45 movies you must see sometime in your life

If you are one of those who is always looking to enjoy a good film, surely you have ever wondered what films you should see before you die.

The reality is that in the cinematographic “ocean” there are countless titles, but there are some that are indispensable. Therefore, we propose a list of 45 movies you must seeat least once in a lifetime.

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Directa: Quentin Tarantino

Gender:Thriller. Black comedy.

It is one of the most famous films of its director. With a structure based on temporary jumps, Pulp fiction tells the adventures of two hit men who work for one of the most dangerous gangsters in the city, who has entrusted them, among other things, to recover a mysterious briefcase.

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2. Schindler's List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Gender: Drama

An emotional and dramatic film that won the Oscar for best picture in 1993. The story is contextualized in the Holocaust, revolves around Oskar Schindler, a businessman who, find out what the Nazis did to the Jews, he decides to save them by employing them in their factories and so protect them.

It is undoubtedly a great story, told in black and white and with an extraordinary soundtrack.

3. Fight Club (1999)

Director: David Fincher

Gender: Drama. Black comedy.

This David Fincher masterpiece is as haunting as it is inspiring. In it, a criticism is made of the consumer society and how it affects people.

Through the eyes of Edward Norton, its protagonist, we discover how an ordinary man tries to fight insomnia, for this he attends support meetings. In the process, the protagonist discovers that he has what he wanted, yet his life is totally empty.

One day Edward meets Tyler, a soap salesman, with whom he sets up a peculiar nightclub where people come who want to vent their anger and frustrations by making clandestine fights.

It may interest you: Fight Club Movie

4. Origin (2010)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Gender: Science fiction.

As is customary in Nolan's cinema, the viewer should not be distracted for a second. This film in which action, suspense and science fiction fit together perfectly, the director proposes a world in which the invaders of the human subconscious exist.

Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is an expert spy at penetrating the human subconscious to implant a new idea. His last job is to penetrate the mind of the son of a tycoon to implant an idea. In return, Cobb will be able to see his children again.

You can also read: Inception movie by Christopher Nolan

5. Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Gender: Comedy. Drama.

This film is a journey through the most important events in the history of the United States.

Forrest Gump is an honest man who has an IQ of 75, but has the great ability to be in the right place and in the right place. the precise moment, which makes him experience the most famous events in his country that occurred between the fifties and eighties of the century XX.

6. One of Ours (1990)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Gender: Thriller.

Film with which Martin Scorsese investigated gangster cinema. The film is an adaptation of the book Wiseguy by Nicolas Pileggi and tells the story of a group of criminals over a period of thirty years, from their rise to their decline.

7. Matrix (1999)

Directors: Wachowski sisters

Gender: Science fiction. Action.

A landmark science fiction film from the 1990s that came to revolutionize cinematic visual effects.

The Wachowski sisters present the world as a virtual reality program led by machines. In this context, Neo, a virtuous hacker, has the mission to discover the world in which he lives and to rebel against the machines.

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8. Parasites (2019)

Director: Bong joon ho

Gender: Drama

Winner of the Oscar in the categories of best film and best foreign film, this South Korean film by Bong Joon-Ho contains strong social criticism. The story revolves around two families, of different social class, but with some things in common. The two begin an employment relationship through Gi Woo, the eldest son of the Gi-taek, an unemployed family. The young man begins to work as an English teacher in a prestigious home.

Parasites is a satire in constant transformation, capable of surprising the viewer in each of the scenes due to its ability to alternate multiple genres throughout the narrative.

9. The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Gender: Drama. Crime.

The viewing of the now mythical trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola is almost mandatory. All of them make up great emblems of American cinema. It is based on the novel by Mario Puzzo and revolves around the experiences of the Corleone family, whose leader is one of the most feared within organized crime.

10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Gender: Psychological thriller. Terror.

The silence of the lambs It is one of the reference films of the suspense of the nineties, which won the Oscar for best film and best screenplay, among others. It is based on the cult novel by Thomas Harris.

Its plot centers on the investigation started by a brilliant young college student named Clarice Starling, who follows the trail of a dangerous psychopath named Jame Búfalo.

11. Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Gender: Romantic drama. Warlike.

It is a classic of the cinema of Michael Curtiz contextualized in the Second World War. An impossible love story starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Casablanca is the place where Rick and Ilsa, embodied by the previous ones, meet again after a few years.

Over time, White House It has become one of the most famous films of all time, it is a film that has been a benchmark in later cinema. From her there are memorable dialogues that even those who have not had the opportunity to see her know.

12. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Gender: Drama

Emotional film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film months after its premiere.

The film is a tribute to the beautiful friendships, as well as to the love for the cinema. A flash back introduces storytelling to a small Italian town where Salvatore, a boy fascinated by cinema, discovers the intricacies of the environment from the hand of a designer named Alfredo. Years later, an adult Salvatore receives a sad message that claims him back to his place of origin.

13. Sátántangó (1994)

Director: Béla Tarr

Gender: Drama

A cult masterpiece of Hungarian cinema and one of the most impressive films of the nineties, it shows some of the most imposing images that cinema has given away.

It is a film inspired by the novel by Lászlo Krasznahorkai. In its more than seven hours, it presents a small agricultural town after the decline of communism. There, the appearance of one of the inhabitants, who had been considered dead, changes the plans of local workers, who wanted to leave the farm in exchange for compensation economical.

14. Untouchable (2011)

Directors: Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano

Gender: Comedy

This film directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano is inspired by real events and is a true hymn to friendship.

Two men, with great differences in personality and disparate social class, strike up a wonderful friendship. Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire and Driss is an unemployed young man and former convict who has been entrusted to care for the former.

15. Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott.

Gender: Péplum. Action.

Film that was made with five statuettes at the Oscars. With her, Ridley Scott took Roman movies to the top. It is an epic film, a blockbuster that recreates through effects, still admirable today, the city of Rome.

The film focuses on the figure of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who wishes to transfer power to Máximo, one of the faithful generals of his army. However, his son, Comfortable, the heir, is not willing to accept his father's decision and wants to end the life of Máximo.

16. Psychosis (1960)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Gender: Suspense. Terror.

It is one of the most famous films of its director, also one of the most praised in horror cinema.

The film revolves around a young woman named Marion Crane, a secretary who commits a robbery at the company where she works and decides to flee. Fate leads her to a roadside hotel run by Norman Bates. There, the young woman is brutally murdered by a mysterious figure.

17. Memento (2000)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Gender: Psychological thriller

Nolan's opera prima shows the fragility of memory. The film combines color and black and white photography to differentiate the narrative lines, which are constantly alternated chronologically. This fact makes the viewer have to remain attentive to understand the film, it is also a way of empathizing with the protagonist, who has memory problems.

Leonard, is an insurance agent unable to recall the details of his previous life due to amnesia. To do this, he needs to constantly record and photograph what he does. His goal is to avenge the death of his wife.

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18. The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley kubrick

Gender: Terror

It is an adaptation of the novel by Stephen King, almost mandatory for the great lovers of horror movies.

The action is set in a Colorado hotel. There, a family is in charge of the maintenance of the building while it remains closed in the winter season. Soon they experience unusual events.

19. Capernaum (2018)

Director: Nadine labaki

Gender: Drama

Capernaum is a drama that revolves around Zain, a 12-year-old boy who tries to survive in a poor neighborhood thanks to his ingenuity.

The young man flees from his parents, whom he accuses and denounces before a judge for "having given him life." It is a film as hard as it is emotional that poses great social dilemmas.

20. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director: Stanley kubrick

Gender: Science fiction

This film is one of the great science fiction films in the history of cinema. A visually splendid film, for which the years seem to never pass. In it the silences prevail over the dialogues.

Structurally, it is divided into four parts that house different episodes in the history of mankind, from its dawn to a future set in 2001. All parts are linked by a mysterious black monolith.

You can also read: Movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick

21. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Director: Stanley kubrick

Gender: Drama. Science fiction.

It is based on the novel by Anthony Burgess. After its premiere, the film generated controversy and various reflections on violence to such an extent that it was banned in some countries for years.

The film revolves around a group of young people, including Alex, the protagonist, who exert violence in the city for pure satisfaction. Later, Alex is arrested and, in prison, undergoes experimental therapy to "redirect" him.

It may interest you: Movie A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick

22. Citizen Kane (1941)

Director: Orson Welles

Gender: Drama

This film has been praised by specialists and critics as one of the "best films in the history of cinema." It is undoubtedly a reference film and a work that brought great innovations in visual technique and cinematographic narration.

The story has as its central point the death of an important American tycoon named Charles Foster kane. Both the press and the public are trying to decipher the meaning of the last word the businessman spoke before he died: "Rosebud".

23. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Director: Darren aronofsky

Gender: Psychological thriller

Darren Aronofsky adapts the novel based on Hubert Selby Jr's novel of the same name published in 1978.

Making brilliant use of narrative subjectivity, the creator takes us into the harrowing world of addictions. Through the experience of four characters, Harry Golfarb, his mother, his girlfriend Marion and his best friend.

24. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Gender: Warlike

The film presents the context of World War II narrated with the peculiar cinematographic touch of Tarantino. In it, the director is able to transform the story at will, leaving conflicting feelings.

His argument revolves around some American soldiers who decide to retaliate by intercepting the enemy lines with the aim of bringing down the leaders of the Third Reich, with Hitler at the head.

25. Tales from Tokyo (1953)

Director: Yasujiro ozu

Gender: Drama

Work of one of the great directors of Japanese cinema. Contextualized in a postwar setting, the film revolves around a married couple who travel to Tokyo from a rural setting in the hope of reuniting with her children. However, they are not able to take a little time to care for their parents and decide to send them to a spa.

A critical view of how the economic progress of large cities has changed customs and caused relationships between parents and children to become increasingly cold.

26. Rashomon (1950)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Gender: Drama

Rashomon It is a relic of Japanese cinema that turned the cinematic narrative upside down by telling a story within a story.

In it, three travelers, a woodcutter, a priest and a student take shelter from the storm in a temple. All three contribute their point of view about a turbulent event about the trial of a bandit who is accused of the death of a man. The film is presented from four different points of view as a flashback.

27. The Seventh Seal (1957)

Director: Igman Bergman

Gender: Fantasy. Drama

Great film work by Ingman Bergman, in which he manifests all his metaphysical and religious dilemmas.

It is contextualized in the fourteenth century. After 10 years, the gentleman Antonius Block returns to his homeland full of dilemmas. On his return, he meets Death, whom he challenges to a game of chess, in which not only his life is at stake, but also his feelings about religion and humanity.

28. Green Book (2018)

Director: Peter farrelly

Gender: Comedy. Drama.

A film contextualized in the 60s and based on real events. The story revolves around Tony Lip, a security agent at a nightclub. When he loses his job he is hired by a black musician as a driver for his concert tour.

Both, musician and employee have to face racism and survive the different persistent prejudices in the society of the time.

29. Towards Wild Routes (2007)

Director: Sean Penn

Gender: Road movie

It is a film based on the novel by Jon Krakauer. In the 1990s, Christopher McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, leaves his wealthy life behind for a trip to Alaska. The young man lives in an abandoned vehicle in the middle of Nature and tries to find the meaning of life.

30. Yi Yi (2000)

Director: Edward yang

Gender: Drama

It is a Taiwanese film by Edward Yang that revolves around the life of a middle-class family living in Taipei.

The film portrays the life of the Jian, seen from three different generations, going from a wedding to a funeral. Despite adversity, the family will have to learn to value life.

31. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Director: Steve McQueen

Gender: Biographical drama

This film won three Oscars in 2013, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay.

It tells the chilling story of Salomon Northup, a black musician who is one day sold as a slave. Every day, for 12 years, the man fights for his freedom, an indispensable condition to be reunited with his family.

32. Wanting to love (2000)

Director: Wong kar-wai

Gender: Romantic

This melodrama takes place during the 60s in Hong Kong, where, in a community of Chow neighbors, head of a local newspaper, and Li-zhen, suspect that their respective spouses are having an affair loving.

From that moment on, both begin to spend more and more time together and form a friendship that will eventually lead them to discover that they are made for each other. Although it is not an unrequited love, circumstances will cause them to be destined to keep apart.

33. Goodbye Boys (1987)

Director: Louis Malle

Gender: Drama

It is one of the best films by Louis Malle, a French director and one of the forerunners of the Nouvelle Vague.

Based on his own life, it tells the adventures of young teenagers in a boarding school during World War II. Starring Julián, a 13-year-old young man who is a ward in the place. The young man has the attitude of a leader and is soon impressed by Jean Bonnet, a new boy whose origin is unknown to everyone. Although, at first, rivalries arise between them, little by little they come together and discover common interests.

34. Donnie Darko (2001)

Director: Richard Kelly

Gender: Psychological thriller. Drama

This cult film did not have a great success at the box office, however, with the passage of time it managed to consolidate itself as a great film.

In it, he investigates the hallucinations that Donnie, an ordinary boy, begins to experience, when Frank, a strange creature, appears in his life to explain the mysteries of the world that surround.

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35. Big Fish (2003)

Director: Tim Burton

Gender: Fantasy

One of Tim Burton's most exciting films, focusing on the relationship between a father and son.

When William Bloom receives the news of the terminal illness of his father, with whom he does not have a good relationship, he decides to return to his house to accompany him. There, he listens to the endless stories of his father, Edwad Bloom, who often finds it difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

36. Dogville (2003)

Director: Lars von Trier

Gender: Drama

It is, without a doubt, a different and unique film, from its risky staging, more typical of the theatrical medium, to the imposing story that is told in it.

In it, a young woman named Grace, played by Nicole Kidman, arrives in a retired town to save her life while she is chased by a fearsome gang. At first the neighbors accept the new tenant, however, later, the young woman discovers that the inhabitants of Dogville are not as kind as she seems.

37. Persepolis (2007)

Director: Vincent Paronnaud

Gender: Animation

It is an animated film that has culture shock as a backdrop. It is based on the real life of Marjane Strapi, an Iranian cartoonist. It tells of her own life, from when she was nine years old, during the Islamic revolution, until her maturity.

Through the eyes of the protagonist, different historical events are revealed. It also reflects his experience as an immigrant in Europe.

38. Mulholland Drive (2001)

Director: David lynch

Gender: Psychological thriller. Drama.

This Lynch film tells the story of Betty Elms, a young aspiring actress who travels to Los Angeles with the intention of dedicating herself to the trade of cinema. Everything changes when Rita, an amnesic woman, appears in her life.

You may also like:10 Essential David Lynch Movies

39. Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

Director: Agnes Varda

Gender: Drama

Written and directed by Agnès Varda, French film director and forerunner of the Nouvelle vague, Cleo from 5 to 7 shows two hours in the life of a woman, Cleo, who awaits the results of medical tests that could diagnose cancer.

In the time that she waits for the exams, the young woman imagines that the results have come out positive. The film recreates the anguish and restlessness of an impatient woman who wanders through the streets of Paris.

40. At the end of the getaway (1960)

Director: Jean- Luc Godard

Gender: Police drama

A landmark film from the Nouvelle Vague and an emblem of Jean-Luc Godard's cinema. Undoubtedly, it is a renewing film of the cinema at the time and a benchmark for action and crime films later.

The story revolves around Michael, a Humphrey Bogart impersonator and helper, steals a car and travels from Marseille to Paris. While escaping he is intercepted by a police officer and, desperate, shoots him and flees. Once in the French capital he asks an old journalism student friend for help. Although, at first the young woman resists, she ultimately agrees to help him.

41.Three Colors: Blue (1993)

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Gender: Drama

It is the first film of the three that make up the trilogy Three colors by Krzysztof Kieslowski, inspired by the three colors of the flag of France.

The color Blue represents freedom, however the director was not so liberal, although the film investigates individual freedom as well as the complex functioning of the human soul.

Her protagonist, Juliette Binoche, is a woman who loses her husband and her daughter in a traffic accident. After the fatal event, the woman decides to start from scratch, moving away from her past and renouncing her wealthy life.

42. The White Ribbon (2009)

Director: Michael Haneke

Gender: Warlike

This German film directed by Michael Haneke, is contextualized in 1913 and explores the origin of Nazism.

The film, with a black and white aesthetic, focuses on the inhabitants of a small German town, who begin to experience strange events.

43. The Great Beauty (2013)

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Gender: Comedy. Drama.

The great beauty is a classic of contemporary cinema directed by Paolo Sorrentino. It is a portrait of the Italian bourgeoisie. In it Jep, played by Toni Servillo, is a 60-year-old writer lives off the success that the only novel brought him that he published more than a decade ago and now he is dedicated to practicing journalism surrounded by powerful but empty.

The film, with an almost poetic photography, was awarded the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2013.

44. Thelma & Louise (1991)

Director: Ridley scott

Gender: Road movie

It is a benchmark road movie from the 90s bathed in western overtones. In it Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon star as two women, a waitress and a housewife, respectively. Both set out on a journey in search of freedom while facing different persistent obstacles in the society of the time and leaving their frustrating lives behind.

45. Moonlight (2016)

Director: Barry jenkins

Gender: Drama

A story based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. The film tells of three moments in the protagonist's life: childhood, adolescence and maturity. Chiron is an African American who goes through different difficulties throughout his life, including bullying and his mother's addictions. In a harsh, discriminatory context, Chiron discovers her true sexual identity when she is in a relationship with a young man named Kevin.

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