Lasting Storytelling Impressions: 15 Movies That Leave a Mark

Are you searching for movies to wow you? We've got you covered. There are some movies that really make you understand just how artistic filmmaking is and how beautiful some of these great movies can be. Here are some of the top-voted recommendations for films that will make you appreciate the art.

1. No Country for Old Men (2007)

no-country-for-old-men
Image Credit: Paramount Vantage – Miramax.

No Country for Old Men is a Coen Brothers neo-Western crime thriller set in the West Texas desert in 1980. It centers around three characters. First, a welder and Vietnam War veteran (Josh Brolin) stumble into a large sum of money in the desert. A hitman who is in charge of finding the money (Javier Bardem). A sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) investigating the crime.

Additionally, No Country for Old Men stars Woody Harrelson as a bounty hunter and Kelly Macdonald. 

2. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Grand Budapest Hotel Ralph Fiennes
Image Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedy-drama centered around a prominent European ski resort in the 1930s. Ralph Fiennes stars as famed concierge Monsieur Gustave H. Gustave provides first-class services, including intimately satisfying the older women guests. Unfortunately, after one of his lovers is found dead, he becomes the prime suspect in her murder. 

The Grand Budapest Hotel stars Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Harvey Keitel, Saoirse Ronan, and Mathieu Amalric.  

3. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Blade Runner
Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 is a neo-noir science fiction film following a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department (Ryan Gosling). After uncovering a long-buried secret, he sets out to find a former blade runner (Harrison Ford) who's been missing for 30 years. 

Blade Runner 2049 also stars Edward James Olmos, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, and Dave Bautista. 

4. Children of Men (2006)

Children of Men (2006)
Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Children of Men is a dystopian action thriller film portraying the year 2027. After human infertility consumes two decades, leaving society on the verge of extinction, asylum seekers seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom. However, the U.K. government has subjected many to detention and refoulment (forcible return of refugees).

A civil servant (Clive Owen) must face his demons while helping a refugee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) escape. Children of Men also stars Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine, Pam Ferris, and Charlie Hunnam.

5. Parasite (2019)

Grabbing a bite to eat
Image Credit: CJ Entertainment.

Parasite is a South Korean dark comedy thriller following greed and class discrimination as an impoverished Kim family plots employment with an affluent Park family.

The Parks infiltrate the Kims' household by posing as highly qualified individuals. Parasite stars Choi Woo-shik, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Park So-dam, Jang Hye-jin, Park Myung-hoon, and Lee Jung-eun.  

6. Enter The Void (2009)

enter the void
Image Credit: IFC Films.

Enter the Void is an English-language experimental art psychological drama fantasy film. Set in Tokyo's neon-lit nightclub environments, it follows a young American drug dealer, Oscar (Nathaniel Brown), who is shot dead and experiences an after-life experience. 

Enter the Void is shot from a first-person m viewpoint as Oscar floats above the city, recalling moments from his life. It also stars Paz de la Huerta and Cyril Roy.

7. Seven Samurai (1954)

seven samurai
Image Credit: Toho.

Seven Samurai is a Japanese epic samurai drama in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It centers around a village of farmers desperate to combat bandits who steal their crops after the harvest. So they hire seven master samurai (rōnin).

One user shared that it's not their favorite film, but it's the one where every time it ends, they sit there, stunned. 

8. Life of Pi (2012)

Life of Pi
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

Life of Pi is an adventure-drama centering around two survivors of a nasty shipwreck on a lifeboat stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. One survivor is Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), a 16-year-old Indian boy; the other is a mighty Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The film also stars Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, Tabu, and Adil Hussain.

9. Drive (2011)

drive-ryan-gosling
Image Credit: FilmDistrict.

Drive is an action drama following an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver (Ryan Gosling) moonlighting as a getaway driver. After growing close to a neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan), and her young son, he and her husband (Oscar Isaac) endanger the lives of everyone by participating in a botched million-dollar heist. Drive co-stars Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, and Albert Brooks. 

10. A River Runs Through It (1992)

a river runs through it
Image Credit: Columbia Pictures.

Robert Redford's A River Runs Through It is a drama film based on Norman Maclean's 1976 semi-autobiographical novella of the same name. It follows a Presbyterian minister (Tom Skerritt) and his two sons (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt) coming of age during the early days of the Great Depression, including the Prohibition era. 

11. Arrival (2016)

arrival 2016
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures.

“Linguistic Sci-Fi is legit,” hails one fan of the movie. In Arrival, a linguist helps to understand and works to establish contact with extraterrestrials. This movie makes the list because of its brilliant back-and-forth storytelling. Watch closely because the film flashes between the present and the past.

12. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Image Credit: Miramax Films.

According to one movie watcher There Will Be Blood hits all the “wow” factors. In the film, an oil prospector woes to get people out west to sell him their oil-rich land so he can drill for oil. But things get heated when the local preacher smells something fishing. It's a critically acclaimed masterpiece that touches on many deadly sins – such as greed and power.

13. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now
Image Credit: United Artists.

Maybe what makes Apocalypse Now such a great movie is how it adapted Heart of Darkness to reflect one of the deadliest and most controversial wars in American history. The cinematography and the storytelling is top-notch in this film.

14. City of God (2002)

City of God (2002)
Image Credit: Miramax Films.

City of God is a deeply emotional movie about children growing up in the slums of Rio in the 60s, 70s, and 80s and how their stories are all changed by the two local gangs in their neighborhood. Based on a true story, this action-packed movie will leave you stunned.

15. Big Fish (2003)

big fish
Image Credit: Columbia Pictures.

It's man unfortunately human experience to lose a parent, but as Will Bloom's father is on his deathbed, Will is forced to try and figure out what parts of his father's story are fact and which parts are fiction. The film, the cast, and the acting are all stunning in Big Fish. Just prepare to tear up throughout.

Source: Reddit.