45 Inspiring True Stories of Resilience and Human Spirit in Film

The Danish Girl

2015 • 119 min • Budget $15M • Box office $64M

Drama

Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to pose for her portrait, and in the process, Einar discovers the person Gerda envisioned for her. He begins living as a woman named Lili Elbe. With Gerda's love and encouragement, Lili starts a…

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Troy

2004 • 163 min • Budget $175M • Box office $497M

War, Action, History

In 1250 B.C., during the late Bronze Age, tensions rise between two developing nations. Paris, a Trojan prince, persuades Helen, the Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus and travel with him to Troy. When Menelaus discovers his wife's…

7.2

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Ray

2004 • 152 min • Budget $40M • Box office $124M

Drama, Music

Ray Charles was born on a Florida sharecropping farm and lost his sight at age seven. Encouraged by his strong-willed mother to be self-reliant, he discovered his talent playing the piano. Performing throughout the South, the soulful singer built a…

7.4

7.7

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Into the Wild

2007 • 148 min • Budget $15M • Box office $56M

Adventure, Drama

In 1992, after graduating from Emory University as a high-achieving student and athlete, Christopher McCandless gives up everything. He donates his $24,000 savings to charity and travels by hitchhiking to Alaska, where he intends to live self-sufficiently in the wilderness.

7.8

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Good Luck Sam

2016 • 91 min

Comedy

Samir has invested significant time and money developing ski equipment for a Swedish Olympic athlete. When that venture falls through, his business partner and best friend proposes a solution: send Samir to represent Algeria at the Winter Olympics! Already financially…

5.5

5.9

Pope Joan

2009 • 149 min • Box office $28M

Drama, History, Romance

In 9th-century Germany, a woman of English descent born in Ingelheim assumes a male identity to advance within the Catholic Church hierarchy. She steadily climbs the ranks of the Vatican.

6.8

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The Magdalene Sisters

2002 • 119 min • Budget $5M • Box office $21M

Drama, History

In a Magdalene Sisters Asylum, three young Irish women face brutal abuse while desperately trying to hold onto hope.

7.4

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Philomena

2013 • 98 min • Budget $12M • Box office $100M

Drama

A woman embarks on a search for her son, who was separated from her as a child when she was compelled to enter a convent.

7.3

7.6

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+15

The African Doctor

2016 • 94 min

Comedy

1975. Doctor Seyolo Zantoko, who escaped the Congo's tyranny with his family, takes a job from the mayor of a small French town. He then faces challenges adapting to his new life and earning the trust of the town's prejudiced…

6.8

7.0

The Social Network

2010 • 121 min • Budget $40M • Box office $224M

Drama

In 2003, Harvard student and computer programmer Mark Zuckerberg develops an idea that evolves into Facebook, the world's largest social network. By 2009, Zuckerberg has become one of the youngest billionaires, but his rapid success brings unexpected challenges. He faces…

7.4

7.8

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Schindler's List

1993 • 195 min • Budget $22M • Box office $321M

Drama, History, War

This is the true story of Oskar Schindler, a businessman who saved over a thousand Jewish lives during World War II. He provided them work in his factory, effectively shielding them from the Nazis' atrocities and forced labor.

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Invictus

2009 • 134 min • Budget $60M • Box office $122M

Drama, History

Following apartheid's end, President Nelson Mandela recognizes deep racial and economic divisions within South Africa. Hoping to unite the country through sport, he inspires the nation's rugby team as they achieve a historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup…

7.2

7.3

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Coach Carter

2005 • 136 min • Budget $30M • Box office $76M

Drama, History

This is a true story about Ken Carter, the head basketball coach at Richmond High School. In 1999, he made national news when he decided to bench his undefeated team. His reason: the players weren't meeting academic standards.

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Hacksaw Ridge

2016 • 139 min • Budget $40M • Box office $175M

Drama, History, War

During the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, Desmond T. Doss, an American Army medic, refuses to take a life on religious grounds. He becomes the first conscientious objector in U.S. History to be awarded the Congressional Medal of…

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The Siege of Jadotville

2016 • 108 min

War, Drama, Thriller

In the early 1960s, Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan commands his troops in a tense standoff against French and Belgian mercenaries in the Congo.

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The Sun Assassinated

2004 • 85 min

After Algeria gained independence in 1962, poet and radio host Jean Sénac remained in his homeland. A decade later, the authorities monitored the outspoken artist, whose poems resonated with a wide audience and whose radio show was popular with young…

5.0

6.5

The Wave

2008 • 107 min • Budget $7M • Box office $32M

Drama, Thriller

During a lesson on government, a teacher discusses various systems with his students. Disinterested in the topic, the students find the repeated discussion of National Socialism tedious and dismiss the possibility of dictatorship in contemporary Germany. To demonstrate the susceptibility…

7.5

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Amazing Grace

2006 • 117 min • Box office $32M

Drama

This is the true story of William Wilberforce and his determined fight to abolish the British slave trade. He faces strong opposition, but his clergyman encourages him to persevere.

6.9

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The Experiment

2001 • 120 min • Box office $13M

Drama, Thriller

Twenty volunteers sign up for a university experiment offering good pay. The study involves simulating aggressive behavior within an artificial prison setting. A journalist suspects a deeper story and infiltrates the group. Participants are randomly assigned as prisoners or guards.…

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17+

Temple Grandin

2010 • 108 min

Drama, History

This is a film about Temple Grandin, an autistic American woman who has become a leading expert in improving how livestock are treated.

7.8

8.2

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The Sapphires

2012 • 103 min • Budget $9M • Box office $20M

Comedy, Drama

In 1968, four gifted Aboriginal Australian women find themselves performing for US troops in Vietnam as the singing group The Sapphires. Through their music, they discover themes of love, friendship, and the realities of war.

6.8

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Einstein and Eddington

2008 • 90 min

History, Drama, TV Movie

During World War I, brilliant physicist Albert Einstein and English scientist Arthur Eddington develop an unexpected friendship. This collaboration ultimately results in the creation of the theory of relativity.

6.8

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A Beautiful Mind

2001 • 135 min • Budget $58M • Box office $316M

Drama, Romance

John Forbes Nash Jr. Rises to fame as a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, poised for international recognition after a major discovery. However, accepting a classified cryptography assignment draws him into a shadowy conspiracy. His life spirals into turmoil, forcing…

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Waffle Street

2015 • 86 min

Drama, Comedy

This is the true story of Jimmy Adams, a former Vice President at a $30 billion hedge fund who unexpectedly loses his job and takes a job as a waiter at a waffle shop. Working the chaotic, round-the-clock diner shifts,…

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Walk the Line

2005 • 136 min • Budget $28M • Box office $186M

Drama, Music, Romance

This film chronicles the life of country music icon Johnny Cash, starting with his childhood on an Arkansas cotton farm and following his ascent to fame at Sun Records in Memphis. There, he recorded alongside fellow rising stars like Elvis…

7.5

7.8

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Dog Day Afternoon

1975 • 124 min • Budget $1M • Box office $56M

Crime, Drama, Thriller

This true story follows John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile, two men who attempt a bank robbery in Brooklyn as a rebellion against society. Their bold plan quickly turns into a tense hostage situation and standoff with police. As the film…

7.8

8.0

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Hotel Rwanda

2004 • 122 min • Budget $17M • Box office $38M

Drama, History, War

Based on true events, the film is set in Rwanda during the 1990s, a time when over a million Tutsis were murdered in a genocide largely ignored internationally. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina uses his hotel to shelter over a thousand…

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8.1

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Erin Brockovich

2000 • 131 min • Budget $52M • Box office $256M

Drama

A mother of three, twice divorced, discovers a wrong and decides to fight back against those responsible, ultimately succeeding – with a little confidence. Working for a lawyer, she finds medical records pointing to a pattern of illness in a…

7.4

7.5

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Valkyrie

2008 • 121 min • Budget $75M • Box office $200M

Drama, Thriller, War

Following injury in Africa during World War II, Nazi Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns to Germany and joins the Resistance. He participates in a risky plot to establish a new government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. As the plan progresses, von…

6.9

7.1

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Seven Years in Tibet

1997 • 136 min • Budget $70M • Box office $131M

Adventure, Drama, History

During World War II, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer travels to the Himalayas in 1939 seeking adventure. His plans change drastically when war breaks out and he is captured. While imprisoned, Harrer encounters the young Dalai Lama in Tibet. The Dalai…

7.2

7.1

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Burnt Money

2000 • 125 min

Romance, Crime

In 1965 Argentina, the film chronicles the intense relationship between two men who fall in love and then become notorious bank robbers. Following a violent heist, they are forced to flee as the police close in. Trapped, the men must…

6.7

7.0

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Imperium

2016 • 109 min • Box office $302K

Crime, Drama

FBI agent Nate Foster, eager to prove himself, goes undercover to dismantle a radical white supremacy terrorist group. The promising analyst struggles to maintain his true values while living a fabricated life within the dangerous world of white supremacy. Based…

6.5

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J. Edgar

2011 • 137 min • Budget $35M • Box office $84M

Drama, Crime, History

For nearly 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover shaped American law enforcement, inspiring both fear and respect. Yet, hidden from public view were secrets that threatened to shatter his reputation, end his career, and destroy his life.

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Bonnie and Clyde

1967 • 111 min • Budget $2M • Box office $70M

Crime, Drama

During the 1930s Great Depression, this drama follows Bonnie Parker, a restless waitress seeking excitement, and Clyde Barrow, an ex-convict haunted by his past. Their relationship intensifies as they turn to crime, traveling the country while stealing cars and robbing…

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The Great Debaters

2007 • 126 min • Budget $15M • Box office $30M

Drama

This is the true story of a gifted, politically outspoken debate coach who empowers a team of underestimated African-American college students. Under his guidance, they rise to become a formidable force, challenging the intellectual dominance of their Harvard counterparts.

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Cool Runnings

1993 • 98 min • Budget $14M • Box office $154M

Comedy, Adventure, Drama

This feel-good sports comedy follows an ambitious Jamaican sprinter who is wrongly disqualified from the Olympics. Disappointed but determined, he assembles Jamaica's first bobsled team. He recruits a washed-up former coach carrying his own problems, and together they begin an…

7.0

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Beloved Sisters

2014 • 180 min

The story centers on the complex relationships of the 19th-century writer Friedrich Schiller, caught between two sisters. One sister is his wife, while the other is tasked with writing his biography. This creates a tangled love triangle between them.

5.7

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Maudie

2016 • 115 min • Box office $6M

Drama, Romance

Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis develops a romantic relationship with a fishmonger while living with him as his housekeeper.

7.7

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All Three of Us

2015 • 102 min

Drama, Comedy

Following the upheaval in Iran, an Iranian family seeks refuge in France. This is their story, navigating a tumultuous journey marked by political change, revolution, imprisonment, violence, and tragedy. Yet, amidst it all, it’s surprisingly funny.

7.5

7.2

The Last Emperor

1987 • 163 min • Budget $23M • Box office $44M

Drama, History

This historical drama chronicles the remarkable life of Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China. From a privileged upbringing in the Forbidden City, his life takes a dramatic turn. Abdication, hardship, exploitation by the Japanese, and eventual anonymity as a…

7.6

7.7

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The Gathering Storm

2002 • 94 min • Budget $12M

Drama, History

This is a love story that offers a close look at the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill during a difficult, yet often overlooked, period in their lives.

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7.4

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The Way Back

2010 • 133 min • Budget $30M • Box office $24M

Drama, Adventure, History

A diverse group of prisoners escapes from a Siberian gulag during World War II. They begin a dangerous journey through five countries, fighting for freedom and trying to survive.

7.0

7.3

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Chasing Mavericks

2012 • 116 min • Box office $7M

Drama

Surfer Jay Moriarity attempts to surf the famous Mavericks break in Northern California.

7.0

7.1

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Princess Kaiulani

2010 • 130 min • Budget $9M • Box office $771K

Drama

In 19th-century Hawaii, Princess Ka'iulani, raised in England, is committed to protecting her people from powerful American businessmen. Sent to England as a child by her father, she returns to Hawaii as a political force, fighting to keep her throne…

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