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Thelongestfilm.com – Movies about loneliness. Films about loneliness are not very common, and they are not easy to make. They need accurate facts and must treat mental health issues with care.
Loneliness is a feeling that many of us feel at some point in our lives. Especially now, many people are facing loneliness due to the pandemic and other problems.
When a person is lonely, times can be very difficult; he can even fall victim to depression, social anxiety, and many more severe mental problems. People who go through a lonely phase feel powerless and demotivated. It also has the potential to lead them into illogical or dangerous behavior.
People who experience loneliness are constantly looking for an escape, and there is no better way to escape reality than a movie. There are many films about loneliness that have proven to be helpful and enjoyable for millions of people.
These films about loneliness can prove especially helpful when it comes to realistically portraying mental health and changing one’s outlook on life. These films not only help people suffering from depression but also those whose loved ones are dealing with it.
In this article, we will list the top 10 films that deal with the subject of loneliness or alienation.
1. Her, Movies About Loneliness
Several times, we must have grinned to ourselves while staring at the cellphone screen. Sometimes we really can forget about the outside world once we have focused on our gadgets.
However, Joaquin Phoenix, through his character named Theodore Twombly in the film Her, really gives a new meaning to the meaning of loneliness in the technological era. How come? The woman Theodore loves is nothing more than an artificial intelligence system in his gadget.
This film with a very interesting premise won five nominations at the 86th Academy Awards and finally won the Best Screenplay category at this prestigious event.
Fun fact:
Every day during filming, director Spike Jonze asked the film’s two main actors, Amy Adams and Joaquin Phoenix, to talk for an hour or two in a private room so they could get to know each other better.
2. Life of Pi, Movies About Loneliness
Can you imagine how it feels to trapped for days in the middle of the sea with a Bengal tiger?
This is what experienced by Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), the main character in the film Life of Pi. Well, even though the tiger can sometimes be a friend who relieves his loneliness, Pi still has to face various dangers alone.
With creative direction from director Ang Lee and fine cinematography from Claudio Miranda, the audience can often feel Pi’s powerlessness when he has to fend for himself amidst the vast ocean that surrounds him.
Fun fact:
Director Ang Lee hired a sailor named Steven Callahan as an adviser on this film. Callahan himself drifted on a rubber boat for 76 days in the middle of the Atlantic in 1982.
3. The Martian, Movies About Loneliness
If Pi Patel trapped in the middle of a vast ocean, then that’s different from the character of Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon in the film The Martian. After an unexpected disaster on a space mission, Mark, as one of the astronauts who joined the mission, left behind on Mars.
For almost a year and a half, Mark had to spend alone on Mars. The arid and empty planet Mars, which is the background of the story in this film, adds to the intensity of the concept of loneliness shown.
Fun fact:
In the studio where The Martian filmed, there is a real field for growing potatoes of various sizes. All of these potatoes are necessary for shooting as part of the story.
4. Sidewalls (Medianeras)
Somehow, technological developments that occur so rapidly actually make social relations increasingly stretched. Urban planning and architecture around us also play a part in widening this distance.
This message is being tried in a film produced in Argentina with the title Sidewalls. Packaged in a sweet romance story, the two main characters of this film, Martn and Mariana, feel a strong bond even though they have never met. In fact, the two of them are actually neighbors between apartment buildings that only separated by a road.
Fun fact:
If you look closely, Mariana keeps two Jack Skellington and Sally doll figures in her apartment room. Both are the main characters in Tim Burton’s famous animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
5. Inside Llewyn Davis, Movies About Loneliness
This film, directed by the Coen brothers, tells the story of Llewyn Davis, a folk music singer who is struggling to build a career. After his duet partner died, Llewyn no longer had anyone who cared about him.
Starting from the streets of New York City to empty buildings in Chicago, we will find a dark and sad atmosphere in various places that Llewyn goes through. The existence of an orange cat in this film also emphasizes Llewyn’s feelings of emptiness.
Fun fact:
In an interview, director Ethan Coen admitted that they were overwhelmed managing and directing the number of cats that appear in this film.
6. Lost in Translation, Movies About Loneliness
Director Sofia Coppola brilliantly captures the theme of loneliness through the eyes of two people who are stranded in a completely foreign city in Lost in Translation.
The film follows the story of Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), two people who meet under unexpected circumstances in Tokyo City. When neither of them can understand the language spoken by those around them, both of them feel connected to each other’s existence.
Fun fact:
Scarlett Johansson was only 17 years old when this film was made and was 18 at the time of the film’s release.
7. Taxi Driver
Being one of the classic works from the famous director Martin Scorsese, “Taxi Driver” highlights the theme of loneliness through the story of a taxi driver named Travis Bickle.
Travis, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War, chooses to spend his time alone in the middle of the vast and bustling city of New York City. Not only about loneliness, this film also alludes to other psychological issues such as depression and insomnia.
Fun fact:
Robert de Niro, the main actor in this film, worked fifteen hours per day over a period of one month as a real taxi driver to get into the role. He also studied issues of mental illness, traveled to United States military bases in Italy, and interviewed war veterans as part of his research.
8. Chungking Express
This legendary film, directed by Wong Kar-wai, explores the theme of loneliness through a story wrapped in the genres of romance and comedy. Chungking Express features two different stories, both of which are about a Hong Kong policeman who falls in love with a woman.
Chungking Express talks about various complex human emotions, including the feeling of loneliness due to the loss of love and our need to always be connected to others.
Fun fact:
The director and screenwriter of this film, Wong Kar-wai, wrote every scene in this film the night before shooting day, or even on the same day.
9. Amélie
This French-produced romantic comedy film focuses on the figure of Amélie, a naive and innocent young girl. Amélie, who is super introverted, is used to spending time alone. In fact, Amélie has a unique penchant for building her own imaginary worlds inside her head.
When she finally came to know love, Amélie began to try to understand more about this foreign emotion.
Fun fact:
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and his team always clean the shooting location first of trash, dirt, and even graffiti so that the setting can look beautiful and charming, just like the artistic concept of this film.
10. Passengers
Lifting the science fiction genre, Passengers tells the story of two people named Jim and Aurora who are trapped in a starship. They are part of thousands of people who are on a journey to a new planet that will take hundreds of years.
However, due to a malfunction in the capsule technology that was supposed to keep them sleeping until they reached their destination, both of them woke up. Jim and Aurora must face the possibility of spending the rest of their lives just inside the ship, drifting in the middle of outer space.
Fun fact:
The dot and dash symbol under the words “Passengers” on the poster for this film means “S.O.S.” in morse code.
