"This Film Cut Right Through To My Soul" – 15 Movies That Genuinely Changed Our Lives

"Inspired me to quit a job I hated and it really turned out for the better."

–u/Chill-Pillgrim

"Not for its action, special effects, or soundtrack (all of which were great). But it was one of the first movies that kinda slapped me in the face and made me think about consciousness, the power of the mind, and the possibility that the everyday life we lead could actually be fabricated and manipulated by forces outside our control.

That film made me stop and think for a while and I think it was the seed that led me to take a keen interest into human psychology."

–u/BallisticTrickster

"As a young teenager when the film came out, it was definitely a seminal coming-of-age inspirational film for me. I should re-watch at 50... Carpe Diem!"

–u/tinglar

"That movie really stuck with me since I saw it as a kid, as well as led me to The Truman Show, one of my favourite movies. These two films have been a big inspiration for a series I wrote and am currently developing, and they both hold up at the top of my personal movie ranking list to this day. 

There's a lot of films that have similar storytelling that I am a fan of, but these two films are really what showed me how in-depth a story can be."

–u/dog_psxo

"It was the first movie that completely unnerved me. I had no idea what was going to happen, and as I watched it I had no idea how it would end. Who was John Doe? Why was he doing what he did? Was he the Devil? Was he working alone?"

–u/A-Seashell

"It made me wonder at the futility of all things that men did; war, institutions, and rules."

–u/A-Seashell

"I’m 29 and I’ve watched it approximately 100+ times since I first got it on DVD when I was six… Incredible movie. The soundtrack alone brings me to tears."

–u/rayneemilne

"I watched it when I was around 15/16 and I’ve never had a film impact me quite in the same way. Gave me a feeling of peaceful hope and freedom. Had that realisation of my life stretching out in front of me in a supremely positive way – a beautiful revelation at 16."

–u/El_Kroognos

"It says so much about the journey surrounding masculinity, shame, the impacts of trauma, and homosexuality in toxic environments. I'm not Black but I saw so much of myself in this one. I could resonate with so many of the impacts of trauma that were shown. If I spent time really analysing it I could probably write an essay on what it says about masculinity and trauma."

–u/mistakes_were_made24

"I feel like this film cut right through to my soul. It conveyed the loneliness and isolation I deal with, the feeling of being a wandering soul in life. I felt deeply connected to it. 

I don't necessarily want to live that nomadic lifestyle (although for some there is no choice) but I felt like my solitary nature that I feel was on display and that it gave it dignity and validation as a valid way to live life. It also shows ways to reconnect to nature that so many of us have forgotten in our modern lives. There was just something about it that I connected to on a deep foundational level."

–u/mistakes_were_made24

"It was so different from everything I'd seen before. I was an impressionable 17-year-old and loved movies, but until that point, that was mostly mainstream cinema."

–u/End_User237

"I grew up with them in the '80s and they absolutely formed me as far as making me forever throw myself into my creativity and always striving to make something new I hadn’t seen before when I draw. Still lives inside me, now. I think it’s an absolutely valid comment!"

–u/McHank

"It broke me, it's so good. It changed my understanding of cinema."

–u/boredmetcurious

"Used to be on BBC on New Year’s Day back in the '80s. I just sat there watching it (on a small screen) but drove an interest in sci-fi that stayed with me."

–u/mooseday