10 Dramatic Sci-Fi Movies To Watch If You Love Melancholia

While many sci-fi movies feature plenty of action, some are darker and more thoughtful in their themes, like Melancholia and these 10 others.

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Lars von Trier’s Melancholia is both a somber and very honest movie. With its dramatic storyline and its dark themes, it’s no wonder that it was praised by critics, with Kirsten Dunst’s performance being singled out as the highlight. Dunst even won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

And yet, a particularly important element of this movie is its sci-fi elements, which make the narrative possible. Most modern sci-fi movies are concerned with action, but there are some that are similar to Melancholia in the way that they focus on characters and the drama unfolding between them.

10 The Lobster (2015)

Starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster is a very unusual movie with the kind of flat delivery that not every viewer will like. But those that do enjoy such black comedies will definitely fall in love with the movie, as did most critics.

The movie depicts a world in which every person must choose a partner for themselves or they will be turned into an animal. The protagonist, of course, must find a partner for himself, but he soon discovers that it is not as easy as it may seem.

9 2046 (2004)

Visually impressive as all Wong Kar-wai movies are, 2046 is a continuation of the story laid out in Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love, all of three which are loosely connected. It’s a movie that emphasizes its dramatic and romantic elements while integrating just the right amount of sci-fi needed for the contemplativeness of the narrative.

The story follows a man named Chow Mo-wan who can’t stop thinking about losing the woman that he believed to be the love of his life. In the process, he engages in more love affairs.

8 Ex Machina (2014)

Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina was praised for its realistic visual effects and Alicia Vikander’s performance, but one of the main reasons for the movie’s critical success is its clever plot, which develops the kind of drama many sci-fi lovers will enjoy.

The story follows a programmer in a leading search engine company who wins an opportunity to spend a week with the company’s SEO. Once he arrives at the CEO’s house, he is told that he must examine an intelligent humanoid robot and apply the Turing test to it.

7 Moon (2009)

Moon is arguably one of the most underrated sci-fi movies of recent years. Moreover, Sam Rockwell delivers an outstanding performance in the movie, showing just how great his dramatic range is (especially considering that he is pretty much the only actor in the movie).

The story follows a man sent to the Moon on a three-year-long mission to monitor its mining. As the movie begins, his mission is ending, but he has become so isolated and alienated that he starts questioning everything he does and everything around him.

6 Arrival (2016)

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, particularly for its deep themes and sci-fi storyline that is so strong dramatically. It’s not a fast story, but rather a slow and smooth one that asks the audience to dive into its atmosphere and enjoy its cinematography, while also trying to figure out the story.

Based on a 1998 short story, it follows a female linguist recruited to help find a way to communicate with the aliens that have arrived on Earth in their giant hovering spaceships.

5 Her (2013)

Her is one of the more lighthearted picks on this list, with its focus on the romantic storyline led by Joaquin Phoenix. However, it is also an amazing drama that explores a topic that will only become more and more relevant in the coming years.

It follows a man who works as a writer of personal letters and crafts them for the clients of the company he works for. After a painful breakup, he purchases an AI-powered program that he slowly starts falling in love with.

4 Donnie Darko (2001)

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal in his breakthrough role, Donnie Darko is a weird movie, to put it lightly, but for all its mystery and strangeness, it also has a very strong dramatic storyline that relies on the movie’s sci-fi aspect.

Set in October 1988, it follows the eponymous protagonist who is a typical high school student. After barely avoiding a disastrous accident, he starts seeing visions of a man in a rabbit suit who tells him of the coming apocalypse.

3 Solaris (1972)

When it comes to foreign sci-fi movies, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris is arguably one of the most acclaimed and well-known. First and foremost, it is about human relationships, even though it adopts a sci-fi setting to tell its story.

Based on the novel of the same name, it takes place on a space station orbiting the fictional planet, Solaris. A psychologist is sent to the station to help the crew continue their mission.

2 Stalker (1979)

Another work by Tarkovsky, Stalker is way more complicated than Solaris, as it explores philosophical and psychological themes such as human desire and consciousness. Stalker is considered to be one of the greatest films of world cinema, even to this day.

Loosely based on a 1972 novel, it follows three people – one of whom is the guide – traveling to a place known as the “Zone” that is believed to have a room that grants the most desired wishes of the people who go there.

1 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Starring Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is more of a romance than a sci-fi movie – and yet, both of these aspects of this story are overshadowed by its dramatic line at the center of it all, which explores the relationship between the two lead characters as well as the less significant relationships between the secondary characters.

It follows a couple that decides to erase memories of each other after breaking up. But as the story is told in reverse order, the audience discovers more about what actually happened.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-dramatic-sci-fi-movies-like-melancholia/