15 Powerful Movies That Can Change Your Outlook on Life

In modern cinema, superhero franchises and endless sequels are released so often that it is very rare to come across films with a meaningful story that has not been replaced by empty special effects. But these films surprisingly play with our mood: one moment we laugh, the next we wipe away tears.

1 Cast Away (2000, Robert Zemeckis)

Tom Hanks played one of his best roles in the classic movie Man vs. Nature. A sort of modern Robinson Crusoe must survive in complete isolation from all mankind.

As you watch the monstrous struggle for the protagonist's survival, you will surely experience a sense of gratitude for the comfort that you have always taken for granted. Adventure drama by Robert Zemeckis reminds us that life is worth just enjoying what you have.

2. Stroszek / Stroszek (1977, Werner Herzog)

This is the story of Bruno, a street musician recently released from prison, who is trying to start a new life. Together with his eccentric elderly neighbor and a prostitute harassed by a pimp, he travels to Wisconsin, USA, to find a better life.

Bruno Stroszek is one of the strangest characters in the history of cinema. He was embodied on the screen by a real street musician Bruno S. As a result, we got a poignant story about the meaninglessness of our actions and existence.

Herzog once said that this film is his reaction to American culture, and some of the scenes are real events that happened to him during a trip to Wisconsin.

3. Apocalypse Now / Apocalypse Now (1979, Francis Ford Coppola)

Francis Ford Coppola's war drama had a huge impact back in the late 70s, when many Americans didn't support the senseless war in Vietnam. “My film is not cinema, my film is not about Vietnam, this is Vietnam. This is what really happened,” the director said. Marlon Brando's character, Colonel Kurtz, is the nationwide pain of time displayed. The screenplay is loosely based on Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness (1902).

4. Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky)

The film is based on the story of the Strugatsky brothers "Roadside Picnic". Three men with the nicknames Writer, Professor and Stalker go to a protected area called the Zone. There is a legend that there is a Room in it, where the innermost desires of every person who enters it come true.

"Stalker" is one of the most mysterious films not only by Tarkovsky, but, perhaps, in the entire history of cinema. This is an extraordinary work that can stick in your head and not let go for months, pushing you to think about the nature of faith, the nature of desire, and how urges soften in our subconscious.

5. The Arrangement (1969, Elia Kazan)

An accomplished man on the way to work is suddenly seized by a mental disorder. At home, he slowly realizes the banality of his prosperous existence and decides to destroy everything that he has achieved, trying to find his true essence. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by the director. For critics, at the time of its release, this picture of Elia Kazan remained misunderstood, and therefore underestimated. Starring Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway and Richard Boone.

6. Naked / Naked (1993, Mike Lee)

Films by British filmmaker Mike Leigh are known for their realistic scenes of human relationships. Similarly, the drama, filmed in 1993, begins with a scene of violent sexual intercourse involving Johnny, an intelligent and well-educated young man, apparently suffering from some kind of depression. After rough sex in an alley, he leaves his hometown of Manchester and seeks refuge with an ex-girlfriend, Louise, who lives in London. The more the main character is revealed, the more his nihilistic, sarcastic and cruel nature becomes apparent.

This desperately dark comedy was a huge hit at the Cannes Film Festival in its release year.

7. Fountain / The Fountain (2006, Darren Aronofsky)

The director's film is a parable with many interpretations about a modern scientist who is desperately looking for a cure that should save the life of his wife, who is dying of a progressive brain tumor. Here, three storylines are intertwined from different time periods, which are combined into a single narrative about a man trying to save his love.

The Fountain focuses on Nietzsche's notion of eternal return. The same event keeps repeating itself an infinite number of times in an infinite space. Thomas, Tom, Tommy - they all operate at different times in different places, striving for the same goal - the Tree of Life. They are afraid of death and try to overcome it with such zeal that they forget to live.

8. Idiots and Angels / Idiots and Angels (2008, Bill Plimpton)

Animated film by artist Bill Plimpton about an obnoxious, lustful man and his daily activities. But one day this character wakes up with wings growing behind his back. Initially, he uses his newfound appendages for unseemly purposes (stealing a granny's purse, spying on naked sunbathers, etc.). But in the end, the wings will lift the subject, making him an unwitting participant in acts of decency.

This animated film, with its distinctive gothic vibe, is unusual by any standard. There are no dialogues, the story is told through the pantomime of the characters, accompanied by beautiful hypnotic music. "Idiots and Angels" reminds us that even the most lost people are capable of good. We are all, in fact, both idiots and angels.

9. Seconds / Seconds (1966, John Frankenheimer)

The story of a banker whose stale life changes when he is given the opportunity to give up everything he knows in exchange for a new face and a new life. He is turned into a handsome artist, but the enthusiasm for a new life will soon dissipate, and returning to the old world is a task much more difficult and dangerous than he could have imagined.

This is a noir thriller and an existential parable about a man who literally sheds his outer shell, trying to improve his worldview, reincarnate into a more successful version of himself. But can anyone do it? After all, changes on the outside do not reshape what is under the skin.

10 Fearless (1993, Peter Weir)

Jeff Bridges plays the role of Max Klein, a survivor of a plane crash, after which he loses his fear of death, changes relationships with loved ones and tries to create a sense of fear in himself. Among the few survivors of this plane crash is a woman named Carla. Her son died in the crash, and she cannot forgive herself for not saving the child.

This is a film about pain and fear, about how joint experiences help to return to life, about how, faced with death, a person realizes the miracle of his existence.

11. Spring, summer, autumn, winter ... and again spring / Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring (2003, Kim Ki-duk)

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter...and Spring Again is a South Korean film set on an isolated lake where an old healer monk and his young pupil live in a small floating temple. Together with the characters, we watch how one season replaces another, and how the years pass by. The events that take place seem as inevitable as the change of times, showing the cycle of life.

It is Kim Ki-duk's mesmerizing drama with short dialogues and an unpretentious story, a calm and contemplative masterpiece that perfectly fits the formula: "less is more."

12. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, David Fincher)

The film is based on the short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Brad Pitt played the role of Benjamin, a child born in the body of an old man. But as he "grows up", he gets younger every day. Before us unfolds his whole life with the predominance of different storylines, especially those related to childhood and love for Daisy performed by Cate Blanchett.

The main message of this film is that life is worth appreciating before everything is erased under the onslaught of time.

13. Vanishing Point (1971, Richard Sarafyan)

Vietnam War veteran Kowalski takes on a tricked-out Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. On the road, the police ask him to stop, but in response he speeds up and soon a furious chase begins that lasts throughout the film. But this movie is not about racing. Kowalski increasingly takes on an almost mythical image in the minds of viewers. He is a symbol of the counterculture and the sad reality in which the "system" or "man" always dominates.

14. New York, New York / Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)

Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut about theater director Cayden Cotard as he obsesses over his latest play. It's a strange, ridiculous and grandiose film about loneliness, creative block, unfulfilled desires and the search for love.

15. Magnolia / Magnolia (1999, Paul Thomas Anderson)

A group of people with seemingly different paths in life collide for 24 hours in the San Fernando Valley. Completely different characters are looking for the same thing: love, forgiveness, acceptance...

Magnolia is one of those rare Hollywood films that makes us pause, reflect, and perhaps change our outlook on life. The director himself said that this is the best film he has ever worked on.