Did you notice that lots of the movies nominated for the 2019 Academy Awards had something in common: They're based on true stories. Even the scandalous, power-infused lesbian love triangle in The Favourite may have actually happened. Of the five nominees for Best Actor, only one (Bradley Cooper's Jackson Maine) is fictional.
Clearly, Hollywood loves to take events that have already happened, then make them a bit more cinematic – more funny, entertaining or artful than they actually were. These movies are like real life, just better.
Netflix has a tremendous offering of films based on true stories too. Some of them cover absolutely extraordinary moments in human history, others mine ordinary lives for inspiration, like three-time Oscar winner Roma.
True stories make for great movies – but let's just be happy that not all movies have to be based on real life. Otherwise where would we go to escape?
The Most Hated Woman in America(2017)
In her heyday in the 1960s, Madalyn Murray O'Hair (Melissa Leo) was known as the most hated woman in America. The face of the modern atheist movement, she sued the Baltimore City Public School System under the assertion that it was unconstitutional for her son to participate in mandatory bible readings. She was an outspoken public figure — until she suddenly disappeared.
Lion(2017)
Saroo (Dev Patel) is raised in Australia by white parents, but he still vaguely remembers his biological family, with whom he lived until he was five. Saroo was separated from his family when he got lost on a train, then eventually wound up in an orphanage. Lion tells the unbelievable – but totally true — story of how the real Saroo tracked down his village (and family) using Google Maps.
Seoul Searching(2016)
It's 1986, it's summer, and a group of Korean kids from all over the world have just arrived in Seoul for a kind of Korean birthright trip. Seoul Searching is like if a John Hughes movie met Euro Trip met some thought-provoking conversations about identity. Director Benson Lee attended this camp as a kid and based the movie on his experiences.
Brain on Fire(2018)
If you're fascinated by the human mind, then this movie is for you. When journalist Susannah Cahalan's (Chloë Grace Moretz) sense of reality begins to fracture, people think she's suffering from a mental illness. But she's not – she actually has a very rare auto-immune disease. Brain on Fire is like an elongated episode of your favourite medical drama.
First They Killed My Father(2017)
Angelina Jolie garnered acclaim for directing this seriously harrowing adaptation of Loung Ung's 2000 memoir, in which she recounts living in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge took power and launched their genocidal campaign. Ung was only 5 years old when the regime began; in the ensuing years, she would be separated from her family and trained to be a child soldier.
Roma(2018)
Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón delivers a vivid, emotional and deeply personal portrait of a domestic worker's journey set against domestic and political turmoil in 1970s Mexico. The director drew on his own experiences growing up to tell the story but it boils down to a moving story of two women – Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) and her employer Sofía (Marina De Tavira). Try not to cry.
Becoming Jane(2007)
Jane Austen is responsible for some of culture's most enduring love stories, like Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. But did she ever live such a love story herself? Becoming Jane argues that Jane's (Anne Hathaway) romance with a lawyer, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), gives her the knowledge necessary to write her novels.
Schindler's List(1993)
Schindler's List is a difficult movie to watch, but a necessary one. Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, saved the lives of 1,200 Jews during WWII by employing them in his factory.
Milk(2008)
Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) was the first openly gay person to hold public office in the United States. This biopic tracks his journey from closeted businessman to activist ingratiated in the queer community of San Francisco's Castro district.
Barry(2016)
Meet Barack Obama in 1981, when he was just a wandering college kid with dreams. The movie delves into his time at Columbia and his formative first serious relationship (with a woman who's not Michelle).
The Social Network (2010)
David Fincher's telling of Facebook's embryonic stages warrants a rewatch in light of recent events. It's both brutal and funny at times, but Aaron Sorkin's screenplay (plus a brilliant cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and yes, Justin Timberlake) lets us in on the macro events that would change society and the microcosm of the friends whose relationships it tore apart.
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