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I’ve Compiled A List Of 35 Little-Known True-Story-Based Movies
I’ve always watched an awful lot of movies, you know? Before COVID, during COVID, and after COVID nothing has changed, either. Films have always been my painkiller, my opium. But the more marvelised the cinematic landscape becomes, the more I crave movies from all over the world that tell real-life stories.
And so, one day, while hosting a film chat on Zoom for my meetup group Safe Harbour, I remembered Bored Panda. I then went through the movies I had seen in recent years and decided to share the best flicks that tell – or at least claim to tell – true stories. Mind you, some of the movies on this list take some creative freedoms. Probably most of them. But seriously, what movie doesn’t? Still, every single one of them is not only entertaining, but will hopefully teach you something and will also leave a profound emotional effect on you.
And if you think I’ve missed out one, please let me know in the comments!
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1. Topsy Turvy
Gilbert & Sullivan’s names deserve to be just as famous as those of Beethoven or Andrew Lloyd Webber. Their immortal comic operas such as “The Pirates of Penzance”, “HMS Pinafore”, “Yeoman of the Guard” and “Gondoliers” have revolutionised musical theatre. This comedic drama tells the story of how their most famous collaboration, “The Mikado”, came about.
Today, their works are used in hundreds of shows and movies – I can’t count how many times Seth McFarlane has quoted them in “Family Guy”!
2. Argentina 1985
Image credits: www.laemmle.com
Most of us don’t know much about Argentinian history, but this gripping court drama gives you an insight into one of its darker chapters. A public prosecutor risks everything to bring war criminals to justice.
3. Bank of Dave
Image credits: www.tempoproductions.net
A feel-good British movie with that guy from the Marvel movies. A man from the North of England decides to establish a bank to help out his community, but the banking industry obviously isn’t mad about the idea. They do everything to make him fail. Featuring a guest appearance by Def Leppard.
4. Padman
Image credits: www.imdb.com
In India’s rural areas, sanitary products for women are not a common sight. A man sets out to break the taboo and make them widely available.
Culture shock guaranteed.
5. Farinelli
The lavishly produced life story of a castrato singer, which should be particularly interesting for music and history buffs.
6. Rose Island
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Back in the 1960s, an Italian engineer built a platform in neutral waters and founded his own nation – something I always wanted to do, but never had the ideas or resources for.
7. Middle Men
Image credits: www.imdb.com
In the early days of the internet, two drug addicts needed money and decided to sell smut online. They quickly wrote the code to be able to accept card payments, which is still used by major retailers to this day.
Think about this next time you put a new umbrella or bluetooth speaker in your virtual basket.
8. An Adventure in Time and Space
Image credits: www.imdb.com
BBC wants to launch a new educational show for the entire family, but nobody has an inkling just how big the thing would become. Meanwhile, William Hartnell, who plays the first doctor, struggles to preseve his mental balance.
9. October Sky
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Jake Gyllenhaal wants to build rockets, but the trouble is he lives in a mining town, and his conservative dad has other plans for him. A movie that is utterly delightful in its simplicity.
10. Toast
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Another talent nearly smothered by rigid upbringing. Nigel is growing up in the 1960s in a provincial English town. The one joy in his life is cooking, but his parents prefer beans and chips. This isn’t all the movie is about, but you get the gist.
11. Mesrine: Killer Instinct & Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1
Image credits: theamericanfrenchfilmfestival.org
One story split over two movies. Mesrine is a ganster, and not the nice kind. Seriously, no redeeming qualities there.
12. The Music of Silence
Image credits: www.imdb.com
The life story of Andrea Bocelli, the famous opera singer. Rotten Tomatoes gives is 0% against an audience score of 76%, and I wish I could say this sort of discrepancy is rather an exception, but it really isn’t.
13. The Program
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Tells the story of the Lance Armstrong scandal. I never cared enough and I still don’t, but his character is certainly an interesting one, and the movie is simply fun to watch.
14. The Notorious Betty Page
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Posing nude for magazines is fun, but being in this line of work tends to complicate your life – especially if you live in America of the 1950s…
15. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Image credits: www.imdb.com
The incredibly sad story of a man who became famous painting cats. Seriously, it’s sad. You have been warned.
16. Becoming Astrid
Image credits: www.filmaffinity.com
The Swedish children’s book author Astrid Lindgren had a rough start, but the movie is still a feel-good one. Well, more or less.
17. Good Vibrations
Image credits: www.tvguide.com
Terri is a DJ and decides to open a music store in Belfast of the 1970s. This one is not the most memorable title on this list, but it’s still a delightfully nostalgic trip into the past, that, I hope, you will find worth your while.
18. Shattered Glass
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Hayden Christensen plays a journalist that makes all his stories up.
Hayden has clearly taken acting classes since “Star Wars”, making you wonder why he couldn’t have done it before appearing in “Attack of the Clones”. Oh, well.
19. Blinded by the Light
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Javed, son of Pakistani parents, is a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, but his dad disapproves.
20. The Stanford Prison Experiment
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
A movie that contains so many episodes of injustice, you’re likely to hurl a glass against the wall or at least gnash your teeth every now and again.
21. I Am Woman
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Helen Reddy writes “I Am Woman” and becomes famous in an industry dominated by condescending men. The film isn’t as intense as the other ones on this list, but it’s just as memorable.
22. Borg McEnroe
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Two men have decided to make it their lives’ work to hit balls with rackets. Now, the time has come to find out which of them can do it better. But even if you (like me) know absolutely nothing about tennis, you can still enjoy this intense account of two men’s obsession.
A couple of centuries later, Borg would go on to give rise to an entire alien species, as documented in “Star Trek”.
23. Lion of the Desert
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Lybian tribal leader vs. Mussolini’s armies. A lavish war epic financed by Colonel Gaddafi, which is still surprisingly watchable after over 40 years. For decades, the movie remained banned in Italy for allegedly damaging the honour of the Italian army.
24. Woman in Gold
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Helen Mirren plays a Jewish woman who had to flee Austria during WWII. Now elderly and living in Los Angeles, she lets Ryan Reynolds talk her into fighting the Austrian government to reclaim a painting that used to belong to her family.
A word of warning: Ryan Reynolds does no wisecracking whatsoever.
25. Maudie
Image credits: www.imdb.com
The ever-enchanting Sally Hawkins plays an artist that suffers both from severe mental health problems and arthritis. She marries Ethan Hawke, who treats her rather poorly (even though he mellows at some point). This is as uplifting as it sounds, and although the movie is superb, stay away if you’re easily depressed.
26. Dalida
Image credits: www.imdb.com
This one is another superbly crafted downer. The titular Egyptian-born singer living in France quickly finds success, but happiness is fleeting. And just like with “Maudie”, if you’re easily depressed, don’t even think about watching it! (In fact, this one is much worse)
27. S&M Judge
Image credits: www.filmaffinity.com
How many Belgian films have you seen? (The question doesn’t apply if you you’re Belgian, of course.)
If you’re curious enough, here’s a candidate for you. It is about a judge that gets in trouble because he and his wife decide to spice up their sex life…
28. Red Joan
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Judy Dench spies for the Soviets.
29. Telstar: The Joe Meek Story
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Another British entry in the list. Joe Meek is a music producer struggling with debt, paranoia and depression. This isn’t as heavy as it sounds, but things do get rather drastic at some point.
30. Denial
Image credits: www.rottentomatoes.com
Rachel Weisz (the certainly better half of Daniel Craig) plays a Jewish professor for Holocaust studies who gets sued by the nasty Tom Wilkinson (RIP) for calling him a Holoaust denier in her books.
31. Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Image credits: www.imdb.com
A very little-known TV movie. Since early childhood, Kenneth enjoys acting. The problem is that he’s absolutely awful at it. And yet, he finds success with the “Carry On” movies while trying to suppress his homosexuality.
32. Shine
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Yet another musician biopic. OK, so this one was relatively well known when it came out (primarily thanks to Geoffrey Rush’s Oscar-winning performance), but it’s been almost 30 years, so not everyone wold have heard of it.
Rush plays a deeply troubled, mentally ill pianist, so definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.
33. Balloon
Image credits: www.filmaffinity.com
A family decides to flee East Germany. No points for guessing how they do it.
34. The Invisible Woman
Image credits: www.imdb.com
Charles Dicken’s wife has given him plenty of children, but there is no more love between them, if there’s ever been. He falls for a sexy young actress, but of course the Victorian morals are a force to be reckoned with. If anything, the movie reminds you to be glad you don’t live in the 19th century England.
35. Richard Jewell
Image credits: moviesanywhere.com
A Clint-Eastwood-directed movie that has remained relatively unnoticed. A well-meaning amusement park employee prevents a terrorist attack, but is then accussed of having planted the bomb himself.
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