minimalist backdrop

Movies with minimalist vibe

261. Promised Land

Promised Land
Drama Professional Drama
6.6
20121h 46minUnited Arab Emirates, United States
Director: Gus Van Sant

Overview

A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.

Themes

Economic pressure on farming towns, Corporate influence on local decisions, Deception in public relations, Environmental risk vs livelihoods, Grassroots activism and resistance, Trust and information skepticism

Available on

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

262. Like Someone in Love

Like Someone in Love
Drama Relationship Drama
7.0
20121h 49minFrance, Japan
Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Overview

On a fragile Tokyo night, Akiko drifts into the quiet apartment of retired professor Takashi, where warm soup, soft lamplight, and the illusion of a gentle, borrowed family moment feel fleeting and precious. But by morning, as her jealous boyfriend Noriaki mistakes Takashi for her grandfather and clings to that lie, their delicate web of comfort strains toward a bittersweet shatter.

Themes

Class inequality, Power dynamics, Deception and risk, Economic vulnerability, Age gap tension, Transactional intimacy

Available on

Philo
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

263. Twice Born

Twice Born
Drama Romance War Historical Drama Bittersweet Romance
7.3
20122h 7minItaly, Spain
Director: Sergio Castellitto

Overview

Full-throttle melodrama about an ill-starred romance set against the backdrop of the siege of Sarajevo. A mother brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.

Themes

Trauma and resilience, Deception within family, Identity and belonging under conflict, Mother-child bond under crisis, War and family strain, Loss and memory of war

Available on

Google Play Movies
YouTube
Starz Apple TV Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

264. Hannah Arendt

Hannah Arendt
Drama Historical Drama
7.1
20121h 53minGermany, France
Director: Margarethe von Trotta

Overview

A portrait of the genius that shook the world with her discovery of “the banality of evil.” After she attends the Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem, Arendt dares to write about the Holocaust in terms no one has ever heard before. Her work instantly provokes a furious scandal, and Arendt stands strong as she is attacked by friends and foes alike. But as the German-Jewish émigré also struggles to suppress her own painful associations with the past, the film exposes her beguiling blend of arrogance and vulnerability — revealing a soul defined and derailed by exile.

Themes

Ordinary people and evil, Bureaucratic rationalization of evil, Censorship and public outrage, Journalism's role in moral debate, Memory and guilt after trauma, Exile and intellectual isolation

Available on

Apple TV
Kanopy
Hoopla
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

265. Berberian Sound Studio

Berberian Sound Studio
Horror Drama Thriller Psychological Horror Psychological Drama
6.2
20121h 32minUnited Kingdom
Director: Peter Strickland

Overview

In the 1970s, a British sound technician is brought to Italy to work on the sound effects for a gruesome horror film. His nightmarish task slowly takes over his psyche, driving him to confront his own past.

Themes

Deception and suspicion, Art vs commerce, Identity erosion under pressure, Sound as psychological pressure, Industrial pressures of filmmaking, Creative isolation in studios

Available on

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

266. Side by Side

Side by Side
Documentary Biographical Documentary
7.6
20121h 39minUnited States
Director: Christopher Kenneally

Overview

Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Keanu Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Soderbergh, and many more.

Themes

Digital vs film, Future vision, Artistic revolution, Workflows and craft, Artistic legacy, Technological impact

Available on

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

267. The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises
Action Crime Drama Thriller Superhero Action
8.4
20122h 45minUnited Kingdom, United States
Director: Christopher Nolan

Overview

Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

Themes

Deception within institutions, Vigilantism vs justice, Trust in leadership eroded, Security overreach, Loyalty betrayed, Legitimacy questioned

Available on

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

268. Barbara

Barbara
Drama Historical Drama
7.2
20121h 45minGermany
Director: Christian Petzold

Overview

In 1980s East Germany, Barbara is a Berlin doctor banished to a country medical clinic for applying for an exit visa. Deeply unhappy with her reassignment and fearful of her co-workers as possible Stasi informants, Barbara stays aloof, especially from the good natured clinic head, Andre.

Themes

Medical ethics under pressure, Power dynamics in care, State control and surveillance, Loyalty versus self-preservation, Mistrust and manipulation, Escape and exile desire

Available on

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

269. The Grey

The Grey
Action Adventure Drama Thriller Survival Adventure
6.7
20121h 57minUnited Kingdom, United States
Director: Joe Carnahan

Overview

Following a grueling five-week shift at an Alaskan oil refinery, workers led by sharpshooter John Ottway are flying home for a much-needed vacation. But a brutal storm causes their plane to crash in the frozen wilderness, and only eight men, including Ottway, survive. As they trek southward toward civilization and safety, Ottway and his companions must battle mortal injuries, the icy elements, and a pack of hungry wolves.

Themes

Leadership under crisis, Camaraderie under strain, Survival after airplane crash, Mortality in wilderness, Conflict under stress with wolf pack, Belief vs doubt

Available on

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

270. We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists
Documentary Social & Political Documentary
7.2
20121h 33minUnited States
Director: Brian Knappenberger

Overview

Takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.

Themes

Digital activism, Copyright abuse critique, Online civil disobedience, Decentralized protest dynamics, Privacy vs surveillance, Anti censorship battles

Available on

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