Films That Inspire You

[Miranda]

Or moved you, made you think, or realise something.

Hello BTTB-ers. I have decided to do a project on this, to keep my brain ticking over. I'm going to make a list of inspiring/ affecting films and why they inspired people. Not films that just entertain you for two hours and you forget as soon as they finish.

Could you tell me which are your favourite inspiring films, and why?

The ones I can think of which affected me in some way are:

Crash [2004]- which reminded me that you really can't judge people by the words which come out of their mouths, you should look at their actions.

Schindler's List- one man decides to help the desperate Jews escape the Nazis. My favourite quote about this film is: 'Don't think one person can't make a difference to the world. Because one man did.'

The Shawshank Redemption- keep on believing and trying and eventually you will win through [been a while since I saw this, so details are fuzzy].

The Seventh Seal- just an amazingly made film showing the range of humanity and the different types of love humans are capable of.

Ladies in Lavender- a reminder not to waste your life, just get on with it and enjoy it while you are here for such a short time.

I'll be interested to see what films people recommend

[Foxy]

Three immediatley spring to mind, though I'm sure there are many more...

First off is a film called Tarnation. It's a documentary made for $200 on iMovies that went onto get a general release. It's about a womans descent into mental health problems and the film is made by her son and traces how he coped with it and how it affected and shaped his life. Not a cheery film by any means, and not a conventionally shot or edited film either but I think it's uniqueness is very apt for the story it tells and I find it both inspirational and moving and a stark reminder of how much mental health issues can affect more than just the sufferer - and also a reminder of how much people with good mental health can take it for granted.

Secondly, The Hours. I can't even really describe the way this one affects, it's brilliantly made and acted and it just gets me on a level I can't explain. Sheer brilliance, should be seen for Nicole Kidman's 'Virginia Woolf' alone, and definitely the sort of film that I feel would affect different people on different levels.

And lastly, perhaps a little strangely for "inspirational films" is Sophie's Choice. If you haven't seen it I won't spoil it for you and if you have then I'm sure it's stayed with you in the same way it has me. Utterly gut wrenching and ultimately not particularly uplifting at the end either (though that really depends on your perception - there's a sense of freedom which one could interpret as uplifting...but I'm straying from the point....), but at the same time utterly compelling. Really makes me greatful for what I've got, and in equal measure makes you realise the horrors that occured during the Second World War - what takes place here (particularly 'the choice') probably happened a lot more frequently than the history books would have us believe. Not an easy film, and yet not to be missed.

[emmasi]

The Last Unicorn - "There are no happy endings because nothing ends."

Dogma - "I just think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Beliefs are harder. People kill for them."

Watership Down - "There is no bargain. What is, is what must be."

The Lion King - "Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble."

Flatliners - "Today is a good day to die."

Hopefully all those quotes are self-explanatory as to why I find these movies inspiring, but perhaps the Flatliners one seems morbid. The way I see it, you meet your fate every day, and if today is the day that you're going to die, then it might as well be as good a day as any other. The movie means it more literally than that, but I still like to repeat it to myself every so often.

[Formerly Known as FKAJ]

Flatliners - "Today is a good day to die."

Hopefully all those quotes are self-explanatory as to why I find these movies inspiring, but perhaps the Flatliners one seems morbid. The way I see it, you meet your fate every day, and if today is the day that you're going to die, then it might as well be as good a day as any other. The movie means it more literally than that, but I still like to repeat it to myself every so often.

Interestingly, that one's a Klingon motto, although it originally came from Crazy Horse

Two of my favourites that I gues belong here are Jerry Maguire and Rocky.

[emmasi]

Flatliners - "Today is a good day to die."

Hopefully all those quotes are self-explanatory as to why I find these movies inspiring, but perhaps the Flatliners one seems morbid. The way I see it, you meet your fate every day, and if today is the day that you're going to die, then it might as well be as good a day as any other. The movie means it more literally than that, but I still like to repeat it to myself every so often.

Interestingly, that one's a Klingon motto, although it originally came from Crazy Horse

I didn't know that. Flatliners is about people wanting to see what happens after you die, and they find out that what happens is, you're confronted by anything you feel guilty about doing in your life, and it haunts you. So Flatliners also inspires me to try and live without regret, to try and make it up to people I've hurt, and try to forgive people that have hurt me, and forgive myself for stuff that I've done and can't fix. It's a confronting and scary movie, but there are some good lessons to be taken away from it.

[Miranda]

Thanks for your replies Some great suggestions, many of which I haven't seen e.g. The Hours.

Its interesting that most people I have asked find films/stories about the Holocaust inspiring and we end up having a discussion. I suppose it is because looking back at history we can't imagine how anyone could survive the horror and repulsive cruelty that occurred.

Something I found out the other day about the Holocaust, which is inspiring in a different way, was about the Danish Jews. I don't know if this is well known, but apparently the Danes decided that the Nazis weren't going to take their Jews and helped them escape to Sweden in boats. So 95% of the Danish Jews escaped to safety. If only all the nations at that time had been so resolute and strong.

I thought that motto was Klingon- I wondered which came first, Flatliners or Klingons? Surely Klingons, who must have pinched it from Crazy Horse

Can anyone think of any films where someone is trying to make amends for something terrible they have done e.g. a crime? I have a gap in that section.

[Foxy]

Atonement is a brilliant film about someone trying to repent a bad thing they've done, and follows the effects of the action on other people. It's not repentance for anything like breaking the law, but rather a decision made having a disastrous effect on others.

[Jamey-Maria]

^ I watched that again last night- totally agree & on Schindler's List. I havn't seen Sophie's choice (didn't really it was adapted into a movie) but I've read the book. It was incredible and tragic.

I watched this movie on sbs years ago on a Sunday night and it must have been fairly unknown because I can't find it anywhere but it was hands down the most inspiring movie I've ever watched. It was called "Girl In A Cafe" and I'm a little rusty on the exact details but I remember it was about this man who had a job that was going to take him to the g8 summit where the world leaders were going to discuss major things etc. And before he goes he meets this girl in a cafe and decides to take her with him, She does some really unorthadox things (for a convention swarming with media and wolrd ledares) to make them see that wolrd poverty should be the main topic they're trying to solve. And without giving too much she gives this absolutely incredible speech. It's another one of those one person can make a difference movies but it's really something.

[emmasi]

Can anyone think of any films where someone is trying to make amends for something terrible they have done e.g. a crime? I have a gap in that section.

I don't know about movies, but that's the entire concept behind Angel and Xena. They both killed hundreds of innocent people and then decided to make up for it by protecting innocent people instead. That probably doesn't help you though.

I think that new movie Seven Pounds is about something like what you're after, but I haven't seen it.

[Miranda]

Atonement! I'd forgotten about that [haven't seen it, but it might do]. Its a shame Xena and Angel weren't films, but I don't think they are universally popular [even though I love them, other people might dismiss them as sci fi nonsense].

I think I saw that 'Girl in a Cafe' on telly once. Was it Bill Nighy [can't remember the girl though]. It sounds like another film I've seen advertised starring Rachel Weisz, who plays some kind of activist in Africa. She asks some difficult questions in an important conference, then

gets assassinated

Can't remember who plays her husband- Clive Owen? Brendan Fraser?