Looking for more "ambient sci-fi"

October 26, 2015 3:36 AM

There are a couple of movies that I adore and keep thinking back on, and I'm looking for more that might scratch the same itch.

For lack of a better term, I think of these movies as "ambient sci-fi" - quiet, introspective, very smart films that are in the sci-fi or speculative realm in one way or another. The ones I keep thinking back to are "Never Let Me Go," "Upstream Color," "Sound of My Voice" and "The Place Promised in Our Early Days." So what are some others I might enjoy?

posted by jbickers to Media & Arts (34 answers total)

Take a look at Moon if you haven't seen it!
posted by shortyJBot at 3:43 AM on October 26, 2015 [14 favorites]

I think I'd place Until the End of the World in this category.
posted by soren_lorensen at 3:47 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like sci-fi movies that are sci-fi mainly in concept, but don't look like sci-fi. ("Looking like sci-fi" = special effects, costumes, lots of stuff that don't exist in the real world, etc.) Is this the sort of thing you have in mind?

I'd put movies like Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in that category. Probably others too, which I'm now forgetting.
posted by snarfois at 3:54 AM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

Under the Skin
posted by prewar lemonade at 4:22 AM on October 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

It's All About Love
posted by rhizome at 4:26 AM on October 26, 2015

Yes, Moon - you must see Moon. Brilliant movie.

Also, check out Another Earth.
posted by jammy at 4:32 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

How about Primer

It's a low budget ($7000!) time travel film.
Quiet, almost painfully smart (in fact, you might need some additional notes to help with the plot) no spaceships or lasers.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:34 AM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

The One I Love
posted by rhizome at 4:37 AM on October 26, 2015

I recently saw The Lobster and I think it fits this category nicely.
posted by xqwzts at 4:41 AM on October 26, 2015

You might also like: Wong Kar Wai's 2046, Primer, which is from the same guy as "Upstream Color", and Predestination. There are also the two Linklater animation efforts Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly.

A bit more off-beat suggestions are Holy Motors as well as Enter the Void.
posted by KMB at 4:42 AM on October 26, 2015

La Jetée , Je t’aime je t’aime, or Tarkovsky's Solaris.
posted by frumiousb at 5:13 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

The 2002 George Clooney / Steven Soderbergh version of Solaris is excellent as well.

The music, the visuals, and the overall feel of the film is hypnotic.
posted by The Deej at 5:17 AM on October 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

Stalker might be the best in the genre IMO. Beyond the black rainbow is a modern film trying to capture that 70's feeling and succeeding quite well. Especially the soundtrack is amazing.
posted by Kosmob0t at 5:40 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Since you liked "The Place Promised In Our Early Days", how about Voices of a Distant Star, also by Makoto Shinkai?
posted by J.K. Seazer at 5:44 AM on October 26, 2015

Sunshine is specifically this with an ambient soundtrack by Underworld.
posted by jessamyn at 6:03 AM on October 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

Prompted by the LeGuin thread, I rewatched the 1980 version of Lathe of Heaven which if you can get past the sub-Dr. Who special effects, is a very effective small sci-fi film. I've only seen part of it but Fassbender's World on a Wire might work for you. Maybe Lars von Trier's Melancholia?
posted by octothorpe at 6:21 AM on October 26, 2015

Tarkovsky's Solaris?
The Man Who Fell to Earth?
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 6:24 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I agree with many of the other recommendations on this thread. See also The Fountain.
posted by adamrice at 6:47 AM on October 26, 2015

Europa Report?
posted by murphy slaw at 7:19 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Fountain.
posted by bonehead at 8:19 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is more horror than sci-fi, but I think it is right up your alley.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:35 AM on October 26, 2015

For ambient minimalist futurism: Ex Machina
posted by Hugobaron at 9:47 AM on October 26, 2015

Love these kind of films - fortunately I've been keeping a list (some strangely low star ratings on IMDB but don't let that put you off, I think these are all worth a watch).

Definitely thirding the suggestions of Moon, Under the Skin, Primer, Another Earth, Beyond the Black Rainbow... Also Gattaca, Solaris (I prefer the new version)...

Plus:

Advantageous
I Origins
Coherence
Safety Not Guaranteed
The Jacket
Automata
The Frame
Take Shelter
Air
Containment
posted by iivix at 9:51 AM on October 26, 2015

I agree with most of the above recommendations and would add:

The World, the Flesh and the Devil
2001: A Space Odyssey
Fantastic Planet (animated)
Silent Running
Colossus: The Forbin Project
The Andromeda Strain
THX 1138
The Quiet Earth
Source Code (same director as Moon)
Coherence
Predestination

Maybe
Slaughterhouse Five
Fahrenheit 451
The Illustrated Man
Altered States
Brainstorm
The Brother from Another Planet
Pi
Cloud Atlas

None of these are shoot-em-up Sci-Fi-Westerns, Sci-Fi Wars, or Sci-Fi-Slashers. All take place either on Earth or in plausible outer space nearby. No lasers, phasers, sabers, starships, empires, or interplanetary colonialism here.

There was also a teevy series of Brave New World and one of The Martian Chronicles in the 1980s.I didn't like either of them, but you might.
 
posted by Herodios at 9:51 AM on October 26, 2015

If iivix's recommendation of Safety Not Guaranteed is a good one, I'd add Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. I got a similar vibe from both films.

Also: Robot & Frank. Incidentally SF but charming.
posted by xenization at 10:28 AM on October 26, 2015

I'd second the recommendation of Her. Beautiful, touching movie that also incidentally happens to be one of the best sci-fi stories of recent years.
posted by adrianhon at 10:35 AM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

I highly recommend Phase IV. The soundtrack is incredible and recently released for the first time.

Also The Man from Earth.
posted by MyFrozenYear at 6:15 PM on October 26, 2015

Further to Kosmob0t's recommendation of "Stalker," here's a link to Geoff Dyer's thoughts about "Stalker" from
"To The Best of Our Knowledge."
http://www.ttbook.org/book/geoff-dyer-zona
posted by DougieGee at 6:25 PM on October 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

So many fascinating picks here...

Also The Man from Earth.

reminds me of The Man Who Fell To Earth..
posted by ovvl at 7:39 PM on October 26, 2015

Final
posted by Mister Moofoo at 12:32 AM on October 27, 2015

+1 to Melancholia!
posted by tillei at 6:12 PM on October 27, 2015

and Moon...
posted by tillei at 6:26 PM on October 27, 2015

nthing Moon, Tarkovsky (Solaris and Stalker), Beyond the Black Rainbow, and Fantastic Planet (highly recommended if you're into shroomy, 70s psychedelia). Enter the Void also comes to mind, but be aware that it gets fairly porny.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 6:43 PM on October 27, 2015

The Congress (or Les Congres; I think it's French-produced, but performed in English). It stars Robin Wright as herself, and goes into a future full of people perpetually hallucinating, facilitated by pharmaceuticals. When I saw it I immediately thought of it as a sci-fi film, though it has no "sci-fi" aesthetic markers. It reminded me in some ways of Neal Stephenson's novels. (It also dips in and out of a beautifully-animated cartoon world, which is a visual treat.) Sounds like it might be up your alley.
posted by ismaelsobek at 4:01 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]