10 Mysterious Sci-Fi Films That Gave Nothing Away
7. Primer
Is it possible to understand Primer? Of course it is. Is it possible to understand Primer without drawing out the timeline with a pen and paper? Not a chance. Even the wikipedia page uses a doodle to help comprehend the plot.
The story revolves around a pair of engineers called Aaron and Abe who accidentally create a time machine. The pair use Abe's knowledge of the present to make a fortune investing in stocks in the past. If that sounds hard to follow, that's the simplest part of the movie!
Abe and Aaron manipulate one another so it's hard to tell who to trust. Just to make it extra confusing, the characters start betraying their past selves. Sometimes, we are looking at Future-Abe looking at Past-Abe under the impression that it is Present-Abe.
As you realise you are not smart enough to understand what's happening, the film decides to add in a second timeline...but it doesn't tell you that for a while. It goes without saying that Primer requires multiple viewings to "get it" and even that's not guaranteed to help.