Films that at first appear to go for realism

Full Metal Jacket is an interesting mix of metaphors and symbolism combined with detailed historical research. FMJ never feels 100% realistic but I think it is Kubrick's most normal, Hollywood-like movie since Spartacus or Lolita.

Ingmar Bergman's earlier movies like Wild Strawberries (1957) and The Virgin Spring (1960) have a lot going on beneath their rather straight up drama surface. His later work like Persona (1966) and Hour of the Wolf (1968) are more openly experimental and symbolic.