Cool Hand Luke
Though I must say that “What we have is a failure of communication” comes pretty close. Men are ultimately more openly evil than sadistic nurses, but in the end, this film mirrors “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in many, many ways. They start off with a likable main character who is full of energy and, to some degree, fun, and ultimately break him. In both cases, this is done progressively as a downward spiral, and backed up with what they claim society calls them to do.
I was very surprised at how well this movie was made, entirely without special effects, weird narration or any special directing schemes. It’s a very plain film, with some good camera angles but nothing fancy. There is also no slowness or overly dramatic atmosphere built up here, so the whole film relies upon the story and the acting skills of the main character. I’d say both perfectly deliver if you don’t expect the world from this little film.
As for myself, well, “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” rendered me depressed for the next week, and I cannot imagine any film before and after that with the potential of screwing with me that way. “Cool Hand Luke” was less bad, but goes into the same vein. It worked.