Comments on: California Dreamin'

Question: California Dreamin'

milarepa — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:36:58 -0800

I recently watched Garden State and I realized that all the movies I love are exactly the same. Can you recommend some more?

Like I said, all the movies I love are essentially the same. For example, here are some movies I love:

Amelie
Rushmore
In the Mood for Love/Chungking Express/Fallen Angels
Lost Highway
Garden State
Waking Life
Clockers
The first half of Fight Club

Basically, they all have a main character that is isolated, and alienated, at odds or tormented by their environment and spends a lot of time alone. Hmm why is that you love these movies? And more often than not the movie has sticky romantic overtones and a creative, if not great, soundtrack.

Can you recommend other movies I will love?

By: Phire

Phire — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:38:03 -0800

High Fidelity comes to mind. Also very music-elitist.

By: Serial Killer Slumber Party

Serial Killer Slumber Party — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:39:01 -0800

As Good As It Gets

By: onepapertiger

onepapertiger — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:39:11 -0800

I Heart Huckabees.

By: kcm

kcm — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:40:10 -0800

Me and You and Everyone We Know
Days of Being Wild

By: Hildago

Hildago — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:40:14 -0800

The Squid and the Whale

By: Good Brain

Good Brain — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:43:17 -0800

Also Grosse Point Blank

By: drjimmy11

drjimmy11 — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:44:30 -0800

I'm trying desperately not to say anything snarky about Zack Braff and "Garden State," but "Trainspotting" and "Royal Tennenbaums" have genuinely great soundtracks.

By: spork

spork — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:46:23 -0800

Raising Arizona

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:47:12 -0800

Well, Lost Highway doesn't really fit with those other films, so in the spirit of that film I would recommend The Machinist, though it has no romance or soundtrack to speak of.

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:48:14 -0800

Have you seen The Science of Sleep yet? Because yeah, great soundtrack, isolation, alienation, weird twisted romance. Some people think it is a happy movie, but they are very very wrong.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:48:38 -0800

The Graduate
Igby Goes Down
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Harold & Maude

By: atmu

atmu — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:50:23 -0800

The Shawshank Redemption

By: willnot

willnot — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:51:52 -0800

Donnie Darko
Sliding Doors
Almost Famous
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Ice Storm
Next Stop Wonderland

By: peeedro

peeedro — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:52:57 -0800

I'll add to the Wes Anderson films already mentioned with my favorite: Bottle Rocket

By: escabeche

escabeche — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:56:54 -0800

Ice Storm seconded.
Also, Groundhog Day -- the original and still the greatest Bill-Murray-is-alienated movie.

By: ulotrichous

ulotrichous — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:57:35 -0800

How about Hudsucker Proxy?

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:58:24 -0800

Sideways
The Life Aquatic
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Welcome to the Dollhouse

By: kcm

kcm — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:00:41 -0800

Lost In Translation
Stupeur et Tremblements
Kicking and Screaming

By: w_boodle

w_boodle — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:07:23 -0800

Things Change

By: invisible ink

invisible ink — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:11:47 -0800

Cinema Paradiso.

By: granted

granted — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:23:48 -0800

Punch-Drunk Love
Secretary
The Station Agent
Red (part of the Trois Couleurs trilogy)

By: Zed_Lopez

Zed_Lopez — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:27:34 -0800

Better Off Dead

By: geekhorde

geekhorde — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:31:21 -0800

About A Boy. Seriously.

By: dbiedny

dbiedny — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 22:43:24 -0800

A Clockwork Orange.

VideoDrome.

Pi.

None of these has "sticky romantic overtones", but they're all really great films.

Then there are the classics:

Brazil

Blade Runner

Citizen Kane

And if you want the real thing, check Out:

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Crumb

Theremin: an Electronic Odyssey

By: zia

zia — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:02:54 -0800

Definitely: The Last Life in the Universe (Japanese / Thai film) - VERY much like Garden State

By: maxreax

maxreax — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:12:41 -0800

The big obvious answer is the Graduate, which, like, invented this kind of movie--alienated crypto-hipster loner rebels/learns how to love/participates in youth culture/listens to wussy-but-somehow-rebellious music.

By: Darth Fedor

Darth Fedor — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:28:41 -0800

Crack open a can of tuna and watch Zero Effect, with Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller.

By: po

po — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:32:44 -0800

Pretty much anything by Tim Burton comes to mind. Specifically, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands, though that one's not so big on the sappy-love component. Poignant and tender unrequited love, sure. And scores by Danny Elfman? How much better can you get for fantastic?

(... who says a film has to be angsty and Royal-Tenenbaums-y to be in this category?)

By: blink_left

blink_left — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:40:51 -0800

Until The End Of The World, by Wim Wenders
I Heart Huckabees, with the existential Isabelle Huppert

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:13:05 -0800

I am not an Adam Sandler fan, but I have to second Punch-Drunk Love. Seems like it's exactly what you're looking for, plus it features Shelley Duvall's wonderful He Needs Me from Robert Altman's Popeye, which, come to think of it, might also meet your criterion.

By: A Thousand Baited Hooks

A Thousand Baited Hooks — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:37:35 -0800

I have to add my voice to the chorus recommending I Heart Huckabees. I couldn't stand it, for reasons broadly similar to my reasons for loathing Garden State.

Also, Napoleon Dynamite (which I didn't hate).

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 00:44:46 -0800

You should go watch most of Hal Hartley's movies, specifically the Unbelievable Truth and Simple Men. You will most likely love them.

By: pivotal

pivotal — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 01:30:24 -0800

The Life Aquatic definitely!

I didn't quiet 'get' The Royal Tennenbaums, but something just clicked with TLA for me. Perhaps it was Seu Jorge's acoustic, Portuguese renditions of Bowie, but it just felt like a great film to me.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:14:14 -0800

Seconds/thirds on:

I Heart Huckabees
Grosse Point Blank
The Royal Tennenbaums
Lost in Translation

and add:

Magnolia (for a whole host of alienated characters)
Ghost World (not a personal fave, but fits this list)
American Beauty (won't debate the merits, but alienation is key)

And if you're more into the romance aspects of Amelie/Chunking Express and that kind of listless feel and beautiful cinematography (and you obviously don't mind foreign films), I wonder if you wouldn't like Hero and House of Flying Daggers, and while we're at it, Ghost in the Shell. Nothing like what you've got listed, but we seem to have very similar tastes, and there's something compatible between the moods in the movies you listed and these. I think you also *might* enjoy Lola Rennt/Run Lola Run.

but my turn to say I didn't 'get' The Life Aquatic.

By: featherboa

featherboa — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:14:55 -0800

Definitely seconding Harold and Maude. You might also like The Virgin Suicides and Being John Malkovitch.

By: RoseovSharon

RoseovSharon — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:20:46 -0800

Everything is Illuminated.

By: quarked

quarked — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:10:36 -0800

Remains of the Day (I like similiar movies, and this is my favorite ever)
Adaptation
Far From Heaven
Billy Elliott (not romantic but definitely sticky)
Howards End (if you like your alienation in period costume)

For big-cast movies, see Magnolia, Nashville, and Gosford Park. (I refuse to recommend Short Cuts, although it has alienation a-plenty.)

Seconding: Red, Punch-Drunk Love, Harold and Maude.

By: milov

milov — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:11:12 -0800

Two Korean and three Japanese films come to mind: This Charming Girl, Take Care Of My Cat, Vibrator, Tokyo Sora and All About Lily Chou-Chou (these are all great).

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:23:53 -0800

A mixure of isolation/feel bad movies, American indie, and some foreign titles that deal with similar ideas (plus some fantastic soundtracks,) since I'm not sure exactly which aspects of the film you list that you enjoy most -

The beat that my heart skipped
Desert Blue
Matchstick Men
Roger Dodger
Milwaukee, Minnesota
Napolean Dynamite
Factotum
Thumbsucker
Me you and everyone we know
Read my lips
13 (Tzameti)
The consequences of love
Me without you
Buffalo 66
Cold Fever
Cement Garden
Fucking Amal

By: A dead Quaker

A dead Quaker — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:47:07 -0800

Blue (from the Trois Coleurs trilogy, to go with Red above)
Andrei Rublev
Spirited Away

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:18:14 -0800

Wonder Boys, American Beauty, Magnolia.

By: catburger

catburger — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 04:53:07 -0800

I read a review of Braff's latest film, The Last Kiss, which said that the two films had similar themes.

trailer

By: hazelshade

hazelshade — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:07:56 -0800

Seconding (or thirding at this point) Red, Magnolia, Wonder Boys, Donnie Darko.

Other suggestions:
- The Barbarian Invasions
- Children of Paradise (French and old, but I swear, one of the best movies you'll ever see)
- Before Sunrise and its sequel, Before Sunset
- Brick
- L.A. Confidential

By: JanetLand

JanetLand — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:23:25 -0800

Passion Fish

By: blue mustard

blue mustard — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:29:27 -0800

Happiness

By: Flashman

Flashman — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:30:56 -0800

My Life As A Dog
-dubbed or subtitled, each version has its merits.

By: ewkpates

ewkpates — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:50:39 -0800

Moonlight Mile.

Dustin Hoffman is in many of the films on this page.

I find it hard to believe you don't like Butch Cassidy or The Princess Bride though...

By: dobbs

dobbs — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:53:37 -0800

Five Easy Pieces
Who's That Knocking on My Door
Carnal Knowledge
Zigrail
The Dreamlife of Angels
The 400 Blows
Welcome to the Dollhouse
2nd Trust and The Unbelievable Truth
Keane and Clean Shaven and Claire Dolan
2nd Brick, Punch-Drunk Love, Roger Dodger
Rebel Without a Cause
Heavy
I, You, He, She
Ring Finger (forget french title)
Stranger Than Paradise
Royal Tenenbaums. And I'll anti-recommend Life Aquatic. It blows and isn't worth your time.
Taxi Driver
The second half of Fight Club

maxreax, I love The Graduate... but how does he participate in Youth Culture?

By: fox_terrier_guy

fox_terrier_guy — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:58:42 -0800

I can't believe that no one mentioned "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" with a young Johnny Depp. Great movie.

I don't know that this fits the "genre" the original poster defined, but Forest Gump does fall into the alone character at odds with his environment and is kind of a love story. Contrived yes, but still excellent.

Thirding(?) Harold and Maude.

By: cellphone

cellphone — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:12:15 -0800

Zardoz

By: theinsectsarewaiting

theinsectsarewaiting — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:12:26 -0800

Jesus Son. Better yet, read the book by Denis Jonson.

By: theinsectsarewaiting

theinsectsarewaiting — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:15:40 -0800

That's Denis *Johnson*.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:36:18 -0800

City Lights (Charlie Chaplin)
Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini)
Odd Man Out (Carol Reed)
Turtle Diary (John Irvin / Harold Pinter screenplay)

By: subtle-t

subtle-t — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:36:31 -0800

I'd recommend ditto/sky of love.

By: clever sheep

clever sheep — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:42:10 -0800

You will love "Trust" by Hal Hartley, or your money cheerfully refunded...

By: Atom12

Atom12 — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:56:57 -0800

Floundering, with James Le Gros and The Low Life with Kyra Sedgewick and Rory Cochrane. Both are kind of depressing, guy-alone-in-LA kind of things but man, they hit the spot for me.

By: smich

smich — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 07:32:32 -0800

Muriel's Wedding

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 07:35:47 -0800

Once you watch The Graduate & Harold and Maude you may feel a little disappointed in how much Wes Anderson ripped off from previous generations of film makers. (I kid because I love)

You might like the French film L'Auberge Espagnole, which is about a gaggle of international students sharing an apartment in Barcelona (Audrey Tautou is in it, although not in a very large part), or its sequel, Russian Dolls, which is about the main character travelling around Europe while writing a novel and a screenplay.

And if your thing is gamine gals with guys-who-are-trouble, you could try Bonnie & Clyde or Breathless (the original French version, natch).

By: dagnyscott

dagnyscott — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 07:37:21 -0800

I'll second Brazil, which is my personal favorite movie.
Also, Welcome to the Dollhouse

By: Lazlo Hollyfeld

Lazlo Hollyfeld — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 08:07:04 -0800

If you can get your hands on it "Taste of Tea" (Cha No Aji) is a great Japanese film that fits into this catagory. Still no US release though.

By: LuckySeven~

LuckySeven~ — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 08:16:09 -0800

fire&wings mentioned Roger Dodger and that reminded me of how incredibly talented Craig Wedren is; that cat can do soundtracks like nobody's business. I've loved every soundtrack he's done (even when the actual movie itself wasn't that hot). You should check out:

High Art
The Secret Lives of Dentists
First Love, Last Rites
Velvet Goldmine

By: strangeleftydoublethink

strangeleftydoublethink — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 08:37:57 -0800

In Good Company

By: snofoam

snofoam — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 10:06:39 -0800

Footloose!

By: croutonsupafreak

croutonsupafreak — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:22:12 -0800

I'm not good at noticing sound tracks, so I can't vouch for those, but otherwise these movies meet your requirements:

The Good Girl
Monster's Ball
Lantana

By: exceptinsects

exceptinsects — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:37:08 -0800

I second Kicking and Screaming--NOT the Will Ferrell soccer one, but the one about college students by Noah Baumbach, the guy who did The Squid and the Whale (which I didn't like as much)

By: exceptinsects

exceptinsects — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:38:57 -0800

And oh my god, they FINALLY released it on DVD--Criterion Collection no less!

By: haveanicesummer

haveanicesummer — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:42:48 -0800

igby goes down (of the type you mentioned i find this one to be the most essential i haven't seen anyone suggest yet)
pump up the volume

i also heartily second/third-- eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, high fidelity, before sunrise/sunset

other movies that don't necessarily directly link with the ones you cited but that i love for (i believe) very similar reasons--

shakespeare in love
moulin rouge
reality bites

By: delladlux

delladlux — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:44:44 -0800

Oldboy!

By: milarepa

milarepa — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:00:15 -0800

Thanks for the great recommendations, everybody.

Oh and koeselitz, wow, you must be a blast at the parties!

By: inging

inging — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:07:21 -0800

Pecker

By: lorimer

lorimer — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:34:40 -0800

Stongly thirding Lost in Translation

By: onlyconnect

onlyconnect — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:39:30 -0800

Seconding/thirding, etc:

Donnie Darko
Eternal Sunshine
About a Boy
Punch Drunk Love
The Zero Effect

and also, under your specs, Mostly Martha (solitary obsessive cook finds love)

and also suggesting you not see
You, Me, and Everyone We Know (everyone is estranged from everyone in this film)
As Good as It Gets (what is so great about a smart, pretty but poor woman settling for a weird, often mean, but rich mentally challenged guy? Is this all women can hope for? Really?), or
Harold and Maude (this movie is constantly oversold and to me has not really aged well).

By: philsi

philsi — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:17:35 -0800

Elizabethtown has alot of similarities to Garden State - though its not as good really (imo)

By: macinchik

macinchik — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 23:35:16 -0800

if you don't mind the alienated but passionate lead being female rather than male, you might really enjoy the new Marie Antoinette movie. definitely a killer soundtrack.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 07:12:23 -0800

igby goes down (of the type you mentioned i find this one to be the most essential i haven't seen anyone suggest yet)

yeah, it was mentioned.

By: haveanicesummer

haveanicesummer — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 05:38:30 -0800

Ahh, my mistake carsonb, I actually feel better now. I run into a ton of people who don't like the film and I'm always thinking they must have seen a different movie with the same title. A bad porn perhaps?

By: MaudB

MaudB — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:39:49 -0800

Breakfast at Tiffany's actually fits these guidelines pretty well, no?

By: fullfathomfaive

fullfathomfaive — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 05:19:28 -0800

Ed Wood
Requiem for a Dream
Hoop Dreams
On The Waterfront
My Own Private Idaho
Heathers

By: radsqd

radsqd — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 07:24:36 -0800

Second Requiem on that..but later half is very graphic..so be aware of that

By: weston

weston — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 17:45:43 -0800

A Clockwork Orange.
VideoDrome.
Pi.
Brazil
Blade Runner
Citizen Kane
...
Ed Wood
Requiem for a Dream
...

These may be great movies (I sure liked Pi), but I have large doubts that they are like Garden State in the way the poster is looking for movies like Garden state.

You might as well recommend Eraserhead, since, like Garden State and High Fidelity and About a Boy and Better of Dead, its character is "isolated, and alienated, at odds or tormented by their environment and spends a lot of time alone." Heck, you could even argue that the soundtrack is pretty good, if you dig the lady in the radiator.

But this would all sortof ignore the basic fact that Eraserhead is going to be a very, very different experience from those other movies. Because it has, in addition to a woman in the radiator, hideously deformed not-babies, exploding heads, turkeys animated at odd times, strange worm things, a very difficult narrative, and an overall sense of despair.