While most movies these days seem to be all about the special effects and making the unthinkable come to life on a big screen, there’s also quite a solid bunch of movies that rely on telling a good story and really blowing your mind.
There may not be too many of them around in the Marvel-infested box office days, but here’s a few movies that can really change the way you look at life or live it.
Forrest Gump
There’s nothing like the story of a grown man that we perceive as somehow mentally challenged, that never seems to lose his childlike wonder and optimism. With the best Tom Hanks we’ve ever seen and a story that makes the perfect balancing act between light-hearted comedy and deep moments of existential doubt and sadness, this movie will definitely leave you wondering whether we wouldn’t all be better off with some extra childlike wonder in our lives.
Fight Club
It’s weird how a movie can be completely bonkers, laden with gratuitous violence and still make you sympathize with the main character and their views on society. And with consumerism reaching an all time high, perhaps it’s a movie worth taking a closer look at in our current day and age.
The Truman Show
A comedy movie that thinly covers up a deep question that most people didn’t really ask themselves until The Matrix got rid of the cover altogether: how do we know our lives are our own? How do we even know this reality is, well, real?
Dead Poets Society
If you’ve ever wondered whether chasing your dreams and ambitions would be worth it, look at this masterpiece starring the late Robin Williams. The movie will show you that when it comes to wanting to live the life that you dream of, nothing should stop you.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I’m sure we’ve all wished we could forget about someone at some point in our lives, and that’s exactly what happens in this movie. A couple decides they want to forget about each other and this leads to some very deep thoughts about love and letting go of said love.
The Shawshank Redemption
An iconic movie and one that you should see regardless of whether or not it makes you think. This movie is nothing more than a wonderful ode to hope and how keeping hope alive can make you overcome the worst possible situations.
(500) Days of Summer
A wonderfully honest movie about love and how sometimes we see things in the wrong way because we’re more in love with the idea of a person than with the actual person. This not-really-a-love-story will have you looking back on some of your past relationships and realizing that maybe, like Joseph Gordon Levitt, we’re all hopeless romantics that can’t see the bad signs when they’re thrown in our face.
