9 Best Movies About Living Life To Its Fullest

Some movies have the power to make us think about our own lives on a deeper level, and they can inspire audiences to live differently. These types of movies have to be careful to avoid falling into the trap of being overly sentimental, but if they strike the right tone they can leave a lasting impression.

Film can provide fresh new perspectives which encourage people to change the ways that they think about life. Aspirational movies often leave audiences with a renewed lust for life and an appreciation for all that it entails. When life feels too monotonous or restrictive, these movies are the perfect antidote.

9

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

“Life Moves Pretty Fast. If You Don’t Stop And Look Around Once In A While, You Could Miss It.”

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

PG-13

Comedy

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9/10

8.4/10

Release Date

June 11, 1986

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

John Hughes

Writers

John Hughes

Cast

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows an irreverent teenager who whisks his two closest friends away from school for an adventure in Chicago. There’s no clear goal in mind when Ferris embarks on his grand day out, but this echoes his key philosophical sentiment that living in the moment is the only way to live.

Ferris only wants to see where the day takes him, and he wants to have his friends by his side while he does so.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has a great script, packed with relatable quotes which make its simple philosophy more palatable. Ferris only wants to see where the day takes him, and he wants to have his friends by his side while he does so. It’s easy to get wrapped up in his fun-loving way of life.

8

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)

“Beautiful Things Don’t Ask For Attention.”

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Movie Poster

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

PG

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

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7/10

8.8/10

Release Date

December 25, 2013

Runtime

114 Minutes

Director

Ben Stiller

Writers

Steve Conrad

Cast

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    Ben Stiller

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is one of Ben Stiller’s best movies, both as a director and as an actor. He stars as an office worker who yearns for adventure, but he’s only able to live out his fantasies of seizing what he wants from life in his extensive daydreams.

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When Walter finally decides to take the plunge, he embarks on an international adventure that changes his life. By opening himself up to new experiences, he learns about the beauty of the world that he didn’t even know existed. This is the soul of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty‘s uplifting ethos.

7

The World’s Fastest Indian (2005)

“If You Don’t Follow Through On Your Dreams, You Might As Well Be A Vegetable.”

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The World’s Fastest Indian

PG-13

Biography

Documentary

Drama

Sport

Release Date

October 12, 2005

Runtime

127 minutes

Director

Roger Donaldson

Writers

Roger Donaldson

Cast

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The World’s Fastest Indian is something of a hidden gem within Anthony Hopkins’ filmography. He’s not generally known as a comedic actor, but he gets plenty of laughs as Burt Munro, the real-life racer who traveled from New Zealand to Utah in the 1960s and set a series of land speed records.

Burt’s simple charms inspire people everywhere he goes. He has a laidback style that forces people to question why they’re so stuck in their ways, and why they’re afraid of pursuing what they really want out of life. He’s the last person anyone would expect to be a daredevil racer, but his success proves that anyone can chase their dreams.

6

Dead Poets Society (1989)

“Carpe Diem. Seize The Day, Boys. Make Your Lives Extraordinary.”

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Dead Poets Society

PG

Drama

Documentary

9.7/10

Release Date

June 2, 1989

Runtime

128 minutes

Director

Peter Weir

Writers

Tom Schulman

Cast

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Mr. Keating begins his first lesson by urging his young students to look upon the faces of people just like them who attended the same school long ago, as a reminder that they too will die some day. Rather than being morbid, this urgent call to live life to the fullest categorizes his ethos, and it inspires his students in many ways.

Dead Poets Society is packed with memorable quotes, some of them taken from the likes of Whitman, Shakespeare and Thoreau. Mr. Keating and his students use poetry as a tool to see the world around them differently, and to question the rigid confines of the establishment. Robin Williams’ emotional, tender performance strikes the perfect tone.

5

Groundhog Day (1993)

“What If There Is No Tomorrow? There Wasn’t One Today.”

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Groundhog Day

PG

Comedy

Documentary

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

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9/10

9.7/10

Release Date

February 11, 1993

Runtime

101 minutes

Director

Harold Ramis

Writers

Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis

Cast

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Groundhog Day is one of Bill Murray’s best movies, and it makes great use of his affable comedic persona. He plays a weather reporter who gets mysteriously trapped in a time loop which forces him to repeat the same day over and over again. Eventually, this gives him a deeper appreciation of living life in the present.

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2

Groundhog Day‘s central premise highlights the fact that many people live their lives in a loop. When Phil is finally released from his purgatory and gifted with a new day, he greets it with the excitement that anyone should have for a new day full of endless possibilities and unpredictability.

4

Soul (2020)

“Life Is Full Of Possibilities. You Just Need To Know Where To Look.”

Pixar Soul Movie Poster

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Soul

PG

Family

Animation

Adventure

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6/10

8.0/10

Release Date

December 25, 2020

Runtime

100 minutes

Director

Pete Docter

Writers

Pete Docter, Kemp Powers, Mike Jones

Franchise(s)

Disney

Cast

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Soul, like many of Pixar’s best movies, tells a heartfelt story that can leave its audience in floods of tears. It’s a meditation on the meaning that we all look for in life, although this is contrasted with the true incidental beauty that surrounds us every day. Soul creates some solid projections for abstract philosophical concepts.

Only in the afterlife does Joe get a true appreciation for the world that he lives in. It’s a radical change of perspective, but this is sometimes exactly what’s needed. In a way, Soul boils Pixar’s appeal down to its most crucial essence, as great films can also give people a new perspective.

3

The Truman Show (1998)

“We Accept The Reality Of The World With Which We’re Presented.”

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The Truman Show

PG

Drama

Sci-Fi

Comedy

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10/10

10

9.1/10

Release Date

June 5, 1998

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

Peter Weir, peter

Writers

Andrew Niccol

Cast

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The Truman Show is another movie which provides a radical new perspective in order to look at our own world with fresh eyes. Jim Carrey plays a man whose whole life has taken place in a controlled environment as part of a reality show which films his every move.

The Truman Show is about Truman’s slow realization that his life is completely inauthentic, and his struggles to break out of his TV prison. A lot of people could use the kind of wake-up call that Truman receives, as a reminder that a lot of life’s limitations are ones that we make for ourselves. Truman chooses to live an authentic life of uncertainty rather than a sheltered existence in which nothing can go wrong.

2

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

“In Another Life, I Would Have Really Liked Just Doing Laundry And Taxes With You.”

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Everything Everywhere All at Once

R

Adventure

Comedy

Action

ScreenRant logo

8/10

35

8.6/10

Release Date

March 25, 2022

Runtime

132 minutes

Director

Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Writers

Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan

Cast

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Everything Everywhere All at Once can be a lot to take in at first, with various surreal multiverses and some rich sci-fi concepts all packed into a comedy about a dysfunctional family. Ultimately, the seemingly random stream of nonsensical imagery proves key to understanding the Oscar-winner.

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The true meaning of Everything Everywhere All at Once lies in the sensory overload of its different realities. While many of the absurd universes are comic exaggerations, they represent the different paths in life that Evelyn could have chosen. Through all the noise, she realizes that what she really cherishes is her family, and that she would choose them over any other universe. The absurdity of Everything Everywhere All at Once creates a renewed appreciation for the mundane.

1

About Time (2013)

“We’re All Traveling Through Time Together, Every Day Of Our Lives. All We Can Do Is Do Our Best To Relish This Remarkable Ride.”

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About Time

R

Comedy

Documentary

Drama

Sci-Fi

ScreenRant logo

7/10

8.9/10

Release Date

September 4, 2013

Runtime

123 minutes

Director

Richard Curtis

Writers

Richard Curtis

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Domhnall Gleeson

    Domhnall Gleeson

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Richard Curtis is known for writing several of the best British rom-coms ever, including Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral. About Time is one of his rare directorial works, and it’s easily one of his most endearing movies. Domhnall Gleeson stars as a man who learns that he can travel through time.

The sci-fi concept is only used as a means of granting Tim with a new perspective on his life.

About Time has a decidedly bland visual approach to time travel, since the sci-fi concept is only used as a means of granting Tim with a new perspective on his life. Despite his powers, he finds that he’s plagued by the same concerns as everyone else. However, once he learns to live in the present, he no longer needs to manipulate his past.

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