5 Movies That Will Open Your Mind and Soul

Getting out of the routine is something we must do to connect with the creativity that our everyday life sometimes snatches away from us. Going to a museum, a concert or any interesting exhibition can also help free us from the stress we’ve accumulated during the week.

While we may not have the means or time to perform these activities regularly, at the very least most of us have internet or TV to be able to watch a good movie.

Personally, seeing a movie that has been recommended or one that I’ve spent much time waiting to see gives me a mood boost. I continue to get excited to see a new movie because the movies,  for many of us, is like magic on screen.

These 5 movies will open your mind and your soul. 

“Amour” by Michael Haneke

“Amour” directed by the great Austrian director, Michael Haneke, is a love story, however the protagonist suffers from  a degenerative disease.

Her husband tries to do as much as possible so that the life of his wife is dignified. It will remind you of the plot in “The Notebook,” but let me dare to say that the quality and truth in their characters bear no comparison.

In the film we see true love, such as during scenes in which we see the suffering and anguish of having a loved one in pain. It reflects universal dilemmas such as the right way to deal with a situation that is out of our hands at the end of our lives.

The film emphasizes the importance of small details and how the simplest memories are the ones that come back to mind the end of life. The end, is an allegory about death, poetry and generosity that will not leave you indifferent.

“In The House,” François Ozon

This film is relatively recent but has collected great reviews wherever it has been shown. At first the film seems simple, but it gradually grows in complexity, leaving you lost and confused about what’s going to happen.

It tells the about the relationship of a student with his teacher, a student who comes from a dysfunctional family and an environment that doesn’t encourage an interest in literature. The student surprises the teacher by the stories he brings to class and that is when the relationship becomes obsessive.

Parallel to this student-teacher relationship, they begin developing other stories and their bond crosses that of being merely educational. Through the stories of his student, the teacher sees similarities to what he has experienced at some point in his life (he is a failed writer and his marriage hides unexpected secrets).

“Doctor Zhivago” by David Lean

Doctor Zhivago is a classic. For those who have seen it, I suggest you see it again because it offers you different things depending on the stage of life you are in. And for those who have not seen it, it’s a must-see.  It is pure poetry transformed onto the big screen.

The film is set during the Russian revolution against the czars. The two protagonists are Yuri Zhibago and Lara, two lovers in a bad time and an even more complicated emotional situation since both of them are married.

Lara is a woman who seems full of innocence but is not; she is passionate and has experienced a complicated life. Yuri Zhivago, on the other hand, is part of the closed circle of high society. He is a man who represents the noblest principles in a man…but for love he must act in a way in which these principles are called into question.

The dialogue in the film, the images and dilemmas that all the characters will have to face evoke the existentialism of some of the best classical Russian writers.

“The 400 Blows” by François Truffaut

In “The 400 Blows” the legendary French director, Truffaut, makes an ode to cinema with capital letters. He transports us to Paris in the 50s to tell the dramatic story of Antoine, a child who does runs from one problem to another in an attempt to escape endless institutional errors and a hostile home.

His mother becomes pregnant and has unwillingly become a single mother. Later, she chooses to date continually and Antoine is ignored and despised, and believes himself the sole cause of her woes.

Antoine goes through all kinds of harsh and unjust situations, but his vivacious and positive attitude allows him to make some sense of his life, despite these conditions.

“Caché” by Michael Haneke

I leave you another film by director Michael Haneke, “Caché“. The existential analysis contained in the film, and the way it engages the viewer with winks and camera games is not just cinema, it is pure psychology.

The protagonist, Georges begins to receive strange tapes that indicate that someone is watching his home and his family. Each time the tapes and drawings get more baffling and he cannot relate to anything in his life.

Gradually, he starts to put it all together. In this film he wants to clarify the  idea that everything you did in your life is recorded in the minds of others, even if it is not recorded in your own… perhaps because many of us suppress the events that are unpleasant.

Surely once you’ve seen these 5 movies that will open your mind and your soul you will not feel disappointed. The movies can also offer us great teachings and induce intense emotions…

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