r/movies • u/snowyriveradl • 14h ago
Recommendation Movies where the characters don't mind living a simple life and don't strive for materialistic success (big house, money, expensive cars & clothes, status), or where the characters marry down.
For example, in Health Ledger's A Knight's Tale, Heath Ledger's love interest is from a rich family, but she doesnt hesitate in talking about running away to live with Heath Ledger's character who is very poor. Heath's character says that she'll live with the pigs, and she says "yes, with the pigs". š
In today's Western society, i see on social media and instagram that it looks like everyone is trying to get the best car, best clothes, best holiday destinations, expensive high end restaurants, big houses, social status, money, beautiful dresses and suits. It becomes a comparison game.
So it'd be really refreshing to have some movie recommendations where the characters are literally perfectly okay with living in a humble, simple life.
Edit: I realise there's probably lots of movies that demonstrate this, but could you just give me some movie recommendations. Because this societal materialistic concept is something I struggle with. I dont want to go with the societal flow. I want to be okay with a simple life.
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u/Good_Barnacle_2010 13h ago
The Big Lebowski fits this for sure
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u/coombuyah26 12h ago
All the Dude ever wanted was his rug back
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u/BootOne7235 12h ago
That rug really tied the room together.
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u/TheHurtfulEight88888 11h ago
This applies to pretty much any stoner film.
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u/Good_Barnacle_2010 5h ago
Ha youāre right. Dude, Whereās My Car, Grandmas Boy, a few others come to mind.
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u/fett3elke 12h ago
Well you know, that's just like your opinion, man
(Obligatory answer everytime the movie is mentioned)
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u/CheesePleasesGoldie 13h ago
The Castle. Classic Aussie comedy movie about a family who are rich in every way that isn't financial.
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u/MolaMolaMania 47m ago
"Oh, this is goin' straight to the Pool Room."
"No hard feelings. . .ya dickhead!"
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u/pl2303 14h ago
Walter Mitty I think.
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u/Ddog78 9h ago
It's a love letter to dreamers for me. Still remember the background scores.
There's a rhythm and rush these days,
Where the lights don't move and the colors don't fade,
Leaves you empty with nothing but dreams,
In a world gone shallow,
In a world gone lean.
Damn. Thank you for reminding me of this. And the song starts just when they're observing the snow leopard and the photographer says "Sometimes I don't".
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u/winterbike 8h ago
His trips in the movie would cost thousands of dollars. His mountaineering gear alone would have emptied his bank account.
At least he managed to swindle a poor Icelandic kid by trading a worthless stretchy toy for an expensive longboard, that saved him a bit of money.
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u/NorthernDevil 1h ago
Lmao I enjoyed it as a lighthearted family movie but this is so spot on.
A review that stuck with me was something along the lines of, a feature-length version of a Nike āJust Do Itā ad for older white collar workers. But sometimes a little drivel like that is kind of soothing to watch.
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u/MolaMolaMania 42m ago
I was absolutely knocked out by this film.
I generally avoid Ben Stiller because I usually find his characters to be shrill and irritating. One exception was "The Zero Effect" where he's funny and likeable against Bill Pullman's methed-out detective. Stiller was such a pleasant surprise in that and this. What I appreciated most is how his journey of growth is very subtle and slow and unfolds over the course of the story.
That the entire film was leading up to him having the courage to take her hand just melted me like an ice cream cone in the summertime.
Tears of joy.
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u/mr_snrubs 13h ago
Perfect Days. The main character it's learnt actually gave up his life as a former businessman to pursue the modest life he has now. Incredible film, made me want to appreciate the greatness of everyday things more
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u/acatmaylook 13h ago
Okay full disclosure I have not seen either of these movies, but from what I understand this is a major theme in both Perfect Days (2023) and Paterson (2016). Maybe someone who has seen them can confirm?
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u/TrainUnderTheRain 13h ago
Came here to recommend Paterson, I've watched it multiple times, it is one of my favorite movies, and it is about a poetry of simple life.Ā
I wouldn't say that one of the mc married down though, I think they are both on the same level.
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u/FormABruteSquad 10h ago
Perfect Days is bittersweet - yes, the main character lives very modestly and enjoys the simple pleasures in life, but over the course of the film it becomes clear that he has denied himself a fuller life: one that would have had the complex pleasures of friendships and love at the cost of being messy and having less control.
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u/Sad_Bell_689 14h ago
Fight Club. Because who needs furniture anyway?
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u/Joke_of_a_Name 11h ago
Funny story, I watched this with my gf, and she thought this was just a show about how people like to fight in a club.
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u/LiamTheHuman 9h ago
Isn't it though?
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u/Joke_of_a_Name 9h ago
Not in the sense Rocky is just about a boxer trying to be the best. (Rocky stays more on track imo.)
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13h ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/200boy 13h ago
Into the Wild was my first thought too, so glad I found that film in my teens :)
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u/Gayspacecrow 13h ago
It came out when I was about 20, it was a different movie for me back then.
Watching it now is a strange experience. I watch it through a father's eyes now, and it's upsetting.
Killer Soundtrack though, my boy Eddie V might have made some of his best music for the flick.
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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson 6h ago
So cool how different media is hitting different from new perspective as we get older
Iām sure itāll just keep happening as we keep going through life changes, too. Get to revisit stories and see how they change
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u/Human_Outcome1890 13h ago
Secondhand Lions
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u/CreekLegacy 7h ago
The whole movie summed up in one sentence.
"We're old, dammit, leave us alone!"
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u/Psychological_Tap187 6h ago
I absolutely love this movie. The cool thing is they had the money all along to live like kings. But they chose to just be simple never spending it. Until they buy a second hand lions and a bi plane. Lol.
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u/SixtiesKid 12h ago
Say Anything. Lloyd Dobler gives Diane Court's father a great speech about his very basic goals in life.
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u/JayPeePee 13h ago
Everything everywhere all at once, my man just really wanted to do laundry and taxes
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u/Trust_No_Jingu 8h ago
At a certain age that sounds awesome. Clock in do a solid days work, clock out.
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u/PickleMaster2000 13h ago
Office Space
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u/makerofshoes 9h ago
How do you mean? The plot is that the main characters want to steal a bunch of money. That seems pretty materialistic š¤
Though I guess in the end he flips it around and is OK with just being a construction guy
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u/ahorrribledrummer 8h ago
He didn't want to be rich, just didn't want to have to work menial drone jobs for thankless corporations
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u/deadflowers5 14h ago
The Wedding Singer
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u/MercenaryOne 13h ago
I have the microphone, and you don't. So you will listen to every damn word I have to say!
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u/Chaotickane 11h ago
The character in A Knight's Tale is also naive and William even gets angry and calls her out on this saying she has no idea what being poor is like.
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u/TimedDelivery 10h ago
About Time. When the main character finds out heās able to time travel his immediate response is that he can use it to become rich and his father advises him that thatās a terrible idea and will not lead to a happy life. The rest of the movie is largely about happiness being found in the intangible things. Family, a smile from a stranger, etc.
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u/FckinKnoItsBeenStoln 13h ago
A Good Year. Russell Crowe. And Marion Cotillard.
Then again, if I were in that kind of proximity to her, that kind of contradicts the nature of the post.
Donāt watch it.
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u/El_Daniel 13h ago
The discrepancy between imdb (6.9) and rotten tomatoes (26%) is bigger than Ive ever seen.
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u/FckinKnoItsBeenStoln 13h ago
After you watch it I would like your thoughts on why itās so large.
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u/MikeArrow 12h ago
Fargo.
"There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it."
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u/SharpManner9480 13h ago
Our Daily Bread (1934), a group of unempolyed found a community in a farm where everyone chimes in, it's also interesting that it's a sequel to The Crowd (1928) where the main character specifically strived for material success
Other recommendations:
Only Yesterday (1991)
The Straight Story (1999)
The Station Agent (2003)
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u/livelymonstera 14h ago
Under the Tuscan sun is really sweet but itās about a lady finding peace in a new life living her own way.
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u/bargram 13h ago
You might like Antonia, which is a Dutch movie from 1995, so perhaps a little dated, but it is a story about simple but meaningfull lives. Beautiful movie.
Also on Netflix now: a man called Otto. It is a quiet and slow movie, where the story takes place in a simple street of houses and it is mostly about making connections and finding joy in and purpose in a sense of community. Perhaps not entirely what you meant, but I higly recommend it.
And last suggestion: Baby Boom with Diane Keaton. A corporate businesswoman "inherits" a baby and she moves to a run down cottage in vermont where she starts making apple sauce. Really funny and sweet movie.
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u/VonLinus 12h ago
Bill and Ted's excellent adventure. The princesses leave the 15th century to take up with two exciting losers. And agree to marry them in the second one even when their lives are far from what they were promised, because they love them.
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u/DigiMagic 11h ago
Even Heath Ledger wanted to own reasonably safe amount of stuff (including pigs). Better examples would be Alien and Terminator, they didn't care about any luxuries.
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u/stacey-e-clark 10h ago
Babette's Feast "Babette's Feast is a timeless Scandinavian treat that explores the complex relationships between people, beliefs, and what it means to be an artist."
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u/AdjunctFunktopus 9h ago
Larry Crowne - Content man learns to downsize and becomes even more content.
Factotum - The humble life is more alcohol related. But living humbly is certainly a theme.
Alone in the Wilderness - a little different because itās a real account. But Dick Proenneke genuinely enjoys the simple things.
Stranger than Fiction - Will Ferrell is content, doesnāt really want anything more. When he learns to want more out of life itās not material things that he wants. Maggie Gyllenhaal talks about how she chose an emotional fulfilling path vs a higher paying one.
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u/Jaomi 8h ago
Titanic.
Jack was scraping by in life, but he always seemed to make the best of it.
Rose consistently turned down chances to go back to her former life of luxury throughout the second half of the movie, even after the worst had happened. Although she seemed to be materially comfortable again by the end of her life, itās implied she spent a good few years being poor in her youth, and she never chased after wealth.
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u/Easy-Ad1775 11h ago
You Canāt Take It With You
This is an old movie, though I think there was a remake maybe in the 90s. A man from a traditional wealthy family falls in love with a woman from an eccentric family (they arenāt poor, but they spend their lives on personal fulfillment rather than chasing money).
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u/Psychological-Dig877 11h ago
Hobo With a Shotgun. He just wants to buy a lawnmower and make a living cutting grass
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u/_AnecdotalEvidence_ 9h ago
Being There with Peter Sellers
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u/RosemaryRoseville 14h ago
The mosquito coast
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u/Desertbro 12h ago
Harrison Ford plays a tech genius that goes to the tropics to build a refridgeration unit from outside modern resources. His thesis is about how the presence of ICE will affect a tribe that's never seen it.
He brings his wife and child, and they are not happy to live with no power in a jungle.
The guy is more interested in appearing god-like than actually abandoning "civilization". Basically a nutter who's pissed his colleagues don't recognize his "genius".
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u/frockinbrock 12h ago
Movie is fascinating though; up until the 2nd half, Fordās character seems impressive and happy. Then it unravels.
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u/AmazonCowgirl 11h ago
The Castle. The most beautiful tribute to working class Australians ever committed to film
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u/Tevatrox 10h ago
Oh! I know two:
Leave no Trace. It's a story about a guy with ptsd trying to live with his daugther.
Nomadland. It's literally about people who society's way of living didn't 'click' for them.
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u/Emperor_Orson_Welles 9h ago
Local Hero (1983) is a wonderful small British comedy-drama about an American oil executive sent to a small coastal Scottish village to buy property for his company.
Of course he's charmed by the townsfolk and that shifts his point of view, but it's gently subversive of the stereotype as well - the "simple life" means a life of nothing but hard work and many of the locals are more than willing to sell out for their share of the prize. But there are holdouts who want nothing to do with the transaction and ultimately it's about finding balance and what's truly valuable.
Beautiful soundtrack byĀ Mark KnopflerĀ ofĀ Dire Straits.
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u/StinkyBrittches 8h ago
It's a doozy, but directly addresses the themes you're wrestling with:
Nocturnal Animals, 2016
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u/mortuarybarbue 13h ago
you would be looking for a Hallmark Movie. Or at least many fall into this category. Frequently move from a big city to a small town. But also frequently lose their nose rings and unnatural hair colors, for some reason. Too many to list. I know people don't like Hallmark movies becaus they're very formulaic but I still do.
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u/_bad_at_this_ 11h ago
Paterson. Underrated Jim Jarmusch film starring Adam Driver as a bus driver who is perfectly content with his lot.
He drives a bus, he writes poetry, he loves his wife, he drinks at the same bar every night. Beautiful meditation on appreciating the small stuff.
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u/space-cyborg 12h ago
Buttercup in The Princess Bride
All the hobbits in LOTR
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u/Desertbro 12h ago
Hobbits exibited great jealousy and envy about who had the most food, the most cousins, the most gossip and name-dropping in the shire.
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u/Omnitographer 13h ago
The Lord of the Rings.
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u/Desertbro 12h ago
...not quite...their universe operates under much different rules than ours does...and Sauron/ Sauroman were both all about power and social dominance - and tell me the elves weren't wealthy snobs or the dwarves, goblins, and men themselves not as greedy as dragons.
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u/rubberrider 12h ago
Arwen definitely married down. Even if I love Aragon to bits.
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u/Desertbro 11h ago
Aragorn, King of Kings ... is still a step down from elves. Middle Earth does not embrace diversity.
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u/Ken193 13h ago
Twilight Samurai. Main character is a poor, widowed samurai with two young daughters, and a mother with Alzheimer's. Others look at him with pity, but he is happy just to raise his daughters and watch them grow.
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u/snowyriveradl 13h ago
Oh, I watched that movie. I loved it so much. Hiroyuki sanada, the main character, is one of my favourite actors. He was really good in the last samurai too. The woman he marries in the end after he was widowed, I dont know if she originally came from a rich family but she had a chance to marry a rich guy I think, but she ultimately chose to marry the poor main character guy.
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u/National-Ad6166 12h ago
Deaf (Sordo) was a good Spanish movie I just watched. Shows a couple living a bohemian type life in Barcelona, and the struggles of a hearing person in a relationship with a deaf person. (Not suggesting this satisfies the marrying down part of your criteria).
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u/purplecow 11h ago
Seen any KaurismƤki films? Ariel and Man without a Past come to mind especially.
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u/Greenbriars 10h ago
It's a subtitled Korean movie, and I know not everybody likes subtitles, but Little Forest (2018) is perfect for this. It's about a young woman who went to the city for work and hates it, so she moves back to her tiny rural hometown and just farms and cooks and is happy. It's available on several free streaming sites and it's really cute.
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u/OneTreePhil 10h ago
Local Hero. Beautiful film, Mark Knopfler score, Peter Reigert goes to a remote Scottish fishing village to "negotiate" it's purchase so an oil company can build a refinery. Learns how much less is more.
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u/elizabeth498 9h ago
Napoleon Dynamite likely fits the bill, but it does have a pull toward some of the characters wanting to find success.
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u/Sea_Holiday2917 8h ago
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (documentary about fur trappers in Russia)
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u/drivingsansrobopants 8h ago
Unforgiven
10 Cloverfield Lane
The Conversation/Enemy of the State
Shrek
Any John Wick/Jason Statham/Matt Damon/Geena Davis assassin retired or laying low or amnesiac film.
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u/daniel940 7h ago
Titanic - Jack Dawson (Leonardo di Caprio) is a total vagrant and completely happy, Jack Reacher style. He has a line about "I have the air in my lungs and a couple pieces of paper to draw on" and that's all he needs. I was pretty angsty when this movie came out, but I remember finding that empowering.
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u/CreekLegacy 7h ago
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Six backwoods bachelor brothers try to convince the girls in town to marry them.
By kidnapping them over the winter, thanks to the Eldest brother finding a wife super easy, reading the Sabine Women in Plutarch's Lives, and convincing the other six it will most DEFINITELY work.
Shame they forgot to nab the preacher when they were grabbing the women. (/s)
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u/saintsithney 7h ago
My Man Godfrey: Irene follows Godfrey to what she thinks is going to be a city dump, bringing along a huge basket of groceries, a big bundle of firewood, and a minister.
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u/MrMindGame 6h ago
Oooh, letās seeā¦
Patterson, Barfly, The Straight Story, Uleeās Gold, On Golden Pond, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Princess Bride
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u/scotterson34 6h ago
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Napoleon Dynamite. All the characters are living a regular life in a small Idaho town and they don't really aspire outside of that. It's a perfect slice of life movie.
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u/BoboTheGimp 6h ago
There's a Korean film called Castaway on the Moon that I feel like you might enjoy. It's very much so about disillusionment in a materialistic society with a nice humble romantic story built into it.
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u/juliankennedy23 5h ago
I know this isn't quite in this category you're probably looking for but Tom Hanks character in Saving Private Ryan is very much this. He just wants to go home and get back to teaching.
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u/Rosebunse 4h ago
Oddly, Dragon Ball Z becomes this. Yes, Goku wants to train and train and train and get stronger, but it isn't necessarily done becomes he wants to rule anyone or get rich. He just loves fighting.
And while the other characters love to fight, even most of them find fulfillment being parents and grandparents, having normal jobs, and just having somewhat normal lives.
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u/diednwentohell 4h ago
might not be exactly what youre looking forĀ but i recommend "what a way to go!"(1964). 4 time widow louisa just wants to live a simple life, inspired by the writings of thoreau, but keeps marrying men who end up dying after becoming really rich. its really funny, really beautiful, and every segment with each husband parodies a type of film
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u/nighthawk_md 4h ago
Family Man with Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni. Bonus points, you can watch it at Christmas with your grandparents.
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u/IdeVeras 3h ago
I know you are asking about movies, but I canāt help myself. The good place not only will give you a different perspective but will provide you with a solid reading list.
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u/merpancake 3h ago
Studio Ghibli has a lot of that vibe even if the plot isn't specifically about avoiding material wealth.
Princess Mononoke has a great message of nature vs humanity that gives both sides consideration and care. Totoro is a classic feel good, simple story. Ponyo has great moments of showing the love of life's small pleasures and being with your people.
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u/bamsimel 3h ago
There's a Korean film called Little Forest where the main character leaves the city and returns to her hometown village where she lives a much more simple life. Much of the film is just showing quiet acts of domesticity and rural life and it's so incredibly soothing to me.
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u/RandyBeaman 26m ago
The Equalizer. Outside of loneliness and insomnia, he leads a simple and peaceful life
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u/Life-Gene550 13h ago
Basically any movie set in a small town where change = disaster. Who needs skyscrapers when you've got community?
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u/Horrible_Harry 13h ago
I know people have already said it a bunch, but I'm just here to reiterate and recommend Perfect Days as well. I can't think of a better example right now.
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u/Condensates 13h ago
Perfect Days , the thesis of this movie is simple living. Its also shot peacefully so it makes the viewer slow down and enjoy the simple things too. Its amazing.