A Glean movie guide
Beyond the Dream
Reality is a matter of perspective.
High-concept thrillers and cerebral puzzles for fans of Inception.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Tenet
A massive, inverted spy epic from Christopher Nolan that demands total focus to track its backwards-moving timeline.
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
Paprika
The visual and thematic blueprint for Inception, featuring a surreal journey through a shared dream world.
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patient's dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist can stop it and recover it before damage is done: Paprika.
- 03
The Prestige
A labyrinthine tale of rival magicians where the narrative itself is the ultimate, multi-layered illusion.
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.
- 04
Memento
A brilliant reverse-chronological puzzle that forces you to experience the world through a fractured memory.
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
Coherence
A masterclass in tension that uses a simple dinner party to explore terrifying quantum realities.
Four couples gather for dinner the night a mysterious and powerful comet passes overhead.
- 06
Arrival
A sophisticated sci-fi that uses the power of language to reshape our very understanding of time.
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.
- 07
Shutter Island
A haunting psychological mystery that constantly makes you question the protagonist's grip on reality.
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.
- 08
The Matrix
The definitive 'simulated reality' blockbuster that challenges the nature of existence with high-concept philosophy.
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.
- 09
Primer
Widely considered the most complex time travel movie ever made, rewarding viewers who track every technical detail.
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
- 10
Predestination
A mind-melting journey through time loops that culminates in one of the most shocking character reveals in cinema.
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
- 11
Source Code
A tight, high-concept thriller that uses a repeating simulation to solve a deadly mystery in record time.
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.
- 12
Interstellar
An epic exploration of space and time that anchors its complex physics in a deeply emotional father-daughter story.
The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.