10 Inspirational Movies That Are Based On True Events

Typically one would define inspirational movies with the adjectives heartwarming, stimulating and/or influential. Inspirational movies belong to various genres and decades. The only thing constant is that these movies are creatively so stimulating, you are overwhelmed and deeply inspired.

For this list, we decided to do a compilation of movies based on true events, besides being inspirational. Some of these movies are comical and heartwarming, both. Some will creatively stimulate you. Some will inspire you to do better with the one life that you have. All of these movies are based on true events, or inspired by true events. Here we go.

10 The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network is written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher. It is the biographical tale of Mark Zuckerberg. He is the inventor of social media giant Facebook. What’s funny and ironic about the movie is Mark Zuckerberg was socially clumsy, yet he came up with the idea of a social network. Since Mark was socially inept, he came up with the idea of a virtual social space.

The Social Network lives up to its pre-release fame and its post-release success. It’s a wonderful look at the then world’s youngest billionaire. Facebook evolved into a tech-giant from a social network, but the movie continues to be sharp and hard-hitting. You need to do something substantial- in this case, taking the entire social experience of college and putting it online. Bravo, Mark Zuckerberg.

9 The Danish Girl (2015)

The Danish Girl is a biographical drama based on the life of Danish painter Lili Elbe. Lili is portrayed by Eddie Redmayne. It earned the actor an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Before she was Lili, she went by the name of Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener. Alicia Vikander plays wife, Gerda Wegener.

Although Lili Elbe didn’t survive the operation, The Danish Girl is a heartbreaking tale of acceptance and love. Alicia Vikander as Gerda Wegener is the life partner that most of us dream for. She stands by Lili through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, for better and for worse.

8 Catch Me if You Can (2002)

Catch Me if You Can is a cat and mouse biographical tale of an imposter and an FBI agent. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the con artist Frank W. Abagnale Jr. while FBI Agent Carl Hanratty is portrayed by Tom Hanks. The movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Jeff Nathanson.

Some people are born into privileged families, some make it big with their intelligence and con artistry. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. is one such example. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty is the epitome of perseverance and resilience. He doesn’t give up till he catches the con artist. Before Frank W. Abagnale Jr. turned 21, he made it to FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List. He became the youngest person ever to do so. A cheque forger, a doctor, an airline pilot, Catch Me if You Can deals perfectly with the theme of love for one’s duty.

7 Erin Brockovich (2000)

Erin Brockovich is the biographical and a heartwarming docudrama of a law clerk who uncovers the industrial poisoning of a city’s water supply by Pacific Gas and Electric. She digs deep into the doings of Pacific Gas and Electric enterprise, to publicize disturbing truths about the same.

Erin Brokovich helps win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit paid by the company, simultaneously unearthing the cover-up. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, led by Julia Roberts, the movie is a perfect example of rising to the occasion, taking control of one’s life and helping those who best need it.

6 The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Pursuit of Happyness is Chris Gardner’s inspiring tale. His wife leaves him, he’s rendered homeless and penniless.

It tells us as long as one chooses to pursue their dreams, the world is their oyster. In wake of personal tragedies, Chris Gardner takes an unpaid internship in a brokerage firm, memorizes numbers like no other, holds his son’s hand, offers his boss $5 dollars. All this while being broke. Today, Chris Gardner describes himself as an entrepreneur, a single parent and the author of the ‘Pursuit of Happyness.’ We loved this gut-wrenching and soul-stirring father-son drama, you will too.

5 The Theory of Everything (2014)

Stephen Hawking’s biographical tale about possibilities. The Theory of Everything is a strong reminder that love and life take their own course, tragedies occur, but one must never give up on what one’s supposed to do. Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones’s finest, The Theory of Everything is every bit mesmerizing as its title.

Eddie Redmayne picked up an Academy Award for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking. It is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary person and his wife, Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones).

4 Awakenings (1990)

Awakenings is the real-life story of Dr. Oliver Sacks (fictional Dr. Malcolm Sayer), the doctor who works on patients suffering from encephalitic lethargica. This particular group of patients became victims of the sleeping-sickness/encephalitis lethargica epidemic that hit the world after World War I. Awakenings stars Robert De Niro as Leonard Lowe (catatonic patient) and Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer in the lead roles.

It wasn’t until 1969 that this group of patients came to life. All because of the efforts of Dr. Oliver Sacks who administered the then-new drug L-DOPA into them. Awakenings is a gripping tale based on Dr. Oliver Sacks’ memoir by the same name.

3 The Help (2011)

The Help is a historical (civil-rights-era Mississippi) drama about the racial prejudices faced by the Black maids of Jackson, Mississippi. It is inspired by Kathryn Stockett’s book by the same name. It traces the difficult lives of women Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) and Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) who work for the whites. Skeeter, the central white woman, writes their account into a book. The movie also features gripping performances by Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, and Jessica Chastain.

If you can look beyond the white-savior narrative, The Help is a good choice to understand defiance, resistance, race-education.

2 The Pianist (2002)

The Pianist is an account of the Jewish holocaust by director Roman Polanski. It is a biographical war drama, at the center of which stands Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman. The Pianist is a classical tale of survival, suffering, and endurance. It is an account of sufferance of one section of humanity caused by the other. A tale of how hatred drives people to kill, a lesson for our tomorrows.

Adrien Brody won an Academy Award for Best Actor his performance as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist. His Oscar-winning speech for the same is as touching and soulful as the movie is. It won him a standing ovation, twice.

1 Schindler’s List (1993)

Schindler’s List is by far the most horrific and emotionally exhaustive holocaust drama detailing the persecution of Jews in Poland by the Nazis. With a star cast featuring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall, watching Schindler’s List is an experience that will stay with you forever. The movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian.

Austrian industrialist Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) saved countless Jewish men and women employed in his factory after seeing their persecution by the regime. Schindler’s List is written brilliantly and executed with equal brilliance. It is the black and white visuals that make the movie what is it. The artistic choice emboldens the impact of the movie, deeply preserving the actual feel of the World War II era.

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