Unpredictable Entertainment
4 films where you’ll never guess what happens next
The guy’s gonna get the girl. Or he’s not. The cop is gonna catch the killer. Or the killer is gonna get away. Movie plots usually give you one or two endings to look forward to. You may not know which one it’s going to be, but you usually know exactly what path it’s going to take you to get there.
Today, we’re looking at movies that turn off the beaten path, then take a few random turns and loopty-loops through some neighborhoods you never even knew existed, and careen right off the road, running over traffic cones and bursting through the barrier.
These aren’t movies that keep you guessing, they are movies where guessing isn’t even an option.
1. Citizen Dog
I’m gonna make a confession. I basically started this entire movie blog as an excuse to recommend this movie. I love it so much, but it’s so unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. It took me a month to mention it on a list just because it took me this long to come up with a movie it had any similarities to.
The synopsis I read before watching it for the first time was “ a factory worker accidentally cuts off his finger and seals it in a can of sardines. He then has to wander through supermarkets all over Thailand looking for it.” I thought, WHOAH. That is an insane plot for a movie.
And it was. But it was only the plot of the first five minutes. From there, more inventive, insane, and wonderful things happen. I ain’t even gonna spoil any of them for ya. But it’s not a stream of non sequiturs. This sucker tells a story.
An insane, crazy, adorable beautiful story told with the shot composition of a dream you have after watching a Wes Anderson movie, and the color palette of old, hand-painted posters. Watch it or a tail will grow out of your butt.
Watch the trailer here. ★★★★★
2. Save The Green Planet
How do you get even more unexpected than a movie where you don’t know what the plot is from minute to minute? With a movie that changes genre just as often. Korean movies have always been genre-bending. There are serial killer movies that turn funny every few scenes, teen sex comedies that turn into depressing dramas at the halfway mark, they don’t feel the need to make movies that fit on a certain shelf in the video store. But this movie takes that to the extreme.
But it’s all for a reason. How you feel about the film depends on how much you know about the characters. Oh! It’s a screwball comedy- oh wait, no, I shouldn’t have laughed at that. Oh, it’s a cop drama- wait, is the cop the good guy or the bad guy? If that guy’s right, it’s a science fiction film. If the other guy’s right it’s a horror movie. Quirky romance? What am I watching?
This movie does things to your brain. Depending on the mood you’re in when you watch it, you will either really love it or really hate it. The second time, you may feel the opposite way. This movie’s so unexpected you can’t predict yourself.
Watch the trailer here. ★★★★☆
3. Rubber
You’ve probably heard of this movie. It’s the one about the killer tire. But why is it about a killer tire? No reason.
That’s the motto of Rubber, as explained in a weird opening monologue from our narrator- who is also a cop, for some reason? But why did he have to run over the 14 chairs first, and why was he in the trunk? And why did he need the glass of water? No reason.
Weird things go down in this movie, and it’s hard to guess what they are when there’s no reason for them. It’s about more than just a tire. But man, that tire is a little cutie.
Watch that opening scene. ★★★☆☆
4. You, The Living
Each scene in this movie is its own little world. One shot. No cuts, no closeups. A lot of the time, no dialogue. A look into a character’s weird little life. Sometimes it feels like you’re peeping into windows, sometimes it feels like you’re looking at Don Martin Mad Magazine margin doodles come to life.
This movie is unexpected not because it’s an action-packed, genre-bending rollercoaster of insanity… but because it’s just about what a bunch of people are doing, just living their lives, on a given day. Not an extraordinary day, mind you- some of them didn’t even bother to put on pants. And everyday life may not have a regimented plot, but some weird stuff happens. Some funny stuff happens. And some stuff that you can’t explain.
Watch the trailer here. ★★★☆☆
Written by Ryan Estrada.
Read more about obscure, international, and independent movies that are new to you every Friday at Unseen Screen. Also available on Tumblr.
