deliberate backdrop

Movies with deliberate vibe

A War

501. A War

Drama War Modern Conflicts Tragic Drama
7.0

20151h 55min

Denmark, Türkiye

Director: Tobias Lindholm

Company commander Claus Michael Pedersen and his men are stationed in Helmand, Afghanistan. Meanwhile back in Denmark, with a husband at war and three children missing their father, everyday life is a struggle for Claus' wife Maria. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy Taliban crossfire. In order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that ultimately sees him return to Denmark accused of a war crime.

Themes

Work-life tension, Family resilience, Temptation and integrity, Religious coping, Moral accountability

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Knight of Cups

502. Knight of Cups

Drama Romance Entertainment Industry Drama Bittersweet Romance
5.6

20151h 58min

United States

Director: Terrence Malick

Rick is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles. While successful in his career, his life feels empty. Haunted and confused, he finds temporary solace in the decadent Hollywood excess that defines his existence. Women provide a distraction to his daily pain, and every encounter brings him closer to finding his place in the world.

Themes

Public image versus intimacy, Midlife creative crisis, Temptation and decadence, Wealth and meaning clash, Memory versus distraction, Existential emptiness under glamour

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A Walk in the Woods

503. A Walk in the Woods

Adventure Comedy Drama Exploration Adventure Buddy Comedy
6.4

20151h 44min

United States

Director: Ken Kwapis

After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.

Themes

Aging friendship under pressure, Homeland longing vs travel, Memory as companion on journey, Companionship versus independence, Shared history shaping decisions, Endurance through rugged terrain

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Curve

504. Curve

Horror Thriller Home Invasion Horror Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
5.4

20151h 26min

United States, Spain

Director: Iain Softley

A soon-to-be bride on her way to a wedding rehearsal is having second thoughts and decides to take a detour. Her car breaks down and a hitch-hiker offers help. Could it be fate?

Themes

Hostage dynamics, Survival under threat, Fate vs choice, Deception and control, Violence as coercion, Isolation drives tension

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A Perfect Day

505. A Perfect Day

Comedy Drama War Satire Political Drama
6.8

20151h 46min

Spain

Director: Fernando León de Aranoa

Somewhere in the Balkans, 1995. A team of aid workers must solve an apparently simple problem in an almost completely pacified territory that has been devastated by a cruel war, but some of the local inhabitants, the retreating combatants, the UN forces, many cows and an absurd bureaucracy will not cease to put obstacles in their way.

Themes

Aid work under pressure, Bureaucracy obstructing relief, Interpersonal tensions in teams, Local agency vs external aid, Risk management in conflict zones, Coordination challenges in crises

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Holding the Man

506. Holding the Man

Drama Relationship Drama
7.4

20152h 8min

Australia

Director: Neil Armfield

Tim and John fell in love while teenagers at their all-boys high school. John was captain of the football team, Tim an aspiring actor playing a minor part in Romeo and Juliet. Their romance endured for 15 years in the face of everything life threw at it – the separations, the discrimination, the temptations, the jealousies and the losses – until the only problem that love can't solve tried to destroy them.

Themes

Memory and mourning, Stigma and discrimination, Secrecy and family pressure, Activism and identity exploration, Illness and relationship resilience, Enduring same-sex love

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Dheepan

507. Dheepan

Crime Drama Organized Crime Tragic Drama
7.2

20151h 55min

France

Director: Jacques Audiard

Three war-torn strangers posing as a family flee Sri Lanka’s civil war to start over in a troubled Paris suburb, but their past traumas resurface as they struggle to survive in their new environment.

Themes

Tension in housing project spaces, Survival under refugee camp pressure, Asylum through deception, Family forged under risk, Power dynamics with drug gang, Resilience amid precarity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Summertime

508. Summertime

Drama Romance Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
6.7

20151h 45min

France, Belgium

Director: Catherine Corsini

In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.

Themes

Secrecy and disclosure, Family pressure, Gendered expectations, Private vs public life, Rural urban divide, Feminist activism and solidarity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Clan

509. The Clan

Drama History Crime Historical Drama Organized Crime
6.9

20151h 49min

Argentina, Spain

Director: Pablo Trapero

In Argentina, between 1982 and 1985, the Puccios, a well-established family of San Isidro, an upper-class suburb of Buenos Aires, kidnap several people and hold them as hostages for a ransom.

Themes

Loyalty and betrayal, Deception and risk, Family crime under democracy, Class mobility pressures, Youth defection vs coercion, Private wealth and violence

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Z for Zachariah

510. Z for Zachariah

Drama Romance Science Fiction Thriller Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi
6.0

20151h 37min

Iceland, New Zealand

Director: Craig Zobel

In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist, he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.

Themes

Survival ethics, Love triangle, Water wheel, Faith under pressure, Trust and betrayal, Isolation and companionship

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.