Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, roughly translated to ‘You Only Live Once’ or ‘You Only Get A Second Life’ is a wholesome movie about a group of childhood friends that go on a bachelors trip through Spain. I remember watching it for the first time being nestled between my parents on the sofa, wide eyed at the screen as my mum whispered translations in my ear.
The film explores themes of creating memories of a lifetime and being true to yourself and your heart, but it’s really the music that makes it. Every Bollywood film is a musical, but this one perfectly captures the feelings of found family and plants seeds of inspiration to live your life to the fullest.
-Aarya Shenoy
Whenever I’m feeling down and missing my home town, there is only one film that’s close to my heart (and filmed there also!) and that’s Billy Elliot. With a fantastic soundtrack from T.Rex and a smashing dance montage from Julie Walter’s Jamie Belle, Billy Elliot never fails to make me laugh, cry and sing along. He just wants to dance at the ballet!!!
-Emily-MaisyMilburn
As I’m sure many students can relate, the most difficult part of going to university is missing home, more specifically, your pets. I know in my experience that my dog is my best friend, and despite not being able to talk, she can comfort me better than anyone else. Unlike family members, you can’t interact with your dog on FaceTime, making the distance even more difficult. At university, you spend lots of time in your room alone, time I would usually be with my dog if I were at home. To make it feel as if they’re with you, I’d recommend watching Marley and Me starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. This is a heartwarming film that follows the life of a family, which is made whole by their dog. Throughout the highs and lows, Marley, the energetic Labrador, is always there for his owners, despite occasionally being the root of their problems. Sharing many moments of laughter, authenticity, and love, Marley and Me resonates with the core memories of every family. While it may make you miss home, it reminds you how loved you are by everyone around you, but particularly by your furry friends. The love animals share is unconditional, just “give ‘em your heart and he’ll give you his”.
-Nancy Collins
Fantastic Mr Fox will forever be one of my favourite films — every Friday night, my family and I would snuggle up on the sofa with a takeaway, and we would watch a film and nearly every week I would request Fantastic Mr Fox. Now, whenever I hear a whistle that sounds like Mr Fox's, it reminds me of when I was younger, a reminder of simpler nights when I had no worries and was snuggled up with my parents watching one of my favourite films.
-Sasha Cowie
Controversial as it may be, for people like me, fully feeling the fear of missing home is non-negotiable. When I miss home, I choose to text my friends here, clean my room to a Jake Shane or Alex Cooper podcast or watch an upbeat movie. Movies are a great way to immerse yourself in another life and this is why I keep coming back to “13 Going On 30”.
A classic 2000’s rom-com by the late director Gary Winick. Before he passed, he also directed some of my other favourites like “Letters to Juliet” and “Bride Wars”. In an interview he did for the BBC on the press tour for “13 Going On 30” he stated that the purpose for this iconic movie was to reflect on personal growth, maturity and more importantly the significance of the authentic self, coupled with appreciating the present. I really identify with this because it changes the perspective of adulting to be individual, which is something we tend to forget when everyone appears to have everything figured out. The story of ‘Jenna Rink’ shows her failing to fit into adult life and wishing she could go back home. However, soon she learns to love her new life when she starts to accept opportunities and welcome them. She is an inspiration to me, especially as she is unapologetically herself when navigating this world and for uni students, she can teach us to never abandon our genuine self to fit in with others.
I think this is very fitting for when you’re missing home as it helps you realise you should appreciate where you are currently and how hard you worked to get to a university. Now this may sound out of touch or even a bit simplistic, but I believe that you should take every opportunity and grow from each experience. This movie in particular shows how you should have a positive outlook on leaving home as it means you have everything that home could offer and are ready to expand into a place that may be foreign instead of staying stagnant. As the character ‘Matt Flamhaff’ stated “you can’t just turn back time” showing that there is no point dwelling on the past or home when you have everything to live for now.
The hard-hitting messages in this feel-good movie help me overcome the overwhelming feelings that homesickness can cause. Seeing someone enjoy their life as an adult and thriving in new places while figuring out and still making mistakes is a comfort to me and hopefully others too.
-Kate Gibbs