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Welcome To 1984: Seven dystopian fiction films to help grasp our political climate

On Sunday, the Brattle Theatre is presenting a double feature of 1984 and Francois Truffaut’s adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. They’re showing these films to celebrate National Library Week, but on some level they may be showing solidarity with other cinemas likeCoolidge Corner, Brooklyn’s Nitehawk, and some 200 other theaters which screened the former on April 4 as a form of passive resistance against the pseudo-dystopian forces within our own government.

Of course, dystopian fiction doesn’t begin or end with those two films, and we’ve provided a selection of other movies you can watch on your favorite streaming services to further explore the genre. Prepare to be bummed, folks.

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High Rise (Netflix)

A new brutalist high-rise building has risen on the outskirts of London, full of enough modern conveniences that you’d never want to leave if you had a place there. And sure enough, the residents don’t, and when their fragile artificial ecosystem begins to fail, all hell breaks loose. For many people, High Rise was the coming-out party for British director Ben Wheatley, which offered a glimpse at both his brilliant stylistic quirks and impressive talents, bolstered by a brilliant cast. An adaptation of J. G. Ballard’s masterly novel, Wheatley manages to capture the beautifully cynical nature of the text, and also preserve it’s wickedly dark and understated sense of humor. It was coldly received when it hit theaters last year, but it’s got enough merit to warrant a watch. Hell, you might even like it, you filthy animals.

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