Movie Substrate · Film

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

★ 6.9 · 1,893 ratings on TMDB

They had everything. She showed them more.

Mona Lisa Smile poster★ 6.9

Katherine Watson is a recent UCLA graduate hired to teach art history at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College, in 1953. Determined to confront the outdated mores of society and the institution that embraces them, Katherine inspires her traditional students, including Betty and Joan, to challenge the lives they are expected to lead.

DirectorMike Newell
CastDominic West, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Slattery, Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Juliet Stevenson
GenresDrama, History, Romance
The emergence reading

Mona Lisa Smile keeps every mind human — it fights its subject at zero distance. The story fights on E8/E9/E10 of the E0–E14 reality ladder.

zero-distanceUS
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Same rung, same subject

Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.

Doctor Strange (2016)E8/E9/E10Titanic (1997)E8/E9/E10Thor (2011)E8/E9/E10Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)E8/E9/E10The Dark Knight (2008)E8/E9/E10Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)E8/E9/E10

Same subject, different rung

The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.

Darkest Hour (2017)E11/E12 · Drama, HistoryTora! Tora! Tora! (1970)E11/E12 · Drama, HistoryMichael Collins (1996)E11/E12 · Drama, HistoryThe Battle of Algiers (1966)E11/E12 · Drama, HistoryThe Six Triple Eight (2024)E11/E12 · Drama, HistoryRed Cliff (2008)E11/E12 · Drama, History

Same people

Shared director or cast.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)dir. Mike NewellPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)dir. Mike NewellDonnie Brasco (1997)dir. Mike NewellMoney Monster (2016)Dominic WestConfessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)Julia RobertsConfess, Fletch (2022)John Slattery