The best comfort films for trying times
Caitlin Jones
Well, I doubt many of us saw this coming, but we’re a good six months into this pandemic. Depending on where you are in the world, businesses may be beginning to open back up, people may be beginning to get back to work, or, the, unfortunately, most likely option, people are getting impatient with being told what to do and are deciding to take chances, ignoring social distancing guidelines and recommendations.
For those of us who are continuing to adhere to these rules in the hopes of a collective effort helping flatten the curve of the pandemic, it can be incredibly frustrating to watch- and sometimes, this frustration mounts to such a point, you need to remind yourself that it’s ok to take a breather and have some downtime for yourself. And a film is the perfect way to take that time! Like so many others, I have consumed so much more film in this period than ever before in my life. And if there’s one good thing to come out of that, besides an increased ability on my part to recognise what film scenes The Simpsons are referencing, it’s that I can now recommend some of those films to others who may be needing to hit pause on life.
And so, without further ado, here are my top film recommendations to take your mind off of the complexities of the real world.
SPIRITED AWAY, dir. Hayao Miyazaki (2001)
Really, any Studio Ghibli film is the perfect watch for anyone who wants to shut out the real world for an hour or two and get lost in an idyllic fantasy. For the new viewer of Ghibli, this is definitely the one to start with. 19 years on from its original release, it remains widely regarded as their best. Spirited Away begins with 10-year-old Chihiro and her parents stumbling across what they think is an abandoned amusement park while moving to a new house. Despite Chihiro’s nervous pleas to her parents, they decide to explore and end up metamorphosing into pigs. Finding herself to be stuck in a spirit world, Chihiro has to find a way to survive and transform her parents back to themselves. This is a film that focuses on the journey rather than the destination. In Chihiro’s quest to win her family’s freedom, she delves deeper and deeper into the lives and conflicts of the spirits, witches, and monsters that inhabit this world. It almost feels like- and this is NOT a bad thing by any means- the film is making up what will happen next as it goes along.
Characters and developments are introduced at random, sometimes with seemingly no relation to prior events or the overall plot. But it really works, in a way that is reminiscent of other fantastical hero journeys such as The Odyssey, or Alice in Wonderland. Coupled with Chihiro’s childlike innocence and disbelief, the unfolding events of Spirited Away never cease to feel magical and increasingly pull the viewer deeper into the world.
Every twist and turn this film offers is a pure delight. The world that Chihiro gets stuck in is heavily inspired by Japanese Shinto-Buddhist folklore, and this mythological influence shines through in the incredible inventiveness of the film’s animations of the beings she encounters in the world after she manages to snag a job working at a bathhouse for protection. Every single frame of this story can be counted on to be chock full of charm and visually incredible creatures, backdrops, and colours.
The breadth of the film’s running time is given to exploring and developing Chihiro’s character. She begins as a (justifiably) scared little girl, lost in a world she doesn’t understand with the huge weight of being the only one who can save her parents sitting firmly on her shoulders. She is teased and brushed aside by the spirits who frequent the bathhouse, is overwhelmed with her work, and threatened by Yubaba, the owner of the house. Over the course of the film, however, Chihiro grits her teeth and fights as hard as she can to maintain her individualism and be her family’s saving grace. She grows into a smart and defiant young woman, ready to face insurmountable odds, and becomes confident enough to fearlessly stand up to those who are attempting to push her down.
Even if you somehow find yourself uninterested in the film’s plot, the gorgeous animation and sweeping backgrounds are enough to mesmerise. This is a masterpiece of creativity and boundless imagination and will pique the curiosity of viewers of all ages.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, dir. Rob Reiner (1989)
For a sweet and entertaining rom-com, turn to Reiner’s classic love story, When Harry Met Sally. Harry and Sally are two young college grads with opposing opinions on love and whether or not a man and a woman can really just be friends. The film follows their lives as they grow older and eventually become close, putting this theory to the test for real. I think for a lot of people, romantic comedies are very hit and miss. They can all too often be overly cheesy or depend too heavily on tropes. This is not one of those films.
When Harry Met Sally allows viewers to get to know our two protagonists on a deep level before formally introducing the possibility of romance between the two. We are able to see how these two characters grow with each other, transforming from bright-eyed know it all graduates to slightly more jaded, practical adults, tried and tested by life’s challenges. These are people we care about and can emphasise with, and we want them to be happy. More than anything, what makes this movie so compelling is the completely realistic and unguarded care Harry and Sally have for one another. After they become friends, they immediately entrust each other with themselves- not in a romantic or flirtatious way, but simply because they get on well and like each other’s platonic company. Quite frankly, it’s so nice to see a romantic comedy where the relationship isn’t toxic but grows out of mutual affection and respect. They’re few and far between.
The chemistry between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal is so palpable and genuine that watching this makes you feel like you’re watching two old friends. Even the smaller side characters, including the incomparable Carrie Fisher as one of Sally’s pals, are so lively and sincere that you feel a sense of familiarity with the whole group. It’s truly enchanting to see how these characters come to realise their feelings for one another. The tone of the film is conversational, sincere, and authentic. These feel like real people, going through real trials and tribulations, and demonstrating real friendships.
The film perfectly balances bitterness with reality and light-hearted fun, perhaps best demonstrated in the infamous diner scene. Meg Ryan plays Sally with adorable sincerity, while Billy Crystal plays Harry with his signature sardonic style, and they bounce off of each other completely seamlessly. It is incredibly relaxing to sit back and enjoy an hour and a half of these two likable characters slowly realise that they are falling in love. Whether you’re a romantic or a cynic at heart, the final New Year’s Eve speech of this film is sure to stick with you for quite some time after you’ve finished watching.
IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, dir. Wong Kar-wai (2000)
In the Mood for Love is set in the 1960’s Hong Kong and tells the story of Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow, next-door neighbours who come to realise their spouses are having an affair. After this realisation, they begin to spend time together and share their mutual shock and grief, soon developing complex feelings for each other. This is a completely quiet and understated film; it’s sad but beautiful.
Their developing relationship is strange for a romance film, in that there is very little physical interaction or touching. That isn’t needed in this film to demonstrate their longing. The mere intensity of the eye contact between Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung is enough to translate to the audience exactly how they feel about each other. Their flittering emotions, shown clearly on their faces, is all the exposition we need to understand their attraction, as well as their concerns about their growing friendship and how it will be perceived in their strictly conservative 1960’s Hong Kong society.
Neither of their cheating spouses is ever actually shown on screen- once or twice their voices are heard, but that’s it. They don’t need to be shown, because this isn’t really a film about infidelity but a film about deep connection and growing, impossible yearning. The director wants you to focus only on the outstanding performances of the two leads, and their reactions to their spouses’ affairs rather than the affair itself-and he couldn’t have cast them any better. The film leisurely spends time with the leads, following them on their day to day life, allowing the audience to fully grow familiar and connected with them. More than once, the camera follows Mrs. Chan in an extended scene that simply shows her as she walks from her apartment to a noodle stall on the street. On her way back to her apartment, she passes Mr. Chow, and they briefly share a glance with each other, each recognising their neighbour. Even this one brief look between them, before they have even spoken properly to each other in the film, feels heavy and meaningful.
From the very beginning, they have a connection. They first attribute this to their shared feelings of betrayal from their spouses’ affair, but it becomes clear that it is much more than that. So much is left unsaid and unspoken in their relationship, as they both are reluctant to allow themselves to behave in the way their spouses might have. They are honest and subtle with each other, and yet their outwardly reserved body language does not mask the electrifyingly apparent desire between them. There is a profound want between them, that neither of them is willing to voice. Instead, director Wong Kar-Wei voices it in other ways. He expertly lights and frames Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow in a series of warm colours and light, bathing them in red haze and eliciting a mood of lush melancholy. He makes use of music themes and slow-motion to highlight movements, glances, and accidental, lingering touches, evoking a feeling of intense surrealism.
This film captures the fleetingness of moments and the complicated way that two lives can intersect only to part again quickly. There is no fanfare, no dramatic fights, or conversations about their future together, just the simple truth of deep want and desire that refuses to be pushed away but cannot be acted upon.
LOST IN TRANSLATION, dir. Sofia Coppola (2003)
Imagine it’s raining outside. You’re wrapped up in your warmest blankets next to a blazing fireplace, hot drink in hand, contentedly watching the raindrops hit your window, slowly dozing off. That’s what this film feels like. Lost in Translation is sleepy, comfortable, and builds slowly, following two lonely individuals, played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, against the backdrop of an animated, loud city. The two cross paths while staying in a Tokyo hotel, and find solace in one another. Charlotte and Bob’s friendship develops just when they need it most. Charlotte is newly married, staying in Tokyo with her photographer husband.
Every time the audience sees him, he is in a rush, quickly packing a bag and dashing off to work while Charlotte sits by complacently, watching him. Bob is a washed-up Hollywood star in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial. He is disillusioned with his life and walks between his room, his work, and the bar in a zombie-like trance, blankly staring ahead and barely gathering up the strength to do the bare minimum and politely interact with the people who are assisting him.
I feel like the majority of films that follow isolated, unhappy people follow a specific character arc: over the course of the film the protagonist finds themself and becomes content, and the film ends with a complete tonal 180. This is not one of those films. Bob and Charlotte do not suddenly transform and grow into completely different personalities. Their fundamental issues and loneliness do not disappear, but rather they grow to accept their circumstances and take comfort in each other, knowing the other understands them completely. They grapple with the fact that their lives have not taken the course they thought it would and struggle to figure out how to navigate their present. This film perfectly represents the feeling of being lost in an overwhelming world. It’s easy to forget that Murray and Johansson are acting, their exhausted faces and quiet reflection of their lives feeling so incredibly real and relatable. It’s a big reason why this film feels so genuine like it could have been lifted verbatim out of anyone’s dissatisfying life.
Japan in the film is loud and chaotic, the neon lights and busy crowds threatening to swallow them whole. But instead of surrendering themselves to their overpowering environment and allowing themselves to simply be swept through life, Charlotte and Bob push each other to keep searching. Lost in Translation feels like a warm hug to all the lonely people in the world, and reminds us that there will always be people going through the same struggles as us. Charlotte and Bob are each other’s life jackets in a cold, stormy sea. Sometimes it’s enough just to listen to someone and make sure they know you’re there.
ROMAN HOLIDAY, dir. William Wyler (1953)
Roman Holiday feels simple. It has a basic enough concept, it wraps up very neatly and without any grand and sweeping declarations of love, and there really isn’t any crazy character development. All this being said, you might assume the film feels predictable and falls flat. On the contrary, it makes for a light-hearted and fun watch, with just the right amount of stakes for you to get invested.
Audrey Hepburn stars as Princess Ann (her debut role, for which she won an Oscar!), a sheltered and bored young royal who decides to escape from her royal duties one night whilst in Rome. She stumbles upon American reporter Joe Bradley, who pretends not to know who she is and offers to show her around the city. Secretly, Joe is keen to write an exclusive interview with Ann, for which he has been offered thousands of dollars. In the meantime though, the two of them end up having a lot of fun and getting into mischief- and, obviously with this being a romantic comedy film, they flirt and develop feelings for each other. It’s no wonder that Audrey Hepburn was cast in this, or that it catapulted her into Hollywood’s A-list.
She is the definition of grace, decorum, and sweetness. A major part of the reason this film works so well is her stunning screen presence- even in her debut, it’s hard to take your eyes off of her. Ann, free to live her life without scrutiny and restraint for a day, is a joy to watch. She is eager to make the most of her brief freedom and is enchanted by the beauty of the city, the kindness of strangers, and the amiable companionship provided by Joe (and his photographer friend Irving who is hanging out with the pair to take photos for Joe’s eventual article). Her excitement leaps off of the screen.
It would be difficult for anyone to manage to match Audrey Hepburn’s performance in this, but Gregory Peck as Joe Bradley oozes charm and charisma. His slightly disillusioned but determined persona perfectly complements Hepburn’s careless Ann, him being the responsible adult guide looking out for her safety while encouraging her to enjoy herself. He bemusedly watches Ann get excited over the little things, eventually succumbing to her childlike awe and finding himself to be just as taken by their day together.
Also, if you’re itching for a vacation of your own right now, the exploring sequences of this film will satisfy that itch. There’s something so aesthetically pleasing about watching Audrey Hepburn in a stylish dress leisurely walk around the city of Rome, stopping as much as she pleases to fully appreciate her surroundings and find joy in the littlest things. I think joy is the operative word for this film. It serves as a sort of reminder of the wonders of the little things that we may take for granted or, at least, the things we did before the pandemic. Roman Holiday is a reminder of how magical and extraordinary everyday life and the strangers we meet along the way can be and urges us to appreciate our freedom more.
WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi (2014)
Using a documentary style, this film follows the daily lives of Viago, Deacon, Vladislav, and Petyr, a group of centuries-old vampires who are living together in Wellington, New Zealand. They hilariously grapple with modern life while still attempting to present themselves as formidable creatures. Basically, take everything you know about vampires and envision what it would look like to see these things clashing with modern society. Viago, played by Taika Waititi, is an 18th-century dandy, who is still determined to present himself as a formal aristocratic gentleman. His attempts at formalities are, of course, undermined by the more savage and vampiric attributes of his housemates. He almost acts as the house’s mother, urging the other two to do their household chores and arranging housemate meetings. Vladislav and Deacon meanwhile spend their time being more reckless- and much to Viago’s irritation, not doing the dishes for five years. The vampires are a mismatched group, a sort of modern “odd couple” spin.
In Taika Waititi’s signature style, every single line said has a joke woven into it. The script is incredibly tight and just packed with dry lines and ridiculous humour. Since the Twilight Renaissance (and maybe even before), the vampire genre has been overplayed and worn out, but no one has made a vampire film like this before. It’s silly and witty, with honestly not much plot or character development happening, but that’s really the point: we follow the real mundane lives of these vampires, rather than the exciting and dramatic lives you might assume they would have. All of the actors are clearly having fun with the material, with a lot of it seeming improvised or ad-libbed.
The vampires try their hardest to show the documentary crew their immortal power and convince viewers they are to be feared, but time and time again the group find themselves in awkward situations that expose them as clueless in the 21st century. They get dressed up in their furs to wander around Downtown at night, trying and failing to get into bars and clubs because no one is specifically inviting them in (vampires have to get invited in to enter places). They uneasily try to cover up their failures to the camera, frozen smiles on their faces. In one memorable scene, their human friend Stu, a very ordinary, nice guy who works as a computer analyst, introduces them to modern technology. The vampires gush over Stu and sing his praises, as the film cuts to a series of short shots in which they interact with him- in one, Stu is teaching Viago Taekwondo, both of them dressed up in the white uniforms. Viago soars through the air, kicking at nothing, while Stu encourages him. In another, Deacon shows the camera a scarf he has been knitting for Stu. Stu kits out the vampires with mobile phones, cameras (which they use to take a series of self-indulgent selfies), and a desktop computer, on which they watch a video of a sunrise with awe.
Another great moment comes with the introduction of the local werewolves, a group of average joes who engage in taunting with the vampires. Unlike the glossy, romantic depictions of supernatural creatures such as vampires and werewolves, this film puts things into perspective and makes them look almost pathetically out of touch, and is probably the far more realistic depiction of how vampires and werewolves would deal with modern society.
This film urges you not to take it too seriously, and to just have fun. If you’re looking to have a laugh, this is the perfect film to enjoy.