30. Downfall (2004)
What is it? Depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's rule over Nazi Germany in 1945, the movie is set almost entirely in the bunker where he eventually commits suicide. With Germany on the brink of defeat, it tracks the different reactions senior German leaders have to the oncoming defeat, with Hitler (Bruno Ganz) himself becoming a paranoid shell of a man.
Why you'll only watch it once: As with many movies on this list, the subject material makes it a tough watch, but well worth it if you can make it through.
29. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
What is it? Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free African-American living in New York as a respected violinist. Meeting up with two white men about a job results in him being drugged and sold to Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), a plantation owner. Northup’s attempts to escape stretch over 12 years, and words don’t do justice to the atrocities he witnesses along the way
Why you’ll only watch it once: Slavery, kidnapping, rape, lynching - it’s hard to pick just one reason why you won’t sit through 12 Years A Slave a second time. But the biggest reason is probably that it’s based on a true story. It happened.
28. The Travelling Players (1975)
What is it? Critically acclaimed film that charts Greek history from 1939 to 1952, including the last year of Metaxas' authoritarian dictatorship, the war against the Italians, the Nazi occupation, the liberation, the civil war between the government and communist insurgents, and British and American intervention in Greek affairs. Oh, and it clocks in at a powerful 230 minutes.
Why you'll only watch it once: It's not the length that gets you in the end, but the encyclopaedic knowledge of Greek political history required to understand what's going on.
27. La Strada (1954)
What is it? Federico Fellini’s bleak drama is about a circus strongman who buys a naive young woman from her mother and takes her on the road with him to perform. Despite her desire to please him, he maintains dominance over her through fear and intimidation until she meets a clown who convinces her of another way of life. Sadly, she never gets to experience that life.
Why you'll only watch it once: It's as melodramatic as neo-realism gets, meaning that the characters' troubles are rendered in raw, unforgiving detail.
26. Blue Valentine (2010)
What is it? This romantic drama starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams might look like a happy movie but don't be fooled. It tracks the breakdown of their marriage over several years, interspersed with the story of how they originally met. Oh, and they have a young daughter who understandably doesn't handle to the break-up well.
Why you'll only watch it once: It's too much of a roller coaster seeing the couple's highs and lows scrambled together.
25. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
What is it? This Russian silent movie is a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers. After throwing the officers, ship's Priest, and Doctor overboard, the ship arrives at the port of Odessa where they witness unarmed civilians being murdered by Cossacks. In retaliation, the sailors go to war against the Tsar.
Why you'll only watch it once: No one likes to watch a movie about a people turning on their own country... especially when it's 100% justified.
24. City of Life and Death (2009)
What is it? This unflinching portrayal of the Japanese occupation of Nanking in 1937, and the atrocities that took place during what is known as the "Rape of Nanking" or the "Nanking Massacre" will make your blood run cold. Over a period of several weeks a massive number of Chinese POWs and civilians were killed by the Japanese military.
Why you'll only watch it once: Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this movie is that it mostly avoids obvious heroes and villains, throwing the audience into its litany of horror with no rules.
23. Straw Dogs (1971)
What is it? Sam Peckinpah’s savage home invasion story, starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George, is a lesson in films about remote towns and the people that live in them. When David and Amy return to Amy's hometown they are met with many people from her past, most of whom aren't happy that an outsider has married one of their own.
Why you'll only watch it once: The squalid central rape sequence symbolises a film where the veneer of civilisation is hanging by a thread.
22. Happiness (1998)
What is it? Todd Solondz’s bleak comedy-drama about family life focuses on three sisters with very different lives. The oldest is an upper middle class housewife whose husband, unbeknownst to her, is a peadophile. The middle sister is a successful author who can have any one she wants but is unfulfilled, and the youngest feel alone after being used by one of her adult students.
Why you'll only watch it once: Solondz's misanthropy is so intense that there is no respite.
21. Inland Empire (2006)
What is it? It’s hard to say. Following an actress (Laura Dern) who starts to become inseparable from her character, her increasingly loosening grip on reality merges into the Inland Empire’s dream-logic plot. The distinction between acting and real life is blurred, the story becoming more like a riddle than a linear plot.
Why you’ll only watch it once: It’s like watching a nightmare unfold as the actress slowly stops trying to figure out why her life is becoming nonsensical, and the warping, twisted imagery will probably haunt you for a while.
