The Movies That Saved and Changed Me

Like many others, I have seen my fair share of trials and tribulations. Like many others, I have leaned on movies to get me through those particularly challenging times. Escapism is not what I am looking for when I watch a movie. I am looking for new ideas to help me in my trying times. It would be no exaggeration to say that some of the films I will mention have even saved my life. I hope to highlight how these movies have saved me.

Movies have brought a tremendous amount of change in my life that I will never be able to fully quantify and comprehend. Placing myself in the shoes of other fictional characters for 90+ minutes and feeling a sense of empathy for them is arguably the most magical experience I undergo throughout my week. Movies can make me feel seen, heard, and loved all at once. I feel as though I have started the process of a metamorphosis after finishing a particularly special film. I hope to inspire others to look at movies as a means to change and grow as I explain what each of the following films have done to change my life for the better.

Rather than going into depth about the plot of each movie, I want to purely focus on what these films mean to me. I hope those who read this will check these films out if they have not already. They might change your life too.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Taught Me the Importance of Optimism

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” — Tim Robins as Andy Dufresne

The first movie that changed my perspective from thinking that movies were nothing more than lowbrow popcorn flicks to believing they can be a life changing force was The Shawshank Redemption. I was in my early adolescence when my parents showed me the TV edited version of the film. I can still recall feeling a sense of sadness, joy, hope, and optimism in the span of its runtime. I felt myself longing for freedom just like the characters within. Little did I know, the charactrer Andy Dufresne would become a character that I leaned on in the times of my life that I struggled to find a sense of purpose in my life.

Andy Dufresne exudes a sense of optimism through hardship that I strive to emulate in my own life. Whenever I thought about giving up, I would immediately think about this film and how easy it would have been for Andy to give up. Andy never gave up, so I would not give up either. He never let the cruel life he was living stop him from what he envisioned his life to be. He never stopped hoping and believing in himself, so neither did I.

Coraline (2009) Taught Me How To Live In the Present

“T’ain’t all bad, miss. Thou art alive. Thou art still living.” — George Selick as The Ghost Boy

From the first time I saw Coraline until now, I have been enamored by Coraline. Seeing a depiction of a brave girl conquering her fears on the big screen mixed with mesmerizing stop-motion animation is what started my fascination of this film as a kid, but it was not until early adulthood that it started to make a remarkable impact on my life. I began to internalize one of the main themes of Coraline: escapism. I began to see myself in Coraline. I too wished that I had a different life. I too wished that I had a fantastical life filled with non-stop excitement; only to be let down by the mundanity of life. Life began to feel drab and mechanical. I did not want to live in a world that was as boring as mine felt. To be frank, I did not want to be on this earth at times. Coraline’s fervor to rid herself of her own escapism and instead strive to live in the present inspired me to do the same.

Instead of living for yesterday or tomorrow, I decided to live for today. That is all thanks to the children's novel and film adaptation of Coraline.

La La Land (2016) Taught Me How To Dream

“[singing] Here’s to the ones that dream,
Foolish as they may seem.
Here’s to the hearts that ache,
Here’s to the mess we make.” — Emma Stone as Mia

The first time I saw La La Land, I immediately fell deeply in love with its portrayal of dreamers and dreams. Though La La Land is a romance, I have always seen it as a movie for the dreamers first. I have been a dreamer for as long as I can remember; and before I watched this, those dreams were beginning to fizzle out. Before I watched this film, I was beginning to listen to the noise of the world that said to let go of your dreams and focus on “actual” money making ventures. I was beginning to listen to those who said dreaming was only for the weekends. La La Land rejuvenated what little fire I had left to follow my dreams. I am only beginning to chase my dreams now, but without La La Land, I would not be chasing them at all.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are perfectly casted. They both play their roles with such passion. That very passion translated from on screen to my heart. I cannot wait to see what my future holds. Dreaming is underrated. The bright future that is ahead of me will have to be credited in large part because of Mia and Sebastian.

Good Will Hunting (1997) taught Me How To Let Go

“Look at me, son. It’s not your fault.” — Robin Williams as Sean Maguire

The closest thing to a therapy session in film form is Good Will Hunting. Robin Williams telling Matt Damon that the childhood trauma he endured was not his fault was as heartbreaking as it was freeing for me. I no longer had to live inside of this guilt that I insisted on living in. I could finally drive off and be free.

Matt Damon’s character could have chosen to live below his potential because of his situation, but he decided to rise above it. I decided to rise above my own situation just like him. I am allowed to live how I should. I am allowed to be free.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) Taught Me How To Live More Fully

“The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. please, be kind. especially when we don’t know what’s going on.” — Ke Huy Quan as Waymond Wang

The most ambitious coming of age story is how I would describe Everything Everywhere All At Once. It is absurd and a big warm hug all at once. What if nothing matters? I have had my fair share of existential crises. They are not fun. Everything Everywhere All At Once takes the question “what if nothing matters?” and answers it with “everything matters.” Life is difficult and confusing a lot of the time. Instead of focusing on the weight of existing, we instead should focus on what is around us. We should love more. We should laugh more. We should cry more. We should give more. We should smile more. We should live more fully. If this is truly it, what else do we have to lose?

I was feeling particularly lost while watching this film. After living with this film for a little bit, I can truly say that I have made more of an effort to live more. I am so glad to be existing on this tiny little marbel in space. I cannot wait for many more years to come. I am not sure what they will have to offer, but I do know that I will fully embrace it all with an open heart and mind.

Use Movies To Grow

If you have made it this far, I hope you can take at least a little bit of my experiences and apply it to your life as motivation to find the films that can change or even save your own life. Life can be hard. It is a good thing we have movies.