Not sad exactly. Not fine either. Just flat -- like the signal is there but nothing is coming through. These films do not try to fix that. They sit in it with you, and occasionally something breaks through.
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
This film works for numbness because it does not demand feeling -- it creates the conditions for it.
Does not demand feeling
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
The pacing is slow enough to meet you where you are. It does not push for a reaction.
Quietly present
A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..
The pacing is slow enough to meet you where you are. It does not push for a reaction.
Quietly present
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
This film works for numbness because it does not demand feeling -- it creates the conditions for it.
Quietly present
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.
The pacing is slow enough to meet you where you are. It does not push for a reaction.
Does not demand feeling
Quietly present
For when you need the world to go away for a while. This does that.
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
This film works for numbness because it does not demand feeling -- it creates the conditions for it.
Quietly present
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
This film works for numbness because it does not demand feeling -- it creates the conditions for it.
Does not demand feeling
A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
The pacing is slow enough to meet you where you are. It does not push for a reaction.
Quietly present
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
The pacing is slow enough to meet you where you are. It does not push for a reaction.
Quietly present
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
This film works for numbness because it does not demand feeling -- it creates the conditions for it.
Quietly present
The right film for the right state is a specific thing. These are specific.