As we sit through the last day of the year, cluttering our brains with the memories and reviewing the entire year, let's take a moment and breathe. Think about the films that made us believe in magic.
They bank on the feeling of people wanting to spend the last day of the year with someone they love, with their family or with themselves. Given the time that we are living in and the news around making us anxious than ever, it is okay to escape from reality just for a day. For years, movies have been made on December 31, as a beginning of a new story or a conclusion to an old one.
Here's a list of these five New Year Eve Movies You Can Watch:
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Sleepless In Seatle
A classic film that made one's heart yearn to meet their partner on top of the Empire State Building at Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It also gave aspiration to many screenwriters to use the building as the epitome of love, which is originally a symbol of the United States economic power and technological prowess. This 1993 romantic comedy film has Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks . In one of the scenes on New Year's Eve, Hank's character Sam Baldwin imagines a conversation with his deceased wife, played by Carey Lowell. The film is inspired by another classic, An Affair To Remember which stars Deborah Kerrana and Cary Grant.
The Gold Rush
The 1925 silent comedy film features Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona as well as actors Georgia Hale, Mack Twain, Tom Murray, amongst others. The film was nominated in the Academy Awards for the Best Music and Best Sound Recording in 1942. It is inspired by the photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush as well as Donner Party. In one of the scenes, Chaplin invites Georgia to dinner on New Year's Eve. While waiting for her, he imagines entertaining her with the dance of bread rolls on forks. But he gets stood up.
The Holiday
Two women, one based in the UK and another in the US, decide to take a holiday from their tedious lives after a messy breakup and one-sided love affair. They swap houses and visit each other's places for the time off. The film justifies its name as it is based on Christmas and New Year's Eve miracles. The cast includes Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, amongst others. It has something to offer to everyone, whether it be Diaz's drinking an entire bottle of wine and trying to read by the fire or Winslet's wanting to have fun with her elderly neighbour. It takes one from a sad and frustrating mood to a rather miraculously happy one.
Bridget Jone's Diary
Year after year, we sit with our diary, listing what accomplishments we want to make in the coming year. Few get to succeed while others get added to the coming year's list. But as we grow older and reality hits us. The transition from 31st to 1st of another year becomes just another day. The film in its New Year's Eve scene rightly presents it. When Bridget tells the truth and lets the viewers, who are disappointed in not accomplishing the things on their list, know that it is okay and unfair to put deadlines on personal growth. The film casts Renee Zellweger as Bridget.
When Harry Met Sally
A romantic comedy film was written by Nora Ephron, the film stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The last scene of the film makes it a perfect New Year's Eve watch. The two main characters meet up at a New Year's Eve party and this is where Harry confesses his love to Sally and says, "I love the way your nose crinkles. When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible," and Sally responds with, "I hate you." The film is set in 1977 and is about two college graduates, who share a ride from Chicago to New York. They discuss whether a man and a woman can remain friends without sex getting in between.
(Feature Image Credit: Vice)