Experimental, strange movies are often hard to connect with, but there are some gems which manage to push boundaries while still being deeply emotional. In some cases, the unusual structure or style of these movies is actually a big part of what makes them so emotionally resonant.

Film has the power to connect with people on a deep level, and the best filmmakers can use highly specific stories to explore more universal emotions. Even if the world or the characters don’t quite seem real, movies can still be powerful when the director has a clear vision and an intelligent philosophy.

10

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Wes Anderson’s Unique Approach Is Always A Joy

Most of Wes Anderson’s movies could be described as quirky and unique, as the director has developed a style all of his own over the years. While his more recent movies have wandered into self-reflective abstraction – still deeply rewarding in their own right – earlier hits like The Royal Tenenbaums are the best introductions for the uninitiated.

The Royal Tenenbaums is a story about a family coming together later in life as they deal with their unorthodox upbringing in different ways. It’s filled with acute character-based comedy, but it’s also one of Anderson’s most emotional movies. Gene Hackman’s performance as the eccentric patriarch breaks the Anderson mold, as he creates a character who’s easy to relate to among the atypical surroundings of The Royal Tenenbaums.

9

Porco Rosso (1992)

Studio Ghibli’s Historical Fable Is Gorgeous To Look At

Porco Rosso deserves more love as one of Hayao Miyazaki’s best movies, and it’s certainly one of his most beautiful. The Adriatic Sea is the perfect setting for the historical fable, and Miyazaki creates several breathtaking images of Porco and his fellow pilots soaring through picturesque scenery.

Porco Rosso is a story made in the tradition of magical realism, as a pilot with a pig’s head lives an otherwise grounded existence. The origins of the curse and Porco’s journey to free himself from the effects of it are merely background details. The bulk of the narrative concerns his rivalry with other pilots and the creep of fascism in Italy in the 1930s. Porco represents a noble, righteous stand against subjugation.

8

Midnight In Paris (2011)

Owen Wilson Stars As An Accidental Time-Traveller

Owen Wilson delivers one of his most charming performances in Midnight in Paris, and he carries an unorthodox story through its broad swings. He plays a writer visiting Paris with his fiancée, but he starts to question his relationship as he finds a way to travel back to the 1920s each night.

Midnight in Paris is a time travel movie that doesn’t get too bogged down in the details. How the time travel works and what effects it has on the present are immaterial, since the main thrust of the movie comes from its intelligent deconstruction of the way people romanticize the past. Ultimately, it’s a story about making the most out of the present.

7

Playtime (1967)

Jacques Tati’s Quirky Masterpiece Holds Up Well

There’s nothing quite like Jacques Tati’s experimental comedies. His Monsieur Hulot character clearly takes inspiration from silent-era stars like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but both color and sound are vital components of his appeal. Playtime is arguably Tati’s masterpiece, and it’s still hilarious and uplifting over 50 years later.

Playtime imagines a bleak, gray urban landscape bustling with business executives who move like schools of fish. It’s Tati’s role as the man who never fits in to bring a splash of vibrancy to this soulless world. His antics are frequently hilarious, culminating in a masterfully chaotic restaurant opening, but Playtime shows that it also has a lot of heart in the end. It’s a life-affirming comedy that transcends language.

6

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar-Winner Is Strange And Beautiful

The Shape of Water is a proudly unusual romance movie, but its relationship feels more meaningful and relatable than most other movies. The story follows a mute cleaner who falls in love with a mysterious creature being held at a top-secret government facility, as their romance transcends their significant differences.

The Shape of Water is as original and unpredictable as any of Guillermo del Toro’s movies, but it’s much sweeter than some of his others. It’s also surprisingly funny at times, thanks to a charming performance from Sally Hawkins, while Richard Jenkins is also pitch-perfect. This humor helps tease out the human element of The Shape of Water‘s sci-fi strangeness.

5

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Little Miss Sunshine Is Endlessly Charming

Little Miss Sunshine tells the story of a bizarre family road trip, as a dysfunctional family cram together in a camper van to take their young daughter to a beauty pageant. As the journey wears on, the cracks begin to form, but Little Miss Sunshine is ultimately a story about human connection and love that leaves the audience smiling.

Little Miss Sunshine represents the perfect synthesis between character and comedy. Most of the film’s funniest moments come from knowing who the characters are and their specific niches within the strange family ecosystem they have constructed. Although they’re all flawed in their own way, they’re eminently likable.

4

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Taika Waiтιтi’s Dark Comedy Gem Plays With Fire

Before Jojo Rabbit came out, it stoked plenty of controversy from people who feared that it might make light of its sensitive subjects. Instead, Taika Waiтιтi’s comedy uses farce to deconstruct the logical fallacies that are necessary to uphold a fascist ideology. Waiтιт’s flamboyant, risible version of Hitler is key to this.

Jojo Rabbit has a great script which juxtaposes the fantasies of childhood with the half-baked patterns of thinking which sustain hateful, oppressive systems like Nazism. There are some dark moments, of course, but Jojo Rabbit ends with the hope of a brighter future.

3

Submarine (2010)

Submarine is a strikingly confident directorial debut from Richard Ayoade. He has a great novel by Joe Dunthorne as his source material, but it’s impressive to see how freely Ayoade is willing to impose his idenтιтy on the film. He often uses flat compositions, abstract interludes and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpan emotion to draw attention to the artifice of the story.

Although Submarine‘s dry wit borders on inhuman at times, the peculiar romance between the two young lovers gives the film a lot of heart. There are no romantic outpourings of love, as some other filmmakers might prefer, but Oliver and Jordana develop their own vocabulary of love. This is both disarmingly tender and darkly comedic.

2

After Life (1998)

After Life Asks The Big Questions About Life

After Life remains an underrated gem. It takes place in the liminal void between life and death, where recently deceased souls choose one memory from their lives to capture and relive forever. Despite this abstract concept, After Life often looks completely ordinary, with workers recreating memories using low-budget filmmaking techniques in a small, unᴀssuming office-like setting.

After Life questions the very nature of memory, from the ways that people can deceive themselves to the idea that memories are a vital component of individual and collective idenтιтy. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s tender humanism helps him construct several intense vignettes, telling the story of people’s whole lives in just one moment. After Life leaves audiences with several big questions to ponder.

1

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (2021)

Marcel Is Impossible To Dislike

There’s a lot about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On that shouldn’t work, but it all does nonetheless. While the story of a one-inch talking shell who misses his family could easily become twee and sentimental, Dean Fleischer-Camp ensures that it’s just sweet enough without becoming sickly, and Marcel is a wonderful character.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On works so well because it delivers a delicately-balanced mix of comedy and emotional drama. There are brief scenes which seem as though they would fit in with the series of shorts on YouTube, but these are balanced out by a mature story about loss, love and moving on.