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11 Movies That Will Make You Go “Huh?”

When you watch a lot of movies, every once in a while you’ll come across one that baffles you, and the range of reactions to this encounter are pretty fascinating. These types of movies aren’t simply the mindtrip types of movies like Inception or Memento that are labyrinthine in terms of their plot progression but are fairly clear by the end in what they’re about. Truly confusing movies, the type where you’re left wondering what the hell you just watched and what the point of it even being made could have been, can create responses anywhere from anger and resentment towards seemingly pretentious filmmakers to delight in the abstract, personal meaning a viewer can derive from something deliberately vague or opaque.

6) 2001: A Space Odyssey

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2001 A Space Odyssey

I have come to love the work of Stanley Kubrick precisely because every single one of his movies has led me in multiple instances to throw up my hands and scream “WHAT” audibly enough to disturb anyone who might be around me. Although much like a common response to Shane Carruth, who shares the reputation of being something of a genius, it’s easy to resent Kubrick for being too goddamn smart for his own good. Like, we get that you’re smart. You don’t have to be such a dick about it. Showoff.

Like Tree of Life, this is a movie that sort of wants to tell the story of humanity’s entire history. It’s chock full of captivating and memorable images, and a musical soundtrack that underscores its colossal scope. The mysteries of the movie and its possible meanings are akin to the mystery of life, and the universe, and of space, and humanity—deep questions that appear to show paths that lead to answers, but ultimately it’s impossible to determine.

Even people who have sorted out meaning behind the monolith and the big star baby and everything become pretty difficult to understand when trying to relate a theory of everything regarding 2001. So 2001 is probably like life: if you claim to have it figured out, you’re probably full of BS.