Yes, each of these movies has a strong element of strife, pain, and heartache, in one form or another.

That alone, though, doesn’t make for a compelling movie, to me. What makes it compelling is the prospect of redemption — of overcoming the challenges and achieving some form of victory, growth, or personal release.

I’m often most moved — and I don’t think this is unique to me at all — by movies that involve some central conflict that forces the hero or heroine to look deep inside, muster their personal resources, and grow or persevere in some important way.

In the list above, Dangerous Beauty, Rob Roy, and Tucker are clear examples in that regard. The Lost City not so much, I guess, but I was just taken by its beauty.

Vanilla Sky, Off the Map, and Waking the Dead are, I think, more spiritually oriented — really about letting go into the universe and learning to embrace reality rather than hiding from it.

Joshua

Strife, pain, heartache…

My fear is “being” Tucker!

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.” – Woody Allen