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MOVIEPIQ · RELATIONAL MOMENTS

Films for Being the One They Did Not Quite Choose

Every film here was picked because it works for when being someone elses almost. The editorial team picks for emotional honesty over comfort or spectacle.

Films for knowing exactly where you landed in their order of things. Close enough to understand the gap.

The anger is clean and it has a legitimate address and you are not done with it yet, which is fine. Some feelings need to run their full length before they turn into something else, and the anger is one of those feelings, and you do not owe anyone a faster turnaround. These films let it run. They understand the particular dignity of a feeling that knows it is justified, and they will not talk you down or rush you through to the resolution on the other side.

Amélie movie poster
1
2001 · 122min · ★★★☆☆ 6.7/10

At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to b

It runs on the same fuel you are running on. The anger has somewhere to go inside this story, and it moves.

Runs on the same fuel

Whiplash movie poster
2
2014 · 107min · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

The film does not ask you to be reasonable about it. It lets the feeling run at the temperature it is actually at.

Lets the anger move

The Host movie poster
3
2013 · 126min · ★★★★☆ 8.0/10

A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.

Nobody is going to tell you to calm down in this one. The anger is treated as information, which is all you need right now.

No rush to the other side

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion movie poster
4
1997 · 87min · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.

It validates the feeling without resolving it too quickly. You will come out the other side with slightly less pressure, on your own schedule.

Justified

The best thing about these films is that nobody is going to tell you to calm down.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish movie poster
5
2020 · 98min · ★★★★☆ 7.8/10

With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought possible, and inspire a love fit for a storybook.

It runs on the same fuel you are running on. The anger has somewhere to go inside this story, and it moves.

Runs on the same fuel

Life in a Year movie poster
6
2020 · 107min · ★★★★☆ 7.6/10

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.

The film does not ask you to be reasonable about it. It lets the feeling run at the temperature it is actually at.

Lets the anger move

Impossible Things movie poster
7
2021 · 88min · ★★★☆☆ 7.3/10

After the death of her abusive husband, Matilde finds her new best friend in Miguel, her young, insecure, and disoriented neighbor.

Nobody is going to tell you to calm down in this one. The anger is treated as information, which is all you need right now.

No rush to the other side

Violet Evergarden: The Movie movie poster
8
2020 · 140min · ★★★★☆ 7.7/10

As the world moves on from the war and technological advances bring changes to her life, Violet still hopes to see her lost commanding officer again.

It validates the feeling without resolving it too quickly. You will come out the other side with slightly less pressure, on your own schedule.

Justified

Gabriel's Inferno movie poster
9
2020 · 122min · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible--forgiveness and love.

It runs on the same fuel you are running on. The anger has somewhere to go inside this story, and it moves.

Runs on the same fuel

The First Slam Dunk movie poster
10
2022 · 125min · ★★★★☆ 7.7/10

Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukaw

The film does not ask you to be reasonable about it. It lets the feeling run at the temperature it is actually at.

Lets the anger move

Gabriel's Inferno: Part II movie poster
11
2020 · 106min · ★★★☆☆ 7.3/10

Professor Gabriel Emerson finally learns the truth about Julia Mitchell's identity, but his realization comes a moment too late. Julia is done waiting for the well-respected Dante specialist to remember her and wants nothing more to do with him. Can Gabriel win back her heart bef

Nobody is going to tell you to calm down in this one. The anger is treated as information, which is all you need right now.

No rush to the other side

Five Feet Apart movie poster
12
2019 · 116min · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

Seventeen-year-old Stella spends most of her time in the hospital as a cystic fibrosis patient. Her life is full of routines, boundaries and self-control : all of which get put to the test when she meets Will, an impossibly charming teen who has the same illness. There's an insta

It validates the feeling without resolving it too quickly. You will come out the other side with slightly less pressure, on your own schedule.

Justified

The anger will move when it's ready. These let it.

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