Does anyone have a film they like to watch when they're feeling very low?
Personally, my favourite is Cast Away as it never fails to make me feel better, even temporarily.
SPOILERS BELOW - If you've not seen it and don't want to know what happens, stop reading!
In a nutshell, a chap crash-lands on a remote desert island and spends four years trying to return to his girlfriend, his only source of motivation for staying alive, and upon succeeding discovers she has moved on and he is left to rebuild his life alone. It does end on a very positive note though, which is why it cheers me up. The whole film actually has very little dialogue and a very short musical score, as much of the story takes place on an island and I think the director Robert Zemeckis wanted to retain the feeling of isolation.
This is my favourite quote; it's the chap talking to his friend after he finds out his girlfriend has moved on. Very beautiful, I think:
"We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Highly recommended.
Personally, my favourite is Cast Away as it never fails to make me feel better, even temporarily.
SPOILERS BELOW - If you've not seen it and don't want to know what happens, stop reading!
In a nutshell, a chap crash-lands on a remote desert island and spends four years trying to return to his girlfriend, his only source of motivation for staying alive, and upon succeeding discovers she has moved on and he is left to rebuild his life alone. It does end on a very positive note though, which is why it cheers me up. The whole film actually has very little dialogue and a very short musical score, as much of the story takes place on an island and I think the director Robert Zemeckis wanted to retain the feeling of isolation.
This is my favourite quote; it's the chap talking to his friend after he finds out his girlfriend has moved on. Very beautiful, I think:
"We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
Highly recommended.