As humans, stories are one of our most powerful forms of communication. We love stories! They help us to understand important ideas and make sense of the world around us. Everything we go through in our lives is a story, every dream we have is a story, and there’s a story behind every achievement and every failure. That’s why it makes sense that we love movies since they perfectly embody interesting stories. Some of us watch movies to get inspired or motivated, others – to find a sense of relief from our daily stress, to have a mind-twisting experience, or to even feel empathy by letting them touch our hearts. It’s not a secret that the right kind of movie can even help us grow as individuals and be a powerful tool for self-reflection. Conscious movies can encourage us to question our lives, ideas, and principles, realize our infinite potential and endless possibilities, and even understand where we’re heading as a society.
In this article, we want to share with you our list of 10 conscious movies that will definitely make you think deeply and question old paradigms.
10 Conscious Movies
#1: K-PAX (2001)
K-PAX is a science fiction mystery film based on the eponymous 1995 novel by Gene Brewer. This is a very intriguing film because it makes you wonder about the possibility of alien life in our universe. The movie is about a psychiatric patient who claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX, 1,000 light-years away from Earth in the Lyra constellation. During his treatment, the patient demonstrates an outlook on life that ultimately proves inspirational for his fellow patients and especially for his psychiatrist.
Where to watch:
#2: Peaceful Warrior (2006)
Peaceful Warrior is a 2006 drama film based on the 1980 novel Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. This is an inspirational and triumphant movie about the power of the human spirit. The story is about a gifted young athlete, bound for Olympic gold, Dan. He has it all: trophies, talent, and all the women he wants. But after a life-changing event, Dan comes to rely on Socrates, a mysterious stranger, and Joy, an elusive young woman, to teach him the secret to overcome incredible odds and tap into new worlds of strength and understanding.
Where to watch:
#3: Frequencies (2013)
Frequencies is a 2013 independent British science fiction film. This movie tells us a story about an alternate reality where frequencies determine luck, love, and destiny. A young college student Zak has to overcome science in order to love Marie, who emits a different frequency than his own. This unique drama blends science fiction and romance to create a futuristic story where love, science, and fate collide.
Where to watch:
#4: I Origins (2014)
I Origins is a 2014 American science fiction thought-provoking drama. This movie tells us a story about a molecular biologist whose study of the human eye has far-reaching implications for humanity’s scientific and spiritual beliefs. The human eye is one of the elements of biology that makes us unique and that religions around the world have used as proof of the Divine Creator. Each of us has unique eye biometrics, and various cultures have viewed the eye as a window to the soul or even the thumbprint of a creator. I Origins is a film about how destiny and love can lead us to different revelations than we could have possibly reached without them. This movie will make you ask the question: “Which is right, science or faith, chance or destiny?”.
Where to watch:
#5: The Congress (2013)
The Congress is a 2013 live-action/animated science fiction drama film, based on Stanisław Lem’s 1971 science fiction novel The Futurological Congress. This movie tells us a story about an aging actress who decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Through a deal made with her loyal agent, her alias will be controlled by the studio and will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young. Twenty years later, under the creative vision of the studio’s head animator, the actress’s digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in “The Congress” convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema. The Congress movie is a dystopian political story exploring the ideas of ageism in Hollywood and the soullessness of digital life.
Where to watch:
#6: Lion (2016)
Lion is a 2016 Australian biographical drama film based on the 2013 non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley. This movie is based on a true story about a five-year-old Saroo who gets lost on a train that takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.
Where to watch:
#7: Limitless
Limitless is a 2011 science-fiction thriller movie. This movie tells us a story about a struggling writer who with the help of a mysterious pill enables access to 100% of his brain’s potential. This ability helps him to become a financial wizard, but it also puts him in a new world with many dangers. The movie shows us what we could be capable of if we used our brainpower to its fullest. But also it warns us about the hidden “side effects” this ability can bring.
Where to watch:
#8: Inception (2010)
Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film. This movie tells us a story about a thief with the rare ability to enter people’s dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. His skill has made him a hot commodity in the world of corporate espionage but has also cost him everything he loves. He gets a chance at redemption when he is offered a seemingly impossible task: to plant an idea in someone’s mind. Christopher Nolan (the director of the film) surely thought through every aspect of the dream world and mastered the presentation of it on the big screen. Literally, everything the characters say about the dreams and the dream world in this movie is true.
Where to watch:
#9: Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is a 2014 epic science fiction film. This movie tells us a story about Earth’s future where a global crop blight and second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. Professor Brand, the NASA physicist, is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth’s population to a new home through a wormhole. But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind’s new home. This is a movie about transcending time through love.
Where to watch:
#10: Cloud Atlas (2012)
Cloud Atlas is a 2012 science fiction film based on the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell. This movie is an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present, and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. Cloud Atlas tells us a story about a time-shifting weave of six interlinking narratives, with diverse settings from the savagery of a Pacific Island in the 1850s to a dystopian Korea of the near future. The main topic has to do with the incarnation and human nature. This movie is touching, magical, and inspiring.