A Glean movie guide
Beyond Reality
Mind-bending cinema
High-concept thrillers that challenge your perception of time, memory, and truth.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Tenet
A high-stakes heist film that uses complex time-manipulation mechanics to prevent global catastrophe.
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
- 02
The Matrix
This definitive sci-fi classic explores the nature of reality through a hacker's discovery of a simulated world.
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
- 03
Paprika
A surreal visual masterpiece about a device that allows therapists to enter and navigate their patients' dreams.
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.
- 04
Memento
A gripping, non-linear puzzle that forces you to piece together a murder mystery alongside its memory-impaired lead.
Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.
- 05
Shutter Island
A haunting psychological thriller where a U.S. Marshal's investigation into a disappearance spirals into paranoia.
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
- 06
Source Code
A tight, suspenseful thriller that uses a time-loop premise to solve a high-stakes digital simulation mystery.
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.
- 07
The Prestige
A complex, puzzle-like narrative about two rival magicians whose obsession leads to dangerous scientific deception.
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
- 08
Arrival
An intellectual sci-fi drama that uses a non-linear narrative to explore the profound power of language.
Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.
- 09
Dark City
A neo-noir mystery set in a city where the sun never rises and reality is constantly being reshaped.
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.
- 10
Coherence
A brilliant, low-budget puzzle that turns a simple dinner party into a reality-bending nightmare.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.