Julia Brendler in Dolphins (1999)

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Directed by exiled Iranian filmmaker Farhad Yawari, the moody and near-silent meditation Dolphins (1999) explores the inner life of a woman who’s being held in a hospital mental ward. The pretty young patient, Lara (Julia Brendler), spends much of her time focused on the only stimulus in her drab room--a tiny goldfish bowl. Using it to concoct surreal underwater adventures, Lara imagines herself swimming deep below the ocean and far away from the institution in which she’s being held. Lucky for us, Lara doesn’t bring a swimsuit along for her exotic daydreams--she’s naked as the day she was born while frolicking with her delighted imaginary dolphin friends.