Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I’m happy now…because I love you. – Bill Murray as Phil in Groundhog Day.
Caregivers seeking rest from the challenges of work have an appealing option. I call them comfort movies. These are the films that wrap us in the peculiar enchantment of their story-telling thereby offering respite from the hard realities of our work. We all have our favorites. And the way you know which are yours is to consider how many times you can see a given film and still enjoy it.
Some of my top choices include classics like Hitchcock’s "Rear Window" (see photo) or Frank Capra’s "It’s a Wonderful Life," both of them starring Jimmy Stewart. Sure, Jimmy’s got a broken leg in "Rear Window"…
But this also means that he’s home from work all day in the middle of the summer. What could be more delicious than the unfolding murder story he views through his binoculars across the courtyard? And who could be more delectable than his companion, Grace Kelly? Through Stewart’s rear window, we relax with a couple who sleeps out on their balcony, enjoy a young woman practicing her dancing, laugh at a newly married pair and a experience the poignancy of the life of a "Miss Lonely Hearts."
I like Danny Rubin’s "Groundhog Day" because it’s so much more than a funny movie. Once you realize the notion that Bill Murray’s character is trapped not in prison, but inside the same day, you gain the opportunity to watch Murray commit every one of the mortal (and a few of the venial) sins in an effort to escape – and to win the hand of the astonishingly beautiful Andie MacDowell. Along the way, Murray encounters a charming array of folks including the funniest characterization of an insurance agent (played by the brilliant Stephen Tobolowsky) that has ever blessed the silver screen. How Murray’s protagonist finally succeeds is one of the great lessons of any movie; and is not unlike the message of "It’s a Wonderful Life."
But none of us wants to relax to a message movie. That’s why great movie makers are so good at dressing their stories in the kind of atmosphere we love to savor from the comfort of our living rooms. We feel the heat of "Rear Window" without having to actually sweat. We soar with Bill Murray as he drives a truck off a cliff without experiencing any of the consequences. We walk through snowy streets (actually made, reportedly, with painted corn flakes) with Jimmy Stewart.
This sense of atmosphere is why I love to ease back in the presence of Bogart and Bacall in "The Big Sleep."(left) The story has never mattered to me as much as those great old cars, or the Venetian-blinds-filtered light, or Bogart in the phone booth trying to make a deal, or Bacall sitting on the edge of a table fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
All the great film noir movies, from "The Maltese Falcon" to "Double Indemnity," offer the same gift of atmosphere. Movies can be a beautiful place to escape. The experience may not be as deep and continuing as immersion in a good book. But the visual and musical delights offer special gifts.
Lots of people complain that Americans watch too much television. For me, great movies aren’t "television." They invite us into a magic land where, for a time, we live for a couple of hours with stars who feel like old friends. We know it’s all pretend. And we love it.
-Erie Chapman
What are the films you find the most relaxing?
Journal of Sacred Work 
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