When I sit down to watch a movie, I’d like to at least be able to comprehend the plot. I’m not saying that I want to be spoon-fed the entire time, but I also don’t want ot be completely lost, either.
If you’re looking to fully understand what’s going on as you’re watching a movie, then these films are something you should avoid entirely. These movies left us beyond confused, constantly scratching our heads, and left us with more questions than answers.
It’s not that they didn’t make sense; they, ironically, do once we’re properly told what’s going on. That proper explanation, however, didn’t come from the film itself, but instead from outside intervention. Here are 12 movies that left everyone confused. We’ll do our best to explain what they’re about. And no, David Lynch films don’t count.
Primer
A low-budget (and I do mean low budget at only $7,000) time travel film, you can make the argument that we’re not really meant to understand what’s happening in Primer.
The characters in the movie lose track of what’s going on, and that’s something meant to resonate with the audience, who is also losing track of what’s going on. It’s a clever decision, even if it left us beyond confused.
Solaris
Originally released in 1972, a modern remake by Steven Soderbergh starring George Clooney and Natasha McElhone was released in 2002. Unfortunately, both of them are quite confusing.
The 1972 film, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, is arguably a little too pretentious. The 2002 Soderbergh version dials back on that, but still falls victim to the issues with the source material: trading conventional sci-fi for nonlinear psychological themes.
Holy Motors
When a movie is one big metaphor or social commentary, then it’s honestly pretty easy for it to come off as confusing, especially if you’re not understanding the themes being used.
In the case of Holy Motors, the overall theme is meta-modernism, though everything seems beyond strange, to put it lightly.
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Syriana
Arguably one of the most convoluted films in the modern era, Syriana drops the viewer into so many different locations that it’s possible to suffer from a little bit of whiplash.
There are several parallel stories being told across what feels like infinite locations. There honestly isn’t one specific thing that makes the film feel confusing, but instead a lot of little things that add up over time.
Enemy
2013’s Enemy, directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, arguably needs a YouTube video or two to fully understand what’s going on. Luckily, there’s plenty to choose from.
One thing that can help is to not take the film so literally, but then again, when you consider its ending featuring a giant spider, that’s not entirely helpful advice either.
The Lighthouse
The unreliable narrator trope, which can be commonplace in confusing and hard-to-understand movies, involves a storyteller whose credibility is compromised. We cannot trust what they are saying. Think of Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club.
Why am I bringing this up? Because you can make the argument that Robert Pattinson is also an unreliable narrator. Add in a little bit of questioning what’s real and what isn’t, and you have the easy recipe for a confusing, albeit entertaining, movie.
Don’t Look Now
When your movie is being billed as a psychic thriller based on an English playwright, you’re going to be in for something unique.
So what is it that makes Don’t Look Now so confusing? Its editing style makes viewers feel disjointed, its inclusion of Italian dialogue leaves us unable to, at times, understand what’s going on, and its general themes already put us on edge. Fantastic film, but one that can be quite confusing at times.
The Big Sleep
It may not feel fair including a classic film noir here, as they were, more often than not, beyond over-the-top confusing in places, but we still need to get a shutout to 1946’s The Big Sleep.
Following the film’s plot is nearly impossible, though that’s due to the movie self-censoring certain topics as well as a convoluted production process. Somewhere in here is a comprehensible story, but by the time it was released, that was long gone.
Tenet
Okay, I avoided it long enough. Let’s talk briefly about Tenet.
For starters, this isn’t a typical time travel movie, instead trying to be something more intelligent. That already involves extra buy-in from the audience, but when you add the cryptic dialogue and information seemingly being held back on purpose, yeah, things get pretty confusing.
Tree of Life
Dubbed one of the best films of 2011, as well as one of the best of the 2010s, Tree of Life is an experimental coming-of-age film that sometimes is a little too experimental for its own good.
Its nonlinear plot, minimal dialogue, and abstract theming result in two things: a visually compelling movie, sure, but also a highly confusing movie.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman is no stranger to confusing films, with the two most notable examples being Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich.
He’s in rare form, though, with I’m Thinking of Ending Things. There’s so much complexity here that you need to watch this movie multiple times over to not only catch everything, but understand what’s happening.
Last Year at Marienbad
I’ve already talked about a couple of movies that are deliberately confusing, but Last Year at Marienbad suffers for it.
Yes, it’s surreal and, surprise surprise, doesn’t follow a concrete narrative timeline. The problem, though, is how poorly it “pulls” this off. Released in 1961, it lacks the sophisticated touches we see in similar films made in the modern era.
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