If You Could Only Watch One Pixar Movie in Your Entire Life, Let It Be 'Soul'

Looking for a must-watch movie? That's a broad topic. I honestly can't think of a single movie that's an absolute can't-miss for everyone. Even though I'm a big movie fan, I don't think it's a big deal if someone never set foot in a cinema or watched a movie in his or her entire life. Movies are just one way to understand the world, after all. But let's narrow things down a bit and talk about Pixar, which recently broke its own box office record. If you could only watch one Pixar movie in your life – now that makes things a whole lot easier – it has to be "Soul" (2020).

Picture this: a middle school music teacher named Joe Gardner, who's been pretty mediocre for years, finally gets the chance to pursue his dream of performing with a famous musician at the best jazz club in New York. I could already imagine the series of events that would unfold next – he goes through ups and downs, screws things up, and either hits the mark or barely makes it through – but I never thought he'd fall to his death on his way home before even getting on stage. That's the opening scene of "Soul".

Honestly, this scene hit me like a bullet through my heart when I first watched it four years ago. I'd never felt so shocked and confused in a movie theater before. It's not that I haven't seen movies where the main character dies, but Joe's death is so unexpected, especially since it seems like such an uplifting animated movie, and the tragedy happens within the first 10 minutes.

Maybe it struck me so hard because I was in a really bad place, almost depressed, back then, like the lost souls in the movie, and was too fixated on my life goals to know how to live. I wanted to fix my teeth so I had to put on braces for nearly two years. At first, I was excited and looked forward to the results. Just like Joe, I thought my life would start anew once I got through it. But things didn't go as planned. During the process, I developed TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), and I wasn't sure if the braces caused it or made it worse. Once you start orthodontic treatment, you can't just put a stop to it because I had teeth pulled for it, and those gaps couldn't be left empty. I had to slow down my treatment to make sure the TMJ didn't get worse. I can talk about this calmly now because it's all passed. But I still remember how anxious and desperate I was then. I avoided socializing and photo-taking, especially photos of my teeth. All I could do was hope time would pass quickly.

"Soul" woke me up during that dark time. Yes, I was going through a tough orthodontic procedure, but did that mean I had to give up delicious food? Did I have to live cautiously and in fear while passively waiting for time to pass? What if I died the next second? Even if I was young, death doesn't care about age. In the movie, Joe still has a fantasy world to explore and struggle in, and he even gets a miraculous second chance. But beyond the screen, would ordinary beings like us enjoy such a privilege? Death doesn't discriminate; we could die at any moment. This simple and obvious fact is surprisingly easy to forget. And I didn't want to leave the world without having truly lived every second.

Then the pandemic hit, and the world went crazy. By the time things settled down, I had already taken off my braces. A year or two later, I found myself out of school and working. On the subway to and from work every day, I would mindlessly scroll through my phone and think about all the usual measures of success such as work performance, salary, and living environment. Until one day, it clicked in my mind — isn't this the subway scene from "Soul"? At that moment, I had an epiphany once again. I could die at any moment. But I don't want to die stuck in my chaotic thoughts without noticing the little things in life such as the weather. Is it sunny, cloudy, humid, or stuffy today? What did I just have for breakfast?

When nearly all narratives out there are preaching success, "Soul" reminds us that eating, walking, and looking up at the sky are the things that really matter.

On a side note, although my title is also inevitably cliché, I have to admit that I used to love search up topics like "Top X Movies to Watch in Your Lifetime," thinking that watching them all would make me feel fulfilled. But the real question is, after watching so many movies, have we really learned how to live our own lives well?