9 MIND-BLOWING ABSURD COMEDIES THAT EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH

By Harshit and Ahona

Under The Silver Lake

If you've ever wondered how it would feel to go on a 2.5 hour long surrealist trip into the heart of Hollywood with Andrew Garfield, I have just the film for you. Under The Silver Lake, like most films in this list, is not a film to be taken seriously. But if you're truly willing to suspend your disbelief, and if you're a film fanatic who is obsessed with classic Hollywood & film noir like I am, you're going to have the best time of your life.

Dr. Strangelove

In hindsight, I was perhaps a little too young for the film when I first saw it. I had just read Red Alert, the book that Dr. Strangelove is based on, and upon discovering that there is a cinematic adaptation of it, I convinced a cousin of mine to find a copy of the film for me. I understood nothing, and yet I was endlessly fascinated. It is, in the true sense of the term, unhinged. Premised on the psychosocial fear around the Cola War and designed as a black comedy, Dr. Strangelove is a sharp, uncommonly witty satire on war as honest as it was absurd.

Buffet Froid

It is sad that Buffet Froid's most iconic frame, the one here, hasn't yet been memed. It should be. One of its reviews on letterboxd (written by a very witty Raphael Jovine) has made the most accurate observation - " it takes the absurdity of Luis Bunuel and combines it with the quirks of Wes Anderson in a narrative that manages to mix black comedy with crime thriller". I cannot put it better. It takes the conventions of a thriller and twists them into balloon animals, at once a crime saga and an unserious mimicry of itself.

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski may be famous for its memes, but with this film Coen Brothers have painted what may be one of the most accurate and yet eccentric portraits of a country coming to terms with the scars of a war. The Big Lebowski is everything it's a buddy film, it's one of the pioneers of stoner films, it follows many tropes of film noir, it is laugh- out-loud hilarious, the dialogue is impeccable, & yet it is plain absurd. It doesn't make any sense & yet makes all of it.

Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota

I was conflicted between a bunch of Hindi films for this slide, between Virgin Goat, Raghu Romeo, Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, RK/RKay & Kaalakaandi. I finally made this choice because if I would want people to be introduced to truly Indian absurdist-comedy, it would be through this film because of how seamlessly it blends the absurdity of classic Hindi cinema with a contemporary filmmaking style. The world-building is deliciously eccentric, the characters are whacky, the dialogue has that quality where it feels like it belongs to an alternate world, & the film creates comedy through not just the writing but also the shot- taking & scene composition. It's funny, but it's surprisingly heartfelt, & visually stunning.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I revisited the film for this list, so I am still very much under its spell. The Pythons were a late 1900s comedy group, comparable to The Beatles in the influence they had over their respective genres. This was their second film. The premise the legendary King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail. The tone - British comedy meets absurdist drama. At the time of its release, many considered the film to have been an over-indulgent, strange story. Today, it is a genre- defining absurdist comedy.

Swiss Army Man

If you haven't seen this film yet, believe me when I say that you're doing yourself a disservice. This was the debut film of the Daniels, now famous as the Oscar-winning duo behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. I had seen this film back in college & fell in love with them instantly. This film should be the poster boy of the absurd comedy genre it doesn't make any sense but it's hilarious, & still so incredibly profound & beautiful in its own way. Alternate description - zombie Harry Potter & a depressed Riddler save each other's lives.

The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

I am yet to see a film as bizarre as this one with as much conviction about its own surrealism. It is from one of the masters of surrealism himself, Luis Buñuel. Even the way the film was conceived is a captivating story - Buñuel was about to give up filmmaking altogether because he felt like he was becoming repetitive. Then, he heard a funny story from a producer friend of his - the man had invited six people over for dinner, and forgotten about it himself. Those two ideas formed this film - sudden dinner parties and repetition.