At times, you rebel against your family's vocation, deciding to become a baker in a clan of actors or an actor in a family of dentists. Occasionally, having no better idea for yourself, you step into your parents' shoes, inherit the family business, or climb the career ladder competing against your family members. Blood is thicker than water, you know it. And very rarely it gives you great opportunities to grow and cultivate your talent. It gives you strength, being set up against tough competition impersonated by your siblings from a young age. If prepares you for a lifestyle. What sacrifices do you have to make to succeed, why not everybody is bound to be the top of the top, why family's support is crucial and why failure can be a heartbreaking journey of lost dreams? One story of success, based on a real family: Fighting with My Family. Enjoy.
What can you do for love? Can you change your bad habits and turn back on the route to righteousness? Can you repent for your sins and save a life that was doomed to be lost? Can you give a taste of life for those who have lost it kept in the bubble of protection? When the cruelest of hearts are melted by the purest of lives and set to fight demons, this is when magic arrives. Remember when the Beast met Bella and transformed back to the Prince? Now, this is a different story; this time a conman meets terminally sick girl and falls in love. An equally enchanting fairy journey of loss and atonement, quite underrated, Winter's Tale.
If you devote your life to just a single aspect, you might find there's something missing. Education is one of these things. Burying yourself entirely in books doesn't guarantee that your life will be happy and fulfilled. But if you realized it just at the last moment of your high-school marathon and there was just one day to catch up on days wasted on serious things? All parties squeezed in one day, speedy self-searching and disappointments, and admitting that you actually might have been wrong. Booksmart.
As a child, you want to have a best friend. Someone loyal to play with. Someone special. You often end up with imaginary friends who would suit your needs and don't require that much protection from your parents' side. But what if your house was visited by someone from a different planet and both of you formed a unique connection that surpassed death and universes? A cult movie from the eighties, which taught us that aliens can be actually befriended and kids are able to form a united front against one enemy. Inspiration for many contemporary film-makers and a great trip in time to the past when even Drew Barrymore was amazingly little. Enjoy.
When you're in your twenties, you have still time to make major decisions. You can make mistakes, you can change your mind. You can switch your career path, there's a chance for a new relationship, for that gap-year, for wasting your savings away. A total revolution is nothing strange and frowned-upon. Time flies by, however, and for some things, it might be already too late, which biological clock always tends to remind us, especially when we celebrate another birthday. What if you wanted to have a child and it was nearly impossible to have one? What kind of strain does it have on your relationship, what kind of compromises you have to make, what doubts can you have about each other? And in today's world is it more important what you want or what you already have? When one woman over thirty meets a man in his twenties. Only You.
Your parents are grandparents seem to you old and weak people who need to be taken care of. But there was a time when they were also young: they had their romances, pleasures, and tragedies. They were wild, brave and unstoppable. The world belonged to them, their future was still uncertain and you - today's youth, weren't even taken into account as living beings. But times fly and generations shift, making the young rediscover the past of their parents. It's a beautiful story of how one niece came across an amazing story of love, hidden by years of political changes and family conflicts. Colonial Africa, breathtaking views, cultural clashes, racial injustice, and one man's fight to happiness. Two generations connected with one snowy mountainous house of the present and scorching hot, wild beaches and bushes of distant Africa. Enjoy.
Can one coincidental meeting on a train outline your fate for the years to come? Can one tragedy put a break to happiness and family bliss? How complicated is a mother-daughter relationship, especially when the roles reverse and the younger has to take care of the older one? Why do you get disappointed with both your parents and children and all are individuals with their own needs and flaws? A mother in search of a daughter and a story about the woman's growth and lots of self-seeking. Julieta.
Growing up has one common quality: you make mistakes. You think that as a young woman you have it all figured out, your ambitious plan for happiness is set to push you onto the road of accomplishment and love, but the reality can be harsher than that. Can looks, brains or having a loving boyfriend help you in your process? Or will you learn the hard way that you don't always get what you want? Three completely different girls, one extra job in a pizza place, and a very warm and smart film to watch. Enjoy.
Imagine a world where your genes determine what kind of profession and lifestyle you are going to have. There are no job interviews, no doubts, no dreams. A simple blood test outlines your professional path and there's nothing to discuss. Either you're a champion or you're a loser. You can design your perfect child and this perfect child can be put on the road to success. You can see that nature is full of flaws and in comparison with genetic modifications, it fails to create perfection. But what if your dreams surpassed your inborn abilities and you wanted a better life for yourself? What if there was a plan to deceive the system? Why talent and predispositions are not enough and to achieve what you dream about you need a very strong will, luck, and one or two lies? Gattaca.
What still seems to be difficult in the business world, is having a career by a woman. We are flooded with stereotypes that women are more emotional than men and less suitable for business. Women still have to cover their brains behind the curtain of pretty faces and sexualized bodies. Female workers also prove to be their greatest enemies, as a competition of a good job, a great man by the side, and other personal achievements seems to overshadow simple solidarity between them. And still, very few ladies are consequent enough to pursue a career in their dream field, resigning from achievements and devoting their lives to family. Personal failures are still accepted less than professional ones. But what if you have brains to follow your dream and circumstances prove that you have nothing to lose? The late eighties very much remind us of contemporary times and the struggles of contemporary women. Haircuts might have changed, but can't we all identify? Working Girl.
It seems that the firmest prejudices are among those who have the least knowledge on the subject. The biggest racists are those who have no friends or acquaintances among black people. The biggest homophobes are those whose fears are based on urban legends, not actual experiences of knowing gay couples. Your eyes open only when you happen to witness. Your knowledge and testimony are worth only when you have actual experience. And then you can change your mind and often stop idolizing those who grew in your perception to the level of heroes. Befriending those whom you previously unfairly despised of or were afraid of seems to be the greatest proof of humility and humanity. This is how society changes. It starts with one man and spreads throughout nations. How two worlds crashed and overcame racism and homophobia in divided America? Two best movies of two generations, Green Book and Philadelphia.
Don't you have a feeling that your relationship is a bit boring? Wouldn't you like just a little bit of... spice? There are moments in life when you need stability, crave something long-lasting, secure, and comfortable. At other times, be it recovering from your previous relationships or simply appreciating a moment in life, you'd rather go for the danger, uncertainty and the tempting appeal of great and crazy sex. When one attractive woman meets one attractive man the only option is romance. Two sex-figures of their generation, still good to watch. 9 1/2 Weeks. Enjoy.
Imagine yourself abroad when you don't know the language and nobody knows yours. This is, I imagine, what blind people feel among movie lovers and deaf people among music fans. This is what poor people feel among the rich. People have various points of reference and breaking out of your comfort zone is hard for everybody who lacks something. But what if a talented teacher inspired someone deprived of chances due to circumstances to become a bit more independent and fit in society? What is the language of love and can you overcome a disability, prejudices, and traumas to have a normal life? One of very few films about the hearing-impaired and a beautiful love story. Children of a Lesser God.
Sometimes you have to lose something to appreciate it. And often it means losing your best friend. But when emotions are running high and you are stuck in the world of professional expectations, loveless relationships, peer pressure, and a situation when the only person you care about is about to leave, you might lose it altogether. Equally hard is to deal with your troublesome family and decide to move countries to fight for yourself. But the more you set off and abandon the more you appreciate what you already have. A crisis is to put us in the right place and find our true selves. But do you have the guts to admit to your weaknesses and follow your heart? A love story on the verge of separation: Matthias & Maxime.
Every mother-daughter relationship is hard. The former has devoted so much to raise the latter that the thought of that little one entering the adult world, getting married (to someone not good enough) and having children of her own is unbearable. However toxic it might seem, it's a bond that can never be replaced. Such closeness to any other woman in your life is almost impossible as it covers so many years and keeps so many memories. Even the best friend can turn into the most annoying friend but in times of hardship, she's there to support. A very moving story about one single mother and her daughter over the years of relationships, children, separation and never-ending phone calls. Still true, Terms of Endearment.
It's great when you're talented and your efforts are appreciated by your family members and the support has been given to you from early childhood. You then thank your parents when receiving another award and thrive supporting them in return. But when you're extremely talented and there is no support, not even acceptance among the members of your closest family, the talent and success itself are not enough to make you happy. How one world-famous singer had to face his demons, addictions and find a way to personal happiness? Early years of Elton John, Rocketman.
War is not a child's game. It's about politics and ruthless killing. But once you form a unit of juveniles, equip them with weapons and make them take care of a hostage, you might deal with another Lord of the Flies. How pristine are human reactions in the face of a common enemy? Why trust is so easy to break? Why leadership goes from hands to hands in the face of circumstances? And why establishing a few rules makes people behave against their own beliefs? Monos.
There's something wrong with the human race, as from time to time, it decides to hate one of its variety. Some think themselves better, others perceiving as monsters. But hatred between nations and religions is based on stereotypes and these stereotypes are easy to repeat. But what if during World War II a German, Hitler-obsessed boy was forced to accept a Jewish girl hiding in his house? What if another boy happened to be so close to the Concentration Camp and befriended one of its prisoners? How close can you be to the consequences of blind ideology and admit that you were wrong? A different perception of war, one funny in its bittersweetness, another heartbreakingly realistic and two moving pictures of how cruel was our history and our mistakes. Both based on books, Jojo Rabbit and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
Sometimes in life, you need a sign, a signal from God that will lead you to a life vocation, a coincidence that will allow you to choose a profession that will make sense and make you fulfilled and happy. It can be a sign for your personal decision, retirement or resignation and making place for someone new.
We change as a society and as a society, we need different leaders; we need those who will understand us, have followed our footsteps and dived in the world of our mistakes. But we fluctuate from being conservative and liberal, trying to choose the right path and finding ourselves in the bowling pot of voices screaming which life is the best. This leadership especially touches upon the Church. Sometimes a major life decision is required to bring the essence of the Church (which is undoubtedly ultimately good) to the masses. Sometimes it requires the change of the Pope. Sometimes it calls for a film bringing two popes into our homes via Netflix. After over two thousand years of Christianity, it seems that the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and those responsible for the Church can be close to us as humans and that atonement is possible for everybody. Unprecedented story of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and a chapter of our history. The Two Popes.
As a girl, you play various games: in your imagination, you can be a captain of a ship, a writer, a soldier, a TV presenter or a cook. And then, as a woman, you are limited to social status: single, married, in a relationship, divorced, or widowed and wonder what could possibly have gone wrong.
What is the purpose of a woman on this planet? Why is she educated, cherished, and brought up to face the obstacles of the world? For many years, her only life dream and ability to survive was to get married as soon (and rich) as possible. But for generations of women, she was supposed to succeed and fall in love, passionately and romantically. Maybe that's why we were all enchanted by Little Women. Jo, Amy, Meg, and Beth March were always somewhere at the back of the minds of girls choosing their careers or making life decisions. They represented independence, friendship, sisterhood, dreams, and coming of age, they portrayed life seemingly distant from us, but so universal, everybody could relate. Little girls watching the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel can now, as grown women, admire another movie about four girls making their way in the world, where money count more than dreams, society deprives of values, and very few privileges allow women to live on their own terms. Surely girls being born today will need another reminder that there once were sisters with very similar dilemmas.