However, sometimes the phrase is utilized to express the confounding or otherwise completely disorienting films that individuals have made.  Often such films are, simply put, windows into the director’s normally shuttered mind.  They are films that express the deep desires, fearful confusions, terrible angers, or other emotional depths that these individuals would be hard-pressed to communicate in any other way.  The medium of film allows them such a voice and when an individual is given a sincere and appropriate moment to speak their mind, it often falls on deaf ears.  This happens because the film being watched is generally so abstract, convoluted, even depravadly bizarre that few can maintain their patience.

To examine this, I’ve compiled a short list of films from the past twenty-odd years that were the most profound and obscurely devised pictures made. Movies that were created primarily as visual entries into the diary of the mind; the inner workings of the minds behind them laid bare for all to see.  Within them is a message that many may grasp but few will understand.

Slipstream (2007) Anthony Hopkins

“Slipstream” has been attributed by many to be merely a view into the personal idioms and ideologies of legendary actor Anthony Hopkins, here in his directorial debut.  Chock full of symbolism, energy, and a cadre of veteran actors, “Slipstream” plays exactly as its title; dreamlike and nightmarish.  To me, the film spoke very broadly about the nature of filmmaking and the nature of acting, but underneath was a more palpable statement.  Beneath the neo-noir moments and superbly energetic acting by the entire cast lay a deep insight into life-reflection and death.  The theme that life is but a series of moments becomes akin to remembering a dream, where it seems that none of it may have happened at all, is a profound foundation for the entire picture.  Seamless, heartfelt, and devoid of pretension, “Slipstream” remains one of the most passionate detailing of one man’s emotional journey.

Revolver (2005) Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie broke new ground with his symbolic-crime-thriller “Revolver”.  Departing from the usual fare of “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch”, Ritchie threw himself into the mystical world of Kabbalah with all of its profound and strange viewpoints as to man’s place in the world.  Though centered around a corrupt casino boss, an ice-cold assassin, two mysterious gentlemen of leisure who seem to have the odds-of-life completely stacked in their favor, and a supremely clever con-man in possession of the means to win any game, “Revolver” seems like prime real-estate for another classic Ritchie romp through criminal endeavors and best laid plans.  However, the story is far from simple.  The underlying tale is pure reference to Ritchie’s own battle with his ego, the eternal enemy of all.  The details of this battle are vividly portrayed, mainly through color and character portrayals. It is a deep feel that left many critics wondering how Ritchie became so pretentious.  It left me feeling that one man finally shed his fears, bested his ego, embraced control over his life, and told the story of how he won that battle.  Complete with gangsters, killers and some really strange animated sequences.

Primer (2004) Shane Carruth
“Primer” stands as possibly my favorite film on this list, namely because I’ve seen the film over twelve times and I still have difficulty wrapping my head around the entire thing.  Being centered around the oft misinterpreted concept of time travel, “Primer” will literally blow your mind.  If the overt dynamics of non-euclidian geometry as applied to the 4th dimension says anything to you, you need to see this little indie flick from Dallas, TX.  Shane Carruth spreads his scholastic wings here, showcasing his phenomenal knowledge of engineering, physics and mathematics in a film that will literally have you twitching with confusion at every turn.  From the beginning you can tell this is not just some movie designed to wow with its portrayal of the “dark side of the geek”, but a look into the power of the mind itself and how, if applied correctly, it can be the greatest tool of creation or mass destruction.

Blue Velvet (1986) David Lynch
Few directors can warp the mind of David Lynch, and few films feel like true ventures into a Picasso painting like the films of David Lynch.  Though I understand the concept of “Blue Velvet” (a conventional murder-mystery thriller set against the antithetical backdrop of backdoor suburbia) and both Kyle McLaughlin and Laura Dern were quite impressive in their roles, it was Dennis Hopper’s portrayal of the sadomasochistic, psychotic, and sexually depraved gangster Frank Booth that truly stated this film was different from the likes of Lynch’s previous efforts.  Full of disturbing and strangely alluring visual treats, “Blue Velvet” was Lynch at his finest and most open.  A deeply personal story, it seemed that every aspect of the film was a detail in Lynch’s world: a place where he grew up, a place he remembered, moments that stuck for decades in his mind like tiny slivers under the skin.  A wondrous and maddeningly brilliant film, I strongly recommend this one, if not solely for the awe-inspiring view of an artist’s mind laid bare, then for the incredible and to-the-hilt performances of Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini.

Antichrist (2009) Lars von Trier

Few words can be spoken after viewing von Trier’s “Antichrist”.  After my third time watching the film, I can safely say I have been desensitized even further to the horrors of extreme sexual deviancy, and depraved torture.  A deeply disturbing film, von Trier’s “Antichrist” stands as the most befuddling film I’ve watched in the past ten years.  Unlike the math-jargon of “Primer” or the pseudo-religious pandering of “Revolver”, “Antichrist” is an examination of the human capacity and morbid desire to punish oneself for self-evident crimes to the point of self-destruction.  Though Willem Dafoe gives a thoroughly compelling performance, it is the little known Charlotte Gainsbourg who captures the mind, chills the blood, and shakes the bowels in this little indie-horror piece.  There are no words that I can use here to describe the place that Lars von Trier’s mind must have been when he wrote and shot Antichrist.  The sadness, fury, and hopelessness that transcends from this work was often more than I can bear (and still is at times), truly a living nightmare viscerally captured on celluloid.

I do hope you enjoyed this little list of some of the most aberrant pictures that have graced my home theater.  The only advice I can pass on is to watch them with an open-mind.  Look for the nuances that show more than the next step in the story.  Find the shards of the mind behind the lines, direction, and shot edits.  Search for the subtext.  As terrifying or sublime as it may be, you may just discover a little something you normally wouldn’t.  And that, my friends, is really what it’s all about.