Philosophy exists and manifests itself in practically every single aspect of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Art, of course, has never been an exception to that ‘norm’; or rather, it always proves to be a vessel, a channel of all kinds of deeper musings.
Being a cinema as well as a philosophy aficionado, I can’t help but marvel at what can be created when those two brilliantly meet. So, here follows a non-exhaustive list of international films-odes to existentialism, as experienced through their soundtrack:
14. Raise the Red Lantern (1991, China)
13. Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (2016, South Korea)
12. Det Sjunde Inseglet (1957, Sweden)
11. The Red Violin (1998, Canada)
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, USA)
9. Φτηνά τσιγάρα (2000, Greece)
8. The New World (2005, USA)
7. The Breakfast Club (1985, USA)
6. Hero (2004, China)
5. El Laberinto del Fauno (2006, Spain)
4. The Secret Garden (1993, UK-US)
3. Life of Pi (2012, US)
2. The Fountain (2006, US)
1. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004, Japan)
“An individual chooses and makes himself.”
Jean-Paul Sartre
Did any of your favourite arthouse films make it to this list? Do share in the comments below ~
Bonus: You can also check out my review for Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet as well as my KOREA.net article for The Wandering Chef, an existential documentary you do not want to miss.
(Featured image by Yeshi Kangrang)
CONSTANTINA MAUD 
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I loved this list! Howl’s Moving Castle and El Laberinto del Fauno are absolute favorites. Kubrick’s 2001 has been on my list of movies to watch for such a long time, let’s see if I can finally watch it in 2020 😊
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I totally recommend it. ☆ Truly glad you enjoyed this list, Pan’s Labyrinth and Howl’s Moving Castle are always in my top ten too ~ 🌠
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