7 Films To Work On Emotional Intelligence

Cinema, which so many people like, can be a valuable resource when it comes to identifying emotions and learning to manage them. For this reason, we offer you a list that contains some of the best films to work on emotional intelligence, which are also quite interesting for all kinds of tastes and profiles.

Before presenting them, it is pertinent to clarify that not all films are suitable for such purposes. That said, what should a movie have to help us work on emotional intelligence?

The most essential thing is that it is able to “move” something inside the person who sees it, either because it feels identified by the main character, or because it has empathized with him.

Movies to work on emotional intelligence

With this selection of films to work on emotional intelligence, a person can be helped to reflect on the emotions of the characters that, well understood, can also help us to make a deep reflection on our own emotions. Either by identification or empathy.

How to Train Your Dragon (2019), by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois

This is an animated film that tells the story of friendship that is created between a young Viking named Hiccup and a dragon that, until that moment, was considered an enemy to the people of the village.

In this film you can work on emotional intelligence through values ​​such as empathy, friendship and tolerance. These are reflected in the special relationship established between the boy and the wounded dragon, who establish a friendship capable of overcoming all kinds of vicissitudes.

In search of happiness (2007), by Gabriele Muccino

Based on a true story, it tells the story of Chris Gardner, a man who invests all he has to buy portable bone density scanners to sell to doctors. However, he fails and finds himself bankrupt with his young son’s only company. However, and still abandoned by his partner, he never thinks of giving up.

With this film you can work on emotions such as courage in the face of emptiness and loneliness; the urge to overcome all kinds of obstacles that arise ; the need for company; and the determination to fight for oneself and for those we love.

Better… Impossible (1997), by James L. Brooks

According to many people, this is one of the funniest films of the last decades, but also one of the most interesting. In it, we meet Melvin, a moody writer who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and writes romantic novels for women.

Melvin, masterfully played by Jack Nicholson, lives an initiatory journey that he would have considered unthinkable to discover. During the plot, topics such as sensitivity, empathy towards others, love and the fruit of work on interpersonal relationships are presented.

The indomitable Will Hunting (1998), by Gus Van Sant

Curiously, the script for this film was the final work of the protagonists, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. In this movie, we meet a boy with serious social and educational problems who, despite them, is a math genius.

Throughout the film, we observe a change in the rebellious attitude of the protagonist, who receives the help of a therapist who, in this case, will be the one who guides him in managing his emotions and feelings.

Amélie (2001), by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

With tinges of magical realism, this film narrates the adventures of a girl different from her age. In this case, what makes it different from the others, instead of representing an integration problem, becomes an advantage.

Amélie wants everyone around her to find happiness. To do this, through his imagination, he builds a space in which positive emotions and enthusiasm prevail. This attitude will help both her and those around her to fight their fears and insecurities.

The Mechanics of the Heart (2014), by Mathias Malzieu

Based on a book by the director himself, who is also a musician and singer, this film shows us the fantastic story of a boy who survives thanks to a cuckoo clock that supplants his heart.

Through the protagonist, who cannot touch the clock that replaces his heart, we find possibilities to work on the control of anger, love and the repression of feelings.

The Tenenbaums (2002), by Wes Anderson

We end this tour with one of the coolest films by director Wes Anderson. In it, we meet an atypical family that, beyond their disunity, has to fight through their unusual abilities in a world incomprehensible to them.

In this film we can work on issues such as emotionality in divorce, love, envy or apathy in the family. During the film, we meet an absent father, impossible loves and sentimental wounds that never close.

In short, any of these films to work on emotional intelligence can be a good ally for your own use, but also to help other people learn to better manage their emotions.