The current prevailing pandemic has left all of us stuck at our homes along with the infinitude of content surrounding us 24/7. With that arises the question as to what one should watch to have a jolly good time without being taken over by the omnipresent gloom.
I have curated a list of 5 movies below that will leave you engulfed in a cloud of feelings, wanting to know what happens next. The following movies can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
5. BACK TO THE FUTURE
This 1985 Sci-fi flick is the right pick when you feel like escaping. Before a plethora of Sci-fi movies existed, this was the ultimate go to. Popular culture still alludes to this film, that’s how groundbreaking this was at the time. The movie presents Time Travel as an entertaining venture that may turn your life upside-down if not carried out with discretion, proving time is not to be meddled with.
Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, somehow ends up travelling in time where he finds the younger versions of his parents. Chaos ensues when his mother starts falling for him. In the meantime he struggles to find a way back as the threat of him being out of place weighs him down. An alliance is formed between him and “Doc”, the designer of a time-travelling automobile, as he helps Marty to get back to his time. While “Doc” is busy preparing for the time heist, Marty gets to know his parents more and mends the bond between them.
The movie raises significant questions regarding one’s family, time, destiny and friendship. You will find yourself rooting for Marty right till the end.
4. JAANE BHI DO YAARO
Released in 1983, this Hindi Comedy still holds its relevance in the 20th century. It’s a satirical take on society being founded upon the acts of incessant exploitation of the middle class.
The plot follows the life of two photographers who’re trying to make it big in their line of profession. In an attempt to earn their livelihood, their unpremeditated capturing of a photo exposes the murder of the Bombay Municipal Commissioner, further revealing various encounters with a journalist, the police force and rich businessmen. It isn’t difficult to guess as to who’s made to bear the brunt of these nefarious deeds entrenched in dark secrets and a series of corrupt motives.
A must watch that not only helps you relive the old days, but also demystifies materialism within our society. Renowned veterans like Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Kaushik, Om Puri, Satish Shah and Pankaj Kapoor light up the screen.
3. LITTLE WOMEN
Greta Gerwig revisits this literary classic with the same title in 2019 with a breath of fresh air. Starring great names like Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh and Timothee Chalamet, it portrays the consequences of the Civil War dealt by a family of four sisters and their mother as their father leaves to serve in the army.
The famous convention of women getting married in order to reach their “happy ending”, though ultimately followed is first questioned articulately. The plot focuses on familial relationships and how they are affected by worldly factors like poverty and marriage, set forth by a very restrictive society.
Long after the movie has culminated, quotes like “Just because my dreams are different than yours doesn’t make them unimportant” and “Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.”, still stay by your side.
2. JOKER
Several renditions of “the Joker” are already available, yet this one strikes a different chord. Always depicted as the arch nemesis of a heroic figure, the Joker has been characterized as someone with the name “Arthur Fleck”. He’s not a villain, merely a party clown who dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian.
People come together to collectively shut out an individual as a “freak”. Mental health as one of the prior themes, it delves deeper into how Arthur became one of the most infamous dubious characters in the DC comics. The events thereafter reflect the spiralling down of a man onto a dark path.
1. PARASITE
At the top of this list we have the 2019 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. This Bong Joon-ho direction is the first Korean movie to have won this main category.
The poverty-stricken Kim family cons their way into the affluent Park household, not knowing the unearthing secrets that are about to change everything. Each character has a role to play in this societal rat race driven by greed, representing the symbiotic relationship between two different classes that are socially and economically miles apart, yet can’t function without each other.
The social satire is extraordinarily envisioned like a balletic montage, each scene flowing into the other.
Hard to say much about the movie without the fear of revealing a lot, it’s better to watch it all unfold with your own eyes!