January 1st isn’t all that different from Sunday. It’s that moment halfway between everything and nothing, in which you are still with one foot in the celebrations but with the other already involved in things to do. As if the confusion wasn’t already enough, the start of the new year always brings with it, punctual like a Japanese train, the weight of the infamous good intentions that float above our heads like a sword of Damocles made of self-conviction, among those who promise to go to the gym, those who suddenly pretend to want to learn to play a new instrument – most often a ukulele – and those who swear they will stop procrastinating forever. More often than not, however, those same resolutions are postponed until the following year. And here we are again, identical to how we left off.
But if for a moment we put aside the anxiety of getting back on the road and still enjoy the essence of the holidays, we can let the films inspire us and speak for us. Because if we often talk about titles that embody the spirit of Christmas, we talk much less about films that bring with them the spirit of New Year’s Day, if we want to call it that. That mixture of trepidation, in short, fear of starting again, desire for change and desire to get back into the game. And when there are the right films, good intentions can wait.
Groundhog Day (1993)
The plot of I’m starting over it has nothing to do with the holiday season and even less with the first of the year. The original title – Groundhog day – explains it better than its translation, given that the action takes place on February 2nd – Groundhog Day – when the meteorologist Phil Connors, played by Bill Murraybecomes trapped in a time loop that forces him to incessantly relive the same day in the town of Punxsutawney. Yet, this very same premise makes it so one of the most suitable films to watch at the beginning of the new year.
In fact, Phil starts out cynical, self-centered and impatient, but the infinite repetition forces him to do what good intentions (always) try to suggest: stop, look in the mirror, recognize his mistakes and try to change. But for real, without putting it off any longer. In their journey they learn to live with failure, clumsy attempts, small progress and a slow, concrete transformation. The film thus becomes a perfect metaphor – more skeptical than saccharine – of a new beginning.
The Hidden Thread (2017)
Here New Year’s Eve is not a detail, but one of the most iconic elements of his imagination. But let’s take a step back first: The hidden threadwritten and directed by Paul Thomas Andersonimmerses Daniel Day-Lewis in the role of Reynolds Woodcock, famous stylist of London in the 1950s, accustomed to controlling every fold of his world. The Arrival of Alma, played by Vicky Kriepsin a certain sense undermines that perfect system and opens a new balance made of mutual obsessions and fascination.
One of the most memorable sequences takes place right after a frenetic New Year’s Eve party, with Woodcock walking through a hall full of masks and costumes, to the melancholic notes of Auld Lang Syne. But let’s face it: the New Year’s Day excuse is actually just an opportunity to catch up on this film, among the most praised of his yearwith six Oscar nominations and a win for costume design.
Soul (2020)
Souldirected by Pete Docter and co-directed by Kemp Powers, is one of those films that can speak to everyone, adults and children. Released directly to Disney+ in 2020, with a voice cast including Jamie Foxx e Tina Fey in the original version (e Neri Marcorè e Paola Cortellesi for the Italian one), has gone a bit quiet compared to more celebrated Pixar titles such as Inside Outbut his message fits perfectly with what many are looking for at the beginning of a new year (and beyond): find your place in the world. Or, as they call it in the film, your own spark.
Soul in fact, it follows the story of Joe Gardner, a music teacher who dreams of a career as a jazz pianist and who, just when he gets the opportunity he has always waited for, ends up in a coma and finds himself in the Ante-World, a place where souls must find their “spark” before going to Earth. Here he meets 22, a cynical and disillusioned soul, and their journey – made of mistakes, attempts, involuntary body swaps and sudden discoveries – becomes a reflection on the meaning of life and the importance of appreciating what we often take for granted. And start 2026 with an animated film that reminds us of the importance of small things It’s not a bad idea at all.
New Year’s Evil (1980)
Yes, we know: the new year should be synonymous with renewal, good energy and everything in between. But you don’t have to take yourself so seriouslyespecially if you belong to the category of horror lovers. In this case, the perfect title to recover during New Year’s Eve is New Year’s Evila 1980 slasher written and directed by Emmett Alston.
The story follows a radio host who, during the live broadcast of her New Year’s Eve special, begins to receive increasingly disturbing phone calls from a mysterious killer. The man promises something very simple and very disturbing: to kill someone at the stroke of midnight, moving from one time zone to another as in a dizzying macabre countdown. A small cult slasher perfect for those who want to start the year with a black smile. After all, our New Year’s Eve can never get any worse than this. Or at least we hope.
Sex and The City (2008)
Good intentions can wait, especially if we are welcomed by our old friends (or girlfriends, in this case) and more than one Cosmopolitan. The film of Sex and the Cityreleased in 2008 and directed by Michael Patrick King, takes up exactly that world left three years earlier with the series finale, bringing back to the screen Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis e Cynthia Nixon in one of the most complicated moments in the story between Carrie and Mr Big. Indeed, perhaps the worst.
A promised marriage that derails, a broken heart that starts to beat in a disorderly way again and a succession of bad decisions, second thoughts and small disasters capable of reminding those watching from the sofa how messed up life can be even when everything seems clear cut. It is a perfect film to watch as a couple, as a family, between friends or between friends, because in 2026 pretend that there is still someone who doesn’t love Sex and the City it is no longer credible.
Passionate about new and old media and an evolving scholar of over-the-top multimedia services, I write primarily about the big and small screen and environmental sustainability.
After taking my first steps as a PR Consultant for Prime Video, I moved to the other side of the “stage”, embracing the world of journalism. I have written, among other things, about cinema for Sky TG24, of innovation for Innovando News and current affairs for the Corriere del Trentino, and then landed in the world of Hearst.
In my ideal life The Office is on loop, I am surrounded by animals and the Dolomites are the backdrop. Gen Z, I am a Millennial in everyday life: eternally nostalgic, I pretend to know how to use TikTok, but I have never abandoned paper diaries.
