The happy prospect of binge-watching your favorite series and spending hours just watching movies during this winter break is what got me through my finals this semester. That being said, even if I absolutely love watching movies, sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed by all the content that is out there.
For that reason, I decided to write yet another list of movies to watch this break. My opinions are based on the movies I've watched so far during break and movies that really added to my life. Meaningful movies that made me see people differently. Movies that will change your life and the world.
1. "Lion"
This is the beautiful and real story of a young man who looks for his lost family in Calcutta. Dev Patel plays the main character as he navigates through another world to find the people he got separated from. It's awesome and will definitely make you cry at some point. I chose this movie specifically because it shows incredible views of India and it shows just how powerful technology is to reunite people.
2. "The Flower of Aleppo"
With all the mass tragedies happening in Syria, this movie focuses on the story of a young mother who will do everything in her power to stop her son from being recruited by ISIS. It shows the influential power of extremist hate and humanizes, even more, the people suffering because of the Syrian War.
3. "Call Me Thief"
Being raised in post-apartheid South Africa, this man gets arrested for a petty crime and tells stories to his inmates. I loved this movie mainly because I love story telling, and the words this "criminal" speaks explains a life full of grief, want and expectations that will leave you emotional.
4. "Snowden"
It has my favorite actor of all time, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Everyone knows who Snowden is and what he's done for the world, yet this movie still manages to portray him as just a man trying to do good for his country. It's extremely sensitive and accurate in describing Snowden's conflicting morals and uncovers the reason he chose to commit "treason."
5. "Elite Squad"
This Brazilian movie is one of my favorite movies of all time. Because I'm Brazilian, we have this concept of the favela and cop struggle that is completely shattered by this movie. It tells the story of a police officer who works at the favela in a crude yet mesmerizing way. I 100% recommend this one.
6. "Black Mirror"
The best part of this series is that it is available on Netflix. My binge-watching skills are lacking, but from what I've seen so far, this series is one of the most concept-shattering ever. The trick is to pay attention to the underlined message it brings in each episode and focus on what each episode brings to the table.
7. "Sense 8"
Another series available on Netflix, this one tells the story of 8 different people who have never met but share this almost spiritual connection with each other. It is action packed and was filmed perfectly to portray the struggles of the 8 "sensates" portrayed. Get ready to cry and laugh at the same time with this one.
8. "Captain Philips"
OK, I really feel like Tom Hanks is highly overrated in the cinema world. Yet, I understand why some people love him after watching this movie. Captain Philips is navigating his cargo ship when Somalian pirates hijack it and start making demands. It shows the story of what happened when a U.S. cargo ship went through the same thing in 2009. But, it portrays the pirates in a trance-like new vision.
There are so many good and meaningful movies out there that I haven't got the chance to watch or suggest here. If you do have an opinion or movie suggestion, help a friend out here to keep binge-watching movies that will change my life.
Happy binge-watching!
