The 2001 movie “Memento” was memorable because of its unique narrative: The film was told in reverse order, further obscuring the twists and turns the story takes. “Memento” has just been released as a DVD special edition with plenty of tricky hidden features, including a way to watch the movie in chronological sequence (hint: to make the film play forward you must first make events go backward), so what better time to praise other films that have made the most out of tricky time lines?
“Rashomon” (1950): Akira Kurosawa’s influential masterpiece tackles the same set of events from several different perspectives, forcing the audience to question notions of truth and the illusion of objectivity.
“The Killing” (1956): In Stanley Kubrick’s first great film, he tells the story of a racetrack heist gone wrong in broken-up order, adding even more suspense to the proceedings. The existential conclusion may be inevitable, but it’s fun getting there.
“Blue”/”White”/”Red” (1993-94): Director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” trilogy features a trio of stories inspired by the colors of the French flag. Only when we make it to the end of the final film “Red” do we find out that the three tales are somewhat interrelated.
“Pulp Fiction” (1994): In Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough film, the story is broken up into three different segments set at different points in the same time line, no doubt prompting anyone who dozed off to wonder how a major character came back to life in the third act.
“Exotica” (1994): In Atom Egoyan’s moving tale of deeply held secrets, nothing (not even the lascivious DVD cover) is what it appears to be until the final shot, which casts everything you’ve seen before in an entirely different light.
“Out of Sight” (1998): Director Steven Soderbergh adapted Elmore Leonard’s novel into a virtual funhouse of mixed-up time lines, flashbacks and tricky references, which is just what makes the film so, well, fun.
“The Limey” (1999): Soderbergh followed up “Out of Sight” with another mixed-up time line, this time with Terrance Stamp starring as an ex-con tracking down his daughter’s killer. You’re never quite sure where you are in the story until it’s all over.
“Mulholland Drive” (2001): David Lynch’s strange take on Hollywood starts out innocently enough, but don’t trust it. The film’s haunting conclusion turns everything on its head.
