A lot of attention is paid to a midlife crisis; Buy a nice new sports car, learn French or trade in your partner for a younger but less experienced model. Yet the first real battle that many have with existentialism is not in their late forties, but in their mid-twenties. Still relatively inexperienced at growing up, getting so much conflicting advice about who, what, and where you’re supposed to be with your life is a seriously complex, centerless maze with no right or wrong answer.
Some have children, run a business and get married, others are unemployed, still living at home with their parents and may not even have developed a full understanding of how a washing machine works. Welcome to the world of the post-college or university mind, undisturbed by bills but horrifically burdened by the societal expectation of settling down, getting a job, getting married and having a child within the next six weeks. Those most likely to be in that predicament as of 2023 are those born in 1998. Like all those born in the year of the Tiger, these great films turn 25 this year and are too timeless to ever get through that midlife crisis…
Lock, stock and two smoking barrels
25 years after its release, Lock, stock and two smoking barrels remains Guy Ritchie’s flagship title. The 1998 dark comedy that made Ritchie a name in the movie industry is an ultra-violent gangland epic, with plenty of cockney charisma and shotgun wit.
Aside from longtime Ritchie collaborator Jason Statham, a relatively modest cast was assembled, and with only a $1.4 million budget, the film raged at the box office, earning an impressive $30 million. The action comedy tells the story of three friends who decide to enter a poker game with a local gangster and chronicles their hilarious attempts to make £500,000 in just seven days after losing to menacing mob boss Harry.
The Truman Show
The feeling of being just a pawn on a reality TV show was nicknamed “The Truman Delusion,” after Peter Weir’s hit movie, The Truman Show. With similar effects on popular culture as in 1993 Groundhog Day, The Truman Show was terrifyingly prophetic in predicting the modern celebrity fast food culture, with fly-on-the-wall television shows such a phenomenon in the present day.
Peter Weir’s film follows the story of Truman Burbank (played so effervescently by Jim Carrey), an insurance salesman, who lives unsuspectingly as a reality star on his own show. Raised from birth to reality stardom, he is watched by millions around the world, but is oblivious to the fact that he is trapped in an elaborate camera-ridden television set until things begin to unravel themselves.
Saving Private Ryan
Spielberg ended his prosperous decade on a high, with the mother of all World War II movies, the epic Saving Private Ryan. With truly hypnotic, awe-inspiring and blood-soaked set pieces, the film revolutionized the way future war films were made.
This chronicles the steadfast, selfless determination of an Army Corps as they embark on a rescue mission of mammoth proportions. Led by Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), they infiltrate enemy lines, trying to find and rescue Private Ryan (Matt Damon), the last surviving son of a family devastated by World War II losses.
The thin red line
Based on the 1962 novel of the same name, directed by Terrence Malick’s film adaptation The thin red line depicts a United States Army battalion at the Battle of the Guadalcanal, as they battle against a ruthless Japanese army during World War II.
Surrounded by classic war movies, including Private Ryan, save Schindler’s Listand The pianistit is understandable how The thin red line possibly overshadowed. Still, this underrated gem, featuring an immaculate A-list cast, commands deep respect.
The great Lebowski
Being arguably the best and funniest film by the Coen brothers is a prestigious accolade in itself, and the reason for The great Lebowski to claim that cloak is quite irresistible. The movie starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi has built up a staggering cult following over the years, so much so that it’s more of a consensus these days.
The great Lebowski follows Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Bridges), a pot-smoking drifter, who, along with his two friends Walter (Goodman) and Donny (Buscemi), unintentionally become embroiled in a case of mistaken identity and an ensuing kidnapping story.
Rushmore
In the wake of the critical success of 1996 Bottle RocketTwo years later, Wes Anderson rightfully earned the director’s whip again with the even better, Rushmore. Jason Schwartzman plays schoolboy, Max, a charming, confident and engaging student who, versatile as he may be, fails academically.
Max falls for a teacher at his school, but must compete for her affection with his teacher and mentor. While not included in typically perfect symmetrical glory, Rushmore‘s script has a sharp wit and a quirky sense of timing that is as unmistakably Wes Anderson as it is The Darjeeling Limited or Life in the water.
American history
A film about reformation, redemption and self-reflection, by Tony Kaye American history Starring Edward Norton as Derek Vinyard, a former white supremacist, and neo-Nazi, Derek leaves prison after a three-year sentence a changed man, with his life of fascism firmly in his rear-view mirror. Determined not to let his younger, impressionable brother Danny make the same mistakes he did, Derek tries his hardest to divert Danny’s resentful tendencies into a more positive and constructive existence.