We all have our favorite relaxing movies that help us unwind. After a bad day, week, month (try year), we call upon that one movie, or Netflix binge, that brings us some peace and quiet. There are movies we love, and then there are certain movies we need. Perhaps a Coen Brothers comedy or Steven Soderbergh classics are the chill movies of choice for you. There are always characters and filmmakers that can flip a switch in our minds and brighten up our day. Feel-good movies check that box, and in the same vein, so do “chill movies.” By chill movies, we mean relaxing or lighthearted stories told about laid-back characters or movies clearly made by laid-back people. More often than not, these soothing movies are heavy on goodness and kindness.
Before reading this list, imagine going to a concert of one of your favorite bands later on in their careers. There are probably a lot of songs we all want to hear, right? Just like with a list, you can’t always get what you want. We all have our own ideas of what’s chill about a person, a character, or movie. Below, in many of the movies listed, we’re talking about characters who spread kindness or are genuinely pleasant and peaceful to observe.
25 ‘Amélie’ (2001)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
A warm, colorful blanket of a movie about enjoying the little pleasures in life and being good to your community and yourself. The shy but animated Amélie (Audrey Tautou) works in a café and lives a little more in her imagination than the great big world outside her mind. She’s hesitant to step outside of her comfort zone, but once she does, she starts doing the chillest act of all: helping others. Amelie’s kindness lights up almost everyone she crosses paths with and, based on director Jean-Pierre Jeanuet’s vision of Paris, the city itself.
Amélie is achingly heartfelt and nutritious eye candy about a lovely character without a mean or cynical bone in her body simply spreading happiness. She’s a superhero in Paris, lighting up every shop, street corner, and subway stop she graces with her iconic presence.
24 ‘Before Sunset’ (2004)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Many, many Richard Linklater movies could go on this list. The filmmaker creates such lived-in, relaxed but tightly constructed stories that drop in on characters we wish or maybe we even do know in real life. Before Sunset is Linklater’s peak relaxation film in his romantic trilogy not without its highs and lows. The reunion between Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is a movie full of light that radiates off the screen every single second, though.
It’s a serene walk-and-talk with Celine and Jessie at their most relaxed with one another. There are awkward moments, complications, and some unhealed wounds, but for the most part, Before Sunset is a triumphant reunion between two iconic characters at their most comfortable with themselves and one and another. The honeymoon phase isn’t quite over in Before Sunset. Not that perfection matters, but it is Linklater’s closest shot to perfection.
23 ‘Being There’ (1979)
Directed by Hal Ashby
Hal Ashby’s classic is gentle. The story still has Ashby’s and star Peter Sellers’ biting wit, as well as their more tragic qualities as storytellers. The satire resonates strongly today, watching Chauncey Gardiner (Sellers) become the popular kid among political royalty as he says nothing of substance. He’s just a man who enjoys gardening and watching television, but then again, maybe he’s more than that. The iconic final shot suggests so. Like everyone Chauncy meets, we always gravitate towards him and hang on to his every word.
Maybe it’s pointless to search for meaning in Being There, but what isn’t pointless, is exactly what the title says. Sometimes being there is enough, even to get ahead in the world of politics. Satire, politics, and the buzzing but possibly inconsequential questions aside, Being There is also a movie that’s as delicate as Chauncey Gardiner. “Life is a state of mind,” is one of the many doses of wisdom that Being There leaves its audience with.
Rent on Apple TV
22 ‘Car Wash’ (1976)
Directed by Michael Schultz
The comedy classic keeps things loose. Wonderful characters pop in and out of the story, the laughs never cease, and director Michael Schultz lands an unexpectedly poignant ending. Every character is an MVP and could be the star of their own movie. All of screenwriter Joel Schumacher’s characters entertain.
Car Wash is a great ensemble movie with loads of energy and personality to spare. It’s Schultz’s near-perfect hangout movie, although shout out to Krush Groove and Cooley High. For a movie set almost entirely in one location, the filmmaker created a movie so high-spirited and easy on the eyes. The camera is unrestricted and free to follow different characters, tangents, and even a neighborhood kid on a skateboard (which is a strange, almost unexplainable highlight in the movie). Schultz’s best movies go with the flow, just like his sparkling characters.
21 ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ (2013)
Directed by Ben Stiller
A modern remake of the classic film from 1947, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty follows a lonesome, timid magazine photo manager who often spends his simple life daydreaming of something more. While he dreams of living an extravagant and adventurous life, he is stuck in a loop of boredom and office work, something that suddenly finds itself changing when he ends up going on a real-life adventure when a photo negative goes missing.
Few films have been able to fully encapsulate the inherent wonder and majesty that can come from daydreaming, imagining oneself in another world with all the wonder and possibilities of imagination. While these daydream sequences are certainly a major highlight of the film, Ben Stiller also does an exceptional job of showing the calming and powerful nature that everyday life can provide. Walter Mitty’s story has proven to be one that provides unending comfort and escapism to audiences, becoming one of the defining hidden gem comedies of the 2010s. – Robert Lee
Rent on Amazon
20 ‘Chan Is Missing’ (1982)
Directed by Wayne Wang
Wayne Wang’s (The Joy Luck Club) noir is a timeless indie from 1982. At times, the Chinatown-set mystery without a solution looks either modern or straight out of the 1950s. It’s a stunning, less-is-more film about identity, life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, politics, and coming to America.
For an 80-minute-long movie, it’s a dense piece of work that’s also elegant and relaxed. Chan Is Missing was a serious influence on director Richard Linklater. The inspiration shows in the film’s vignettes and random yet vital conversations. The detectives in the film, a cab driver named Jo (Wood Moy) and his nephew Steve (Marc Hayashi), are a low-key ball to hang with as they search for a missing man. It’s a simple but complex tale with more questions than answers and exchanges you’ll never forget. What a movie.
Watch on Kanopy
19 ‘Chef’ (2014)
Directed by Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau is at his most easygoing and crowd-pleasing in Chef. Free of interference, Chef depicts an artist, in front of and behind the camera, doing his thing without constraints. It’s a cathartic movie, as well as a mouth-watering one. The food porn in Chef is delicious eye candy, but unlike most big studio eye candy, it’s hand-crafted and personal. It’s such a loving movie, too, about craft and fatherhood.
Balancing one’s personal life and career, which is likely no foreign subject to any working filmmaker, is the main conflict in Chef. There are personal stakes and sadness, both of which are handled with the grace of an all-star cook. It’s a light meal not without substance. Chef is intimate but epic in terms of comfort.
18 ‘Dave Chappelle’s Block Party’ (2005)
Directed by Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry’s doc is two hours of hanging out with Dave Chappelle and the likes of Erykah Badu, poet Jill Scott, Questlove, and the list goes on and on. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is like the Nashville of concert docs. It is a movie packed to the brim with charismatic and wonderful people, including the residents of Brooklyn and Dayton, Ohio.
Everyone is a joy to meet and greet in this movie, whether they’re singing music, joking around, or having a kind exchange on a street corner or in a cigarette shop. It is a fantastic movie about harmony and strangers brought together by Chapelle for an unforgettable day of music and sheer positivity. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is a piece of lightning in a bottle to cherish. Everyone is having a great time in this movie, and it’s wildly infectious.
17 ‘The Holdovers’ (2023)
Directed by Alexander Payne
One of the most acclaimed and comforting holiday films of recent memory, The Holdovers harkens back to a classic era of storytelling and filmmaking with its wholesome nostalgic trip to the 90s. The film follows a strict prep school professor who is forced to look over a group of students who have nowhere to return to during the Christmas season. Initially annoyed at the prospect, he soon finds himself forming an unexpected friendship with one of the students as they begin to get caught up in the holiday spirit.
Holiday films always come with an inherent charm and calmness about them, able to conjure up feelings of family togetherness during the most special time of the year. The Holdovers greatly succeeds thanks in part to its calming and relaxing holiday setting, unparalleled in its portrayal of the holiday spirit among modern comedy films. The film will most assuredly be in the conversation as one of the defining holiday film experiences of the 2020s, with its calming nature being a major reason why. – Robert Lee
16 ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’ (1999)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
In the same vein as Linklater, plenty of Jim Jarmusch movies could go on this list. There’s a calmness to his movies, even when he’s following a poet bus driver, hipster vampires, a Don Juan facing his past mistakes, or in the case of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, a hitman living the life of a samurai in Brooklyn, New York.
Jarmuch’s movie is impossible to break down in one sentence, though. The Forest Whitaker-led and RZA-scored samurai movie has a vibe of its own, pure Jarmusch yet drawing from a wide range of influences. There are bursts of violence in The Way of the Samurai, but the meditative tale is a reposeful look at self-discipline, honor, the power of knowledge, and yes, the life of an ice cream truck driver. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is Jarmusch’s samurai classic, which has a ton of great laughs and an all-timer finale. “This is the final shootout scene,” the samurai says. “Yeah. Well, it’s very dramatic… it’s very dramatic.” Even in death, there are laughs in Jarmusch’s movie.
15 ‘Ratatouille’ (2007)
Directed by Brad Bird
Cooking has proven to be one of the most calming and satisfying things to watch unfold, playing a big factor in the popularity of cooking shows over the years. However, the world of animation creates limitless possibilities for the inherent calmness of cooking and beautiful dishes, with no film succeeding in this factor more than Pixar’s Ratatouille. The film follows the life and struggles of a street rat named Remy with large ambitions to become a legendary chef, finally getting the chance to prove to the world his skills at one of the finest restaurants in Paris.
While all of Pixar’s filmography has an inherent calming and soothing nature to its storytelling, the wholesome and relatable journey of achieving one’s dreams no matter the uphill battle makes Ratatouille an especially calming experience. The beautiful and serene cooking sequences combined with the pristine Paris backdrop create an undeniable aura that few animated films, Pixar or otherwise, have been able to live up to. – Robert Lee
14 ‘Happy-Go-Lucky’ (2008)
Directed by Mike Leigh
Sally Hawkins is a blinding ray of sunshine in what’s maybe Mike Leigh’s most cheerful film. The world is dark, but nothing and certainly nobody can dim Poppy’s sincere enthusiasm for life. The North London school teacher’s joy is infectious throughout Happy-Go-Lucky. Even when Poppy faces misery, like a character played by Eddie Marsan, she stays resilient. Such a positive and wholesome character whose happiness in the face of misery is almost heroic. Somebody will always try to rain down on anyone’s parade, but Poppy is such a strong character, somebody who doesn’t let others deter her mood or outlook, as strange as it may look to others.
The ending is one of the happiest endings ever seen in film. It is a long take of Poppy and a dear friend simply enjoying a lovely day out. It is pure peacefulness, just two friends on a boat relishing each other’s company. It’s a heavenly moment through Leigh’s eyes, especially after all the painful feelings touched on that we expect from Leigh. There is real misery in Happy-Go-Lucky, but Poppy is still Poppy in the end.
13 ‘Harvey’ (1950)
Directed by Henry Koster
Harvey is a film that premiered over 70 years ago. After all those years, this slice of life and magical realism hasn’t lost any of its powerful charm. James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a man who simply wants to drink and relish the company of his best friend in the world, an “imaginary” six-foot-tall bunny rabbit named Harvey.
It’s a buddy movie in which one of the buddies doesn’t ever appear on-screen, not until one stunning moment that’s as much about the magic of friendship as the magic of movies. Harvey is a classic story of basic acceptance, learning to accept someone’s harmless quirks and let them enjoy themselves, no matter how silly they look.
12 ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ (2021)
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
A feature-length continuation of the series of viral internet shorts, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On follows the quaint, simple adventures of Marcel, a 1-inch tall shell living in the corners of a suburban home. After being discovered by an amateur filmmaker renting out the home for an Airbnb, Marcel’s simple life is documented, how he goes about his day and keeps a cheery attitude. However, Marcel has sadly been separated from his extended family, aside from his loving Grandma Connie, so Marcel and the filmmaker set out to search for Marcel’s missing family in the vast open world outside the home.
Just like the short films that inspired it, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On succeeds greatly in the simple, calming and simple world that Marcel lives, with his small stature and use of everyday objects to get around creating a cute and wholesome experience. The feature-length film only further expands on what makes Marcel as a character so great, with a powerful emotional core and providing a lot of hilarious moments. The film is about as wholesome and calming as a modern family film can get and received mass critical acclaim as a result. – Robert Lee
11 ‘Hopscotch’ (1980)
Directed by Ronald Neame
There are few spies as chill as Miles Kending. He’s a happy-go-lucky man of no mystery. The veteran American spy is living it up in Hopscotch. Here’s a bouncy spy story without any collateral damage or the world in peril. Kending is all smiles in this wonderful movie, in which the agent is writing a memoir riddled with government secrets after he’s forced to retire early. As Kending goes on the run from his incompetent superiors, the good times keep rolling.
Walter Matthau is the definition of chill in Ronald Neame’s Criterion classic. Matthau is one of those actors that you can tell when he’s having fun, and his glee and playfulness rubs off strong in Hopscotch. Matthau is a big guy, so sort of he’s a larger-than-life entertainer when he’s in comedy mode. Just thrilling to watch. Hopscotch is a spy movie that is masterfully light on its feet with one of the coolest and politest spies to ever grace the screen.
Watch on Criterion
10 ‘Local Hero’ (1983)
Directed by Bill Forsyth
It’s difficult to describe the effect of Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero. It’s a fitting feeling, because two businessmen, Mac (Peter Riegert) and Oldsen (Peter Capaldi), don’t know quite how to describe the enchantment of the fishing village, Ferness, either. The characters are often left speechless by the unexplainable sights they witness, just like the audience.
Again, it’s tricky to explain Local Hero, as it’s an easier movie to feel than it is to intellectualize. What’s certain is this movie has a euphoric effect on almost anyone who basks in the heavenly imagery and Mark Knopfler‘s divine score (with his song “Going Home: Theme from Local Hero” going on to become more famous than the film). The movie just plays as one of the best dreams you’ll ever have. Another source of unbridled happiness in Burt Lancaster. He’s as delightful as the rest of Forsyth’s classic. Lancaster’s big businessman says and does such ludicrous things, but like Being There, maybe there’s something there… or not.
Rent on Apple TV
9 ‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)
Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Characters don’t get much more chill than Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski. He’s a man who doesn’t have any serious wants or needs in life, at least not beyond bowling, a carpet that really ties the room together, and a joint to go along with every glass of White Russian. None of the wild events in the Coen Brothers’ story change the dude. He just is, accepting everything that happens to him or around him. He knows how he likes to live, what brings him joy and what does not.
The Big Lebowski appeals to Buddhists for good reason. For anyone who wants to delve further into the zen-ness of The Coen Brothers’ iconic character, check out “The Dude and the Zen Master,” in which Jeff Bridges and his Zen Master Bernie Glassman discuss the zen lessons to glean from everyone’s favorite cinematic stoner.
8 ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ (1940)
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
A list of chill movies isn’t complete without at least one of Hollywood’s iconic rom-coms. They’re usually filled with the most charming of fast-talking characters, never at a loss for laser-sharp quips and epic comebacks. Almost everyone is the most clever person in the room in the best of the best classic romantic comedies. It’s pure, cinematic pleasure.
Even though the would-be lovers in The Shop Around the Corner, played by Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, spend most of the movie bickering and at odds, they both couldn’t be more endearing. They’re simply bliss to watch in Ernst Lubitsch’s 80-year-old classic. It’s an uproariously funny movie that couldn’t be easier or more relaxing to watch again and again. The Shop Around the Corner is an always reliable feel-good classic.
Rent on Apple TV
7 ‘The Straight Story’ (1999)
Directed by David Lynch
David Lynch’s nightmarish images usually chill to the bone. The Twin Peaks creator can craft frightening nightmares, but with The Straight Story, he wrote and directed a story that’s more of a kind-hearted dream. It’s a deceptively simple tale following a man, Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth), and his lawnmower traveling across the land. The original story lives up to its title, for the most part.
Lynch’s Disney movie is about an old man on the road, but it’s also about thinking about the past and seeking redemption. The emotions are understated but powerful. It’s such a quiet and reassuring movie that, of course, came from a filmmaker who not only practices transcendental meditation daily but also tries to have it taught in schools around the world.
Watch on Disney+
6 ‘The Thin Man’ (1934)
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke
Classic detectives are often riddled with regret and live in the dark. They’re often chain-smoking drunks, hardened by years of bad choices. Nick (William Powell) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) are not those kinds of detectives. They smoke, they drink, and they laugh it up in their iconic film series. The drinks never stop flowing, the cigs never go out, and the laughs never go quiet. No matter the murder mystery to unravel, the loving couple have the time of their lives in one another’s company, as well as their dog’s company, Asta’s (played by Skippy).
Couples, as well as detectives, generally don’t get much cooler than The Thin Man‘s Nick and Nora. They’re wonderful party animals and very good at their jobs. Their drunken adventures are the perfect movies to kick back to and enjoy on a Sunday-funday with a drink always in arm’s reach.
