Good Films: Movies about starting over

Our “Good Films You May Have Missed” series calls attention to movies new and old that are all Filmworks worthy. Titles are available (or soon will be) from Netflix and other streaming services.

IKIRU
Japan • 1956 • Dir: Akira Kurosawa
A once-indifferent bureaucrat suffering from an incurable disease finds meaning in life through pushing through worthy projects.

KOLYA
Czech Republic/UK/France • 1996 • Dir: Jan Sverák
A rootless single man finds new dimensions of living when his estranged wife dumps their son on him. Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film.

WINGS OF DESIRE
Germany/France • 1987 • Dir: Wim Wenders
An actual angel, though immortal, longs to feel, touch, and taste as mortals do. He floats to earth and falls in love with a circus trapeze artist. He won’t live forever, but to him it’s worth it.

AMERICAN BEAUTY
USA • 1999 • Dir: Sam Mendes
A fed-up suburbanite quits his mind-numbing job, has a healthy midlife crisis, and starts all over by falling in love with a lovely cheerleader he imagines rose-bedecked. Five Oscars.

Jim Piper is a Filmworks board member, a filmmaker, and a retired film studies instructor.