I like to recommend movies. A strength? A weakness? You be the judge. But here’s one I recommend often, particularly for anyone who is looking for ways to be more self-confident, more powerful, and more insightful about their life and relationships. And it’s funny, too. It’s “Shirley Valentine,” the story of a British woman who goes to Greece for two weeks and finds herself. I particularly love how she deals with her husband near the end of the film: though she left him after a big fight and didn’t tell him she was in Greece until she had already flown there, by the time the movie is winding to a close, she is able to look at him with compassion. “He needs a holiday,” she says to herself.

I also like the physical transformation that happens to Shirley as she works through her issues. She finds beauty, peace, and new life, and it shows on her relaxed and healthy face.

[I tried to post a link to the film, but Amazon is not cooperating. Just use the keywords 'Shirley' and 'Valentine' and you should be able to find it.]

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One of my mentors (at last count, I have at least three…it’s good to learn from lots of different people!) introduced me to the film, “Lars and the Real Girl,” and a group of us watched it yesterday. You should rent it.

She told me that the film didn’t do well at the box office because people misunderstood the premise. They thought (from the trailers) that it was just an oddball movie about a guy who buys a sex doll and pretends the doll is real. It’s much more than that. It’s a sweet and insightful exploration of mental illness, grief, family, and community. Everyone in the film encounters Lars and his “girlfriend” and has to figure out how to respond to Lars’s delusional behavior. By the end, the responses of many of the characters are deeply moving. (And I went to school on the fantastic approach taken by Dagmar, the psychologist!)

Recommended!

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