Plot is traditionally considered one of the most important components to any film. Things like style, acting, and even writing can hardly save a movie from the trenches of a dull storyline. Indeed, we go to the movies to become totally immersed in someone else’s world — not that explosions and face-offs aren’t an added plus, though.

Because of this, there are many choice words usually given to movies with “no” plot: boring, anticlimactic, tedious, sleep-inducing… to name a few. However, many of the greatest films ever made are lacking much of a discernible storyline. They are not all black-and-white French films, either. Films without much of a plot structure serve a unique and much-needed purpose in cinema, often allowing us to devote more time to characters and their inner-turmoil, or a particular setting, time, or idea. Here are some of our favorite “no plot” films that we feel are worth the watch.

8 Lost in Translation (2003)

Lost In Translation
Focus Features

One of her earlier and most lauded efforts, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation is a haunting meditation on modern loneliness and its effects on two different yet united characters. As is a trademark of Coppola’s, the film follows two people who find themselves alienated by their own wealth — Scarlett Johansson plays the wife of an in-vogue photographer, and Bill Murray, an aging, restless movie star. After a chance encounter at their Tokyo hotel’s bar, the two develop an unlikely but extremely meaningful bond. As opposed to crafting a by-the-book romance or melodramatic feature on these characters’ internal grapplings, Coppola instead spotlights Murray and Johansson’s heartfelt relationship. Just like the film itself, their friendship feels so transient yet permanent — which is what makes it so special.

7 Paterson (2016)

paterson.jarmusch
Amazon Studios/ Bleecker Street

In one of his most underrated performances to date, Adam Driver stars in this tale about a bus driver with a gift for writing poetry. Despite Driver’s clear talent within the film, Paterson is no Good Will Hunting-esque story; rather, the film simply focuses on Driver’s structured day-to-day life. We see him walking his dog, going to work, having a beer at the local bar, and writing in his notebook — when he can. Instead of focusing on Paterson’s (Driver) potential as a poet, Jim Jarmusch takes a far gentler route of showing us the smaller moments. Paterson is a warm and gentle film that reminds us to appreciate these ordinary moments in life, before they slip from our grip.

6 Before Sunrise (1995)

Before Sunrise Linklater
Columbia Pictures

Richard Linklater’s iconic 1995 film — which is apparently based on a true story — paints one of the most realistic stories of love ever put to screen. Although the film is only the first in an equally-iconic series, Before Sunrise single-handedly defies the notion that love is full of ceremony and has to look a certain way. Starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, the film follows two young people who meet on a train and spend the day together in Vienna. As is Linklater’s gift, the film is filled to the brim with poignant, funny, and irreverent conversations on everything from music to life after death. It is through their spirited conversation alone that we begin to see Hawke and Delpy fall in love.

Related: Here Are Ethan Hawke's Best Movies, Ranked

5 Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dazed and Confused
Gramercy Pictures

The hangout movie to end all hangout movies, watching Dazed and Confused for the first time is no less than a rite of passage for many young Americans (let’s hope Zoomers pass on this important tradition). Starring Matthew McCounaghey, Ben Affleck, and their questionable haircuts, the film follows Austin, Texas teenagers celebrating their last day of school in 1976. Although the film does feature a few archetypal elements of any teen movie, like a sadistic jock-bully and the ever-quotable stoner, Linklater utilizes these characters to create a broader picture of high school living at the time. Dazed and Confused is no Breakfast Club; it confronts many problems, but doesn't necessarily hope to solve them. But that's alright... (alright, alright).

4 Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Inside Llewyn Davis
CBS Films

Among the long list of things the Coen brothers have mastered, contriving unforgettable plots is certainly one of them. However, one downside of this is that their more understated works often don’t get their due recognition. 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis serves as the perfect case for this. A masterpiece of atmosphere and restraint, the film follows folk singer Llewyn Davis in early ‘60s New York City as he struggles to make a name for himself and make ends meet. The only two constants of the film are Llewyn’s deep-seated unhappiness and the adopted cat he brings with him everywhere. Featuring an all-time performance from Oscar Issac, Inside Llewyn Davis is a subtle, yet luminous film whose grayness represents a new light for the Coens.

3 Clerks (1994)

Clerks 
Miramax Films

Shot in just 21 days with an all-amateur cast, Clerks is one of the only films that knows what the workplace can really be like. Through a black-and-white lens that gives the film a comically retrospective feel, we follow convenience store clerks Dante and Randal as they chatter and do whatever it takes to pass the time. Although this premise sounds innocuous enough, the content of the pair’s conversations was enough to originally give the film an NC-17 rating (which was ultimately appealed). Clerks is brimming with the grunge and unapologetic hilarity that made ‘90s movies so great. It’s hard to underestimate the influence that this movie about “nothing” has had on both comedy and workplace media, from Office Space to The Office.

Related: Dogma: Why Now is a Great Time For a Kevin Smith Sequel

2 My Dinner With Andre (1981)

Andre Gregory in My Dinner With Andre
New Yorker Films

Louis Malle’s acclaimed My Dinner With Andre follows Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, playing two fictionalized versions of themselves, as they dine and talk at the Café des Artistes in Manhattan. This is the setting for nearly the entirety of the film, and, indeed, talking is what the two get up to for the film’s runtime. This premise alone — if one could call it that — might sound extraordinarily dull to some viewers, but it’s the fascinating subjects and philosophical underbelly of the pair’s conversations that make the film a real marvel to take in. Meanwhile, My Dinner With Andre captures the essence of friendships, and how they evolve and change over time, in a perfectly artful and sincere manner. As Wallace listens intently to Andre’s stories from around the world, we realize that we need nothing more than these stories to understand the film’s characters.

1 The Tree of Life (2011)

Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life
Summit Entertainment

Terrence Malick’s experimental masterpiece is about nothing and everything all at once. On a superficial level, The Tree of Life revolves around a Texas family in the 1960s, but these characters are only used as vessels to explore the philosophical mysteries of life on Earth. Part of what makes Tree of Life, so unforgettably profound is its staggering cinematography by the likes of Emmanuel Lubezki. Lubezki and Malick are able to capture the gorgeousness of the universe as it has suffered, and continued to grow, over time. In this sense, The Tree of Life is not so much a narrative feature as a cinematic meditation on some of the most overwhelming human origins —which Malick is able to show us with unrelenting beauty and intrigue alike.