Most people want to laze around during the summer. The blistering heat of the sun can sometimes be a drag, making staying at home the only sanctuary to ease the discomfort. Add in the hazy smog that covers Metro Cebu — which can even make you sick — and going out feels like a chore. If heading to the beach sounds too tiring and you have plenty of time with no plans, there are alternative ways to have quiet fun. You can watch amazing films that not only inspire you, but might just make you a better person through the art of cinema.
Watching films is the ultimate form of being intimately content with your own company. It is the best way to slow-max your life in a world that constantly demands friction. Have faith in your own taste; it doesn’t have to be a pretentious arthouse film. It can be a breezy summer flick driven by a repetitive meet-cute narrative, or that one movie where absolutely nothing happens and you just enjoy the passing time.
Here are some highly recommended films you can try watching while lazing around. They might just help cure that goldfish attention span and let you absorb the beauty of slow cinema:
1. “April Story” (1998) — Shunji Iwai
A quiet, beautifully shot slice-of-life film following a shy girl from the countryside who moves to Tokyo for university, exploring her feelings of isolation and the hidden romantic reason behind her move.
2. “An Elephant Sitting Still” (2018) — Hu Bo
A nearly four-hour masterpiece that intertwines the lives of four marginalized individuals in a depressed industrial Chinese city over a single day, all dreaming of escaping to see an elephant that simply sits still.
3. “Gummo” (1997) — Harmony Korine
A surreal, non-linear, and deeply provocative look at the chaotic, alienated lives of impoverished youth in a tornado-ravaged town in Ohio.
4. “Stalker” (1979) — Andrei Tarkovsky
A philosophical sci-fi journey where a guide leads two men through a treacherous, post-apocalyptic landscape known as the “Zone” to find a room rumored to grant a person’s deepest desires.
5. “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery” (2016) — Lav Diaz
An eight-hour black-and-white historical fantasy epic that weaves together the Philippine revolution against Spain, local mythology, and the harrowing search for the body of Andrés Bonifacio.
6. “One Million Yen Girl” (2008) — Yuki Tanada
A Japanese drama about a young woman who, wanting to avoid deep connections and outrun her past, makes a strict rule to pack up and move to a new town every time she saves up exactly one million yen.
7. “On the Beach at Night Alone” (2017) — Hong Sang-Soo
An introspective South Korean drama focusing on the emotional aftermath and deep conversations of an actress who retreats to a quiet coastal town after her affair with a married director is exposed.
8. “Fitzcarraldo” (1982) — Werner Herzog
An epic adventure about a fiercely determined rubber baron in Peru who attempts the seemingly impossible: hauling a massive, multi-ton steamship over a steep jungle hill to build an opera house.
Enjoy ‘wasted time’
Or, you can watch whatever you want. The point is to try engaging with long-form media and reclaim your attention span. Appreciate the beauty of films and how empowering it is to be devoured by the art itself. Right now, it’s time to slow down, learn new things, and enjoy “wasted” time. Because it truly isn’t wasted if it makes you feel something.
Lastly, the true reward of slow cinema isn’t found in a shocking plot twist or a fast-paced climax — it’s found in the quiet moments in between. It offers a rare kind of mental decompression, asking nothing of you but your presence. When we stop demanding constant stimulation, we allow these lingering, deliberate shots to speak volumes.
In a world that insists on rushing, choosing to watch a film that unapologetically takes its time is a quiet act of rebellion. So let the summer heat rage outside. Sink into the slowness, let the screen dictate the pace, and discover the profound beauty of simply letting a story unfold in your room.
