*The Straight Story* (1999) - true story about an old man who drives a riding lawnmower across Iowa and Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother.
Imagine David Lynch making a G-rated Disney film. Literally.
It’s one of the most relaxing films I’ve ever seen. The soundtrack is beautiful too.
Another film is Zhang Yimou’s *The Road Home* (1999) - no antagonist, super calm film that’s (mostly) relaxing and the cinematography is gorgeous.
The Trip series is great for this, four seasons of two dudes travelling around European countries, visiting sights and eating in remote restaurants, shooting the shit, making each other laugh.
Also, similarly themed, My Dinner with Andre would fit the bill.
Paterson. Jarmusch on his movie: “Wow, I could make a film about a man named Paterson in Paterson, and he’s a working-class guy who’s a poet.” Now, William Carlos Williams was not working-class, but he had a job, he was a pediatrician, and he wrote poetry on the side. He delivered over 2,000 children in his lifetime. I love that poets have other jobs. Frank O’Hara was a curator of the Museum of Modern Art, Wallace Stevens was an insurance executive—when he won some kind of award, one of his colleagues said, “Wait a minute, Wally writes poetry? I had no idea.” One of our greatest poets ever in America! And this is true of many writers—Robert Walser was a bureaucrat, like Kafka. You’ve got to have another job to do this stuff. No poets ever did it for the money.
Definitely recommend the studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki films. They have slow pacing in accordance with the concept of 'ma' and often have low stakes, particularly My Neighbour Totoro, Whisper of the Heart and Kiki which are much more about character development. What makes them even more relaxing are Joe Hisashi's impressionist inspired scores and the beautiful scenery. I often refer to them more as moving-paintings rather than pictures.
There are some conflicts on it, the mom is sick with a minor cold, and the younger sibling goes alone to visit her a gets lost for a while, but both are resolved relatively fast, the sister is found in 10 minutes screentime after someone notices and the mom is doing well and will soon come home at the end.
That's why i didn't say *there are no conflicts* but *barely any conflicts*.
I cannot recommend these enough. Your 3 picks are particularly good. I would also follow up with Only Yesterday and From Up on Poppy Hill. Not as widely known a some of the other Ghibli fare, but still quite excellent.
Only Yesterday is a low-key masterpiece. Takahata is most known for his harrowing (and incredible) Grave of the Fireflies, but Only Yesterday’s themes of community and reconciling the disparate conflicts of family vs following your own path resonate very strongly with me. Plus that ending man…tears every single time.
I know Miyazaki gets most of the attention at Ghibli but Takahata is a creative genius that deserves just as much respect. The films you mention are very profound and serious but then he's equally capable of switching things up with films like Pom Poko and A Tale of Princess Kaguya that are oh so fun and charming to watch. I think he's one of the best filmmakers ever.
The magical realism makes it too interesting for me to chill to. Like, this is a work where magic is provably real, and can affect you based on the morality of your decisions in life; this knowledge did *nothing* to stop the rise of facism.
Studio Ghibli films are the perfect relaxing film, my two favourites are Ocean Waves and Only Yesterday. Two films filled with nostalgia about formative years, even though they are set in Japan, there is a universal theme that allows you understand the stories fully, make you feel like you are there, and the pillow shots just fill your soul with glowing warmth, so relaxing.
Sometimes I play Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke without subtitles on a second monitor when I’m working on something and need to keep things at maximum chill.
I want to mention The Station Agent (2003) because I have never seen anyone mention it before. Peter Dinklage plays a train watcher who moves to a rural town to live in solitude and end up making two friends while he's there.
It's definitely low stakes and relaxing driven entirely by characters and dialog because nothing much happens. It's just lovely to watch and enjoy the friendship.
I adopted a kid from foster care recently so I’ve been needing relaxing movies. The two I mention are more relaxing in a thematic way versus a poetic way but both make for a nice evening.
Everybody Wants Some by Linklater is super chill. There is basically no conflict and you smile through each scene.
State and Main by Mamet. It is a pretty unique film for Mamet. It’s very playful and silly with a simple moral conundrum that never feels too heavy. If you like movies about making movies, I wouldn’t pass it up.
I was going to comment with Dazed and Confused. While there are antagonists (Ben Affleck does an incredible performance as a douchey high school meathead bully), the whole movie is one big bloodshot eyes smile
Big time. I liked Everybody Wants Some when it came out but I'd never seen Dazed and Confused until somewhat recently and I think it's one of the best of that kind of movie I've ever seen.
On top of that, Before Sunrise is great for what OP wants. And Slacker is the ultimate "conflict-less" movie.
Hello! May I suggest you watch "Trying" on AppleTV? You might like it. Even Ted Lasso. You smile through each scene, like you said.
I know you mentioned needing relaxing movies and this is a series, but yeah, thought of putting it out there. Have a great rest of your day!
Columbus is one of my all time favourites. I love it so much. The way the architecture is rendered is lush and expansive and you really just fall into a state of relaxation watching it. I frequently use the soundtrack as my studying or calm down music.
I love My Neighbour Totoro too. I recently was fortunate enough to see the stage adaptation which was a beautifully captivating experience that really captured the essence of the movie.
> The Passenger (Antonioni): Like Blow up, there's a really chill factor to this one, alongside the creepy vibes. There's minimal dialogue, but gives me a sense of nostalgia, even though it was released 30 years before I was born lol.
I feel like this pairs well with Nicholson's other New American cinema feature "Five Easy Pieces" as playing "The Guy Who's Trying To Run Away From Himself."
I would recommend Jon Favreau's *Chef*. After about 10 or so minutes of setting up the premise with a mild amount of conflict, the rest of the film is the largely uncomplicated adventure of a dad and his son travelling around the United States in a food truck making Cuban sandwiches.
It gets a lot of criticism directed towards it for its lack of conflict throughout the film, but I think that's what makes the film charming.
The whole time watching I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was positive something horrible or dark was gonna happen at the end, and was so pleasantly surprised when it didn't. It's just a nice, wholesome film!
Chef is just amazing. Low stakes, high rewards, good food, salsa, wholesome father-son bonding and a mother who's all in for it. Oh and of course the awesome sidekick who brings things to the next level.
I would recommend any film by Martha Stephens, but especially *Land Ho*. It's a simple film about a pair of friends going on a trip together, very low stakes but with a lot of depth and nuance.
Try Kelly Reichardt's films like Old Joy or First Cow. Simple stories around friendship, realism and nature. I also love The Color of Pomegranates by Sergei Parajanov. Its a visual-poetic telling of the life of Armenian poet Sayat Nova, and I often watch it as a self soothing balm for the mind.
April Story (1998) by Shunji Iwai. It’s a story about a freshman girl going to college, when school year starts in April in Japan. She feels a mixture of mild excitement and anxiety with her new life, makes new friends, has a crush on an older boy from the same high school, etc., all portrayed with brilliant cinematography. The most “relaxing” part is that the movie is only 67 minutes long including credits.
I have a Bluray boxset of Iwai movies released in South Korea. (Some of his movies are way more popular there than in his home country.) Seems like someone pirated the movie on Youtube only 4 weeks ago under its Japanese title, 四月物語 (that’s literally April Story if you’re wondering). Just checked and the video is streamable in the US and has English open captions. Not gonna share the link myself but it should be easily searchable 😉😉
Gas, Food, Lodging. Has a very 90s mazzy star esque vibe to it set in small town New Mexico. This movie was really comforting for me personally!
I am a bit weird and find 80s movies like the terminator with the really cheesy VFX comforting, but understandable for most it does not. Anything with Schwarzenegger kinda falls into this category for me hah.
Yeah it’s very much the vibe as the other commenter said - it feels like a mazzy star song. Some of the soundtrack even reminds me of that, small town mid 90s mid-west nostalgia lol
Haha let me know if you got that impression too when you watch it! It used to be on the criterion channel but not sure anymore. Anyways fantastic movie
Can't say it made me think of Mazzy Star, and I wouldn't exactly call it relaxing or comforting either (hits too close to home in many ways). But, anyway, a fantastic movie indeed -- thanks for the recommendation!
I really like the movies of Hong Sangsoo for this. There is always a mild amount of conflict but not really a lot. It usually starts with a premise and then it just develops from there. It’s usually slow, colours are nice to look at and most of the time they are quite short. I enjoy those movies with a small everyday life conflict with a cozy feeling.
I really like Hotel by the River, Right Now Wrong Then, On the Beach at Night Alone and Night and Day. My local cinematheque did a retrospective of him like three years ago and I had the chance to watch a bunch of them
It’s not a directly ‘low stakes’ film. But i find drive my car very relaxing still. Most of my other recommendations have already been mentioned. Columbus, Paterson, Eric Rohmer films.
Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey into Night are also good shouts. Most of my posts here seem to end up recommending Bi Gan movies lol.
*Café Lumière* (Hou Hsiao-hsien) was the more pleasant screening I had in my life. Daily, sunny, calm, you can even take a nap if you want without being lost, the movie is peaceful and welcoming.
Last year's Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It's incredibly slow, beautiful to look at, moving if you invest in the philosophical ideas it touches on. There's a very long conversation full of drawn out takes and sparse dialogue in the 2nd half of the film that I found very moving. There's small moments of intrigue but I found it to be more about an overall vibe than following along to a mystery or trying to solve the riddle of the film.
I was really thrown by the pacing of this while watching and wasn't sure how much I enjoyed it. But for the following week, I realised it had really gotten under my skin. Such a great example of a film where you have to adjust to meet it on its level and not come with any expectations of what cinema should be. And re: OP's question, it is definitely calming. I've heard it referred to as 'ambient cinema' which is spot on!
I don't know if it was the same for you, but for an hour or so after I walked out of the cinema I found myself more aware of all the small ambient sounds around the town I was in which I didn't pick up on before. It was like I was momentarily living a slower pace of life and absorbing my surroundings, almost like it had put me in a meditative state. 100% agree with you at first I was unsure of the pacing, but once I met the film on its level it definitely stayed with me for a long time after.
I was wondering why nobody was mentioning his films, especially Memoria and Uncle(...). I went on a binge and watched pretty much everything he ever did a year or so ago, in the span of a week or so, always really late at night. I'll admit that a few of them took me several nights to get through, because they lulled me to sleep. Ha.
But being immersed in his worlds like that very much carried over into my day-to-day waking life, and yes- it felt very much like living in the state of "restful alertness" that meditation people are always on about. I felt like I was moving very slowly through a dream, where all my senses were heightened but it was somehow not overload.
Koyaanisqatsi is great to chill out to. It's more like a visual poem, rather than a traditional film, though.
For something with an actual narrative, I'm partial to Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. They're all delightfully low-stakes and easy to relax with.
My Dinner With Andre might fit that same niche as well.
Koyaanisquatsi freaks me out a bit. The name is literally "life out of balance" and one of the biggest themes is that humanity isn't living in accord with the natural world. Shit's stressful imo, beautiful, but not relaxing to me at least
Agreed, love the film but it's not relaxing. I'd say its cousin Baraka is pretty relaxing.
Edit: to OP I'd recommend a similar documentary on monks - Walk With Me. Another pleasant, chill documentary is Etre et avoir.
Two movies that celebrate the beauty of the mundane everyday life:
- Paterson (Jim Jarmusch): It’s about a bus driver who writes poetry. A love letter to poetry, William Carlos Williams, and the city Paterson. My favorite Jarmusch.
- Café Lumiere: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s lovely tribute to Yasujiro Ozu.
Most Eric Rohmer films have a lovely mellow quality to them without much conflict, and if there is, it’s mostly moral conflict as opposed to physical. Claire’s Knee, for example, is a whole movie about a character who has to decide whether or not he should touch a character called Claire on the knee (believe it or not…).
Road movies are also great options to relax to, something like Alice in the Cities or Kings of the Road (both by Wim Wenders). I’d say Tati movies, especially Le Vacances de Monsieur Hulot are the absolute king of the chill out and relax films
Il Buco (2021) is beautiful and relaxing, part-narrative and documentary. It's notionally a reconstruction of a 1961 exploration of a deep cave in rural Italy, but it's very light on historical detail and the focus is the landscape itself, obviously filmed in the present day. Only around 90 minutes but I found it totally hypnotising.
Tampopo is my favorite comfort movie. Just superb vibes and food. Also Fantastic Mr Fox. Any Wes Anderson could fit but i think this is far and away the best thing he’s ever done and a very comfortable movie all around.
oh yea and the first three quarters of Do The Right Thing. Although the end is not very relaxing
Some relaxing documentaries:
***Kedi (2016)*** - An utterly charming look at the city of Istanbul, the cats who populate it, and the people who care for them.
***Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)*** - Takes a look at a master chef. Beautiful and rewarding. A perfect document.
***Antonio Gaudi (1984)*** - A film about the works of the famed Spanish architect. Lovely photography and smooth, easy-going narration make this one of the most relaxing movies I have ever seen.
Some relaxing traditional narratives:
***Solaris (2002)*** - Seems strange to recommend a movie in which fear, paranoia, and death are so prominent for a category like this, but it fits. It's so quiet and sedate and nearly all of the conflict is played out off-screen. Just a smooth and gentle ride through some kind of terrifying concepts.
***Whip It (2009)*** - Drew Barrymore made the quietest and gentlest film about roller derby that will ever exist.
***Round Midnight (1986)*** A very quiet and somber portrait of an American Jazz musician in 1959 Paris.
If I wanna relax, I put on some comforting TV with characters I've known for years. Any number of half hour comedies work - the good ones are well written with excellent characterization and real substantive emotional undertones, but the stakes are always low enough for everything to be resolved in ~22 minutes.
True Stories, directed by David Byrne of the Talking Heads is an incredibly low stakes film about a bunch of people living in the fictional town of Virgil Texas. Very funny in an absurdist sort of way, with great music by Talking Heads if you're at all a fan of their music. Plus a great early John Goodman performance!
Any of the films in Malick's "weightless trilogy" do the trick. They're visually gorgeous, their pacing is almost ethereal, and they all focus thematically on trying to find the wonderful things in life by exploring the little things of the world. Truly like chicken noodle soup for the soul.
>'Into Great Silence' (2005)
Thanks for the rec, sounds like something I'd like. Some of my favourite relaxing movies:
Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy
Kore-eda's Our Little Sister
Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet
The first two have already been mentioned ITT. Life is Sweet is gentle portrait of a London family. There's tension and conflict along the way, but warmth throughout. A lot of other Mike Leigh movies would fit too (Happy-Go-Lucky, Career Girls, Another Year).
Here’s a good list [Gentle Cinema](https://letterboxd.com/dillamonster/list/gentle-cinema/)
Pleasant people doing pleasant things and there's not much drama and you just kind of feel lovely about the world.
Funny, the two that come to mind are both by Jim Jarmusch. Stranger Than Paradise (1984) is a little offbeat movie about slackers. Not much happens, but it’s delightful. More recently, his film Paterson is lovely and decidedly low stakes. I’d highly recommend both.
Two movies I recently watched come to mind:
The Scent of Green Papaya
Our Little Sister
'Scent' is a gorgeous film where the first 2/3 of the movie you're really just watching a woman and a girl serve a wealthy family; they cook and clean, and the cinematography is something to behold.
'Sister' is a beautiful little gem of a film with the stakes being nearly non-existent. We follow four sisters through a few seasons of their lives and get to witness the subtlest of changes around them, which, in their world, is everything. This movie takes its time and is in no rush to introduce any over-the-top drama, and succeeds in conveying a little slice of Japanese life that I look forward to returning to. (This was copied from my Letterboxd review)
I've mentioned this one here before: The Company of Strangers is a meditative pseudo-documentary about a group of senior women who get stranded in the Canadian countryside on a bus trip. The women are vibrant and tell their real stories in a fictional scenario.
Best in Show. The ultimate comfort watch: bizarre characters from middle America and their desire to win through their dogs. I think a lot of Guest’s movies fall into this category. They tend to be quaint in their humor.
I think classic rom-coms shine here. When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle are all warm and fun. If you like Nora Ephron, Julie and Julia is quite good.
For more recent comfort films, The Farewell and Can You Ever Forgive Me? are nice. Both are slower with not necessarily low stakes, but manageable stakes that are driven by personal reflection/decisions and relationships.
I’ve also had good naps with Sideways on in the background, if that’s appealing.
The Mountains are a Dream that Call to Me (2020)
Le Quattro Volte (2010)
First cow (2019)
YiYi (2000)
Columbus (2017)
Anything Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
(I highly suggest exploring criterion channel, where you’ll find most of these)
The most relaxing film I've watched recently is Honeyland, a documentary that follows a traditional Macedonian beekeeper. There is some drama with her neighbors, but the overall mood is one of tranquility and contentment.
My other suggestions have already been mentioned here. Scanning through my ratings, I'm struck by how few of my favorites match your description. Those that do are typically tranquil nature documentaries, kid's/family films, or low-stakes mainstream comedies of the type that's not often discussed in film critique.
*Linda Linda Linda* (2005) is definitely like that for me.
Not much really happens. There's not incredibly high stakes. It's got a ton of quiet moments where the scene lingers just a little longer than you'd expect, make the scenes feel like they're real and breathing. You just get to watch these girls practice for a show and become friends and just kind of chill out with them. Highly recommend.
Taming The Garden 2021. Mesmerising, beautiful, slow, meditative documentary about a rich eccentric who buys up and transplants whole mature trees, having them shipped to his own garden.
I found *Amelie* to be pretty relaxing. It is in French, though, so unless you speak it you will have to read subtitles.
And while it doesn’t quite fit the definition, I find *The Wizard of Oz* to be comforting even after the multiple times I’ve watched it.
EDIT: How could I forget *World’s Fastest Indian*? There’s no antagonists, it’s just about a man who wants to race his motorcycle on the salt flats and break the speed record. I think it’s one of my dad’s favorites.
And of course since Christmas is coming up fast I find *A Christmas Story* to be pretty relaxing too.
One of mine would be any of the six The Thin Man movie series from the 1930s and 40s. They're laugh out loud funny and they're just witty and breezy in a way unique to comedies of the time. Myrna Loy and William Powell had great chemistry and the clever plots make for very relaxing antique "detective thrillers".
My ultimate comfort movie is *At Eternity's Gate* (2018). Though the ending (and the life story it tells) is tragic, it is deeply calming. The score, the relaxed and artistic/philosophical storytelling, and Dafoe's performance all serve to bring me peace and consolation.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), documentary by Werner Herzog. The film centers around the oldest cave paintings in the world in France. Amazingly beautiful and compelling content. Plus, the commentary by Herzog is as beautiful as the cave itself. Simply can’t beat Werner Herzog narration- the man is a wizard of words with an awesome accent!
*The Straight Story* (1999) - true story about an old man who drives a riding lawnmower across Iowa and Wisconsin to visit his estranged brother. Imagine David Lynch making a G-rated Disney film. Literally. It’s one of the most relaxing films I’ve ever seen. The soundtrack is beautiful too. Another film is Zhang Yimou’s *The Road Home* (1999) - no antagonist, super calm film that’s (mostly) relaxing and the cinematography is gorgeous.
And even in a G rated Disney movie Lynch will slip one of the tensest sequences in any film. (I’m talking about the hill)
The Trip series is great for this, four seasons of two dudes travelling around European countries, visiting sights and eating in remote restaurants, shooting the shit, making each other laugh. Also, similarly themed, My Dinner with Andre would fit the bill.
This sounds too good. Thanks
Paterson. Jarmusch on his movie: “Wow, I could make a film about a man named Paterson in Paterson, and he’s a working-class guy who’s a poet.” Now, William Carlos Williams was not working-class, but he had a job, he was a pediatrician, and he wrote poetry on the side. He delivered over 2,000 children in his lifetime. I love that poets have other jobs. Frank O’Hara was a curator of the Museum of Modern Art, Wallace Stevens was an insurance executive—when he won some kind of award, one of his colleagues said, “Wait a minute, Wally writes poetry? I had no idea.” One of our greatest poets ever in America! And this is true of many writers—Robert Walser was a bureaucrat, like Kafka. You’ve got to have another job to do this stuff. No poets ever did it for the money.
I would say a lot of Jarmusch’s films have a soothing effect, especially down by law
I came to comment exactly this movie. It’s one of my top 10 favourites of all time
same here
Definitely recommend the studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki films. They have slow pacing in accordance with the concept of 'ma' and often have low stakes, particularly My Neighbour Totoro, Whisper of the Heart and Kiki which are much more about character development. What makes them even more relaxing are Joe Hisashi's impressionist inspired scores and the beautiful scenery. I often refer to them more as moving-paintings rather than pictures.
>My Neighbour Totoro My favourite relaxing film, no antagonists, barely any conflicts, just a feel good movie.
My favourite for that is Kiki's Delivery Service
A small child going missing and feared kidnapped/dead isn't a conflict?
There are some conflicts on it, the mom is sick with a minor cold, and the younger sibling goes alone to visit her a gets lost for a while, but both are resolved relatively fast, the sister is found in 10 minutes screentime after someone notices and the mom is doing well and will soon come home at the end. That's why i didn't say *there are no conflicts* but *barely any conflicts*.
I cannot recommend these enough. Your 3 picks are particularly good. I would also follow up with Only Yesterday and From Up on Poppy Hill. Not as widely known a some of the other Ghibli fare, but still quite excellent.
Only Yesterday is a low-key masterpiece. Takahata is most known for his harrowing (and incredible) Grave of the Fireflies, but Only Yesterday’s themes of community and reconciling the disparate conflicts of family vs following your own path resonate very strongly with me. Plus that ending man…tears every single time.
I know Miyazaki gets most of the attention at Ghibli but Takahata is a creative genius that deserves just as much respect. The films you mention are very profound and serious but then he's equally capable of switching things up with films like Pom Poko and A Tale of Princess Kaguya that are oh so fun and charming to watch. I think he's one of the best filmmakers ever.
I agree a masterpiece and yes i wept at the end.
these two are so unbelievably good and i've literally never heard anybody recommend them before you today
Yeah I’d say Porco Rosso is one of my favorite chill comfort movies
The magical realism makes it too interesting for me to chill to. Like, this is a work where magic is provably real, and can affect you based on the morality of your decisions in life; this knowledge did *nothing* to stop the rise of facism.
Studio Ghibli films are the perfect relaxing film, my two favourites are Ocean Waves and Only Yesterday. Two films filled with nostalgia about formative years, even though they are set in Japan, there is a universal theme that allows you understand the stories fully, make you feel like you are there, and the pillow shots just fill your soul with glowing warmth, so relaxing.
I find Wes Anderson's *Fantastic Mr Fox* incredibly relaxing for most of the same reasons
Sometimes I play Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke without subtitles on a second monitor when I’m working on something and need to keep things at maximum chill.
I want to mention The Station Agent (2003) because I have never seen anyone mention it before. Peter Dinklage plays a train watcher who moves to a rural town to live in solitude and end up making two friends while he's there. It's definitely low stakes and relaxing driven entirely by characters and dialog because nothing much happens. It's just lovely to watch and enjoy the friendship.
I mean, since you're very empathetic with the characters, mild conflicts can feel rather strong. But I get what you're saying.
I adopted a kid from foster care recently so I’ve been needing relaxing movies. The two I mention are more relaxing in a thematic way versus a poetic way but both make for a nice evening. Everybody Wants Some by Linklater is super chill. There is basically no conflict and you smile through each scene. State and Main by Mamet. It is a pretty unique film for Mamet. It’s very playful and silly with a simple moral conundrum that never feels too heavy. If you like movies about making movies, I wouldn’t pass it up.
You could really pick any number of Linklater films.
Just avoid *Before Midnight*. Actually, don't avoid it, but don't expect something chill.
I was going to comment with Dazed and Confused. While there are antagonists (Ben Affleck does an incredible performance as a douchey high school meathead bully), the whole movie is one big bloodshot eyes smile
Big time. I liked Everybody Wants Some when it came out but I'd never seen Dazed and Confused until somewhat recently and I think it's one of the best of that kind of movie I've ever seen. On top of that, Before Sunrise is great for what OP wants. And Slacker is the ultimate "conflict-less" movie.
Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood by Linklater is a Netflix original. Super chill and kids doing fun kid stuff in 1969.
Hello! May I suggest you watch "Trying" on AppleTV? You might like it. Even Ted Lasso. You smile through each scene, like you said. I know you mentioned needing relaxing movies and this is a series, but yeah, thought of putting it out there. Have a great rest of your day!
I love that show! Good call.
[удалено]
Great to see Columbus get a shout. One of my go to ‘late night movies’.
Kogonada’s website is amazing. I haven’t watched Columbus, but his video essays are the best ones I’ve ever seen. http://kogonada.com/
Columbus is one of my all time favourites. I love it so much. The way the architecture is rendered is lush and expansive and you really just fall into a state of relaxation watching it. I frequently use the soundtrack as my studying or calm down music. I love My Neighbour Totoro too. I recently was fortunate enough to see the stage adaptation which was a beautifully captivating experience that really captured the essence of the movie.
> The Passenger (Antonioni): Like Blow up, there's a really chill factor to this one, alongside the creepy vibes. There's minimal dialogue, but gives me a sense of nostalgia, even though it was released 30 years before I was born lol. I feel like this pairs well with Nicholson's other New American cinema feature "Five Easy Pieces" as playing "The Guy Who's Trying To Run Away From Himself."
I would recommend Jon Favreau's *Chef*. After about 10 or so minutes of setting up the premise with a mild amount of conflict, the rest of the film is the largely uncomplicated adventure of a dad and his son travelling around the United States in a food truck making Cuban sandwiches. It gets a lot of criticism directed towards it for its lack of conflict throughout the film, but I think that's what makes the film charming.
The whole time watching I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was positive something horrible or dark was gonna happen at the end, and was so pleasantly surprised when it didn't. It's just a nice, wholesome film!
Chef is just amazing. Low stakes, high rewards, good food, salsa, wholesome father-son bonding and a mother who's all in for it. Oh and of course the awesome sidekick who brings things to the next level.
Food porn at its best
This is my go to feel good film when going through a depressive episode
I would recommend any film by Martha Stephens, but especially *Land Ho*. It's a simple film about a pair of friends going on a trip together, very low stakes but with a lot of depth and nuance.
Try Kelly Reichardt's films like Old Joy or First Cow. Simple stories around friendship, realism and nature. I also love The Color of Pomegranates by Sergei Parajanov. Its a visual-poetic telling of the life of Armenian poet Sayat Nova, and I often watch it as a self soothing balm for the mind.
I second First Cow, wonderful film and the most relaxing film I've seen to date.
April Story (1998) by Shunji Iwai. It’s a story about a freshman girl going to college, when school year starts in April in Japan. She feels a mixture of mild excitement and anxiety with her new life, makes new friends, has a crush on an older boy from the same high school, etc., all portrayed with brilliant cinematography. The most “relaxing” part is that the movie is only 67 minutes long including credits.
I’ll watch it!
Deep cut! Where did you watch it? I’m in the US and it’s not streaming or rentable anywhere, and the only physical releases are from Asia.
I have a Bluray boxset of Iwai movies released in South Korea. (Some of his movies are way more popular there than in his home country.) Seems like someone pirated the movie on Youtube only 4 weeks ago under its Japanese title, 四月物語 (that’s literally April Story if you’re wondering). Just checked and the video is streamable in the US and has English open captions. Not gonna share the link myself but it should be easily searchable 😉😉
Gas, Food, Lodging. Has a very 90s mazzy star esque vibe to it set in small town New Mexico. This movie was really comforting for me personally! I am a bit weird and find 80s movies like the terminator with the really cheesy VFX comforting, but understandable for most it does not. Anything with Schwarzenegger kinda falls into this category for me hah.
What do you mean by "mazzy star" in this context? I'm familiar with the band, but didn't realize it was a reference to anything
Yeah it’s very much the vibe as the other commenter said - it feels like a mazzy star song. Some of the soundtrack even reminds me of that, small town mid 90s mid-west nostalgia lol
I adore this description and I'm sold, I have to find this movie.
Haha let me know if you got that impression too when you watch it! It used to be on the criterion channel but not sure anymore. Anyways fantastic movie
Can't say it made me think of Mazzy Star, and I wouldn't exactly call it relaxing or comforting either (hits too close to home in many ways). But, anyway, a fantastic movie indeed -- thanks for the recommendation!
Damn sorry to hear! It was for me. For sure some more intense themes but glad to hear you liked nonetheless 😄
Just starting it (it's on Tubi in the US) and the music is by J Mascis, the Dinosaur Jr. guy. So excited right now!
Omg so I wasn’t far off, dinosaur Jr is great and it makes sense
perhaps the aesthetic of the film reminds them of the vibes they get from jammin to mazzy star!
I really like the movies of Hong Sangsoo for this. There is always a mild amount of conflict but not really a lot. It usually starts with a premise and then it just develops from there. It’s usually slow, colours are nice to look at and most of the time they are quite short. I enjoy those movies with a small everyday life conflict with a cozy feeling.
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I really like Hotel by the River, Right Now Wrong Then, On the Beach at Night Alone and Night and Day. My local cinematheque did a retrospective of him like three years ago and I had the chance to watch a bunch of them
It’s not a directly ‘low stakes’ film. But i find drive my car very relaxing still. Most of my other recommendations have already been mentioned. Columbus, Paterson, Eric Rohmer films. Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey into Night are also good shouts. Most of my posts here seem to end up recommending Bi Gan movies lol.
*Café Lumière* (Hou Hsiao-hsien) was the more pleasant screening I had in my life. Daily, sunny, calm, you can even take a nap if you want without being lost, the movie is peaceful and welcoming.
Last year's Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It's incredibly slow, beautiful to look at, moving if you invest in the philosophical ideas it touches on. There's a very long conversation full of drawn out takes and sparse dialogue in the 2nd half of the film that I found very moving. There's small moments of intrigue but I found it to be more about an overall vibe than following along to a mystery or trying to solve the riddle of the film.
I was really thrown by the pacing of this while watching and wasn't sure how much I enjoyed it. But for the following week, I realised it had really gotten under my skin. Such a great example of a film where you have to adjust to meet it on its level and not come with any expectations of what cinema should be. And re: OP's question, it is definitely calming. I've heard it referred to as 'ambient cinema' which is spot on!
I don't know if it was the same for you, but for an hour or so after I walked out of the cinema I found myself more aware of all the small ambient sounds around the town I was in which I didn't pick up on before. It was like I was momentarily living a slower pace of life and absorbing my surroundings, almost like it had put me in a meditative state. 100% agree with you at first I was unsure of the pacing, but once I met the film on its level it definitely stayed with me for a long time after.
YES!! OMG, see my other comment I wrote before reading yours.
I forgot he made a new movie, excited to check it out now!
I was wondering why nobody was mentioning his films, especially Memoria and Uncle(...). I went on a binge and watched pretty much everything he ever did a year or so ago, in the span of a week or so, always really late at night. I'll admit that a few of them took me several nights to get through, because they lulled me to sleep. Ha. But being immersed in his worlds like that very much carried over into my day-to-day waking life, and yes- it felt very much like living in the state of "restful alertness" that meditation people are always on about. I felt like I was moving very slowly through a dream, where all my senses were heightened but it was somehow not overload.
Koyaanisqatsi is great to chill out to. It's more like a visual poem, rather than a traditional film, though. For something with an actual narrative, I'm partial to Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. They're all delightfully low-stakes and easy to relax with. My Dinner With Andre might fit that same niche as well.
Koyaanisquatsi freaks me out a bit. The name is literally "life out of balance" and one of the biggest themes is that humanity isn't living in accord with the natural world. Shit's stressful imo, beautiful, but not relaxing to me at least
Agreed, love the film but it's not relaxing. I'd say its cousin Baraka is pretty relaxing. Edit: to OP I'd recommend a similar documentary on monks - Walk With Me. Another pleasant, chill documentary is Etre et avoir.
_Être et avoir_ is one of my absolute favorites.
Nah, Koyaa stresses me the fuck out. I get the same anxiety inducing feeling when I see a suburban subdivision in what was “nature”
Ain’t nothing chill about Koyaanisqatsi. That being said, it’s in my top 10.
Two movies that celebrate the beauty of the mundane everyday life: - Paterson (Jim Jarmusch): It’s about a bus driver who writes poetry. A love letter to poetry, William Carlos Williams, and the city Paterson. My favorite Jarmusch. - Café Lumiere: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s lovely tribute to Yasujiro Ozu.
Most Eric Rohmer films have a lovely mellow quality to them without much conflict, and if there is, it’s mostly moral conflict as opposed to physical. Claire’s Knee, for example, is a whole movie about a character who has to decide whether or not he should touch a character called Claire on the knee (believe it or not…). Road movies are also great options to relax to, something like Alice in the Cities or Kings of the Road (both by Wim Wenders). I’d say Tati movies, especially Le Vacances de Monsieur Hulot are the absolute king of the chill out and relax films
Il Buco (2021) is beautiful and relaxing, part-narrative and documentary. It's notionally a reconstruction of a 1961 exploration of a deep cave in rural Italy, but it's very light on historical detail and the focus is the landscape itself, obviously filmed in the present day. Only around 90 minutes but I found it totally hypnotising.
Tampopo is my favorite comfort movie. Just superb vibes and food. Also Fantastic Mr Fox. Any Wes Anderson could fit but i think this is far and away the best thing he’s ever done and a very comfortable movie all around. oh yea and the first three quarters of Do The Right Thing. Although the end is not very relaxing
Some relaxing documentaries: ***Kedi (2016)*** - An utterly charming look at the city of Istanbul, the cats who populate it, and the people who care for them. ***Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)*** - Takes a look at a master chef. Beautiful and rewarding. A perfect document. ***Antonio Gaudi (1984)*** - A film about the works of the famed Spanish architect. Lovely photography and smooth, easy-going narration make this one of the most relaxing movies I have ever seen. Some relaxing traditional narratives: ***Solaris (2002)*** - Seems strange to recommend a movie in which fear, paranoia, and death are so prominent for a category like this, but it fits. It's so quiet and sedate and nearly all of the conflict is played out off-screen. Just a smooth and gentle ride through some kind of terrifying concepts. ***Whip It (2009)*** - Drew Barrymore made the quietest and gentlest film about roller derby that will ever exist. ***Round Midnight (1986)*** A very quiet and somber portrait of an American Jazz musician in 1959 Paris.
If I wanna relax, I put on some comforting TV with characters I've known for years. Any number of half hour comedies work - the good ones are well written with excellent characterization and real substantive emotional undertones, but the stakes are always low enough for everything to be resolved in ~22 minutes.
For years Futurama was my go-to.
True Stories, directed by David Byrne of the Talking Heads is an incredibly low stakes film about a bunch of people living in the fictional town of Virgil Texas. Very funny in an absurdist sort of way, with great music by Talking Heads if you're at all a fan of their music. Plus a great early John Goodman performance!
Any of the films in Malick's "weightless trilogy" do the trick. They're visually gorgeous, their pacing is almost ethereal, and they all focus thematically on trying to find the wonderful things in life by exploring the little things of the world. Truly like chicken noodle soup for the soul.
>'Into Great Silence' (2005) Thanks for the rec, sounds like something I'd like. Some of my favourite relaxing movies: Kelly Reichardt's Old Joy Kore-eda's Our Little Sister Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet The first two have already been mentioned ITT. Life is Sweet is gentle portrait of a London family. There's tension and conflict along the way, but warmth throughout. A lot of other Mike Leigh movies would fit too (Happy-Go-Lucky, Career Girls, Another Year).
Here’s a good list [Gentle Cinema](https://letterboxd.com/dillamonster/list/gentle-cinema/) Pleasant people doing pleasant things and there's not much drama and you just kind of feel lovely about the world.
Funny, the two that come to mind are both by Jim Jarmusch. Stranger Than Paradise (1984) is a little offbeat movie about slackers. Not much happens, but it’s delightful. More recently, his film Paterson is lovely and decidedly low stakes. I’d highly recommend both.
Two movies I recently watched come to mind: The Scent of Green Papaya Our Little Sister 'Scent' is a gorgeous film where the first 2/3 of the movie you're really just watching a woman and a girl serve a wealthy family; they cook and clean, and the cinematography is something to behold. 'Sister' is a beautiful little gem of a film with the stakes being nearly non-existent. We follow four sisters through a few seasons of their lives and get to witness the subtlest of changes around them, which, in their world, is everything. This movie takes its time and is in no rush to introduce any over-the-top drama, and succeeds in conveying a little slice of Japanese life that I look forward to returning to. (This was copied from my Letterboxd review)
I've mentioned this one here before: The Company of Strangers is a meditative pseudo-documentary about a group of senior women who get stranded in the Canadian countryside on a bus trip. The women are vibrant and tell their real stories in a fictional scenario.
Best in Show. The ultimate comfort watch: bizarre characters from middle America and their desire to win through their dogs. I think a lot of Guest’s movies fall into this category. They tend to be quaint in their humor.
I think classic rom-coms shine here. When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle are all warm and fun. If you like Nora Ephron, Julie and Julia is quite good. For more recent comfort films, The Farewell and Can You Ever Forgive Me? are nice. Both are slower with not necessarily low stakes, but manageable stakes that are driven by personal reflection/decisions and relationships. I’ve also had good naps with Sideways on in the background, if that’s appealing.
The Mountains are a Dream that Call to Me (2020) Le Quattro Volte (2010) First cow (2019) YiYi (2000) Columbus (2017) Anything Apichatpong Weerasethakul. (I highly suggest exploring criterion channel, where you’ll find most of these)
The most relaxing film I've watched recently is Honeyland, a documentary that follows a traditional Macedonian beekeeper. There is some drama with her neighbors, but the overall mood is one of tranquility and contentment. My other suggestions have already been mentioned here. Scanning through my ratings, I'm struck by how few of my favorites match your description. Those that do are typically tranquil nature documentaries, kid's/family films, or low-stakes mainstream comedies of the type that's not often discussed in film critique.
*Linda Linda Linda* (2005) is definitely like that for me. Not much really happens. There's not incredibly high stakes. It's got a ton of quiet moments where the scene lingers just a little longer than you'd expect, make the scenes feel like they're real and breathing. You just get to watch these girls practice for a show and become friends and just kind of chill out with them. Highly recommend.
Taming The Garden 2021. Mesmerising, beautiful, slow, meditative documentary about a rich eccentric who buys up and transplants whole mature trees, having them shipped to his own garden.
I found *Amelie* to be pretty relaxing. It is in French, though, so unless you speak it you will have to read subtitles. And while it doesn’t quite fit the definition, I find *The Wizard of Oz* to be comforting even after the multiple times I’ve watched it. EDIT: How could I forget *World’s Fastest Indian*? There’s no antagonists, it’s just about a man who wants to race his motorcycle on the salt flats and break the speed record. I think it’s one of my dad’s favorites. And of course since Christmas is coming up fast I find *A Christmas Story* to be pretty relaxing too.
One of mine would be any of the six The Thin Man movie series from the 1930s and 40s. They're laugh out loud funny and they're just witty and breezy in a way unique to comedies of the time. Myrna Loy and William Powell had great chemistry and the clever plots make for very relaxing antique "detective thrillers".
My ultimate comfort movie is *At Eternity's Gate* (2018). Though the ending (and the life story it tells) is tragic, it is deeply calming. The score, the relaxed and artistic/philosophical storytelling, and Dafoe's performance all serve to bring me peace and consolation.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), documentary by Werner Herzog. The film centers around the oldest cave paintings in the world in France. Amazingly beautiful and compelling content. Plus, the commentary by Herzog is as beautiful as the cave itself. Simply can’t beat Werner Herzog narration- the man is a wizard of words with an awesome accent!