There are some films that make the audience scratch their heads after the credits roll; a select few of them are actually great. That question of “what on Earth just happened,” forces the movie to barricade its way into the mind. Viewers spend their time thinking and trying to connect the dots. Sometimes the answers come, but other times they don’t, and demand a repeat viewing.
However, discussion and criticism are what make film such a subjective form of art. Audiences experiencing a film for the first time will gather real-time expectations as to what they think is happening. Their preconceptions might become less solidified as the film goes on, and even shattered altogether by an ending which puts everything prior into question, a feeling that makes re-watching a movie even better than the first time.
Films entertaining enough to be re-watched are impressive enough. It may seem counterproductive to want to sit and experience a lengthy film that we’ve already seen, but the entertainment factor and the emotions the film evokes send us back to relive them. It’s a whole different story, though, when a second viewing causes new thoughts and emotions, thanks to the knowledge gleaned from knowing the ending. What if a film was so complex and puzzling, that a second viewing makes us feel like we are truly watching it for the first time? The following films are prime examples of complex head scratchers that will never be the same after the first experience.
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7 Memento
Newmarket
Christopher Nolan creates layers upon layers of unique storytelling. Memento pulled off a seemingly impossible task by having it be told in two narrative forms. As one story is being told in real time, the other is presented backwards. This film should be re-watched just to put the pieces together alone, but Memento is much more than a mere puzzle. It is a highly entertaining study of the human mind. Guy Pearce’s performance stands out as one of the best of his career, playing a man who, like the audience, is struggling to piece together the fragments of his memory into a cohesive whole. A second viewing of Memento will allow the audience to solidify their understanding of the confusing timeline and where the two stories meet in the middle.
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6 Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Focus Features
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind is a film that tugs at the heart strings while maintaining this unnerving level of complexity. Seeing a far more serious Jim Carrey than usual as Joel, a man on a quest to forget the love of his life, creates a level of empathy the audience can’t control. The charismatic Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, represents the freedom and unpredictability that Joel lacks in his life, but the heartbreak surrounding their relationship causes Carrey to take drastic steps. This film is far more than a love story; it is a science fiction exploration into what makes us human and the power (and pain) of love. Like most Charlie Kaufman scripts, a second-viewing is preferable, allowing the audience to understand character motivations even better.
5 Goodnight Mommy
Stadtkino Verleih
Goodnight Mommy may be quite sophisticated, but it’s a brutal film to get through; there are many sequences which showcase painful imagery and pulsating tension. However, the last act evokes a startling realization about everything the audience had assumed to be real. Perhaps that unnerving realization might cause more anxiety at the thought of having to experience the psychological terror again, but doing so will turn the movie in one’s mind from good to great. So many questions are left unanswered in just the final shot, but re-watching the film will fill in everything, and can actually change the assumptions and feelings about it in general. With a second viewing, the film changes, as does the attachment to the characters themselves.
4 Shutter Island
Paramount Pictures
The beauty of Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island is that it initially presents itself as a noir-style mystery. The unnatural element upon first viewing is the world itself that Marshal Teddy Daniels, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, finds himself in. His only lifeline is his partner Chuck Aule, played by Mark Ruffalo. This mental institution setting and its overseers, played by Ben Kinglsey and the great Max von Sydow, are at the roots of Daniels’ suspicions as a law enforcement officer. That is, until the last act where the entire film flips on its head. What we thought was real was all a game, and the mystery that surrounded Daniels was actually just Daniels himself.
3 Pulp Fiction
Miramax Films
Not every film needs a twist ending in order to warrant or even demand a rewatch. Quentin Tarantino’s writing is filled with unusual twists and turns, and Pulp Fiction is presented out of chronological order, in the non-linear way the writer-director often prefers. Upon first viewing, it could be rather confusing to figure out just when everything is happening in the timeline. However, using Jules and Vincent (played by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) to trace the contours of the narrative’s chronology may help. They are the centers of the film, and everything happens either to them or because of them. Upon second viewing, the pieces do connect, and having those answers changes the entire experience in a rather extraordinary way. But that is simply the genius of Tarantino.
2 Mulholland Drive
Universal Pictures
David Lynch is no stranger to complexity. Mulholland Drive almost requires a second viewing because of its warped perception of reality, fantasies, and dreams. Audiences see the film for the first time expecting reality, when that is by no means what is actually presented. The film lays breadcrumbs as to the truth, but we are so certain that we see is real, so we ignore the signs. After the credits roll, we are left questioning everything. This is what makes Lynch such a fantastic director. His films like Mulholland Drive force the viewer to rethink everything they thought was real. Upon a second or even third viewing, the contrasting nature between fantasy and reality come to a head. Although the striking visuals are enough to confuse the masses, the captivating performances by Naomi Watts and Laura Harring make this nearly two and a half hour mystery as investing as possible. Rewatching Mulholland Drive practically creates an entirely new masterpiece.
1 The Sixth Sense
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Quite possibly the Citizen Kane of all twist endings, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense is one of the most fantastic films to re-watch. There are clues no one would even think to notice when watching for the first time. When the truth is ultimately revealed in the last act, it is something no which could have never been anticipated. Bruce Willis’ character is the focal point of this twist that makes us go back and rethink the entire film, which is a brilliant filmmaking technique. To make a film that practically requires a second viewing is an impressive skill set that put Shyamalan on the map.
