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The classic saying, "hindsight is 20/20" is usually uttered when reflecting on an important time in history that later shaped the world, Characters can be "transported" back to that place, by something as inconsequential as word or action can trigger a look back at significant events shaped who we see on screen.
Sometimes, however, a film or TV show starts with the protagonist already burdened with guilt or shame, and we miss out on an interesting backstory that can give some much-needed context to their actions. Or, it could be as simple as time travel did well - a rare feat indeed. These shows and films achieved the latter and time served them well, like a fine, old wine.
'Looper' (2012)
Does time travel assassin sound like the coolest thing ever? Of course, it does. The year is 2044 and "Young" Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a "Looper" assassin and is ordered to kill his older self, "Old" Joe (Bruce Willis).
Looper turned 10 this year, and it still stands as a wholly unique and intuitive idea. The concept of disposing of a body in the past to conceal the future is an innovative one and immediately sets itself apart from its contemporaries. Looper also doesn't shy away from delving into different outcomes and trying to amend the past for a better future.
'Dark' (2018)
The German-Netflix time travel Mind bender that is Dark was truly ahead of his time. It managed, not one, not two, but three timelines, the past, present, and future, 22 years apart. When a child goes missing in the town of Winden, in the present, the investigation leads to mysteries and timelines that not only shake the town but the fabric of the world.
Dark is a show that doesn't speak down to its audience. In its three-season run, Dark gradually introduced heavy, themes like mortality, failed parenthood, religion, good vs evil, and questioning life choices. Or is everything predetermined? All these existential questions are wrapped around complex characters who all have interesting motives.
'Yellowjackets' (2021)
Yellowjackets follows an all-female high school football team that ends deserted on a mysterious island after a plane crash. Conventionally, in a survival mystery drama, the driving influence behind it that keeps the audience hooked is whether the characters can overcome the harsh new challenges and put aside their differences to escape.
With Yellowjackets though, there is a 20-year time skip (that splits the show in two) to the present day observing four of the survivors' lives, documenting how they have acclimatized to the outside world, and how the actions they took 40 years ago still haunts them and however hard they try they can't shake their past. The time skip is integral to the heart of Yellowjacket's story. The show often uses the narrative technique of skipping to either time to highlight or intensify an important story beat.
'Dunkirk' (2017)
Christopher Nolan's sprawling war epic about the legendary war tale, Dunkirk. It is a heart-stopping and realistic portrayal of soldiers being trapped on the beach, pinned in by the Nazis, with seemingly no way to escape but for the sheer heart and fortitude of the human spirit.
Dunkirk splits its time skips into three separate narratives: beach, boat, and plane, following solders and civilians and their heroic effort into they helped rescue thousands and thousands of stranded soldiers. This helps break down the sheer insurmountable effort it took, but also it effectively highlights the crushing nightmare these people faced on all sides, and every single person was needed to help pull them out from certain death.
'Groundhog Day' (1993)
Groundhog Day can be seen as a pioneer in the time movie genre. Groundhog day means a day skipping back to the day beginning, again and again, The film was so popular that Groundhog Day is now an established word in the English dictionary, and describes a monotonous and boring cycle that is hard to break. This is what Phil Conners (Bill Murray) experiences in a single day again and again.
People oftentimes say, "if we have the time again, I would do things." In Groundhog Day this saying is transformed onto the screen as we see Phil at the first try be in denial, but he quickly realizes that he needs to figure out what is missing in his life, so he can start moving forward, rather than going back again and again.
'House of the Dragon' (2022)
The newest dramatization of George R. R. Martin's sprawling fantasy epic, House of the Dragon gives the viewer a glimpse inside the Targaryen Dynasty before the battle for the Iron throne in Game of Thrones. That isn't to say that however that House of the Dragon still has plenty of family squabbles, lusts for power, murder, and of course, a fair few more dragons.
House of the Dragon had garnered a lot of debate on whether the time skips which span 16 years adds to the show, given that the source material is so rich. The time skips show the simple effect of time - a person's motives can change as they grow older, parenthood, love, and death grief can all play apart in forming new relationships and old ones being splinters and broken beyond repair.
'Cloud Atlas' (2012)
The Wachowski Brother's sprawling epic spans multiple timelines and historical eras. It's a film that is often unwieldy and often obtuse to the point of being pretentious, as is the case with most Wachowski projects post-Matrix, but if you manage to look past these things then you might find something unique and special.
Cloud Atlas could be the greatest déjà vu movie ever made - actors play completely different characters in different eras. Tom Hanks, for instance, plays a doctor in the Pacific Islands in 1849, and a Scottish hotel manager in 1936 - a novel concept that polarized the critics upon release.
'Breaking Bad' (2008)
The cultural phenomenon of the early 2010s, Breaking Bad wasn't afraid to play with convention; shot techniques, flashbacks, and flash towards in several cold openings to tell the audience the theme of the episode they're going to explore.
Other examples include excellent uses of time skips of course in the final season, where we see a bearded Walter White in cold openings throughout the season, eventually progressing to the final episode where the mystery is finally laid bare, a genius method to keep the audience engaged and invested. It worked so well that series creator Vince Gilligan would use it again in the equally brilliant Better Call Saul.
'The Americans' (2013)
Set in the early 80s, in the infancy of Ronald Reagan's presidency. The Americans, a political drama centered on two Soviet KGB officers Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and o (Rhys Matthews) posing as law-abiding American citizens trying to infiltrate their system of government and bring back national secrets to Russia.
Naturally, leading a double life can be difficult at the best of times and the end of the penultimate season, Phillip decides that he is done with the spying life. Elizabeth though can't do the same and the show masterfully jumps three years at the start of the last season. Where we see the two effectively face off against each other as the KGB tries and intervene. All the while, they have to protect each other and their other, family life - which makes for a truly gripping final season.
'Lost' (2008)
Yellowjackets is an excellent show in its own right, but one can argue that the show wouldn't have been born without Lost. Lost is about a group of plane crash survivors trapped on a bizarre Island, teaming with mystery and danger.
Lost was arguably one of the first shows to incubate and birth the idea of fan theories. Every week, a new question arose with many before it still went unanswered. A perfect example of this is in season 5, episode 6, "316" where the audience thought they were watching a flashback episode. That is until, at the very end, a drunken Jack yells: "We have to go baaaaack" and it's revealed that we've been watching a flash-forward, completely subverting the viewers expectations.