Fall is a whimsical time to wonder and see the leaves change. But what is better than an Autumn walk? Having chocolate milkshakes with your friends and watching just as toothsome movies is a personal favorite. Movies are a way to get closer to your friends as well as truly absorb the Fall aesthetic from the pleasure of your couch (preferably near a window).
These recommendations are my personal favorites to revisit each year, and I consider them classics of their respective genres. I highly suggest following these moves from September to November, as each movie will hold a mirror to the many faces that Autumn has.
1. Practical Magic (1998)
September has perhaps the darkest yet cozy atmosphere on this list. Based on Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, this spellbinding movie is all about family and sisterhood. When the sister’s parents died young, they were left in the care of their loving witchy aunts.
Gillian and her sister Sally grow up knowing that there is a family curse that is still intact. So when Gillian gets into a relationship she doesn’t want to be in, the sisters need to work together to break this relationship and the curse altogether. This American romantic fantasy is one that will lure you in and then charm you entirely if you love witches, sisterhood, and a curse that is unsolvable…until it isn’t.
2. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
This movie can only be properly watched in the peak of October as this peach is only ever fully ripe when near Halloween. As a stop-motion animation and live action, the handmade feel of this movie is perhaps what brings the most joy and comfort. This may be a children’s movie, isn’t Halloween all about reconnecting to a younger, more mischievous self?
James and the Giant Peach is originally a children’s novel written by Roald Dahl in 1961. Pitted around James’ discovery of this ginormous large peach by his house, he finds refuge in it from his horrible adopted English family. Along the way James finds friends inside, inhuman ones at that, and they end up on a worldly adventure.
3. Little Women (1994)
Notably a winter movie, Little Women (1994) is based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel published in 1868 and 1869. Arguably, the best time to see this classic film is in the very late-fall, just as the movie is partially set in. Now, the more recent version was not chosen because it doesn’t have the same sense of nostalgia as the 1994 version has (and it notably doesn’t have Winona Ryder).
Set in the 1860s, this coming-of-age classic novel is one about sisterhood, heartbreak, and familial love. The sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy grow up in a closely knitted household full of love, with their mother Marmee at home and their father away as a chaplain for the Union Army. During the American Civil War, the women experienced growing pains as they all changed and intertwined.
Have I said yet that these are some of my favorite movies of all time? These tales of family bring warmth to any Autumn day. Also, don’t forget to get a chocolate milkshake to sweeten up the already sugar-coated Fall list.
Read this article about Fall romance book recommendations!
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