Great question! The theme of eternal return—whether in its Nietzschean sense (as a metaphysical or ethical thought experiment), or in its narrative form (as a temporal loop or recursive repetition)—has inspired many films across genres. Some treat it literally, others existentially, but all engage the deep question:
What if you had to live the same moment, or life, again and again? Would you affirm it—or despair?
Here are notable films besides Groundhog Day that explore the theme of eternal return:
1. Edge of Tomorrow (2014, Doug Liman)
Tagline: Live. Die. Repeat.
- A soldier (Tom Cruise) relives the same day in a futuristic alien war every time he dies.
- Combines action + repetition + moral development.
- Echoes Nietzsche’s idea: only when he accepts his fate can he transcend it.
2. Palm Springs (2020, Max Barbakow)
- A romantic comedy where two characters are stuck in a time loop at a wedding.
- More existential than Groundhog Day—touches on meaninglessness, freedom, and connection in the eternal return.
- The film asks: If life is meaningless, can love give it form?
3. Source Code (2011, Duncan Jones)
- A soldier wakes up in another man’s body in a train that explodes—again and again.
- He has eight minutes to find the bomber.
- It’s not just a time loop, but a loop of identity, trauma, and ethical responsibility.
4. Run Lola Run (1998, Tom Tykwer)
- A woman relives the same 20 minutes, trying to save her boyfriend.
- Each version diverges slightly, with consequences.
- Explores free will, chance, and minute alterations in fate.
5. The Endless (2017, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead)
- Two brothers return to a UFO death cult they escaped as children, only to discover the cult may be stuck in literal time loops governed by cosmic forces.
- An indie horror-philosophy gem, combining Lovecraft + Nietzsche.
6. Triangle (2009, Christopher Smith)
- A woman trapped on a mysterious ship begins to realize she’s stuck in a violent time loop.
- Psychological horror meets metaphysics: Can guilt create its own eternal return?
7. Predestination (2014, Spierig Brothers)
- Based on Robert Heinlein’s “All You Zombies.” A time-traveling agent tries to stop a terrorist—but the loop is tighter than expected.
- Mind-bending: All identities converge. The agent is everyone.
- Time isn’t a line—it’s a Möbius strip.
8. Timecrimes (2007, Nacho Vigalondo)
- A man accidentally becomes trapped in a loop that involves causing the very events he was trying to escape.
- Raises the question: Is free will possible inside eternal recurrence?
9. Donnie Darko (2001, Richard Kelly)
- A high schooler is haunted by visions of the end of the world.
- Involves tangent universes, destiny, and a sacrificial loop.
- Philosophically dense: a tragic eternal return?
10. Arrival (2016, Denis Villeneuve)
- Not a loop in the traditional sense, but the alien language restructures time perception.
- The protagonist begins to experience time non-linearly: past, present, future collapse into simultaneity.
- Echoes eternal return as eternal presence.
Bonus: Anime & Philosophy
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
(2006)
- A high school girl discovers time-leaping powers and faces the cost of trying to perfect life through repetition.
Steins;Gate
(2011)
- Time travel + trauma + recursion.
- Repeating time until one saves everyone—but at a psychic cost.
Philosophical Footnote:
Nietzsche’s eternal return is not just narrative repetition. It’s an ethical test:
“Would you be able to affirm this life eternally, just as it is?”
Many of these films dramatize that test.
Some escape the loop, some break it, and some—like Nietzsche—simply embrace it.
Would you like a visual chart, poetic essay, or seminar syllabus titled:
〈重複即救贖：電影中的永恆回歸主題〉
(Repetition as Redemption: Eternal Return in Cinema)?
I’d love to create it for your project.
