No matter how carefully you鈥檝e mapped out your life, it is still possible to feel lost, as if your life鈥檚 compass is spinning in all directions at once. When you鈥檙e feeling cut adrift, movies can be more than a distraction, they can be a source of inspiration to help you get back on track.
Here are five films with messages about finding purpose and direction in life.
鈥淲ild,鈥 a film from Jean-Marc Vall茅e, the late Academy Award nominated director of 鈥淒allas Buyer鈥檚 Club,鈥 is a road movie. Or rather, a path movie, as star Reese Witherspoon hardly spends any of her 1,000-mile journey from Mojave Desert to Canada on an actual road.
Witherspoon is Cheryl Strayed, a literate young woman whose life spins out of control after a family tragedy. The story of her physical survival鈥攖oo tight boots, toenail trauma, dehydration鈥攊s less interesting than her quest for emotional survival.
Witherspoon is best not when she鈥檚 fumbling with a bowl of cold mush or a broken propane heater, but when she puts herself 鈥渋n the way of beauty," to become the woman her mother (a terrific Laura Dern) said she could be. Mom told her to 鈥渇ind your best self and hold on to it,鈥 which is not only good advice, but also gives Witherspoon the chance to dig deep to find the character.
She can play the comedic bits鈥攕truggling with a backpack twice as big as her and being mistaken for a 鈥渓ady hobo鈥濃攂ut it鈥檚 the sensitive stuff that hits home here.
鈥淢oonlight鈥 is a film about a young man trying to find a place for himself in the world. 鈥淎t some point you got to decide who you going to be,鈥 says an early mentor. 鈥淐an鈥檛 let anybody make that decision for you.鈥
Director Barry Jenkins splits the story into thirds, each examining a different time in the life of Chiron, a young, gay Black man, as he comes to grips with who he is. 鈥淢oonlight鈥 is a movie that beats with a very human heart while subverting expectations with almost every scene.
Jenkins has placed obstacles in the way of the storytelling鈥攎ultiple actors playing the same characters, and a lead who is succinct almost to the point of being mute鈥攂ut overcomes those hurdles with a combination of social conscience, fine acting and interesting characters who constantly defy pigeonholing.
Each deliver performances characterized by deep inner work that reveals the truth behind the fa莽ade Chiron uses as a front. There鈥檚 a remarkable consistency in the trio of performances, so by the end of the film, when Chiron is asked, 鈥淲ho is you man?鈥 his answer, 鈥淚鈥檓 me. I don鈥檛 try to be nothing else,鈥 rings true and real.
鈥淔rances Ha,鈥 the seventh film from 鈥淕reenberg鈥 director Noah Baumbach, isn鈥檛 so much a traditional narrative as it is a character study of Frances (鈥淏arbie鈥 director Greta Gerwig), an underemployed dancer struggling to find herself in New York City.
It plays like a cleaned up black-and-white version of 鈥淕irls;鈥 it鈥檚 an emotionally rich and funny portrait of twenty-something ennui. Gerwig and Baumbach paint a compelling portrait of a woman who doesn鈥檛 always make the right choices, who doesn鈥檛 always even learn from her mistakes, but is never anything less than human and interesting.
By the time she comments on her own choreography, that she likes 鈥渢hings that look like mistakes,鈥 we understand that the errors she makes offstage, during her dance of life, are the very thing that build her character.
Unlike 鈥淕irls,鈥 a television show that mined similar territory, 鈥淔rances Ha鈥 never stoops to shock value to make its point. Instead, it relies on warmth and charm to capture the vagaries of a mostly rudderless life. It feels more intimate and raw than the usual twenty-ish crisis flick, and with each detail we get another piece of the puzzle that makes up Frances鈥 life.
鈥淭he Fault in Our stars鈥 is an adolescent 鈥淟ove Story.鈥 Based on John Green鈥檚 young adult novel about two teenagers who fall in love after meeting in a cancer support group, it鈥檚 a five-hankie film that has been making young adult readers spout tears like water shooting from fire hydrants since the book鈥檚 release in 2012.
Shailene Woodley plays Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old first diagnosed with cancer when she was 13. When she joins a support group for kids with cancer at a local church, she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), a handsome 18-year-old former athlete who lost a leg to osteosarcoma. It sounds like it has all the elements of a major summer bummer, but despite being set in what Hazel calls the 鈥淩epublic of Cancervania,鈥 it avoids the maudlin.
Instead, the story is told with acerbic wit, filtered through the life experiences of characters who have rarely known a healthy day. In the film鈥檚 opening minutes, Hazel says she doesn鈥檛 live in a world where 鈥渘othing is so messed up it can鈥檛 be fixed by a Peter Gabriel song,鈥 suggesting that there won鈥檛 be any easy answers offered up here. But, despite the life-and-death subject matter, it is a cathartic, sweet and tenderly told story about the power of love.
In 鈥淐鈥檓on C鈥檓on鈥 soft-spoken radio journalist Johnny, played by Joaquin Phoenix, travels around the United States, interviewing children about their lives, experiences and the future. While looking after his nine-year-old nephew Jesse (Woody Norman), he becomes a father figure as the pair travel on work trips to New York and New Orleans.
This is a quiet movie that speaks volumes. It asks simple questions, like 鈥淎re you happy?鈥 and tries, often in a roundabout way, to answer them. Jesse and Johnny鈥檚 conversations, which make up the vast bulk of the movie, are simultaneously insightful, frustrating and vulnerable. Just like real life.
Oscar winner Phoenix approaches Johnny with warmth and keeps the theatrics to a minimum. They complement one another, feeling out their relationship as they go, learning from one another. It鈥檚 lovely in its ordinariness, made even more special by the naturalistic performances. I don鈥檛 know if 鈥淐鈥檓on C鈥檓on鈥 will become immortal, it鈥檚 a little too freeform for that, but the simple human truths it essays already are.
An Ontario woman is among the dozens of people who have come forward to allege that they were sexually abused by London-based businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, the former chairman and owner of Harrods.
The death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb has risen to 31, including seven women and three children, Lebanon's health minister said on Saturday.
Looking after an adult with severe autism can be a full-time job. Ask any parent who has a child severely affected by autism spectrum disorder 鈥 it鈥檚 a job that can get more difficult as the child becomes an adult.
It is not a great time to be a coffee drinker. In general, coffee bean prices are the highest they've been in more than a decade.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
Andre De Grasse, fresh off of winning Olympic gold in the 4x100-metre rally in Paris 2024, has been in Toronto for the latest few weeks as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
An Ontario woman is among the dozens of people who have come forward to allege that they were sexually abused by London-based businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, the former chairman and owner of Harrods.
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
The RCMP is seeking the dismissal of three officers who have been suspended from the Coquitlam detachment since June 2021 over allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments made in a group chat.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.
The death toll from an Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb has risen to 31, including seven women and three children, Lebanon's health minister said on Saturday.
Voting has ended Saturday in Sri Lanka's presidential election as the country seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday issued a warning to any potential home intruder: 'If somebody breaks in my house, they're getting shot.'
An 11-year-old boy died Monday after subway surfing in New York City. He's the fourth person to die from subway surfing in the city this year.
Kamala Harris blasted Donald Trump as a threat to women's freedoms and their very lives, warning in a speech in the battleground state of Georgia on Friday that Republicans would continue to choke off access to abortion if he returns to the White House.
Lawyers in Britain representing dozens of alleged victims -- including three Canadians -- of Mohamed Al Fayed, the former boss of Harrods, said Friday their clients assert that he was a "monster" who raped and sexually abused young women.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says close to 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there is no guarantee Ottawa can evacuate them if the situation deteriorates further.
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
The NDP is asking the Competition Bureau to investigate whether Canadian landlords are using the same AI software that sparked an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.
Looking after an adult with severe autism can be a full-time job. Ask any parent who has a child severely affected by autism spectrum disorder 鈥 it鈥檚 a job that can get more difficult as the child becomes an adult.
Canada is setting aside $151 million for the fight to eradicate polio worldwide. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced the news at a Rotary International conference in Toronto.
Whooping cough is on track to reach a record number of cases in Ontario while infections climb in eastern provinces and decline in Quebec, but experts say trying to predict the course of the highly contagious disease has been especially difficult this year.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was arrested this week on charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was ordered to remain in custody until his federal trial in New York. CNN spoke to several legal experts to try to understand what lies ahead for Combs and for those in his orbit.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
It was the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge Friday as hundreds of family, friends and fans attended a public memorial in Calgary.
It is not a great time to be a coffee drinker. In general, coffee bean prices are the highest they've been in more than a decade.
Experts say rising team valuations and the desire to forge a legacy are likely at the heart of what motivated Rogers Communications Inc. executive chair Edward Rogers to bolster the company's portfolio of Toronto professional sports teams.
Boeing said on Friday the head of the company's troubled defence, space and security unit is leaving the planemaker effective immediately.
When Bernard Morissette got a call from Loto-Quebec on Sept. 18 and was asked if he was sitting down, he had no idea what was coming his way.
A new study has found that engaging in creative activities can significantly boost well-being by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
Andre De Grasse, fresh off of winning Olympic gold in the 4x100-metre rally in Paris 2024, has been in Toronto for the latest few weeks as part of the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have won five in a row. The Edmonton Elks have won five of their last six games. They are the two hottest teams in the West. When they meet Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium, something has to give.
Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.
General Motors (GM) has issued a recall for 38,000 vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, Transport Canada reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
The RCMP is seeking the dismissal of three officers who have been suspended from the Coquitlam detachment since June 2021 over allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic comments made in a group chat.
Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.
On the day he spoke to one of his largest audiences to date, the leader of the BC Conservatives made an exceptionally misleading statement around a well-publicized funding model for political parties that鈥檚 been in place since 2018.
Three people were taken to hospital following a serious collision which shut down Hwy. 48 in Markham late Friday night.
One person was taken to hospital after a motorcycle and another vehicle collided in the Fairbank area overnight.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
The man charged with fatally stabbing lifelong Banff resident Ethan Enns-Goneau in 2022 has been convicted of second-degree murder.
Environment Canada issued a frost advisory for Calgary late Friday afternoon.
It was the last show for longtime children's TV star Ron (Buck Shot) Barge Friday as hundreds of family, friends and fans attended a public memorial in Calgary.
Agreement in principle has been reached to build a new NHL arena at LeBreton Flats has been reached between the Ottawa Senators and the National Capital Commission (NCC), the two sides announced Friday.
For years, the commute to Ottawa's west end was one of the biggest complaints for attending fans. But those who live in Kanata and in the immediate LeBreton area say the move would be a big change their respective neighbourhoods.
Ottawa police are investigating a shooting downtown Friday afternoon.
Montrealers can get used to taking a stroll on several car-free streets during the summer in the years to come thanks to a new commitment from the city.
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Allrem, a Quebec company. wants to open up Canada to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Two Edmonton Police Service officers have been criminally charged in connection with an assault.
Roughly 100 people gathered in an Edmonton intersection on Friday in support of 鈥 and against 鈥 the 1 Million March for Children.
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge announced Friday it is now accepting reservations from guests for accommodations beginning Oct. 1.
A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.
Halifax Regional Police warned the public of a series of high-value thefts targeting retail stores Friday.
A new scam is being reported in communities across the country.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
A plane approaches the grass runway at Harv鈥檚 Air School south of Steinbach. Nothing is getting in the way of a clear, smooth landing, but owner Harv Penner worries, that could soon change.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Regina police are responding to a collision involving a motorcycle on Friday evening.
Five Regina schools were placed into lockdown or secure the building mode following a report of a weapons investigation at Miller High School on Friday.
Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.
The provincial government is considering new rules to restrict a municipality鈥檚 ability to install new bike lanes if it means traffic lanes would be removed.
A new scam is being reported in communities across the country.
Hospital beds in hallways, supply shortages in the neonatal intensive care unit, and operating rooms being put on hold are some of the concerns nurses are voicing, according to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).
The Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a 29-year-old man died in hospital.
A garage fire in Saskatoon鈥檚 Willows neighbourhood on Friday narrowly missed igniting an attached home, according to the fire department.
Emergency crews in northern Ontario found the bodies of four people inside a home where a fire broke out Thursday night.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.
A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.
A London man is half a million dollars richer after winning a Lotto Max draw on August 13.
Fall is technically officially arriving this weekend, and there are a couple of things you should be thinking about.
A man is in hospital with life threatening injuries following a collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle on Friday afternoon.
Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.
Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.
A jury has found a Barrie man guilty of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of a man at a Banff bar two years ago.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is searching for the occupants of a vehicle caught on security cameras during a fatal police-involved shooting on Goyeau Street.
Windsor police say a 25-year-old mother has been charged with the drowning death of her 5-year-old child in the family鈥檚 backyard pool.
The final phase of investigation in downtown Wheatley is nearing completion over three years after a major gas explosion.
A home has been transformed for the benefit of a B.C. neighbourhood, by a man who was transformed by the caring of his community.
When the federal government announced all open net fish farms on the British Columbia coast need to be out of the water by 2029, it also promised to produce a draft transition plan by the end of July. It missed that target by seven weeks.
New Democrat Leader David Eby has launched his British Columbia election campaign a day early, making the key battle ground of Surrey his first stop.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
After a summer of preparation, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are ready to open the 2024-25 season.
As a new semester is underway, Lethbridge Polytechnic and the University of Lethbridge say the number of students on campus is on the rise.
A Lethbridge resident is facing charges after police seized drugs and weapons at a traffic stop for bicycle equipment violations.
A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
Ontario Provincial Police say three suspects from southern Ontario have been charged and drugs worth $300,000 have been seized following a traffic stop Sept. 16.
A Brampton driver, 27, was charged this week when northern Ontario police stopped the SUV he was driving on Highway 17 after a reported shooting and found more than $100,000 in cash.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester鈥檚 farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
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