10 Movies Every Film Buff Should Have Seen Already

4. Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan has become one of the most successful directors working today through the sheer quality of his output, elevating the standard summer blockbuster to unparalleled heights with exciting yet thought provoking work. The Dark Knight and Inception may be his most popular movies to date, but it's Nolan second feature film, Memento, which dazzled audiences with its unique approach to story telling. The story follows a man called Leonard Shelby who suffers from a condition known as anterograde amnesia, which prevents him from storing newly formed memories. To encapsulate the disorder onscreen, Nolan tells the story through two different sequences which are shown alongside one another: a black and white chronological sequence and scenes shot in color which are shown in reverse order. The nonlinear narrative is revealed in the films opening through the depiction of a polaroid photograph which fades backwards into white. Nolan's exploration of perception and memory through this neo-noir psychological thriller captured the minds of audiences worldwide, but what has cemented Memento's place in history is the nonlinear narrative structure which pushes the very limits of what storytelling can achieve. This is certainly not the first time that a film maker has played around with the conventions of narrative, but Memento proves that modern cinema still has the capacity to surprise and reinvent the way we enjoy movies over a century after the medium found its feet. If you haven't seen Memento yet, drink some coffee and stay alert or you'll get lost in the labyrinthine narrative. Further Recommendations: Rashomon (1950), Amores Perros (2000), Irreversible (2002)