28
votes
Lighthearted movie about someone finding a new direction?
Can you please recommend a movie about someone finding a new direction in life? Ideally something heartwarming, no soul-crushing drama this time. My picks would be:
Do you know about something like that, but less known?
Thank you.
Kiki's delivery service
Amélie is an absolutely adorable French movie about a shy girl finding purpose by solving a minor mystery and performing random acts of kindness along the way.
I saw it when it came out and I did not get it. But so many people have recommended it to me since then... I should give it another try.
Pretty Woman?
I did not expect this one... but you are absolutely right, it does fit my description :-)
I just watched Quiz Lady. It felt a lot gentler and hmm sweeter than the tone in the previews. Will Ferrell is particularly wholesome (a touch of that Stranger Than Fiction feel). It was a very low key and heartwarming movie. Good to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
East Side Sushi.
Fits the requirements to a T.
damn, and here i felt like i would never hear about this movie ever again. it's a good one!
Dan In Real Life with Steve Carrell is a movie I think about maybe more often than any other, for the same reasons.
I don't know if it's because that movie made me feel feelings or the music made me feel feelings, but I really liked the soundtrack for that movie. I ended up listening to the official soundtrack and Sondre Lerche albums for weeks after watching it.
Yeah, that is a great movie for multiple reasons. One of them is the character played by Juliette Binoche - often when you watch this kind of movie, you understand why the guy falls for the girl... but you know you wouldn't. But with this woman, I totally would.
Also, the scene when Ruthie "Pigface" enters the door.
The movie I thought of is Tampopo, in which the widow of a noodle shop owner struggles to keep the business going until an unlikely hero appears... but it's so much more than that. It's a glorious homage to cinema, food culture, love, and craft, and triumph over unplanned direction changes.
Edit: I don't know why I forgot Ratatouille which is very much about reinventing oneself.
Amazing movie!
If you don't mind animation, I think Storks on Netflix fits the bill.
That movie was honestly far funnier and more enjoyable than it had any right to be.
Maybe not lesser known, but Pig with Nicholas Cage fits this pretty well
Well, not known to me, thanks!
@PelagiusSeptim's interpretation of the film clearly differs from mine but I do not think Pig is heartwarming at all. It is really good, though.
It does have it's sad and dark moments. Maybe not the best fit for OP's after all since I was more focused people finding new directions in life, but in the end I did find the film perhaps life affirming rather than heartwarming. I missed the word lighthearted completely in the OP though, which this film is not.
I misspoke myself. I do think the film is heartwarming in a certain light. The protagonist does find a way to move on with his life. But as you said, and I should've said, it's not a lighthearted film.
In any case, it's a great film that went underappreciated.
Anything life affirming is awesome. And I just remembered another movie I should have used as an example: Lars and the Real Girl - funny and sad at the same time. I love movies that mix emotions.
I am curious about that movie - the trailer looks very interesting. I have a pretty wide definition of the "heartwarming" category - for example, I think Everything Everywhere All at Once could fit in there despite having some intensely dark moments.
Jeff Who Lives At Home! :) I think it's a really heartwarming movie, last time I remember watching it.
Wow, just started watching it and I can already tell I'm going to love it. Related heavily to the opening scene. I'll report back when it's finished
Must be a long movie… :P
This is not much of a recommendation, but... A loooong time ago, I watched a Japanese movie Shiawase no Pan (Bread of Happiness 2012) on a plane ride. I'm not sure if I even got to finish it or if it was really good? All I remembered were the calm vibes and yummy looking food. Don't know if it aged well. I think it was a feel-good film about a couple who moved out to the countryside to run a cafe and pursue a simpler life. Their shop becomes a reprieve for customers who have their own struggles and stories.
This might seem like a stretch, but the first thing I thought of is Happy Gilmore. I might be an outlier in how I experience the movie, but it always feels to me like this great story about how to love what you do when you can’t do what you love.
And not a movie, but ‘The Good Place’ is fantastic, and explores how the constellation of our choices plays out in old and new directions. (Maybe not a perfect fit, but hits the notes at the margins.)
(Ha! Just realized you put “less well known” in the question… neither of my suggestions actually qualify!)
Toni Erdmann and Support the Girls are both excellent. Toni Erdmann especially so. Beware that its sense of humor might not click with everyone and if it doesn't, its runtime will inevitably feel longer than it is.
"Hector and the Search for Happiness" with Simon Pegg I really enjoyed And I find it to be a spiritual equal to the Secret Life of Walter Mitty. There are some pretty intense moments in the movie though.
Also a bit heavier, but "One Week" (2008) with Joshua Jackson I love for his motorcycle trip across Canada which we don't see often in many forms of media.
"The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared" is a great flick about this topic. It's humorous but poignant.l
Edit: oops, my post was cut short by my kid... I forgot what I was going to say next, so instead have the synopsis:
"After living a long and colorful life, Allan Karlsson finds himself stuck in a nursing home. On his 100th birthday, he leaps out a window and begins an unexpected journey."
It fits the bill I'd say. If you don't want a film, or if you didn't have enough after seeing the film, it's an adaptation from a very good book so that's also a good recommendation.
That's the longest title I've seen for something that's not a light novel... wow.
You know, strictly speaking, almost every movie is about "someone finding a new direction" :P
I'll try to read between the lines!
...second vote here for joe versus the volcano; that film is criminally underrated...
The VHS trailer for that film was wild! Movies were so magical back then, as a consequence of being more difficult to find. How I love (and hate!) the 1990s ;)
OP, please do not watch Boogie Nights. imo that movie is the literal opposite of your request, it is about a bunch of broken people bound to each other because of their inability to progress/change. it gets very dark, and there is no redemption in the end. (but it is a damn amazing movie and so well told/made with such fleshed-out characters)
I've a perfect film for that: Waking Ned Devine. Also, perhaps try Sideways and Lost In Translation.
Depending on your definition of soul crushing The Worst Person in the World is about this.
I also think Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz would fit under this but that is soul crushing. But hey if you wanna cry that’s a good one.
Yes Man and Hector and the Search for Happiness are pretty close to Walter Mitty.
Thanks a lot. I have already seen "Yes Man" - that was fun - and the others all look interesting.
Whilst there isn't a full career direction change, Chef is about a, well, chef.
He goes from a high pressure position to owning a food truck and reconnecting with his family and why he got into making food in the first place. All the crappy stuff (which is really the character losing his job), and everything gets better from there with a nice happy ending.
Also, don't watch this movie while hungry!
Heh, OP put Chef in their original post. Great minds think alike and all that.
I originally came to this post to recommend The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but OP beat me to it.
Oh whoops I missed that#
There is never enough times to mention Chef - I love that movie :-)
BTW, when I was in college, I went to the US for the summer to learn English and make some money (legally, through the Work & Travel program)... and in the evenings I worked in a restaurant - I was kitchen staff and that movie brings back very intense and beautiful memories. New friends, adventure, the beach (I am from a landlocked country) - that was a great summer.
That sounds like a lovely summer to have when young and carefree! Which coast did you stay on for your summer?
Exactly :-)
Ocean City, Maryland
Monsters University. (Though being from Pixar, I'm not sure if it qualifies as less well known.)
I did not know about that one. And I see in this thread that I missed a lot of animated movies. Surprising blind spot, given the fact that I loved Finding Nemo and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Thanks.
Rocket Science
Luca
Dark, but not sure I'd call it soul-crushing: Let the Right One In (original version, I think it's swedish)
Billy Elliott
Seven psychopaths
Some of these are pulled from foggier memory than others, but I recall them all involving characters experiencing a new direction and purpose, and none of them left my soul crushed (but some good pain may have been involved).
Shall We Dance? is one that I really love, there's a Japanese version and a Hollywood version with Richard Gere. I'm partial to the Hollywood one but either would fit the bill. Basically a guy living a tedious work-a-day job feels restless in life and falls into the world of ballroom dancing. It's fun and sweet.
I am surprised how many movies there are that look interesting and I did not know about them. I really appreciate all of your tips.