Life's lessons. You can learn them the hard way; by making your own mistakes or you can learn them through the mistakes of others. I personally recommend the easier option of picking up on wisdom through movies. For the sake of this article, we’ll categorise movies which expound on life’s lessons as Life Movies.
Life Movies are movies about life. Arguably, all movies are, but unlike other movie genres, movies like these explore the measure of a life’s worth. They employ plots that revolve around life’s lessons and sometimes also the lessons we learn from the acceptance of death.Life Movies offer us the opposite experience of other genres like sci-fi, action and epic movies. Instead of escapism, we watch Life Movies to examine our own lives and get to discuss lessons applicable to the things we face on a day to day basis.
Some bad life movies end up either being too preachy or just flat out uninteresting. However, when done well, they can really make those tears flow and more importantly, they offer up meaningful glimpses of wisdom through the observation of stories close to every person’s heart.
Here are a few of my personal favourites which have helped me to examine my life in measures of meaningful accomplishments, comedic moments and also little twists of fantasy.
The Bucket List: The most recent Life Movie I’ve watched, the film was directed by Rob Reiner and starred Morgan Freeman and the inimitable Jack Nicholson. As the film’s title suggests, it’s about a list that two terminally ill men make, of things to do before kicking the bucket. This one-liner synopsis alone should tell you two things. One, it’s soppy because you already know these men are about to die. Two, the film will be about making the most of the time we have and will try to make you see something poignant about life.Life lesson: Find joy in your life and bring joy to others before you hit the road, Jack.
Mr Holland’s Opus: Released in 1995, the film starred Richard Dreyfuss as a struggling composer who becomes a high school music teacher; towards the end of his career finds that his greatest composition has been in front of him all along in the form of his students and family. When the film screened in Malaysia, one cinema chain actually ran a publicity gimmick where anyone who said they didn’t enjoy the movie could get their money back!Life lesson: Make your life your great symphony
Jack: Robin William’s stellar performance in this film about a boy with Werner syndrome who ages four times faster than normal, was fun to watch despite the inevitable soppy ending. Seeing a hairy middle aged man play in a treehouse and develop a crush on his kindergarten teacher played by pre-J.Lo Jennifer Lopez brought out the inner child in most of us.
Life lesson: Life can be fleeting, live it to the fullest and don’t let growing old stop youClick: I was surprised at how choked up I got when I watched this Adam Sandler movie also starring Christopher Walken, Henry Winkler and David Hasselhoff. Expecting it to be another Big Daddy-esque comedy, it turned out to be quite a meaningful film that made me reflect on my life, particularly my impatience and selfishness. Whilst Sandler’s character is bestowed a magical remote control that gives him the power to have things his way, he finds his life losing meaning as he grows out of touch with his wife, father and kids.
Life lesson: Life doesn’t always go your way, let it be
Dead Poet’s Society: This was one of the films my parents made sure I watched when I was younger. The film starred Robin Williams as a teacher in a preppy boys boarding school who tries to break the conformist tedium of his students’ lives by his unconventional teaching of poetry and literature. It would later be copied to some extent in Mona Lisa Smile starring Julia Roberts.
Life lesson: Carpe Diem (Seize the day)! You don’t have to conform to society’s expectations
Another good thing about Life Movies is the fact that you can watch them with anyone and lend the DVDs to anyone, young or old. Although your most macho male friend (who would usually never admit to tearing up over of a movie) might take longer than expected to tell you how he felt when he watched it. Someone once said learning is a life-long process, with films like these, it’s just a Life Movies process. Watch your Life Movies like you live your life. Be entertained, laugh, cry and most importantly, share them.