Movies Similar to The Machinist's Lament

Alaska(2025)

Alaska is a wordless experimental film with a simple, droning soundtrack that sounds as if it is a piece for violin and refrigerator hum.

Then a Year(2002)

An audio collage of snippets of narration culled from true crime TV shows, juxtaposed against serene Super-8 nature footage.

Every Wall is a Door(2017)

Drawing on VHS tapes of a programme hosted by her mother on Bulgaria’s national television, the filmmaker gives a pop-style and in-depth chronicle of the gentle – even “over-gentle” – 1989 revolution.

The Astronaut(2017)

A short film recounting the travels of a lonely astronaut confronted by the unknown. Unfolding as a mystery, it becomes a carefully subtle, autobiographical examination of the feeling of loneliness and the existential issue of not understanding life on earth and ones place among it.

Serpent’s Skin(1964)

Based on D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" and one of the pioneering films of the Iranian New Wave

A Report on the Party and the Guests(2020)

Europe, 2028. A humanlike creature washes ashore, carrying with him a motionless body he calls his mother. He is on a mission of some kind, reporting on the dwindling human activity in an increasingly automated world.

Decasia: The State of Decay(2002)

A meditation on the human quest to transcend physicality, constructed from decaying archival footage and set to an original symphonic score.

House(1977)

Hoping to find a sense of connection to her late mother, Gorgeous takes a trip with her friends to visit her aunt's ancestral house in the countryside. The girls soon discover that there is more to the old house than meets the eye.

Bullet in the Head(2008)

Ion is a seemingly normal guy whose life goes by without a hitch. A phone call; a meeting with a friend; small, unimportant everyday situations. One day he gets into a car with two other people. They cross the border between Spain and France. The next morning, their lives will change forever.

My Aunt(1986)

Üftade has long been the object of men’s fury. Her only hope is to marry the young man she is in love with and escape her traumatic life in the home of her abusive stepfather. However, when her lover suddenly leaves her, Üftade's despair increases exponentially, and she begins to lose her mental balance due to the traumas of her childhood. Throughout the years, her suffering is witnessed by her nephew, who feels helpless to do anything about her condition.

The Quandary(2017)

Cooper is given a decision that could help him finally make a difference or get him killed.

Enough Cuts for a Murder(1978)

“…a series of ellipses linked by a restless camera in search of diverse characters who appear not only as outsiders but as refugees from other films, from other constructs! An experimental musical/thriller. The body of the film is set in “Europe” and consists of a number of isolated passages using a variety of cast, locations and languages.” (from: http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6d993b6a)

Global Groove(1973)

Global Groove was a collaborative piece by Nam June Paik and John Godfrey. Paik, amongst other artists who shared the same vision in the 1960s, saw the potential in the television beyond it being a one-sided medium to present programs and commercials. Instead, he saw it more as a place to facilitate a free flow of information exchange. He wanted to strip away the limitations from copyright system and network restrictions and bring in a new TV culture where information could be accessed inexpensively and conveniently. The full length of the piece ran 28 minutes and was first broadcasted in January 30, 1974 on WNET.

We of the Never Never(1982)

Based on the well-loved Australian classic by Mrs. Aeneas Gunn, this is the remarkable true story of Jeannie Gunn, a woman who fought to overcome sexual and racial prejudice amid the harsh beauties of the outback. Leaving her Melbourne existence for a new life on her husband's isolated ranch, Jeannie's feisty, good-natured attitude soon wins over the misogynistic stockmen, but she faces a much tougher challenge in trying to change their racist attitudes towards the indigenous aboriginal population.

Measure Taken(1984)

The series’ latest Harald Vogl feature (from 1984) completes the filmmaker’s gradual movement away from narrative toward a vérité-style essay film. Gone are the post-punk streets of the East Village, replaced with on-the-ground footage of antiwar protests and visitors to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC, and observational scenes of union parades, marching bands, street dancers, and Chinatown residents back in Manhattan.

Šturm und drunk(2019)

The Subject and Tasks of Biophysics(1982)

Experimental educational film reveals the emergence of some ideas of Biophysics in historical, philosophical and methodological aspects. The first film from the Biophysics Cycle (1982-1989).

Mona Lisa Smile(2003)

Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

Spring Came to My Brother Charlie's Flat(1966)

Experimental short film from Yugoslavia. A woman and a man are making out on a bed, when suddenly an odd fellow with a chandelier enters the room. Suspense grows as they have a drink together...

23(1975)

A cartoon with a very loose form, mostly following the very creation of images with the author's hand often in the shot.