Throughout history, the manifestation of art has been a very important constant in the evolution of cultures and societies.

Through the different arts the human being is able to express emotions, thoughts, beliefs and points of view in a creative way that from a rational point of view would be difficult to make understood.

One of the most recent artistic forms that allow for such a thing is the cinema. Also called the seventh art, through it allows the expression through both vision and hearing of the conscious and unconscious, make you reflect on the proposed ideas and expand horizons, sometimes in a bizarre way. This is why we are collecting some rare, little known or strange films today.

Fancy and Rare Films

Rare films are an escape from the conventions of filmmaking that help us think outside the mental frames we are used to using.

Whether because of their contents or their formal aspects, original and strange films can represent a real cultural clash between our way of understanding things and that of the creators of the work. Below you can see a selection of these films

1. The Wild Planet (Laloux, R.)

This is a peculiar film directed by René Laloux, which presents numerous allegories and sometimes somewhat uncomfortable messages . In this science fiction film we are presented with the Draags as a race of dominant beings on the planet Ygam, physically and with a technology far superior to the race that serves them as slaves or pets, the human beings called Oms in the film.

In this tape, humanity is reflected as an inferior race that is persecuted and under threat, with frequent persecution of wild humans. However, one of the Om mascots, Terr, manages to escape from his masters along with a hearing aid that transmits and contains the knowledge of the Draag.

This film shows a certain criticism towards the position of superiority of human beings over other species . It reflects intolerance, discrimination and abuse of power. It also refers to the fear of the unknown and the struggle between science/knowledge and superstition (the hearing aid with the knowledge of the Draag causes rejection to some Oms), as well as the search for coexistence and peace among different races/species/people.

2. The Witch (Eggers, R.)

This relatively recent film (released in 2015) tells of a Christian couple with five children in the period around 1630. The family is excommunicated and finally ends up living in a forest that tradition indicates is controlled by evil . Over time, a series of strange phenomena begin to occur, including the disappearance of one of the children, what seems to be a possession in another or the infertility of the land giving bad harvests. Over time, the stress experienced by the family causes the teenage daughter to be held responsible, accusing her of witchcraft.

The film reflects the fear of the unknown and the effect of terror, anxiety and distress on people over elements such as affection, reason and loyalty. It also shows how fear of the supernatural and magical thinking can deform even the family’s emotional bonds.

3. The Naked Lunch (Cronenberg, D.)

As far as “The Naked Lunch” is concerned, this film can also be considered as rare or strange . It shows us the insect exterminator William Lee, who suffers from a series of hallucinations supposedly due to the effect of exposure to the insecticide, to which his company believes he is addicted. He asks his doctor for help, who prescribes a blocking agent called “black meat”. He then involuntarily kills his wife, after which Lee flees to the Interzone, where such strange things happen as his typewriter coming to life.

As you can see in the film, is a vision of the effects of hallucinogenic drug use and addiction . It also refers to the resistance to accepting one’s own homosexuality, which is visible in many moments of the film.

4. Marquis (Xhonneux, H.)

This film tells the story of the famous Marquis de Sade , in France before the French Revolution. The story is based on the writings and the life of the Marquis himself, beginning during his imprisonment in the Bastille, where each cell is occupied by different characters from the works of the controversial author. Apart from the plot, this film is also rare for its scenery (using elements such as muppets), symbolism (during much of the film the marquis holds conversations with his reproductive system) and costumes. For example, in this production all the actors wear animal masks that reflect their position or personality, finding a high level of symbolism.

It is one of the rare films that, through its aesthetics, reflects the struggle of reason against instinct, sexuality and its repression and exacerbation, betrayal and hypocrisy . It is also one of the films that most attempts to dignify the figure of the Marquis de Sade, reflecting sensitivity, a desire for freedom and defence of the character’s right to his own life.

5. Dogville (von Trier, L.)

This rare film production was developed in the United States during the Great Depression . In it the protagonist, Grace, takes refuge in the village that gives its name to the film of the Mafia persecution. Grace tries to help her neighbors in order to gain their trust, which she ends up getting. However, over time the villagers will demand more and more as compensation for offering her refuge, abusing the woman’s honesty.

The film reflects the greed and abuse of those in need, the use of others and the way people act in situations of desperation and betrayal.

6. Eraserhead (Lynch, D.)

Another of the rare films presented in this article is Eraserhead . This black and white film revolves around the character Henry Spencer, who has a son with his ex-partner. The child in question is born with deformities, and is first cared for by the couple and then by the protagonist.

The film refers to the flight into the interior, the need to escape from problems, the difficulty of living a quiet life in the face of the difficulties present in the environment. It exalts the monstrous side of humanity, the need for freedom and the acceptance of the negative facets of life and of one’s own self, the guilt and instincts of death and suicide.

7. Canine (Lanthimos, Y.)

This play tells us about a couple with three children who have never left their home , and he deals with the family members as the only influence in their lives, with the exception of a security employee. The children have never seen the outside, being the farm where they live surrounded by a fence. Their life is under the control of their parent, their education is limited and they have serious shortcomings in their understanding of reality.

The name of the film comes from parents’ promise that children will be able to go outside when they lose a fang. No one else has contact with them, except a security employee of the father, Cristina, who will be taken away so that the child can have sex. However, the contact with the security employee implies an opening to the real world , which has a series of repercussions on the beliefs of the young people.

The work shows the effect of rigid education, tyranny and deprivation of stimuli, reminiscent in many ways of some wild children.

8. Waking Life (Linklater, R.)

This tape is about a man in a constant state of lucid dreaming, after being run over by a car . After this event the character establishes an internal dialogue reflecting on the meaning of life, talking to different individuals in their dreams while trying to wake up even though he wonders if he has really died.

It reflects the world of dreams, the unconscious and the exploration of thought and various philosophical currents.

9. Upstream Color (Carruth, S.)

This film tells us the story of two young people, Kriss and Jeff , who fall in love due to the effects of a worm with the property of linking beings. This worm in question is placed and later extracted by other characters, the character called the “composer” being the one who creates a link between people by manipulating the worms and then implanting them in pigs in his possession in order to visualize the lives of their original carriers.

The film establishes a critique of the socio-political control of the individual, indoctrination and intellectual blockage. It is possible to make a parallel with the self-censorship of the superego proposed by psychoanalysis.

10. You, me and everyone else (July, M.)

The film leads us to visualize how two characters fall in love, showing us their doubts , frustrations and passions, while one of them concentrates on the vital events that happen to his children, having to face dangerous situations such as grooming.

The film, although not as extravagant as others of the previous ones, is a valid reflection of the hidden unsatisfied desires , the frustration, the dangers of relationships through networks such as grooming, childcare and experimentation in the field of love (in the case of the older child).

11. Holy Motors (Carax, L.)

A strange film that is, in itself, a constant reference to cinema itself. In it, the protagonist plays different characters in real life, acting as they would in a fictional world.

12. Paprika, detective of dreams (Kon, S.)

One of the great references of Japanese animation brought to the cinema is also one of the rarest films in every sense. In this film the dreamlike setting and visual quality are mixed to offer a unique experience based on the incredible imagination of its director, Satoshi Kon.

13. The Taste of Tea (Ishii, K.)

A mixture of folk stories from Japan and most surrealistic situations . Experimental cinema that never abandons its tender and optimistic spirit.

14. Swiss Army Man (Kwan, D. and Scheinert, D.)

Daniel Radcliffe in his strangest role to date : a corpse that, little by little, comes back to life while teaching a man to live again. How does he do it? By using the “special functions” of his body, as if it were a Swiss Army knife.

15. Der Bunker (Chryssos, N.)

A student decides to go live with a strange family to be the guardian of his child. The problem is not only that the child behaves very strangely; it is that the family lives in a bunker.

There are many other examples of bizarre cinema!

This list reflects some of the rare, little understood or strange films that exist, but we know that there are many more. Origen, Shutter Island, Black Swan… if you know of any strange or little known film we cordially invite you to share it with us .