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MOVIEPIQ · RELATIONAL MOMENTS

Films for When Someone You Love Is Becoming a Stranger

Every film here was picked because it works for when watching someone become a stranger. The editorial team picks for emotional honesty over comfort or spectacle.

Films for when someone you know is becoming someone you don't. The face is familiar. Almost everything else isn't.

You have gotten quite good at describing this as people change, with a very specific shrug. The shrug took time to perfect. What's underneath it is the stranger version of the person you loved, and the very specific loneliness of still being present for someone whose internal world has become illegible to you. The irony is the face you wear when admitting how much you miss who they were is too much to do in public or in private. These films are not going to let the shrug hold up all the way through. That's why you're here.

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet movie poster
1
2020 · 83min · ★★★★☆ 7.7/10

The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder.

Smart enough to hold at arm's length while still doing something real. You can stay behind the glass and it will still find you.

Keeps the distance

Weathering with You movie poster
2
2019 · 112min · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if taking its cue from his life. After many days of s

It knows what you are doing and does not make you feel bad about it. The irony is part of the furniture here.

Smart enough to hold

A Street Cat Named Bob movie poster
3
2016 · 103min · ★★★★☆ 8.2/10

James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat.

The film has enough wit to keep your defenses comfortable and enough truth to slip through anyway.

Finds the gap anyway

War Room movie poster
4
2015 · 120min · ★★★☆☆ 6.4/10

The family-friendly movie explores the transformational role prayer plays in the lives of the Jordan family. Tony and Elizabeth Jordan, a middle-class couple who seemingly have it all - great jobs, a beautiful daughter, their dream home. But appearances can be deceiving. In reali

It will not break through the detachment. It will just remind you, quietly, that the detachment is sitting on something.

Works with the coat on

Smart enough to hold the distance. True enough to find the gap in it anyway.

Dogman movie poster
5
2023 · 115min · ★★★★☆ 8.3/10

A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.

Smart enough to hold at arm's length while still doing something real. You can stay behind the glass and it will still find you.

Keeps the distance

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind movie poster
6
2019 · 113min · ★★★☆☆ 7.3/10

Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.

It knows what you are doing and does not make you feel bad about it. The irony is part of the furniture here.

Smart enough to hold

The Hate U Give movie poster
7
2018 · 133min · ★★★☆☆ 7.3/10

Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.

The film has enough wit to keep your defenses comfortable and enough truth to slip through anyway.

Finds the gap anyway

Perfect Strangers movie poster
8
2016 · 97min · ★★★☆☆ 6.7/10

During a dinner, a group of friends decide to share whatever message or phone call they will receive during the evening, with unforeseen consequences.

It will not break through the detachment. It will just remind you, quietly, that the detachment is sitting on something.

Works with the coat on

Violet Evergarden: The Movie movie poster
9
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.

Smart enough to hold at arm's length while still doing something real. You can stay behind the glass and it will still find you.

Keeps the distance

Black Beauty movie poster
10
2020 · 110min · ★★★★☆ 8.5/10

Born free in the American West, Black Beauty is a horse rounded up and brought to Birtwick Stables, where she meets spirited teenager Jo Green. The two forge a bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges and adventures.

It knows what you are doing and does not make you feel bad about it. The irony is part of the furniture here.

Smart enough to hold

¿Quieres ser mi hijo? movie poster
11
2023 · 100min · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

Lu, a conformist woman in her forties, learns that her 15-year partner has been having extramarital affairs. Starting from scratch, she gets involved in an unexpected relationship with a young womanizer.

The film has enough wit to keep your defenses comfortable and enough truth to slip through anyway.

Finds the gap anyway

Radical movie poster
12
2023 · 125min · ★★★★☆ 8.1/10

In a Mexican border town plagued by neglect, corruption, and violence, a frustrated teacher tries an unorthodox new method to break through his students’ apathy and unlock their curiosity, their potential... and perhaps even their genius.

It will not break through the detachment. It will just remind you, quietly, that the detachment is sitting on something.

Works with the coat on

You can stay behind the glass. They'll find you anyway.

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