I love this movie and part of it’s definitely that it’s loose on the plot, but has so many subplots within it. The weaving together of its casual demeanor is what makes it stand out because it really immerses you in that little world with the feeling you’re just hanging out like everyone in the film.
Really late to the party (at the Moon Tower, haha) but that's the first movie I thought of when I saw the prompt. It's in my top 4 favorite movies of all time.
He’s particular about terms here. I remember him describing previous films of his as having ‘lots of story, but no plot.’
There are a million little stories within Goodfellas, but the film would be utterly incoherent without the narration. Things just happen one after another.
But he _does_ use narration… to drive the plot. Kind of a weird comment.
Same with Casino, Wolf of Wall Street, Taxi Driver… no accident. Scorsese loves hammering the plot home with narration it seems.
that's not PLOT. things happening aren't plot. None of the films you mentioned have one overarching narrative. it's a bunch of B stories that weave together to chart the course of people's lives.
This! By the time the plot sort of arrives you’re like “no, it’s fine, I’m perfectly content to watch this guy clean toilets and listen to tapes in his van.”
Word. I thought old guy hanging out by himself this sounds so boring I'm gonna check it out 90 minutes later i feel like I'm leaving my best friend. That movie is magic
Philip Glass' best soundtrack IMO. Because it's an experimental film without any narration it doesn't have a plot but its message is very clear. Film's last shot is once in a lifetime opportunity that only a master cinematographer would have been able to take so perfectly. Many times I've played first and last scene, connected in video and musical theme into one.
Definitely the first film that came to mind. It tells a story, but it’s subjective. You could look at it as a narrative illustrating the five types of conflict (man vs man/self/nature…) but the vantage point moves from micro to macro so often that even that framework is a piece of the work and not the point. The work stretches our perception of the individual, societies, our relationships to technology and humanity, and how those things all interconnect. Despite being a fixed set of images and sound, it can be a different film for every viewer and with every viewing.
Straight genius that feels as new and novel when I last watched it in 2023 as it did on my first viewing in 1987.
It’s less not having a plot and more getting high from the movie and can’t figure out what’s going on. It genuinely feels like you’re taking the drugs with them lol.
They are irl trolling the very concept of the American Dream.
The book inverts Gatsby. Nick's opposite is Duke. It's also a subversion of On the Road. It seems like a road trip movie at first...
Like a Hemingway hero, he's a reporter. But then he breaks that barrier by also becoming the subject of his journalistic investigations. The author is using the race as a foil.
What do their antics reveal about Vegas and American culture in general? What is the purpose of idealism in the book? Who "won the race," as it were?
Duke and his trusty lawyer (both of their titles made up by each other) cruise into Vegas behaving completely at odds with the place, acting as total madmen. All decorum is thrown out of the window. Who is crazier in this scenario? They may be throwing drugs into their systems with total abandon, but they are also in a contradiction atop a desert. People below in the casinos are flushing their surplus cash down a toilet.
*Have* you tripped to the film? The sound design is *genius* for it too. You’re totally there with them. No idea what’s going on. And the ending is like “wait… it’s over? I wanted more.”
Idk how he does it as other filmmakers attempt no plot movies and they are awful to get through.
The before trilogy and boyhood are perfect films imo. Slacker had its rough patches but I didn't feel the need to turn it off.
Are you asking for abstract or avant garde movies that literally don’t have a plot, or traditional indie or mainstream movies that just may not have a conventional plot?
This is the question that has to be answered. I read the OP question as your former description (abstract/avant-garde), but many comments suggest movies of the latter (just slightly non-conventional).
Eraserhead plot:
Unemployed young man, Henry, learns that his estranged girlfriend, Mary, is pregnant with their child. They attempt co-habitation and child rearing. Mary needs a break from the tension and goes back to her parents. While attempting to function as a solo parent Henry regularly daydreams about escaping his unpleasant life by entering a fantasy realm occupied by a cheerful, welcoming blonde woman.
Henry's child becomes very ill. Overwhelmed by the stress he kills the baby. The guilt causes him to break from reality and he enters his dreamscape and has a permanent union with the woman of his dreams.
The only sequences that muddle the plot are the "eraserhead" sequence and the shots of the Man in the Planet pulling the levers. Aside from those bits the storyline is fairly straightforward and is essentially a cautionary tale about making babies when unprepared. Lynch probably could have got a condom manufacturer to sponsor the film if he didn't get funding form the A.F.I.
I came here for this one, because even though there is a plot, it’s so viciously secondary to the characters and dialogue, that I would say the plot is negligible at best
Scrolled down to find this. It's literally just one long chase scene with amazing bits of action and editing.
There have been lots of other B-grade films which have tried the same thing but this one hit it out of the park.
Yes. In fact, it follows the Hero's Journey/Monomyth exactly, which is the most universal plotline there is.
I teach Screenwriting, and there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding as to what a plot is.
Thank you. I think the movie is alright but it annoys me that people love it. They literally drive out to the middle of nowhere then turn around and go back.
Clerks does have a plot. In fact, some of the segments are named for traditional parts of the Freytag plot pyramid, like "denouement." The plot is simple and doesn't go anywhere crazy, but Dante's progression through the day and dealing with his primary conflict with his girlfriend/Caitlyn is absolutely a plot.
My word! Why this? that's a really tightly plotted film, full of subtext n character development. The different rabbis practically served as chapter markers.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Two bros just hanging out in Hollywood, trying to keep their careers going, and things happen. It's kind of like life. They are just living theirs, and then once in a while something interesting occurs.
I don't think it does. Things happen, but Bruce Willis's character is the only one that is moving towards a goal. Even then I'm not sure that means the movie as a whole has a plot.
Getting the glowing briefcase to their boss is a goal. Taking the boss’ wife out to dinner and subsequently saving her from an overdose is a goal. The movie has three intertwined plots. Even Vincent going to kill Butch is a goal and a plot on its own.
John Goodman mocking his friend for killing himself on the Washington Bridge instead of the Brooklyn Bridge is still one of the most unassuming, funniest things I’ve ever heard. When Donny dies of a heart attack in TBL hit me the same way. Both made me burst out laughing without anticipating it.
The Big Nothing is an underrated dark comedy where nothing happens, but its about that nothing happening.
Burn After Reading is another brilliant film where absolutely nothing happens.
You reach the end of the movie, and realize that the entire plot kicked off from absolutely nothing, and every character in the film has an interpretation of the plot and just acts based on that. By the end, everyone though their issue was a big deal, but it turned out, it was just in their head.
They even have a[brilliant closing scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlA9hmrC8DU)
"What did we learn from this?"
" I guess we learnt not to do it again. Fuck if I know what we did"
Really funny, well written film, rare capture of Brad Piitts comedy.
Songs From The Second Floor.
I haven't seen it in decades so maybe it has a plot and I forgot. But I remember it being more of a series of surrealist vignettes, married by theme and tone rather than plot.
Naked Lunch (1991) Director David Cronenberg. An adaptation of a novel by William S. Burroughs. It has more of a drugged out acid trip vibe than a plot.
All films have plots that are feature-length and made for some $. I assume, though, you don't mean things like "mothlight" by Brakhage or abstract color pattern films like Oskar Fischinger's.
In the spirit the question was intended, though, I'll say "The Tree of Life."
Tu dors, Nicole from 2014. Teenage girls making their way through small-town Quebec, the world beyond and their close friends is beautiful, languid and so compelling.
Dazed & Confused??
Everybody Wants Some, as well.
Such an underrated gem.
And Suburbia
Love this movie. First that came to mind.
And honorable mention to Slacker. Linklater seems to dominate this category pretty ruthlessly.
Such a great movie, with an amazing cast. Kind of the best follow up to Dazed & Confused.
That was just an updated "American Graffiti". There is plot, it's just on a day, night & the following sunrise timeline.
Those two back to back are a great double feature
I’d say Slacker has less plot than Dazed and Confused.
I’m so glad this is #1 because it’s the first one I thought of lmaooo
I love this movie and part of it’s definitely that it’s loose on the plot, but has so many subplots within it. The weaving together of its casual demeanor is what makes it stand out because it really immerses you in that little world with the feeling you’re just hanging out like everyone in the film.
A very conventional plot.
The plot is "summer"
If we're going Linklater wouldn't Slacker be the choice?
Really late to the party (at the Moon Tower, haha) but that's the first movie I thought of when I saw the prompt. It's in my top 4 favorite movies of all time.
Technically most of Scorsese films don’t have a plot, even he admits that.
When asked why The Departed was so successful he said “because it’s my first movie with a plot?”
Hm, I'm not sure why he'd say that. I think they all have a plot and you can chart the three- or five-act structure pretty easily.
He’s particular about terms here. I remember him describing previous films of his as having ‘lots of story, but no plot.’ There are a million little stories within Goodfellas, but the film would be utterly incoherent without the narration. Things just happen one after another.
But he _does_ use narration… to drive the plot. Kind of a weird comment. Same with Casino, Wolf of Wall Street, Taxi Driver… no accident. Scorsese loves hammering the plot home with narration it seems.
that's not PLOT. things happening aren't plot. None of the films you mentioned have one overarching narrative. it's a bunch of B stories that weave together to chart the course of people's lives.
You’re saying Taxi Driver has no plot?
I might not say that about taxi driver but it's certainly lower on plot than most.
I haven't seen all Scorsese's movie but I've seen most of them and I can't think of a single one without a plot
Licorice pizza
What I was going to say. PTA does that so well.
It’s a Bildungsroman. That’s the narrative
Perfect Days
Maaaaaaan this was such a captivating flick!
Hirayama’s routine never got old for some reason
This! By the time the plot sort of arrives you’re like “no, it’s fine, I’m perfectly content to watch this guy clean toilets and listen to tapes in his van.”
More movies just need to be you vibing with the MC.
Word. I thought old guy hanging out by himself this sounds so boring I'm gonna check it out 90 minutes later i feel like I'm leaving my best friend. That movie is magic
Perfect days is the perfect answer for this. So good & so relaxing.
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Philip Glass' best soundtrack IMO. Because it's an experimental film without any narration it doesn't have a plot but its message is very clear. Film's last shot is once in a lifetime opportunity that only a master cinematographer would have been able to take so perfectly. Many times I've played first and last scene, connected in video and musical theme into one.
One of my favorite films to watch with a slightly altered mindset.
There’s a website for the trilogy! https://www.qatsi.org !,!
Koyaanisqatsi is spectacular. Totally an "art film". But the symbolism between the imagery, the music and the title is enough to fill in the gaps.
As well as the other two films in the trilogy
I remember liking Baraka better than the two sequels to Koyaanisqatsi.
Yes! I almost forgot about that one
Definitely the first film that came to mind. It tells a story, but it’s subjective. You could look at it as a narrative illustrating the five types of conflict (man vs man/self/nature…) but the vantage point moves from micro to macro so often that even that framework is a piece of the work and not the point. The work stretches our perception of the individual, societies, our relationships to technology and humanity, and how those things all interconnect. Despite being a fixed set of images and sound, it can be a different film for every viewer and with every viewing. Straight genius that feels as new and novel when I last watched it in 2023 as it did on my first viewing in 1987.
First comment that actually answers the question.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
It’s less not having a plot and more getting high from the movie and can’t figure out what’s going on. It genuinely feels like you’re taking the drugs with them lol.
They are irl trolling the very concept of the American Dream. The book inverts Gatsby. Nick's opposite is Duke. It's also a subversion of On the Road. It seems like a road trip movie at first... Like a Hemingway hero, he's a reporter. But then he breaks that barrier by also becoming the subject of his journalistic investigations. The author is using the race as a foil. What do their antics reveal about Vegas and American culture in general? What is the purpose of idealism in the book? Who "won the race," as it were? Duke and his trusty lawyer (both of their titles made up by each other) cruise into Vegas behaving completely at odds with the place, acting as total madmen. All decorum is thrown out of the window. Who is crazier in this scenario? They may be throwing drugs into their systems with total abandon, but they are also in a contradiction atop a desert. People below in the casinos are flushing their surplus cash down a toilet.
*Have* you tripped to the film? The sound design is *genius* for it too. You’re totally there with them. No idea what’s going on. And the ending is like “wait… it’s over? I wanted more.”
The plot is the life and death of the American dteam
the plot is they go to cover a dune buggy race somewhere in there somehow
EO.
Baraka
Half of Richard Linklater's filmography. The Before Trilogy is very scattered.
The only real answer.
Idk how he does it as other filmmakers attempt no plot movies and they are awful to get through. The before trilogy and boyhood are perfect films imo. Slacker had its rough patches but I didn't feel the need to turn it off.
Watched the Before trilogy over the past week. The third was a bummer for me after the first two. Second one was by far my favorite.
“Slacker” is a good example.
Are you asking for abstract or avant garde movies that literally don’t have a plot, or traditional indie or mainstream movies that just may not have a conventional plot?
This is the question that has to be answered. I read the OP question as your former description (abstract/avant-garde), but many comments suggest movies of the latter (just slightly non-conventional).
So half of this thread doesn't understand what "plot" means?
It's the confidently wrong for me that is most amusing I wonder if OP meant an unconventional narrative and many of these answers meet the criteria.
The jackass films are just skits that are funny. It works really well in film format for crowds and stuff and i think that format should be used more.
This is a good one, but Jackass Foreveer kind of had an underlaying plot, or at least commentary about friendship and camaraderie.
A Hard Days Night
aka “A Day in the Life”
Eraserhead. Early David Lynch, amusing and disturbing at the same time.
Eraserhead plot: Unemployed young man, Henry, learns that his estranged girlfriend, Mary, is pregnant with their child. They attempt co-habitation and child rearing. Mary needs a break from the tension and goes back to her parents. While attempting to function as a solo parent Henry regularly daydreams about escaping his unpleasant life by entering a fantasy realm occupied by a cheerful, welcoming blonde woman. Henry's child becomes very ill. Overwhelmed by the stress he kills the baby. The guilt causes him to break from reality and he enters his dreamscape and has a permanent union with the woman of his dreams. The only sequences that muddle the plot are the "eraserhead" sequence and the shots of the Man in the Planet pulling the levers. Aside from those bits the storyline is fairly straightforward and is essentially a cautionary tale about making babies when unprepared. Lynch probably could have got a condom manufacturer to sponsor the film if he didn't get funding form the A.F.I.
Eraserhead had a plot, Lynch just didn't guide us through it.
I mean you could argue it has a bit of plot (rug) tying it together but I'd say it still qualifies for this post... The Big Lebowski
It is borderline on having a plot. I'd say it has as much of a plot as The Big Sleep.
every line in the script pushes the plot forward
The script really tied the movie together did it not?
Fuckin a.
It’s a bit of a “[Shaggy *Rug* Story](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ShaggyDogStory)”
Well that's just, like, your opinion, man.
I came here for this one, because even though there is a plot, it’s so viciously secondary to the characters and dialogue, that I would say the plot is negligible at best
It has a plot... what are you talking about?
Mad Max Fury Road. They walk out, they walk back.
Scrolled down to find this. It's literally just one long chase scene with amazing bits of action and editing. There have been lots of other B-grade films which have tried the same thing but this one hit it out of the park.
This movie absolutely has a plot.
I mean that's the basic root of all heroes journey stories so I still think this is considered a plot.
Yes. In fact, it follows the Hero's Journey/Monomyth exactly, which is the most universal plotline there is. I teach Screenwriting, and there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding as to what a plot is.
Thank you. I think the movie is alright but it annoys me that people love it. They literally drive out to the middle of nowhere then turn around and go back.
Paterson by Jim Jarmusch
REPO MAN
certified copy
This definitely has a plot. If it didn't the twist wouldn't work .
Easily Mad God
"Gummo" & "Trash Humpers" by Harmony Korine are my picks. No plot, just vibes.
This is a great answer
Yes, finally an apt answer
The Zone of Interest
The Lighthouse I’d argue Mulholland Drive both does and doesn’t have a plot in all technicality
Zone of interest
The Breakfast Club
mid 90s
Gozu
This has a plot, it's a surrealist road movie, a quest of sorts
Crooklyn
my dinner with andre
Over 150 comments and Clerks hasn’t been mentioned?! And The Big Lebowski also doesn’t have a plot per se.
Clerks does have a plot. In fact, some of the segments are named for traditional parts of the Freytag plot pyramid, like "denouement." The plot is simple and doesn't go anywhere crazy, but Dante's progression through the day and dealing with his primary conflict with his girlfriend/Caitlyn is absolutely a plot.
A Serious Man
My word! Why this? that's a really tightly plotted film, full of subtext n character development. The different rabbis practically served as chapter markers.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Two bros just hanging out in Hollywood, trying to keep their careers going, and things happen. It's kind of like life. They are just living theirs, and then once in a while something interesting occurs.
Under the Skin (2023) dir. Jonathan Glazer
Holy Mountain
Lost in Translation
Drinking Buddies
Stranger than Paradise
Gerry
before sunrise
Magnolia
Love me some Napoleon Dynamite.
The Florida Project
The Comedy is pretty great.
Samsara and Baraka is what you're looking for
Baraka and Samsara
Based on everybody’s answers, all the movies I love are plotless. Slacker was gonna be my answer. One of my favorites that inspired me in film school.
Last Days
Head - The Monkees
Pulp Fiction barely has a plot
Napoleon Dynamite.
Blue - Derek Jarman
Does La Haine count?
Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction unequivocally has a plot.
It has like 5
I don't think it does. Things happen, but Bruce Willis's character is the only one that is moving towards a goal. Even then I'm not sure that means the movie as a whole has a plot.
Getting the glowing briefcase to their boss is a goal. Taking the boss’ wife out to dinner and subsequently saving her from an overdose is a goal. The movie has three intertwined plots. Even Vincent going to kill Butch is a goal and a plot on its own.
Like I said, this isn't even a matter of opinion. To believe the movie doesn't have a plot literally means you don't know what plot is.
PF 's plot is non-linear but definitely there.
Anatomy of a Fall
Very much plot driven…
Bruh what? Lmaoo
Beau is Afraid
All of these movies suck Look at ‘The Swimmer’
[удалено]
Lovers Rock
Empire
Chungking Express (1994)
Taste of Cherry.
Inside Llewyn Davis
John Goodman mocking his friend for killing himself on the Washington Bridge instead of the Brooklyn Bridge is still one of the most unassuming, funniest things I’ve ever heard. When Donny dies of a heart attack in TBL hit me the same way. Both made me burst out laughing without anticipating it.
Knight of Cups Slacker
The Big Nothing is an underrated dark comedy where nothing happens, but its about that nothing happening. Burn After Reading is another brilliant film where absolutely nothing happens. You reach the end of the movie, and realize that the entire plot kicked off from absolutely nothing, and every character in the film has an interpretation of the plot and just acts based on that. By the end, everyone though their issue was a big deal, but it turned out, it was just in their head. They even have a[brilliant closing scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlA9hmrC8DU) "What did we learn from this?" " I guess we learnt not to do it again. Fuck if I know what we did" Really funny, well written film, rare capture of Brad Piitts comedy.
The Holdovers
Inland Empire
Slacker
The Florida Project I think this prompt is inferring a *slice of life* movie, and this film (from a kids perspective) is powerful
gd i feel like if i keep scrolling i’m gonna find someone saying that star wars doesn’t have a plot
Goodfellas?
Inside Llewyn Davis
Spring Breakers. That movie was equal parts velvet horny and wtf moments.
Explicit Ills Independent film but watching it enriched my perspective on life.
Kiarostami is the heavyweight champion of this genre
My Neighbor Totoro. Things happen. But I am not sure there is a plot.
You could argue documentaries don’t have a plot of their own since they are retelling an existing plot…
Goodfellas (1990)
Waking Life is the perfect film because it does not have a plot
Songs From The Second Floor. I haven't seen it in decades so maybe it has a plot and I forgot. But I remember it being more of a series of surrealist vignettes, married by theme and tone rather than plot.
My Dinner with Andre
Stranger Than Paradise Jim Jarmusch is a master of the plotless hang-out film, and this is easily one of his most memorable
I quite like News From Home by Chantal Akerman.
pulp fiction?
Waking Life
Tree of Life
Russian Ark
I came here to say this. This move was shot in one long take in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The camera never stopped.
Sicario. Amazing movie but no change in the situation or the characters themselves.
Napoleon Dynamite has a very loose plot at best, and it's amazing.
True Stories
Once upon a time in Hollywood
Samsara
Naked Lunch (1991) Director David Cronenberg. An adaptation of a novel by William S. Burroughs. It has more of a drugged out acid trip vibe than a plot.
My neighbour totoro
The Big Chill
My Dinner With Andre
Holy Motors (2012) Mulholland Drive (2001) MirrorMask (2005) Cryptozoo (2021) Edit: "Best" meaning unique and fondly memorable in this context.
Independence Day
The Thin Red Line
I Heart Huckabees, maybe?
The Limits of Control - Jim Jarmusch directed surreal spy/hit man film with a basic plot
Last Year at Marienbad (1961) d: Alain Resnais Pickpocket (1959) d: Robert Bresson Both films require patience. Limited if any cohesive plot.
All films have plots that are feature-length and made for some $. I assume, though, you don't mean things like "mothlight" by Brakhage or abstract color pattern films like Oskar Fischinger's. In the spirit the question was intended, though, I'll say "The Tree of Life."
La Dolce Vita
Coffee and Cigarettes
Casino has a story but not plot, according to Martin Scorsese. That’s my vote
Mulholland Drive. If there is one, I can't figure it out. Beautiful movie though. It's just a vibe.
Without a plot? Every movie has a plot. Plot is what occurs on screen. I think you mean a movie without a story.
You've flipped "story" and "plot". Any random series of events is a story. Plot requires cause and effect.
Tu dors, Nicole from 2014. Teenage girls making their way through small-town Quebec, the world beyond and their close friends is beautiful, languid and so compelling.
Almost All of these movies have plots wtf
Does Napoleon Dynamite count?
There was a damn good movie back in the day called slacker. It didn’t seem to have any plot I can remember. Real good movie though .
Holy mountain? There’s sort of a plot, but I find the film beautiful.