Hotlist - Watch
What can be better than plunging our spoons in a tub of ice cream, sitting on the couch with a drink of our choice and soothing ourselves with a movie. Movies about learning to love yourself can teach us essential life lessons. Here’s our pick of top six self-love films.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Cult favourite, Slumdog Millionaire features Jamal (Dev Patel), a teenager from the Mumbai slums, one question away from winning the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? But the authorities refuse to believe that a youngster from such a humble background could succeed without cheating. They subject him to brutal treatment in their search for an explanation. As they interrogate the young man, he reveals his traumatic childhood and the events that led to him appearing on the show. While Jamal is subjected to torture he reflects on his past and we learn his story. At times, funny and heart-warming, at others tragic and brutal, this film is at heart a story of love.
Moonlight (2016)
The 2017 Academy Award Winner for best picture, Moonlight is a three-part film that follows Chiron, a gay, black man who grapples with his sexuality throughout his life. Set in Miami's impoverished Liberty City, we see the homophobia that black homosexual men experience. There are countless examples of positive and negative masculinity. Chiron battles with finding a positive way to be manly throughout his life. Regardless of his living circumstances, he finds a way to embrace self-love and acceptance.
Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
Elizabeth Gilbert, the protagonist of the film Eat, Pray, Love, embarks on a mission to reconnect with and appreciate the basic pleasures of life once more. She wants to embrace the art of loving herself and putting herself first. The film begins with Elizabeth (Julia Roberts) announcing the publication of a book she has written. She is married to Steven (Billy Crudup), who moves from job to job and relies on her to support his current desires. Tired of this, she wants to find something better and travels the world, discovering other cultures and herself at the same time.
Penelope (2006)
A witch cursed the blue blood Wilhern family generations ago, causing the next Wilhern girl to be born with a pig's face. The curse can only be broken if another blue blood, comes to love her. It takes five generations for a daughter, Penelope, to be born with a pig's face. Penelope's well-intentioned mother fakes her death and hides her daughter from curious eyes, confining her to the family home. When Penelope grow up, her mother is hell-bent on ending the curse. But suitor after suitor runs away from her when they see her face. Then she encounters an odd young man who appears different. But when it, too, ends in heartache, Penelope flees the house that has become her prison and embarks on a voyage of self-discovery and self-acceptance.
The DUFF (2015)
Bianca (Mae Whitman), a self-proclaimed geek, is average looking. She goes about her daily routine, writes for her high school newspaper, pays little attention to her looks, and lives happily with her two closest friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca A. Santos). When childhood friend-turned-football-quarterback Wesley (Robbie Amell), informs her that she is the ‘duff’ of her friend group, her world is flipped upside down. Duff stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. She tries to ignore the horrible label but then becomes determined to change it. She strikes a deal with ladies' man Wesley, promising to assist him with his schooling in exchange for his assistance. In the process she learns all about self love.