Movies with parallel stories (hyperlink, ensemble, episodic movies)
I like movies that include several storylines that are usually shown in parallel interlocking fashion (also called hyperlink or ensemble or episodic movies). So I decided to create a list of such movies that I have seen.
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- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsMarlon BrandoMontgomery CliftDean MartinThe lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.Possibly the earliest movie that fits the definition of an ensemble movie. It includes just two parallel story lines, most ensemble movies have more. Based on a novel with a similar structure.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsChhabi BiswasKaruna BannerjeePahadi SanyalAn upper-class Bengali family is on vacation in Darjeeling, a popular hill station and resort near Kanchenjungha.An early example of an ensemble movie from India.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.The first movie that really demonstrated the power of parallel stories.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineKaren BlackRonee BlakleyOver the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated people prepare for a political convention.Robert Altman is the king of ensemble movies. Nashville is his first experiment with this style of movie making.
- DirectorSerif GörenYilmaz GüneyStarsTarik AkanSerif SezerHalil ErgünWhen five Kurdish prisoners are granted one week's home leave, they find to their dismay that they face continued oppression outside of prison from their families, the culture, and the government.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMartin LandauWoody AllenBill BernsteinAn ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsDanny GloverKevin KlineSteve MartinThe fates of several people are randomly intertwining. Their sympathy of each other faces multiple differences in their lifestyles.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsAndie MacDowellJulianne MooreTim RobbinsThe day-to-day lives of several suburban Los Angeles residents.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsGabriel Cosmin UrdesLukas MikoOtto Grünmandl71 scenes revolving around a recent immigrant, a couple that has just adopted a daughter, a college student and a lonely old man.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsJane AdamsJon LovitzPhilip Seymour HoffmanThe lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
- DirectorFernando PérezStarsLuis Alberto GarcíaCoralia VelozClaudia RojasThree characters in present-day Havana must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs, or getting rid of them to live more freely. Ballerina Mariana has promised God celibacy if she gets the role of "Giselle"; Social-worker Julia always faints after hearing a certain word; and pot-smoking percussionist Elpidio was abandoned by his mother, coincidentally named Cuba, some time ago and has not yet gotten over the loss.
- DirectorAmos KollekStarsAnna ThomsonFelicia MaguireAlyssa MulhernDespite the fact that Fiona has lived apart from her mother, they lead parallel lives as bi-sexual prostitutes. The meeting of the two women spells tragedy for the mother and hope for the daughter.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
- DirectorRisa Bramon GarciaStarsBen AffleckCasey AffleckDave ChappelleA collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasBenicio Del ToroCatherine Zeta-JonesA conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron's wife attempts to carry on the family business.
- DirectorRodrigo GarcíaStarsGlenn CloseCameron DiazCalista FlockhartFive California women struggle with personal problems as their own paths unwind in unexpected ways.
- DirectorRay LawrenceStarsAnthony LaPagliaGeoffrey RushRachael BlakeThe relationships of four couples unravel after the discovery of a young woman's body in Lantana bush in suburban Sydney.
- DirectorRose TrocheStarsGlenn CloseDermot MulroneyMary Kay PlaceMeet four neighboring, suburban families, each with their own problems.
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsMaria HofstätterChristine JirkuViktor HennemannIn the tomb-like quiet of their ranch-style purgatory, a divorced husband and wife fight a wordless war while mourning an unspeakable mutual loss. A sadistic lover's ritual humiliation spawns both tenderness and revenge.
- DirectorStephen DaldryStarsMeryl StreepNicole KidmanJulianne MooreThe story of how the novel "Mrs. Dalloway" affects three generations of women, all of whom, in one way or another, have had to deal with suicide in their lives.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
- DirectorAmos GitaiStarsYaël AbecassisHana LasloUri KlauznerSlice-of-life look at the lives of twelve people who live or work in the same apartment complex in Tel Aviv.