Films are so influential that they can change our entire perspective on life. One user on a popular online forum feels down and asks others for recommendations for movies about human life, whether dark or blissful. Film buffs reply with their favorites in the comments. 

1. Chef (2014)

When a burnt-out chef can't take it anymore, he quits his fancy job at an elite LA restaurant. Searching for meaning, the chef moves to Miami and opens a food truck with his ex-wife, son, and best friend. Can this new pursuit help the chef fall in love with cooking again?

2. The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Two outcasts meet after one escapes his adult care facility, and the other is caught while attempting to sell illegally caught crabs. The two runaways team up to help the first man pursue his dreams of becoming a pro wrestler. This heartwarming story of loyalty, connection, and love will brighten any viewer's day. 

3. The End of the Tour (2015)

The End of the Tour is based on a memoir written by David Lipsky about his time spent interviewing David Foster Wallace after the release of his famous book Infinite Jest (1996). The film follows Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and his interactions with Wallace (Jason Segel) over a few days of interviews. The two men learn more about life and loneliness throughout the movie. 

4. Waking Life (2004)

This imaginative film does a great job of asking viewers to question our perceptions of reality. It follows a man who wanders through a strange, dream-like world full of endless possibilities. Viewers say Waking Life made them think about the meaning of life and free will. 

5. Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood is a unique movie filmed over twelve years in an attempt to realistically portray a young boy's experience of growing up. Each scene explores family life through dinners, events, and significant moments in childhood and adolescence. Its 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating shows this film is worth watching. 

6. Life of Pi (2012)

When a family decides to sell their zoo in India, they pack up their belongings and animals and stick them on a boat heading to Canada. But when the ship sinks during a storm, only the family's teenage son and a Bengal tiger make it onto a lifeboat. Can the two overcome their fear of one another to survive?

7. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Pursuit of Happyness is about a single father who struggles to support his small family. After they're evicted from their apartment, the father does everything necessary to make ends meet for his family. This realistic and heartbreaking tale about American poverty helps viewers learn what's important in life. 

8. Sideways (2004)

When a writer and his engaged friend embark on a wine-tasting vacation together, they meet two women, and each begins a fling. But when the writer tells the women his friend is engaged, the two become angry. Can the man prevent his fiance from discovering his secret, or will the women expose his affair?

9. School of Rock (2003)

After a guitarist is thrown out of his little-known band, he works as a substitute music teacher at an elite private elementary school. The substitute secretly teaches his students how to be in a rock band. He aims to win Battle of the Bands to get his revenge against his old band. But the real takeaway is the passion and love for music he teaches his students. 

10. The Upside (2017)

The Upside is about the unlikely friendship between a quadriplegic and his caregiver, an ex-con trying to rebuild his life and support his family. As the two face different obstacles, they come together to work through them as a team.

11. Forrest Gump (1994)

One man refuses to live an ordinary life despite people claiming he's not smart or athletic. His kind heart and steadfast spirit allow him to make the world a better place wherever he goes. But his fraught relationship with his childhood sweetheart remains throughout his entire life. 

12. The Tree of Life (2011)

This existential film is about a man who reflects on his childhood as an adult. His mother was his biggest supporter, while his and his father's relationship was tense. The Tree of Life is symbolic and experimental, making this a unique and emotional film that viewers never forget. 

13. WALL-E (2008)

In a harsh imagining of the future of humanity, the Earth was destroyed by over-industrialism. Humans moved to outer space, hoping that the world would get cleaned up over time and they could return. One clean-up robot refuses to give up hope when he meets a more modern robot, showing her that plant life exists on Earth. But another machine isn't pleased when they head into space to report their findings. 

14. Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011)

Jeff, Who Lives at Home follows a man who lives in his parents' basement as he goes on a quest to purchase wood glue and determine the meaning of his life. As he searches for signs to guide him on his path, he comes across different vital people in his life in odd and amusing scenarios. 

15. In Bruges (2008)

This profanity-heavy dark comedy is about two hitmen who visit a quiet city after a big job as they wait for suspicions to pass. As they explore their new surroundings, they stand out from the town's peaceful inhabitants. But can they stay hidden from those who want revenge?

16. Better Off Dead (1985)

Better Off Dead is an absurdist dark comedy about a man so obsessed with his ex-girlfriend that he doesn't want to live without her. Between failed attempts to take his own life, the man meets new friends and eventually embarks on a mission to win a ski race against his ex's new boyfriend. 

17. Cast Away (2000)

When an ambitious executive's plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, he miraculously survives and washes up on an uninhabited island in the Pacific. The executive must do everything he can to escape the island in search of civilization, but when he fails, all he can do is attempt to survive and hope for rescue. 

18. The Untouchables (1987)

During 1930s prohibition, the infamous Al Capone grows rich selling bootleg liquor. But one prohibition agent refuses to back down despite corruption in the police force. When the agent assembles a crackdown team to take Al Capone down, he finally believes this time, they'll get him. 

19. Her (2013)

This sci-fi romance follows a man who makes money by composing letters for other people because of his skill as a writer. When he discovers a strange AI program with its own thoughts, he begins to fall for the kind program. But can he and the AI genuinely live a happy life together?

20. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

After a woman discovers her husband is cheating on her, he leaves him and goes on vacation with a friend in Italy. She soon falls in love with the country and buys a villa in Tuscany. Her new life brings her in contact with many new friends and one romantic interest. 

21. Secondhand Lions (2003)

A mother hoping to get her hands on some wealth forces her son to stay with his two rich great-uncles for the summer. At first, the boy doesn't want to be there, but soon he and the uncles connect over stories from their youth. 

22. Inside Out (2015)

When a happy eleven-year-old girl's family decides to up and move to San Francisco for her dad's job, she's devastated. Her emotions try to keep her joyful, but Sadness continues to make her way to the front. Throughout the film, the girl must learn to accept that both Joy and Sadness are essential parts of life. 

23. Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990)

A woman is heartbroken when the love of her life dies, but she soon learns his ghost is living in her apartment. But the woman falls in love with a living man, forcing her to choose between holding on to grief or moving forward with her life. 

24. Wings of Desire (1987)

Two angels with the divine mission to keep track of the truth of life in Berlin read people's minds as they glide through the city. While angels can't interact with humans, they grow fond of particular people. But when the angels get a chance to abandon immortality for human life, will they take it?

25. Lady Bird (2017)

Lady Bird is an honest portrayal of teenage life in America. It follows a teenager who calls herself Lady Bird as she struggles with conflict with her mother, the trials and tribulations of high school, and a budding romance.

Unlike other high-school dramas, Lady Bird feels relatable to many teens searching for an escape from their dismal lives.