that the title is a bit of a misnomer&period; In a sense&comma; many &lpar;if not most&rpar; narrative films could be considered existential&comma; or could have existentialist theories applied to them&period; However&comma; there are not as many films that deal directly with existential principals as an essential element of the plot&semi; nor are there as many films in which existential overtones and themes are overt and readily identifiable to the keen observer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Audiences and film theorists are able to extract meaning from film&comma; and analyze narrative and imagery through an existential lens&period; So&comma; if a devout and self-described existentialist is watching a film&comma; they would surely read its narrative through an existential worldview&comma; and therefore&comma; their analysis&comma; but not necessarily the film itself&comma; would be existential&period; They may decry the narrative as being anti-existentialist&comma; or they may praise it for producing themes that align with existentialist ideas and interpretations&period; However&comma; reading films with these kinds of preconceived ideas of what they should or should not be is not helpful&comma; at least not for the sake of defining what constitutes an existential film&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Therefore&comma; instead of making a list of films to which existential theories can apply &lpar;the list would be never ending&rpar;&comma; this list will be comprised of <strong>the top ten films that address or produce existential themes and inquiries in a direct way<&sol;strong>&period; This is by no means a comprehensive list&period; There are various films that did not make the cut &lpar;see &&num;8220&semi;Honorable Mentions&&num;8221&semi; below&rpar;&comma; but the following ten films are both superb in overall quality and share the attribute of addressing Existentialism as a subject of study head on&comma; with little need for viewer extraction&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Before we go about listing the films&comma; it must be addressed that Existentialism is a rather broad and far-reaching subject&period; So&comma; if we are to make such a list&comma; first we must define what is meant by the term&period; Even among existentialists&comma; there are disagreements about the precise doctrines and tenets&period; But for the purposes of clarity and preciseness&comma; our definition will be confined to Existentialism as Jean-Paul Sartre describes it in his essay&comma; <em>Existentialism is a Humanism<&sol;em>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Sartre summarizes the existentialist view by stating that <strong>existence precedes essence<&sol;strong>&period; That is to say&comma; a human first exists&comma; and then later defines him or herself through their own actions&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;…action presupposes that there is a plurality of possibilities&comma; and in choosing one of these&comma; they realize that it has value only because it is chosen&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Man is nothing else but what he purposes&comma; he exists only in so far as he realizes himself&&num;8230&semi;he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions&comma; nothing else but what his life is&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Sartre&comma; being an atheist&comma; presupposes that God does not exist&comma; though he explains that this is not a necessary prerequisite for Existentialism&period; In Sartre’s view&comma; the absence of God&comma; or&comma; for the theist&comma; the absence of complete determinism&comma; creates the absurdity of existence&comma; and causes anguish in the individual&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The existentialist…finds it extremely embarrassing that God does not exist&comma; for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven…For if indeed existence precedes essence&comma; one will never be able to explain one’s action by reference to a given and specific human nature&semi; in other words&comma; there is no determinism – man is free&comma; man is freedom&period; Nor&comma; on the other hand&comma; if God does not exist&comma; are we provided with any values or commands that could legitimize our behavior&period; Thus we have neither behind us&comma; nor before us in a luminous realm of values&comma; any means of justification or excuse&period; – We are left alone&comma; without excuse&period; That is what I mean when I say that man is condemned to be free&period; Condemned&comma; because he did not create himself&comma; yet is nevertheless at liberty&comma; and from the moment that he is thrown into this world he is responsible for everything he does” &lpar;Sartre&rpar;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In short&comma; Existentialism espouses the concept that a human is defined by their actions&comma; and an individual creates the meaning in their life through the choices they make&period; It is this emphasis on subjectivity&comma; freedom of choice&comma; and meaning attached to the individual that define Existentialism&period; Anguish is a necessary byproduct of the existential doctrine&comma; as every person is completely responsible for their own actions&comma; values&comma; and meaning&comma; and is aware of this responsibility&period; This knowledge leads to anguish&comma; as there is no determining power or higher set of morals to justify our actions&comma; leaving us alone and without guidance outside of ourselves&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>So&comma; now that we have a general definition of Existentialism&comma; it still begs the question&colon; what constitutes an existential film&quest; To create a concise list&comma; including only those films that can unequivocally be considered existential&comma; the criteria are as follows&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>The film must have a fictional narrative &lpar;documentaries about existential philosophy will not be included&rpar;&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>The film must have at least one human character&comma; with the narrative generally being told either from their perspective or with a story that revolves around their actions and environment&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>Through the necessary elements of filmmaking &lpar;editing&comma; dialogue&comma; mise-en-scene&comma; etc&period;&rpar;&comma; the filmmaker must portray the central character as existing in an undetermined world&comma; with a plurality of choices to make&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>The character must take actions that have consequences&comma; and be aware that there is no power outside of themselves that determines their actions or circumstances&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>The character&lpar;s&rpar; must undergo an existential crisis&period; That is to say&comma; there must be&comma; to one degree or another&comma; anguish present as a result of the responsibility of action in the face of an absurd and undetermined existence&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>The following is a list of 10 films that meet the above criteria&comma; and&comma; are excellent in overall quality and craftsmanship&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h1>10 Existential Films for Philosophy Students<&sol;h1>&NewLine;<h2>10&period; I Heart Huckabees &lpar;David O&period; Russell&comma; 2004&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1085 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;b58b102693d0aff8edff6c64ffbf5881&period;jpg&lowbar;mini-1024x625&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"488" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>I Heart Huckabees<&sol;em> is billed as an &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;existential comedy&comma;” and is one of the few films on this list where philosophical debate makes up a large part of the dialogue&period; The story follows Albert Markovski &lpar;played by Jason Schwartzman&rpar;&comma; as he attempts to find purpose&comma; both for himself and the universe as a whole&comma; and make sense of certain strange coincidences in his daily life&period; He hires two &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;existential detectives” &lpar;played by Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin&rpar; to follow him around and solve his problem&period; Albert begins to lose faith in the detectives&comma; and is enticed by a former student of theirs&comma; Caterine Vauban &lpar;played by Isabelle Huppert&rpar;&comma; who espouses an opposing view&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I Heart Huckabees is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B000SW2F08&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B000SW2F08&amp&semi;linkId&equals;0f5b5d67cbd2a476dc0ad7124e1be35e">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>9&period; Wild Strawberries &lpar;Ingmar Bergman&comma; 1957&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-848" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;960-1-300x169&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"450" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In <em>Wild Strawberries<&sol;em>&comma; Isak Borg &lpar;played by Victor Sjostrom&rpar; is an elderly professor and former country doctor in rural Sweden who sets out on a long car ride to receive a prestigious award from his alma mater&period; Isak’s pregnant daughter-in-law&comma; Marianne &lpar;played by Ingrid Thulin&rpar;&comma; comes with him&comma; despite not liking her father-in-law&comma; and despite her desire to separate from her husband and Isak’s only son&period; The pair meet various people along the way&comma; and these encounters trigger memories &lpar;and occasionally nightmares&rpar; for Isak&comma; who&comma; now very old and near to death&comma; begins to evaluate his life&period; Looking back at the sum of his actions&comma; Isak develops an image of himself as an isolated old man&comma; brought to this point by the events in his life and the choices he has made over the years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Wild Strawberries is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B00DBTBR6S&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B00DBTBR6S&amp&semi;linkId&equals;eaec33d321175bfd08d06e787b69993e">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>8&period; Solaris &lpar;Andrei Tarkovsky&comma; 1972&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1086 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;solaris-1&lowbar;mini-1024x433&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"338" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Probably the most cryptic and cerebral film on this list&comma; <em>Solaris<&sol;em> is the story of Kris Kelvin &lpar;played by Donatas Banionis&rpar; and his encounters with a bizarre and terrifying universe&period; Kris is a psychologist who must travel to a distant space station&comma; which&comma; after years researching the nearby planet Solaris&comma; has begun to send cryptic messages back to Earth&period; Kris grapples with the decision to leave his home&comma; as it will require him to leave his father with the knowledge that they will probably never see each other again&period; Once aboard the space station&comma; Kris finds it in disarray&comma; and the remaining crew unhelpful&period; Kris begins experiencing strange visions from his past as the mystery of Solaris slowly unfolds&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Solaris is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B000SW2ER2&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B000SW2ER2&amp&semi;linkId&equals;96e10344df2a978392c3c79b789c1896">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>7&period; The Seventh Seal &lpar;Ingmar Bergman&comma; 1957&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-846" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;960-300x169&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"450" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The second Bergman film to appear on this list&comma; <em>The Seventh Seal<&sol;em> is set during the Black Death and follows a disillusioned knight &lpar;played by Max Von Sydow&rpar; who&comma; upon returning to Sweden from the Crusades&comma; begins a game of chess with the personification of Death &lpar;played by Bengt Ekerot&rpar;&period; During the knight’s journeys&comma; he admits that his life is without meaning&comma; and that he wishes to perform &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;one meaningful deed&period;” The knight and his band of followers encounter a variety of people along the way&comma; each offering varied moral convictions and insights of death and the afterlife&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Seventh Seal&comma;” which is referenced at the beginning and end of the film&comma; comes from the Bible&colon; &&num;8220&semi;And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal&comma; there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Seventh Seal is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B004D7GVIG&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B004D7GVIG&amp&semi;linkId&equals;5e75db1c5db50c76a3a115563d2d3fb8">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>6&period; 2001&colon; A Space Odyssey &lpar;Stanley Kubrick&comma; 1968&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-845 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;primate-ancestor-1024x466&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"364" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction epic&comma; <em>2001&colon; A Space Odyssey<&sol;em> is most often noted for its dazzling visuals and infamous &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;villain&comma;” Hal 9000&comma; but 2001 is also a reflection on human endeavor&comma; and how it stands in relation to evolution that has spanned millennia&period; The protagonist of the film&comma; Dr&period; David Bowman&comma; lives and works on a spacecraft that is operated and maintained by a highly advanced computer system named Hal 9000&comma; which the crew affectionately calls &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Hal&period;” However&comma; when the computer structure&comma; which is supposed to be a perfect system&comma; begins showing signs of error&comma; and the crew contemplates disconnecting it&comma; Hal takes action to rectify the situation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>2001&colon; A Space Odyssey is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B000GOUXES&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B000GOUXES&amp&semi;linkId&equals;ee8a99a0af4138ac46c2d26c1a5cfe95">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>5&period; The Big Lebowski &lpar;Joel and Ethan Coen&comma; 1998&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-844 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;lebowski-1024x512&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"400" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Coen Brothers’ cult classic comedy&comma; <em>The Big Lebowski<&sol;em>&comma; is a story that draws inspiration from Howard Hawks’ film noir&comma; <em>The Big Sleep<&sol;em> &lpar;1949&rpar;&comma; itself an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same name&period; Jeffery Lebowski&comma; &lpar;played by Jeff Bridges&rpar; also known as &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Dude&comma;” is a slacker whose mantra is &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Dude abides&period;” After being mistaken for a wealthy businessman with the same name&comma; two hired thugs pee on his favorite rug&comma; which embroils The Dude in a mystery surrounding the real Jeffery Lebowski’s unpaid debt to a loan shark&period; With the help of his overly aggressive friend&comma; Walter Sobchak &lpar;played by John Goodman&rpar;&comma; The Dude attempts to solve the mystery and hopefully get a replacement rug in the process&period; While the Dude’s laissez-faire attitude may seem antithetical to the idea that individual action drives meaning and purpose&comma; in actuality&comma; it is his decision to be swept up by outside forces that defines him&comma; and thus make him an exemplary existential protagonist&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Big Lebowski is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B00181JGI2&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B00181JGI2&amp&semi;linkId&equals;0a067c530627d8d0eb5e13239a27c6f5">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>4&period; Anomalisa &lpar;Charlie Kaufman &amp&semi; Duke Johnson&comma; 2015&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-853" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;7469723&lowbar;collider-movie-talk-oscar-nominations&lowbar;tff100d6a-300x125&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"333" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Anomalisa<&sol;em> ruminates on the concept of subjectivity&comma; and the isolation that naturally arises from it&period; This stop-motion animation film tells the story of a despondent customer service expert&comma; Michael Stone &lpar;voiced by David Thewlis&rpar; who sees everyone&comma; including his wife and son&comma; as identical white men with identical voices&period; While on a work trip in Cincinnati&comma; Michael hears a woman with a unique voice&comma; and is subsequently enamored with her and her perceived individuality&period; Though Michael is seemingly at the mercy of his depression&comma; the film focuses on the power of his subjectivity&comma; and the weight of past actions on Michael’s conscience&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Anomalisa is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B01A5Z230E&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B01A5Z230E&amp&semi;linkId&equals;1c84bae3f5e2b1a7993004e0c2299e23">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>3&period; The 400 Blows &lpar;Francois Truffaut&comma; 1959&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1087 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;151id&lowbar;580&lowbar;022&lowbar;primary&lowbar;w1600&lowbar;mini-1024x576&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"450" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A seminal film of the French New Wave&comma; <em>The 400 Blows<&sol;em> is the debut film of famed director Francois Truffaut&period; Drawing heavily from his own childhood&comma; Truffaut tells the story of Antoine Doinel&comma; a French youth whose rebellious nature causes him to clash with his parents&comma; teachers&comma; and society as a whole&period; Dissatisfied with his life and the constraints of society&comma; Antoine is a reflection of the singular identity&comma; adrift in an existence without direction&period; Truffaut focuses on Antoine’s subjectivity&comma; and his many attempts&comma; both successful and unsuccessful&comma; to break from the course that society has set for him&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The 400 Blows is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B002QWDG4W&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B002QWDG4W&amp&semi;linkId&equals;1b73e2c0f00e885aabb118917dbfc53d">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>2&period; The Bicycle Thieves &lpar;Vittorio De Sica&comma; 1948&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-1088 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;cant8&lowbar;mini-1024x576&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"450" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Part of the Italian films collectively known as Italian Neorealism&comma; <em>The Bicycle Thieves<&sol;em> is a story of loss and desperation&period; In post World War II Rome&comma; a man named Antonio &lpar;played by non-professional actor Lamberto Maggiorani&rpar;&comma; is desperate for work to provide for his family&period; One day&comma; he is offered a job for which he will need a bicycle&period; He and his wife&comma; Maria &lpar;Lianella Carell&rpar;&comma; decide to pay for one by selling a prized family heirloom&period; They are overjoyed by their good fortune&comma; but when the bicycle is stolen&comma; and Antonio struggles to track down the thief&comma; he must decide whether to abandon his scruples&comma; or let his family starve&period; Italian Neorealism was&comma; at its core&comma; a film movement that sought to show life as it is&comma; and to shed light on human experiences&comma; particularly those of the poor working class&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Bicycle Thieves is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B01DCOO4IE&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B01DCOO4IE&amp&semi;linkId&equals;60db951a5a12076021905d7266bb6b2d">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>1&period; Things to Come &lpar;Mia Hansen-Løve&comma; 2016&rpar;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;"aligncenter wp-image-840 size-large" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2017&sol;06&sol;hero&lowbar;Things-to-Come-2016-1024x427&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"800" height&equals;"334" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>French filmmakers have a long history of writing and directing existential films&comma; and one of the most recent and well crafted among them is <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;2017&sol;05&sol;30&sol;review-things-to-come-lavenir-2016-&starf;&starf;&starf;&starf;&starf;&sol;"><em>Things to Come<&sol;em><&sol;a>&comma; a film that is essentially about philosophy and the impact that self-reflection and contemplative thought have on our lives&period; Isabelle Huppert stars as Nathalie&comma; a middle-aged philosophy professor who is suddenly hit with two tragedies&comma; one after the other&period; Nathalie must pick up the pieces of her life and attempt to make sense of the chaos&comma; while still clinging to the philosophical theories that define her&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Things to Come is available for purchase on amazon&period;com <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;amazon&period;com&sol;gp&sol;product&sol;B071H8475T&sol;ref&equals;as&lowbar;li&lowbar;qf&lowbar;sp&lowbar;asin&lowbar;il&lowbar;tl&quest;ie&equals;UTF8&amp&semi;tag&equals;mjones34880c-20&amp&semi;camp&equals;1789&amp&semi;creative&equals;9325&amp&semi;linkCode&equals;as2&amp&semi;creativeASIN&equals;B071H8475T&amp&semi;linkId&equals;940a4a5419c8767726dfaf92abebc4ac">here<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>Honorable Mentions&colon;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<h5>Another Earth &lpar;Mike Cahill&comma; 2011&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>The Vanishing &lpar;George Sluizer&comma; 1988&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>Requiem for a Dream &lpar;Darren Aronofsky&comma; 2000&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>Adaptation &lpar;Spike Jonze&sol;Charlie Kaufman&comma; 2002&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>Hiroshima&comma; Mon Amour &lpar;Alain Resnais&comma; 1959&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>Casablanca &lpar;Michael Curtiz&comma; 1942&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<h5>American Beauty &lpar;Sam Mendes&comma; 1999&rpar;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p>So there you have it&comma; 10 existential films for philosophy students&period; Again&comma; this is not a comprehensive list&comma; so if you think that there are other films that should be included&comma; feel free to leave a comment&excl; Additionally&comma; if you&&num;8217&semi;d like to read more about Existentialism&comma; check out this essay&colon; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;2019&sol;10&sol;03&sol;on-existentialism-and-the-meaning-of-human-existence&sol;">On Sartre and the Meaning of Human Existence<&sol;a>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h5>Sources&colon;<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p>Sartre&comma; Jean-Paul&comma; and Philip Mairet&period; <i>Existentialism and Humanism<&sol;i>&period; London&colon; Methuen&comma; 1948&period; Print&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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