What movies changed your life ?

[Laurajean1014]

American Beauty and Steel Magnolias

 

[pearlieq]

I would say that the movie Defending Your Life changed my life. The basic premise really resonated with me and I find myself thinking of it while I make decisions. It's helped me be a better person.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Steel Magnolias

I have a great story about this movie. I was away on a business trip and I saw the SM would be on. I told DH that this was a movie he would really like and to watch it later that night. When I talked to him the next morning he wanted to know why I thought he would like it. He watched the entire movie and did not get why he would like it!!!! I was on the other end of the phone. I told him it was a chick flick and I never expected him to watch the entire movie. I figured he would turn it after the first minute. So to this day we still joke about SM.

 

[Poohbear123]

And the RING two, and the GOONIES and KINDERGARTEN COP---WHY? Because I LOVE where they were filmed in Astoria Oregon--I want to GO there so bad! Also, will not take a bath after seeing the RING!

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

two movies that changed my way of thinking about things - back in the 80's: "Altered States" and more recently : "What the Bleep do we Know" - not saying I think everything pprtrayed in the movie is true, just that it did affect how I look at things....

 

[Peter Pirate]

"The Right Stuff" has probably had the most affect on me personally. What these guys did and how they faced the challenges and uncertainties in front of them proved to me that some people are different and that all people can strive to be more.

"A Beautiful Mind" was also very thought provoking for a long time for me.

 

[Maleficent13]

It didn't change my life, but it did impact it: "Glory"...about the all black regiment in the Civil War.

You "learn" about slavery/civil rights in school, but it's all stuff to memorize for a test. For some reason, this movie opened my eyes and made me realize people lived this.

 

[puffkin]

Courage Under Fire

It was summer vacation and I was 16 and bored, so I went to see this movie. I rarely went to this theater because it wasn't nearly as nice as the brand new cineplex on the other side of town. I noticed the help wanted sign at the box office, so after the movie I grabbed an application and filled it out. I was hired and ending up working there for 5 years (great job to have through high school and college). The one Assistant Manager and I began dating about 4 months after I started and we have been together ever since (9+ years). We got married 2 years ago and we are expecting our first baby any day now. I probably never would have gotten that job and met him if I hadn't gone to see that movie, so I can honestly say that the movie changed my life .

 

[MinnieM3]

These immediately came to mind without reading any posts yet!

Hotel Rwanda

Life is Beautiful

The Girl Who Spelled Freedom

Schindler's List

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I don't know that it changed my life, but American Beauty definitely struck a chord and put me back in touch with some things that had been lost on me.

Uh, care to elaborate? That was one pervy movie.

 

[yeartolate]

I will not say it changed my life , but certainly changed my perspective....

MURDERBALL

This is a documentary about quadraplegic rugby. The players are essentially functional quadraplegics (retain some arm or hand strength) and play a form of rugby in wheelchairs.

I have always realized wheelchair bound individuals were capable of extraordinary things, but this documentary made me look at wheelchair bound people in terms of potential rather than pity.


As a note, it touches on sexual themes as well - so be warned in case this might upset your sensibilities or if you are thinking about allowing younger children watch it. Also, the language can be a bit rough as well.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Yeartolate,

As a paraplegic, I found this movie laughable. It's really hard for me to explain why, you just have to have a spinal cord injury to understand, I guess.

 

[mikelan6]

Ghandi !

 

[yeartolate]

Yeartolate,

As a paraplegic, I found this movie laughable. It's really hard for me to explain why, you just have to have a spinal cord injury to understand, I guess.

I am very curious why you found the documentary laughable. I would be interested in your insight. Obviously I can never know what you go through , but this movie highlighted a group of individuals in a way that I found inspiring. It was never meant to indicate what the life of every paraplegic or quadraplegic goes through. I would hope most folks seeing the documentary would realize that.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

It was never meant to indicate what the life of every paraplegic or quadraplegic goes through. I would hope most folks seeing the documentary would realize that.

Sadly though, that is not often the case. I'm not going to get into my reasons for not digging the movie on the DIS. They are hard to explain and quite frankly I'm not really in a debating mood

 

[pearlieq]

Uh, care to elaborate? That was one pervy movie.

It's not that farfetched. I found American Beauty to be very affecting as well. There were stong themes about honestly with one's self, confomity, complacency, potential, and finding good in both unlikely places and the mundane.

It's an incredible movie.

 

[liamsaunt]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Really! Here is why: I worked at the local movie theater on college breaks, and one day a young man I had my eye on for some time came in to see Buffy the Vampire Slayer with some of his friends. After the lights went down, I snuck into the theater and brought him some pretzel bites (YES, I paid for them first!), and gave him a special smile We went on our first "official date" a few days later. We will have been married nine years in June.

More seriously, movies that really opened my eyes to a particular issue...the first two that come to mind are The Killing Fields and Au Revoir Les Enfants.

 

[JoyG]

The mini-series Roots was fanstastic...It really illuminated the issue of slavery. I saw it as a kid and then when I was in high school I read the book...which was also unbelievably good.

If you haven't ever seen this series, you should really try to find it and rent it.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Jaws.

I know it is cliche, but I saw that movie many times before I ever got to an ocean and I won't swim in the ocean because I'm afraid a shark will bite me.

Darn that Steven Spielberg!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

The Joy Luck Club - saw it in college, and it spoke very deeply to me about mother-daughter love and relationships and most importantly, the value of every person and their unique story. It's been a very powerful movie in my life since then, and as I type this I realize that I haven't watched it since my mom died 6 years ago; perhaps I should revisit it with this new lens.

Schindler's List was also VERY powerful - I can't even begin to describe how I felt coming out of the movie theater, but it took a long time for the emotional impact of that movie to fade.