Ten stunning movies which make time stand still

Amid the bustle and confusion of everyday life, we sometimes fail to notice how fast time is flowing past us, and what wonderful things all around. We don’t take the time to appreciate the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, to observe the moon shining in the sky.

Here are ten movies which remind us of the beauty and diversity of the world in which we live. Watch them, and feel all your worries and cares drift away.

Wild Flowers

This collection of seven fairytales based on Czech folklore makes for eloquent, poetic viewing. It transports you to a time when people were closer to nature, believed in miracles and woodland spirits...and when the terrible and the wonderful were mixed together in man’s imagination.

Ashes and Snow

This documentary film made by Gregory Colbert doesn’t have a plot, but it nevertheless draws you into it through its astounding, restrained depiction of beauty which reflects the unity of mankind with nature. It was shot over a period of 13 years in some of the most incredible and exotic corners of the planet — Burma, Ethiopia, India, Antarctica, Sri Lanka, Tonga, and many others.

The Fountain

In this movie, the main character, Tom, tries to find medicine for his wife Izzy. Her health worsens with each passing day, but Tom cannot be by her side as he’s conducting experiments in his lab. A wave of love, the striving to be with his wife and prolong her life burns in his soul. This philosophical drama from Darren Aronofsky is vividly shot, without any use of special effects.

Samsara

A fascinating one-and-a-half-hour journey to the most amazing places on the planet. Director Ron Fricke reveals the indissoluble link between humanity and the events taking place on our Earth, the never-ending cycle of life and death, and the complexity and diversity of the world.

The Bear

This movie tells the story of a young cub which loses its mother and ends up attaching itself to a different, large but wounded bear. Together they survive numerous trials, the most terrifying of which is a clash with hunters. The unusual plot is accompanied by a perfect soundtrack. The effect is to allow you to submerge yourself in the natural world and feel it’s rhythm with every cell in your body.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

The harsh Siberian weather, untouched by man. The majestic Yenisei river and the small village of Bakhta with its simple way of life. People can survive in this kind of place only by relying on themselves. There are four seasons of the year, and thus four different modes of life.

August Rush

August Rush, a young musician, doesn’t know who his parents are. But he desperately wants to find them, and for some reason believes that if he can become a real musician, they will hear his music and be reunited with their son. Spellbinding music accompanies this film the whole way through, creating something truly wonderful.

Baraka

This is a near-legendary documentary film and a philosophical essay, accompanied by a gorgeous operatic soundtrack — and no spoken words at all. The only character here is life itself, in all its diversity and interconnected majesty. The gaze of a monkey sitting by a pond is no less profound than a view of the depths of the cosmos. The dance of aboriginal tribes people is as natural and as beautiful as the swinging of the trees in the wind.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

This is a mesmerising and calmly unfolding philosophical parable about the inexorable nature of time. Life moves in cycles, and each time life on Earth is renewed, and all of us have an opportunity to be reborn. South Korean director Kim Ki-duk focuses on two monks — a teacher and his pupil, revealing the obstacles one must overcome in the search for harmony and peace.

Chronos

The main characters of this documentary movie are cultural and historical monuments. These artefacts, we observe, absorb the lives of the people who created them, and remain for all history like the pristine fingerprints of the past ages of humanity.