THEME EXPLORATION

self-preservation

12 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Flowers & Banana Wind
Flowers & Banana Wind
2020 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Ip Man
Ip Man
2008 · Wilson Yip
Fort York
Fort York
1972 · David Cronenberg
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
2009 · Shawn Levy
Once Upon a Time, Cinema
Once Upon a Time, Cinema
1992 · Mohsen Makhmalbaf
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai
2003 · Edward Zwick
The Mirror
The Mirror
1975 · Andrei Tarkovsky
Affection
Affection
2026 · BT Meza
Calle Malaga
Calle Malaga
2026 · Maryam Touzani
Chinese Animation: A Century
Chinese Animation: A Century
2026 · Lijun Sun
Kokuho
Kokuho
2025 · Sang-il Lee
A Castle Within a Castle
A Castle Within a Castle
1954 · Carl Theodor Dreyer
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
David Cronenberg Canada

His body horror films obsessively explore the physical and psychological limits of human survival and bodily autonomy.

 Darren Aronofsky United States

His characters struggle with addiction, ambition, and psychological deterioration as desperate forms of self-preservation that ultimately destroy them.

 Michael Haneke Austria

His films examine how people construct psychological and social barriers for survival in a violent and indifferent world.