There's nothing quite like the jolt of seeing something truly out there on the big screen that truly shakes an audience member to the core. Experimental filmmaking has been a trend throughout the history of cinema, and many filmmakers have taken a stab at it with varying levels of success. When it's done well, an experimental film can truly transcend the boundaries of the genre and deliver a singular and unforgettable experience.
What defines a film as experimental can be a bit broad; it's usually characterized by a bold, avant-garde, and unconventional approach towards narrative and structure. The following films take the experimental label to the highest level, resulting in some of the most memorable entries in the subgenre to date. Take a look at what makes these experimental films five of the most unforgettable and uncompromising of the subgenre.
5 Enter The Void
This 2009 psychological thriller is the epitome of a head-trip. Enter the Void, from unorthodox filmmaker Gaspar Noé, follows an American drug dealer named Oscar who is shot and killed near the beginning of the film, initiating an out-of-body experience that allows him to recall moments from his past and hover over reality with a God's eye view. The film defies traditional narrative to place us directly in Oscar's head and depicts the metaphysical experience in a truly unique and artistic approach.
The film utilizes a neon-soaked Tokyo atmosphere to add texture and mood, and its cinematography is inspired by psychedelics like DMT, contributing to the distorted nature of the film. Enter the Void is a purely sensory experience that immerses us in our protagonist's confusion and delivers some truly breathtaking and chaotic imagery in the process.
Enter the Void drew a mixed reception upon release but has developed its fair share of ardent fans, and is considered a 21st century cult classic by many for its imaginative storytelling, visual style, and abstract take on the concepts of grief, loss, spirituality, and death. It's certainly one of the most accomplished experimental films of the past decade and continues to resonate with audiences, still being considered one of the most hypnotic films ever made.
4 Persona
Ingmar Bergman has subverted the modern traditions of filmmaking numerous times throughout his career, and his landmark film Persona is a more than strong showcase for his talents and for experimental cinema in general. The film follows a young nurse caring for a former actress who has gone mute; in the process the two form a symbiotic relationship that ends up leading to obsession. The film draws on the surreal perspective of its protagonists to create an air of tension and unease throughout, and Bergman's black and white visuals are consistently haunting and surreal.
Persona defies linear narrative and visually and thematically plays with themes of identity, motherhood, and reality. Featuring an astounding, extended sequence of truly haunting, avant-garde images and filmmaking techniques, Persona has since gone on to be considered one of the greatest films ever made and has been analyzed frequently by critics and scholars. Persona is considered a textbook example of an experimental film, with its endless meanings and ambiguous nature towards its own storytelling.
3 Holy Motors
The French film Holy Motors takes the idea of double roles to an artful and experimental extreme, and consequently creates an incredible meditation on the art of acting and cinema itself. Leos Carax's film follows a man named Mr. Oscar who takes on the form of several individuals living out moments in their daily lives, as he careens through city streets in his limousine. The ever-shifting narrative makes for some dynamic storytelling and filmmaking, and each segment represents a particular cinematic style or aesthetic. The juggling narratives and tonal shifts ensure that Holy Motors is an evolving cinematic experience, one that at times purely defies convention to deliver some imaginative visuals and wonderful musical sequences.
The film never settles for a straightforward or traditional narrative and is consistently challenging its audience with its dense yet thought-provoking storytelling. Holy Motors was met with critical acclaim upon release and has been lauded for its unapologetic originality and abstract themes and presentation. The film competed for the Palme d'Or prize at Cannes and has since earned itself a cult following in the years since. As a piece of filmmaking, Holy Motors is gloriously experimental, and one of the most distinct visual experiences in modern cinema.
2 Mulholland Drive
Experimental filmmaking is something David Lynch is no stranger to, and his 2001 masterpiece Mulholland Drive is no exception. Mulholland Drive defies the norms of genre and convention through its tale of murder, romance, and obsession set against the backdrop of Hollywood. Mulholland Drive, like many of David Lynch's movies, is full of surreal sequences that combines genres to deliver a memorably unpredictable experience.
The film is full of ambiguous plot threads and themes that, in true Lynchian fashion, are never neatly resolved or addressed, but leave fans engaged nonetheless. Mulholland Drive has long been open to speculation over its themes and plot, and has the kind of ending which should be watched twice. Considered one of the most influential films of the past few decades, Mulholland Drive set the bar for experimental filmmaking this century with a high benchmark that continues to inspire and captivate viewers.
1 The Holy Mountain
Master of the midnight movie, Alejandro Jodorowsky is accustomed to creating surreal cinematic experiences, and The Holy Mountain reigns chief among them. The film is a surrealist experience involving a strange and spiritual journey among seven individuals to a territory known as the Holy Mountain. The film lacks a clear-cut presentation or story beyond that, but manages to deliver rich symbolism, haunting visuals, and imaginative filmmaking in the process.
Jodorowsky's psychedelic and subversively twisted perspective is deeply captivating, and while it's hard to take in all of its subtext at once, The Holy Mountain is pure cinema through and through. The film has steadily earned its admirers and followers throughout the years and for some is considered Jodorowsky's masterpieces. While it may not always get the attention of some of his other films such as El Topo, The Holy Mountain is still a powerful, insightful, and complex work of art that continues to draw viewers in with its mysteries, and is now an established part of the experimental filmmaking canon.