A Glean movie guide
Whimsical Worlds & Meticulous Capers
For the love of symmetry.
Highly stylized films featuring deadpan wit, symmetrical beauty, and eccentric ensembles.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Moonrise Kingdom
A charmingly symmetrical tale of young love and a scout troop's frantic search across a pastel-hued island.
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.
- 02
The French Dispatch
An intricate anthology celebrating journalism through a series of visually stunning and eccentric vignettes.
The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.
- 03
Amélie
A vibrant and whimsical journey through a romanticized Paris filled with playful visual flourishes.
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
- 04
The Royal Tenenbaums
A dryly comedic look at a dysfunctional family of former child prodigies living in a meticulously designed New York.
Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.
- 05
Paddington 2
A storybook-style adventure featuring a delightful prison break and a heart of pure gold.
Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.
- 06
The Brothers Bloom
A globe-trotting con-artist caper defined by its theatrical flair and elaborate, stylized production design.
The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
- 07
Asteroid City
A meta-narrative set in a 1950s desert town that pushes signature symmetrical framing to its absolute limit.
In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
- 08
Playtime
A masterpiece of visual comedy set in a meticulously constructed, high-tech version of Paris.
Clumsy Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist, and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.
- 09
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
A deadpan adventure through the New Zealand bush led by a rebellious kid and his foster uncle.
Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.
- 10
The Hudsucker Proxy
A fast-paced corporate fable with stunning retro-futuristic sets and sharp screwball energy.
A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.
- 11
Fantastic Mr. Fox
A meticulously detailed stop-motion adventure brimming with dry wit and autumnal charm.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox, bored with his current life, plans a heist against the three local farmers. The farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with the sly fox, seek revenge against him and his family.
- 12
The Fall
A visually breathtaking epic that uses stunning global locations to tell a whimsical story-within-a-story.
In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastic story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.