As of next Tuesday, I will be living in the eternal city’s lovelier, northern cousin– Florence. Now that I have a place to live and a visa in transit, I have time to numb my fears and ignore any and all anxieties about living abroad with some good old cinema therapy. So, here’s a foolproof guide to curating the perfect, personal Leaving Home Watchlist, that may help life’s big moves.

The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) – One that gets you excited about leaving home.

Though I’m not being paid to collect Jude Law from the fictitious Italian coastal town of Mongibello (modelled on Italy’s own Atrani) – I can’t even get college to pay me to go abroad! – The Talented Mr Ripley’s dreamy montage of trains, piazzas, cafes, a bikinied Gwyneth Paltrow, Rome, Jude Law’s brutal murder (but against the backdrop of the crystal clear Tyrrhenian Sea), is selling Italy to me. If Andrew Scott can speak broken Italian in Netflix’s 2024 adaption Ripley, why can’t I? Those returning to Cambridge this year (imagine!) might instead find that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) captures the giddy excitement of starting a new academic year. Else, try Brideshead Revisited (1981) with its glamorous depiction of Oxbridge living as an antidote for those back to school blues.

“ignore any and all anxieties about living abroad with some good old cinema therapy”

Paddington 2 (2017) – One that reminds you of Home.

Though I rue the day the Academy snubbed Hugh Grant, robbing him of his Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Paddington 2, I adore this film for its picturesque (incredibly idealised) version of London Town where Paddington Bear gambols through Primrose Hill and Richard Ayoade appears in court. Heralding from North London myself (rah), I feel my heart obnoxiously swell watching Paddington pad down Little Venice, thinking God, that’s a 20 minute walk from me! For my New Zealand born mother, it’s Peter Jackson’s infamous psychological thriller Heavenly Creatures (1994) depicting a brutal murder committed by two young Christchurch schoolgirls that soothes her own homesick soul when that twelve thousand mile gap feels particularly wide. Complimentary or otherwise, watching a film or TV show set in your hometown conjures a certain nostalgia, perhaps providing comfort when home seems that bit further away.

“procrastination is an inevitable part of the leaving home process”

Crashing (2016) – One you binge-watch while ignoring all other commitments.

For the avoidant of personalities, there’s nothing a cheeky Channel 4 miniseries can’t solve. Whether it be packing, admin, answering emails, texts or your mother calling you down for dinner, procrastination is an inevitable part of the leaving home process. There’s just so. much. to. do. I suggest Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s excellent Crashing. What else were you going to do with those two hours? Pack up your life? Apply for a visa? Answer your emails, text and/or mother? Viewers looking for a slightly longer bed rot may be interested in We Are Lady Parts (2021) or Derry Girls (2018).

Sex and the City (1998) – One that motivates you to pack.

Though Ripley (2024) may have given me a taste for that Italian dolce far niente (‘the sweetness of doing nothing’ for those of you not studying Italian ab initio), there comes a time when enough is enough – quando è troppo è troppo – and you simply need to start packing. While students returning to Uni may feel galvanised by Jack Whitehall’s Fresh Meat (2011) that depicts Uni living and all its quirks, Sex and the City and its fashion has become the much needed kick up the backside motivating me to comb through my own decidedly less interesting wardrobe and get packing.

So, I’m leaving home, you very well may be leaving home. Here’s my watchlist, what’s on yours?