The Phoenix bird who rises from its ashes to begin life anew is a universal myth and symbol. The story resonates on a very deep level because in each life, we must do the same. New Years is a chance for intentional renewal through deep introspection and intentional action. We are resilient by nature and this month, we feature movies about new beginnings. The staff at Oliver Wolcott Library wish you a joyful year of self-discovery and meaningful connection.

A Beautiful Mind
By Howard, Ron
2018-09 - Studio Distribution Servi
9781417008674 Check Our Catalog

Awards:
Academy Awards (2000)

The true story of a troubled Princeton mathematician who is able to overcome years of suffering from schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize. …More

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
By Scorsese, Martin
2004-08 - Warner Home Video
9780790758329 Check Our Catalog

A hard-luck widow heads west with her son and meets a rancher she could live with. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Best actress Oscar for Burstyn. …More

Fried Green Tomatoes
By Avnet, Jon
2016-06 - Studio Distribution Servi
9781417006045 Check Our Catalog

An elderly woman tells a middle-aged woman the story of two young women among bigotry and men in the 1930s South. …More

Forrest Gump
By Zemeckis, Robert
2017-01 - Paramount-Sds
0032429256911 Check Our Catalog

Good Will Hunting
By Sant, Gus Van
2015-01 - Lions Gate Home Entertainment
0031398134602 Check Our Catalog

Will Hunting (Matt Damon, who also co-scripts) is a teenage tearaway who works as a janitor at America's top university. He writes the solution to a maths problem on a classroom blackboard, so impressing Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) that when Will is arrested for brawling, the professor arranges to have his sentence suspended if Will agrees to study with him. Will begins dating Skylar …More

Groundhog Day
By Ramis, Harold
2015-09 - Sony Pictures Home Ent
9781424884872 Check Our Catalog

February 2nd keeps repeating for a cynical TV weatherman sent to watch the groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pa. …More

The Judge
By Dobkin, David
2016-10 - Studio Distribution Servi
0883929410767 Check Our Catalog

In "The Judge," Downey stars as big city lawyer Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town's judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before. …More

Minari
By Chung, Lee Isaac
2021-05 - Lions Gate-Sphe
0031398326564 Check Our Catalog

A Korean-American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they find the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home. …More

Pursuit of Happyness
By Muccino, Gabriele
2012-01 - Sony Pictures Home Ent
9781424817481 Check Our Catalog

Chris Gardner is a bright and talented, but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for …More

Rocky Balboa
By Stallone, Sylvester
Other Columbia Pictures Corporation
2011-05 - Sony Pictures Home Ent
9781424828586 Check Our Catalog

The greatest underdog story of our time is back for one final round of the Academy Award-winning Rocky franchise. Former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa steps out of retirement and back into the ring, putting himself against a new rival in a dramatically different era. After a virtual boxing match declares Rocky Balboa the victor over current champion Mason …More

Room
By Abrahamson, Lenny
2016-10 - Lions Gate-Sphe
0031398234616 Check Our Catalog

Awards:
Golden Globe Awards (2015)

After a life stuck in a tiny, windowless room (which his mother simply refers to as "Room"), the young boy Jack and his mother, Ma, decide to break out and discover the real world. This will prove more difficult than either one of them has ever suspected, leaving them dealing with completely new surroundings in a much larger and more complicated sphere than they've ever experienced before. Join …More