10 Movies That Will Make You Re-Evaluate Your Life

10. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see through walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life." Of all the films mentioned here, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty may not be the first that comes to mind, but is perhaps the most surprising and delightful. Though unassuming at first glance, the film slowly progresses into a statement about life and the way it should be lived. Many films have attempted to address the issues of stagnancy and personal development, but the majority end up approaching these topics in ineffectual ways. For this reason, they are labeled as "pretentious", "haughty", and even "condescending" towards their viewers. There are a number of contributing factors to this unfortunate yet common trend, but the real problem lies in the characters; the writers of these movies are so concerned with making their characters as unique as possible that it becomes hard to translate the message into our every day lives. In this sense, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has succeeded where so many others have failed. The title character isn't living life to the fullest from the and doesn't have a witty one-liner for every situation, but he is exactly the kind of character needed to illustrate the film's incredibly inspiring message. Over the course of the film, Walter Mitty goes from mild-mannered daydreamer to world explorer, all in the span of a couple of weeks. Though unrealistic, this change serves as a springboard for the development of the underlying message. On the surface this message is fairly straight forward; a fulfilling life is only as attainable as your attitude allows. While this is a wonderful lesson to communicate - and one we can certainly take away from this film - it is not necessarily the most powerful. The real message here speaks to the merit of normalcy. In the end, it isn't the change of lifestyle or attitude that is celebrated, but rather the embracing of those everyday actions that serve to better the lives of those around us. Such actions may go unnoticed, but that doesn't mean that they aren't important. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is by no means the first film that aims to motivate its audience, and it certainly won't be the last. That being said, we can't help but praise the film for its unique way of handling ideas that are so often considered cliche.