5 Films That Live Rent-Free in My Soul
Witty, stylish, sometimes devastating—these are the films that changed me
There are films that entertain, and then there are films that settle into your bones—stories that feel like old love letters, well-worn and familiar. The ones that shape how we see ourselves, how we move through the world, how we fall in (and out of) love.
I’m sure you know what it’s like to face the screen only to find that the moving pictures are a mirror image; I bet there have been times when a film felt so familiar, that it played like a reel of your own past life.
These are the films that every woman should watch—not because they teach a lesson, but because they capture something essential about us. They’re witty, stylish, sometimes heartbreaking, but always worth your time.
A Woman is a Woman (1961)
In this 1961 musical comedy, hilarity and tragedy coexist. Some viewers will experience sharp pangs of sympathy watching Anna Karina’s performance as Angéla, a Parisian exotic dancer – whose days begin and end with a singular goal: to cater to the comfort of others.
At home, the apartment she shares with her boyfriend Émile is perfectly suitable—tidy, familiar, a picture of domesticity. But beneath the surface, Angéla’s heart aches for one thing: a baby. Too bad, baby—Émile is preoccupied with his ambitions. Enter: Alfred (Jean-Paul Belmondo) 🥵. As her longing deepens, their love is tested, and soon, words fail them—replaced by the silent language of books and heartbreak.
What are they willing to give and forget to compromise? An intimate depiction of an entanglement between friends, lovers, and nothings. 64 years later, the plot remains so timeless, that even prudes can relate.
Sex and the Single Girl (1964)
A classic Hollywood romance. Natalie Wood shines as Helen Gurley Brown, a renowned research psychologist who is as well-read as she is well-dressed.
Charade (1963)
Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. A thriller draped in Givenchy and suspense. A widow, a conman (or is he?), and a chase through the streets of Paris—filled with charm, deception, and romance.
The Apartment (1960)
This drama will wreck you (in a good way), and wanting to reach through the screen to help collect the shattered pieces of Shirley MacLaine’s heart. I promise all 2 hours and 5 minutes are worth the watch.
Two For the Road (1967)
A nonlinear portrait of love’s evolution, tracing a couple’s decade-long relationship through a road trip in the French countryside. Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney navigate passion, resentment, and nostalgia in a film that feels as stylish as it is emotionally raw.
These films don’t just entertain—they linger, reminding us of the ways love, loss, and longing shape us. Watch them, feel them, and let them settle into your bones.