A breakup is always a difficult period, full of conflicting emotions. Sometimes the best medicine is the right story that helps you experience feelings, distract yourself, or find new strength within. We have selected five films for different occasions and moods — from the moment when you want to cry to the day when you are ready to smile again.
1. "Eat Pray Love" (2010)
Why to watch: to rediscover yourself when the meaning is lost.
After a painful divorce that leaves her feeling empty and lost, successful journalist Liz Gilbert decides to take a radical step. She leaves her seemingly prosperous life in New York and embarks on a year-long journey through three countries, each of which becomes a separate lesson for her. In Italy, she learns the art of enjoyment — the sweetness of idleness and the ability to embrace the joy of the moment without guilt. In India, within the walls of an ashram, she meets herself — calm and detached from external noise through meditation and attempts to gain spiritual discipline. Finally, in Indonesia, on the island of Bali, she finds a balance between these two poles — the ability to rejoice in every moment and inner work, as well as discovering new, healing forms of love and friendship. This film is a reminder that sometimes you need to completely dismantle your life in order to rebuild it the way you truly want. It inspires you to start small — with delicious food, new experiences, and attention to your true desires.
2. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003)
Why to watch: to distract yourself and believe in the irony of fate.
The plot revolves around a funny idea: ambitious journalist Andie must prove that she can make a man leave her in 10 days, while confident advertiser Ben must show that he can win over any girl in the same time frame. Their meeting is a clash of two opposites. The story charms from the very first moments with its signature New York wit and a plethora of awkward and funny situations. But the main thing the film offers the viewer during a period of emotional crisis is a light reminder of the irony of fate. It doesn’t weigh you down but entertains, allowing you to forget your worries for a couple of hours and believe that life can bring cheerful and romantic surprises, even when you least expect them.
3. "Under the Tuscan Sun" (2003)
Why to watch: the film helps to chase away sad thoughts about lost years.
The story is about how an unexpected divorce and a deep creative crisis simultaneously crash down on writer Frances, making her feel as if life has stopped. In an attempt to escape from pain and emptiness, she goes on a group tour of Tuscany — and finds not just temporary solace but a new calling. Impulsively, driven by a surge of despair and a glimmer of hope, Frances makes the unimaginable decision: she buys an old, dilapidated villa in a foreign country, not knowing the language and having no experience in renovation. This film shows how the most painful events can become a springboard for a new beginning. The doors of her former life have closed, but a window has opened into a sunny Italian garden, full of its own cares, problems, and joys. The film tells how true happiness can be built with your own hands, brick by brick.
4. "500 Days of Summer" (2009)
Why to watch: it allows you to understand that past relationships are not a fairy tale, but a lesson.
This is not a typical love story. The film honestly and unvarnishedly depicts the breakup of a relationship from both sides, shattering the myth of soulmates and a shared destiny. It helps to realize an important thought: often we fall in love not with a real person, but with our fantasy of them. The screenwriters and director cleverly play with chronology, frequently switching between happy and bitter moments from the relationship of Tom and Summer. This technique is a witty metaphor for how our memory of the past becomes chaotic, and pain and joy intertwine into a tight knot. The film's ending gives hope that after one story ends, a new, more genuine one can always begin.
5. "Bridesmaids" (2011)
Why to watch: for those times when you need to recharge with female energy.
"Bridesmaids" is the perfect recipe for emotional first aid, where the main remedies are friendship and fun. When one of the four inseparable friends, unhappy and heartbroken over her failed fiancé, shuts herself away in her grief, the others make a radical decision. They practically drag her out of her familiar reality and take her to the most unsuitable place for sadness on the planet — Las Vegas, to throw the promised bachelorette party. The film humorously and warmly shows that the happiest and strongest relationships in life often turn out to be not romantic, but those built over years of trust, support, and growing up together.
...Allow yourself to experience emotions — to cry over a sad scene, to laugh at a comedy, to dream about travels. Cinema is a safe space where you can find resonance with your feelings and take a small step forward. And after the movie, be sure to treat yourself to something pleasant — a cup of tea, a conversation with a friend, or simply silence.
