“Slice of life” has often been recently used to describe anime depicting everyday occurrences, but a lot of old-schooldramasfall into this category as well. This is mainly because these films offer uncomplicated plots and easygoing situations with no significant conflict to resolve. Slices of dramas depict everyday situations, experiences, and routines of ordinary people. These movies present realistic and often unremarkable portrayals of life, exploring life, relationships, struggles, and joys within the ongoing narrative of genuine human experience.
Slice of life films are compelling because they capture the essence of the small moments that bring joy or sadness in life. These movies offer the audiencea relatable and intimate experience, inviting them to be immersed in the story and relate to the characters. Slice of Life rarely accomplishes the grandeur of visual accomplishments of blockbusters, but they balance the odds by presenting situations close to life and affecting your core in many ways.
The following is a list of some of the most beloved classic slice-of-life films you must watch.
15My Dinner with André (1981)
Directed by Louis Malle and starring André Gregory and Wallace Shawn,My Dinner with Andréis a charming film written by both actors, with them essentially playing themselves. The story follows Wally as he meets with his friend André, whom he’s been avoiding since he quit his career as a theater director in 1975 due to a spiritual crisis. As both men have dinner, Andre recounts his experiences and travels to Poland, the Sahara, Scotland, and other stories.
The film explores different views of life as both men debate the dangers of comfort and conformity. André needs to make his friend understand why he needed all these experiences to discern what being human is, while Wally counters by telling him how a more uncomplicated life makes him happier. It’s a lovely film illustrating the human perspective and a great philosophical drama.
14Wild Strawberries (1957)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, and Max von Sydow,Wild Strawberriesis a film that follows the journey of a 78-year-old widowed physician named Isak Borg. Borg is making a road trip from Stockholm to Lund with his daughter-in-law, Marianne, to receive commendation for 50 years of service in the medical field.
During the trip, Borg meets multiple hitchhikers whobring memories and dreams from his past. A group of young people reminds him of his first love. A middle-aged couple reminds him about his unhappy marriage. Isak ends the trip by accepting his life and inevitable death, realizing he’s led a life of its own, neither good nor bad, but his nonetheless. The film works as a good analysis of life’s retrospectives as an older person.
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13Dazed and Confused (1993)
Written, directed, and produced by Richard Linklater, the cast ofDazed and Confusedfeaturesan all-star lineup in their young days. Ben Affleck, Matthew McCaughey, Milla Jovovich, Parkey Posey, and Cole Houser, among many others, lead this coming-of-age story. The film begins with a group of students getting ready to haze the incoming freshman class, with the boys being paddled and the girls getting covered in food and forced to propose to seniors.
Plans for a keg party are ruined, so most of the gang spends the night cruising the neighborhood while listening to music and planning mischief. As some of the kids in the crew confess their feelings to one another, the night ends with some of the boys smoking pot on the football field, with one of them pledging not to take more drugs to achieve his goals. It’s a great story reflecting teenage rebellion, social hierarchies, and the search for identity.
12American Graffiti (1973)
American Graffitilooks like a more superficial film reflecting on bygone eras. Still, the movie is a labor of love that brought together George Lucas to direct, Francis Ford Copolla to produce, and Willard Huyck andGloria Katz to write the filmbased on an outline from Lucas himself. The 1973 classic is a coming-of-age drama that follows a group of high school graduates during their last summer evening in 1962. It’s a great feel-good movie to reflect on the sanitized entertainment of past decades.
Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, and Harrison Ford, among others, most of the story revolves around a single night filled with everything entertaining in the era: cruising, drag-racing, and romance. One of the boys spends the night hunting for a mysterious blonde girl, a car gets stolen, and the gang has to get it back, and skilled racers face a challenge that ends in tragedy. All come close at the end when we learn the fates of all our cast as life goes on.
11Stand by Me (1986)
Directed by Rob Reiner with a script from Bruce A. Evans based on the Stephen King Novel “The Body"Stand by Mefeatures some of Hollywood’s best talent in their early days. Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell lead the gang of youngsters, with Kiefer Sutherland playing the antagonist. This coming-of-age drama follows the kids as they follow the story of a missing boy’s body near Castle Rock, Oregon, in 1959.
The story is played as a reminiscence of one of the kids as he’s struggling with the recent loss of his elder brother. His parents neglect him, so he teams up with his friends to follow the rumor and find the lost body. During their trip, the gang faces local hoodlums, a cranky junkyard owner, leeches in a swamp, andthe emotional struggle of losing a loved one. It’s a warm film reflecting on childhood friendships, adventures, and overcoming grief.
10Reality Bites (1994)
Reality Bitesis a comedic drama written by Helen Childress and directed by Ben Stiller. It stars Stiller, Winona Rider, Ethan Hawk and Janine Garofalo. It’s an early work showcasing Stiller’s talentas a competent storyteller and director. The setup of the story is in Houston, Texas. The film explores the struggles and aspirations of all the cast members. It’s an easygoing story but also touching, as the plot moves seamlessly between love, career aspirations, promiscuity, HIV, and sexuality.
As the story unfolds, we find the documentary being filmed by one of the characters is turned into something that twists her work. The cast also has to deal with death and reflection on events to truly make amends and retain relationships, as they are increasingly hard to keep as people grow older (something that still affects many people in the present day). The film also takes a meta page as one of the characters turns the lives of his friends into a TV show to reflect on his relationships.
9The 400 Blows (1959)
The first French offering in our list,The 400 Blows, is written, directed, and produced by François Truffaut and stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. The movie is about a young kid named Antoine Doinel, his life growing up in Paris, and all his problems with his parents and teachers. The boy feels trapped in the city and attempts to leave by stealing his stepfather’s typewriter to pay for a one-way ticket out of the home. He tries to return the stolen equipment but is caught while doing so.
The film works as a chronicle of the struggles faced by an unwanted child. Since his stepfather dislikes him, he sends him to jail. His mother also disowns him in a tribunal by letting the judge know he’s not the son of his husband. Antoine is placed in a center for troubled youths, where a psychologist does his best to uncover why Antoine is so unhappy, which he does in a series of stories revealing all his life experiences. It’s a harrowing look at life from the perspective of the less fortunate on the social scale.
8The Sandlot (1993)
Written, directed, and narrated by David Mickey Evans,The Sandlotfeatures Karen Allen, Denis Leary, and James Earl Jones, along with one of the most extensive casts of kids ever gathered for a coming-of-age movie. It all begins when the new kid in town tries to join the large gathering of kids playing in the city’s sandlot. Initially rejected, the gang eventually warms up to the new kid and invites him to play ball and multiple outdoor affairs, such as swimming, camping, and attending a fair. While playing ball, they attempt to retrieve a ball from a yard guarded by a fearsome English Mastiff called “The Beast.”
The gang would eventually befriend the dog and meet the owner, a man known as Mr. Mertle, a former baseball player and friendly rival of Babe Ruth. As summers come,all the boys go their separate ways, with one of the kids becoming a sports commentator and another becoming a professional player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s a great story filled with nostalgia and multiple portrayals of the outdoor activities enjoyed by kids before the existence of smart devices.
7Frankie and Johnny (1991)
Frankie and Johnnyis a drama written by Terrence McNally and produced and directed by Garry Marshall.Starring Al Pacinoand Michelle Pfeiffer, the Scarface couple gets together to tell a story about loneliness and the fear of being open with other people after a heartbreak. Johnny is an ex-con struggling to find footing after doing time for check fraud. He meets Frankie in the same Diner he enters looking for a job. Frankie is a shut-in who wants nothing to do with men due to bad experiences.
The film follows Johnny as he patiently tries to break Frankie’s barriers. It’s a story about a couple of loners who struggle to integrate into society. Johnny has a family who wants nothing to do with him, which is very telling in the first minutes of the film, where he solicits the company of a prostitute to cuddle with him while holding him close. After pushing his luck, Frankie confesses to Johnny she doesn’t want to get hurt again, as they both look to rebuild their hopes for a better future.
6Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Whisper of the Heartis our first animated entry on the list, and it couldn’t come fromany studio other than Ghibli. The story focuses on a 14-year-old student named Shizuku Tsukishima, who is passionate about writing while living in Tokyo with her family. She comes across a curious fact: most of her preferred books have been checked out by a boy named Seiji Amasawa. As she grows curious, she sets out to find him, finally encountering him in an antique shop. Directed by Yoshifumi Kondō with a screenplay written by Hayao Miyazaki.
The ongoing interactions between Seiji and Shizuku increase as he becomes inspired to become a master luthier and improve his violin skills. Shizuku would go on to face struggles with her creativity, but Seiji and his grandpa always stood beside her. Ultimately, the pair grow to be in love and marry while pursuing their passions. It’s a sweet love story reflecting the continued support of the people surrounding us.
