Comfort Watching and the Meaning of Joyful Sad

My comfort film and tv selections have a shared theme. They are typically melancholic, contain well-crafted characters, often feature a journey of some kind, and (strangely enough) have a shared color palette and aesthetic. I like things that make me cry from sadness and from joy. I want a full emotional arc--catharsis-- as well as satisfaction from a well-written plot. Hence the url for this blog "joyful sad." I don't want to be burdened by an excess of violence or depression--there must be meaning behind the choices made.

Here's my current list in no particular order:

1) Flowers (British tv show about the dysfunctional Flowers family and their struggles with mental illness, art, and each other)

2) Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events + the film A Series of Unfortunate Events (both are delightful adaptations of the book series by Lemony Snicket)

3) The Lord of the Rings trilogy (need I say more?)

4) The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (brilliant adaptation of the book with the same title-- features Sam Rockwell and Casey Affleck as the Ford brothers)

5) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty  (Ben Stiller stars and directs--beautiful soundtrack--wonderful story)

(screenshot from The Assassination of Jesse James... found via Pinterest)