Inspirational movies are all around us, capturing various aspects such as life, nature and the search for meaning. Without spoiling anything about how important events in the movies take place, in this article a brief focus has been conducted on why the story outlook and some of the great expressions are inspirational, as well as being endorsed by people around the world. Here are three movies that people may find inspirational in their own way and short reviews on the perspective of life, nature and finding meaning; “Your Name.” or “Kimi no wa wa.”, “127 Hours” and “Safety”.
Your Name. – Kimi no wa wa. (2016)
Figure 1: Photo by Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. / CoMix Wave Films Inc. / KADOKAWA CORPORATION / East Japan Marketing & Communications, Inc. / AMUSE INC. [1].
The beauty of the world and the search for meaning
The beauty of the world, nature, villages, cities, towns and the country of Japan itself can be seen through the movie named “Your Name.” which has the Japanese title: “Kimi no wa wa.” The aesthetic view of the world, beautiful skies, wind shows a great paradigm shift – one that shows the beautiful side of the world and why its worth fighting for it.
Figure 2: Photo by Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. [1]
In addition to the aesthetic view, it captures the beauty of wanting something, a search for something – whether it’s a good job, good friends, something as simple as living in the city, an adventure or even visiting a café for the first time. It’s simply put an amazing movie that gives great joy, but is also kept in the reality of today’s world and the need to make money and provide for one’s future.
Figure 3: Photo by Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. [1].
Paradigm shift with natural elements and music
The paradigm shift of the beauty of the world is seen through the movie’s way of showing the natural elements – the sun, green fields, the wind, the rain and many others. The artwork is of high quality and as the viewer keeps watching, he or she may get entranced in the beauty of what is put on the screen in front of them. In addition to the beauty aspect, the music that is put together for this movie creates a feeling of belonging, longing for something – emotional as well as active and uplifting. The movie is highly recommended for those who are looking for inspiration during a difficult time or to see a different view of the world.
Figure 4: Photo by Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. [1].
The peaceful nature and cities of Japan seen together with important values
Capturing the peaceful nature and the big city lifestyle such as the one of living in Tokyo, shows the elegant and important worth of our rural and metropolitan communities. It also brings into light the importance of honesty, integrity, courage, respect, admiration, empathy and humility through different generations of people living both on the rural village side and the suburban side.
Figure 5: Photo by Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. [1].
The juxtaposition of environments and surroundings shows that the mentioned values amongst others are universal and self-evident. They are the natural pillars of any long-term community and culture. This values can be imagined to be the same, not just in beautiful Japan, but throughout the world.
Figure 6: Photo by Jase Bloor on Unsplash.
The movie can be found on Netflix. See below for a link to the amazing and inspirational soundtrack on YouTube:
127 Hours (2010)
Figure 7: Photo by Fox Seachlight © 2010 – Fox Searchlight.
An inspirational story about adventure and living life
“127 Hours” is an inspirational story about an adventurous mountain climber named Aron Ralston who faces adversity while travelling through a canyon in Utah in USA. It is an incredible story about how far we are willing to go, and how important life is to us – questions like who do we leave behind, the beauty of experiencing life through our interests. As we experience his story, we may be more entranced in the beauty of the warm landscapes of deserts and the magnificently large canyons.
Figure 8: Photo by Fox Seachlight © 2010 – Fox Searchlight.
Inspiration and searching for what is important in life
The movie shows great inspiration by connecting to the innermost side of Aron and what is most important to him. As a viewer we may be able to feel how this inner, almost spiritual-like peaceful feeling of being connected to our past choices and those we would like to make in the future.
Figure 9: Photo by Fox Seachlight © 2010 – Fox Searchlight.
Peaceful composition and music selection
The music creates a setting of peace, with great composition and selection of music, it captures both the beauty of nature – it’s peacefulness, the colours and warmth it gives, as well as the adventure – the slow and fast-paced feeling of living life to the fullest. It makes sure to show us what is important in life – those we have influenced and lived with, our interests that we would like to follow, the quest for who we are and who we want to be. An inspirational and adventuristic soundtrack can be seen below through a link to YouTube with a couple of selections below:
1. “Never Hear Surf Music Again” by Free Blood:
2. “If I Rise” by Dido and A. R. Rahman:
3. “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers:
Safety (2020)
Figure 10: Photo by Walt Disney Pictures © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures.
A movie of great inspiration and values
“Safety” is a movie that brings many societal values together, and even though it may not be as critically acclaimed as the others mentioned in this article, it is a strong proponent of inspiration and great values needed in any community; hard work, courage, strength, tenacity, self-confidence, respect, temperance, patience and fidelity amongst many others.
The temperance stems true throughout the movie, where Ray can take the easy route of failure and be broken down by the adversity that he faces, both from the drug-related environment that he grew up in and the pressure he faces as he takes care of his family.
Figure 11: Photo by Walt Disney Pictures © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures.
Bringing great deal of work ethic
The story is based on a real-life athlete and person named Ray McElrathbey, an American football player who battled adversity while attempting to join the Clemson Tigers, a team developed in Clemson University. Within his team, he is taking the role as a safety – a type of blocker and last line of defense for the team to prevent touchdown or point loss to the opposite team. As well as Ray’s dream of becoming an American football player, he battles adversity by providing for and supporting his family. The latter is of great inspiration, and this is where the movie brings a great deal of work ethic into the picture.
Figure 12: Photo by Walt Disney Pictures © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures.
Elements of great character and strength
Whether it is about carrying out household-chores like painting and plumbing, maintaining form during exercise and training, academic studying and maintaining friendship and family connections, they are all important elements of life that show great character and strength. As Ray encounters more adversity, he pushes himself further to make sure that he gets closer to his dream and keeping his family and friends in his life.
Figure 13: Photo by Walt Disney Pictures © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures.
The movie can be found on Disney+. See below for an inspirational song created by H.E.R named “Hold us Together” that brings together the mentioned values and struggle against adversity:
For those looking for an inspirational movie to watch, even when anime, sports or Hollywood is or isn’t one of the main interests – the mentioned movies will certainly bring truth to the matter that an inspirational movie, animation or a movie with a sports or adventure setting, can be watched without being an eager fan of movies particularly from Hollywood or Bollywood, or martial arts movies, or anime or other categories. There are many more out there to watch, and these movies may bring us into a different world and create inspiration that transcends values and the related uplifting qualities outside of the categories they have been brought from.
Sources
Rights to the pictures are reserved by:
[1] Funimation Inc. – © 2016 TOHO CO., LTD. / CoMix Wave Films Inc. / KADOKAWA CORPORATION / East Japan Marketing & Communications, Inc. / AMUSE INC.
[2] Fox Seachlight © 2010 – Fox Searchlight.
[3] Walt Disney Pictures © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures.