23 real story-based films that will both shock and inspire you

It’s typically our pleasure to escape reality and lose ourselves in a fantasy world, whether it’s the newest Marvel film, a young adult romance, or an enjoyable comedy.

However, there are instances when nothing beats a genuine story turned into a film, and we can’t really blame Hollywood for looking to the people of the globe for their true stories of courage, survival, romance, crime, and much more. At the conclusion of a film, we experience a range of emotions, knowing that some of our favorite films are based on the lives of actual people. That inspires me sometimes, and sometimes it makes me feel downright repulsed. At times, it’s just a touching tale that resonates with little aspects of our existence, transforming our couch time with a bowl of popcorn into a window into our own growth.

It’s astounding to consider that some of these tales, which during their original lives may have appeared little and forgotten, have now been adapted for the big screen and given a glamorous award season treatment. One man’s search for his biological family in India after they were split up is an example of this. To be honest, this movie brought home the importance of family so much that we started crying. In the film Wild, Reese Witherspoon portrays Cheryl Strayed, who has a transformative self-discovery while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, one of the most well-known long-distance hiking trails in the country. Every emotion.

Another movie that encouraged us to act morally and with the best interests of everyone around us in mind while dealing with powerful businesses was Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts. Following the story of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in Margot Robbie’s film I, Tonya, and the real-life teenage thieves who stole A-list celebrities in the film The Bling Ring were both fascinating. A major theme in movies like Brain on Fire and The Big Sick is health conflict. These films undoubtedly cause us to cling to the people we love most.

Therefore, why not choose a movie from the following 23 selections, hand-picked by Movie Flicks and Music Picks, if you’re seeking some real-life inspiration?

Lion (2017)
We found it difficult not to weep when watching this movie, so set a challenge for yourself. The 2013 book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, which described his unintentional five-year-old absence from his family in India, serves as the basis for Lion. He was eventually adopted by an Australian couple after living on the streets, but he never lost sight of his origins. Twenty-five years later, he goes to India for a heartfelt reunion with his biological family after using Google Earth to locate them. This film, starring Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar, and Dev Patel, will convince you that miracles do happen.
Sincere Spirit (2023)
The inspirational tale of 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson, who embarks on an audacious quest to become the youngest person to sail alone, non-stop, around the globe, is told in True Spirit. Does she succeed despite many people questioning her, Mother Nature putting her in danger, and months of solitude? The tale of a brave adolescent girl who pursues her ambition will captivate readers of all ages.
Everest in 2015
The story of Everest is based on the true survival efforts of two expedition parties during the 1996 catastrophe on the highest peak in the world, one commanded by Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and the other by Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal). Slightly behind the 22 fatalities from the avalanches triggered by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 deaths from the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche, twelve individuals perished while attempting to reach the summit during that year, which is generally considered one of the deadliest seasons on the mountain.
The Impossible (2012)
The Impossible recounts the true survival story of the Alvárez-Belón family (played by Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast, and Samuel Joslin) as they navigated the aftermath of the deadliest tsunami in recorded history while being separated from one another. The 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean shocked people all over the world.

untamed (2014)
Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of Cheryl Strayed, who sets out on a 1,100-mile walk along the Pacific Crest Trail to find herself and get a fresh outlook on life after a string of personal catastrophes, is the subject of the moving, compelling, and inspirational real narrative told in Wild. You can be sure that Reese and Laura Dern, who portrayed her mother in the film, did an amazing job portraying the actual personalities since they were nominated for Oscars for their performances.
Zodiac (2006)
In a mystery-crime thriller, Jake Gyllenhaal? You may be sure that the viewing will be stressful and exhilarating! The actor plays cartoonist Robert Graysmith in the film Zodiac. Graysmith becomes fixated on the Zodiac murderer and utilizes his puzzle-solving skills to identify the person who is terrorizing the people of the San Francisco Bay Area and mocking the authorities in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Zola (2021)
The hilarious Twitter thread that went viral in 2015 served as the inspiration for the gorgeously filmed film Zola, which stars Riley Keough, Taylour Paige, and Colman Domingo among its outstanding ensemble. According to A’Ziah King’s tweet, the movie is based on a bizarre real tale about a part-time stripper called Zola who encounters a lady who tells her of an easy way to earn money in Florida. They eventually go on a wild, sleepless week of partying, sex, and criminality as a result of this.
Living (1993)
The incredible real tale of a Uruguayan rugby team who had to devour their dead colleagues in order to live after their aircraft crashed into the Andes mountains in the 1970s stars Ethan Hawke and Josh Hamilton. Before being recovered, the actual survivors of the aircraft accident had to endure severe difficulties, unfavorable weather, and malnutrition for more than two months.

The Nomadland (2021)
The film that dominated award season in 2021 was Nomadland, which was based on the 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. The real-life challenges of elderly Americans who take temporary jobs because they cannot afford retirement were eloquently depicted by Frances McDormand. It is heartbreakingly lovely to behold, thanks to Chloé Zhao’s amazing direction and breathtaking cinematography, in addition to the real tale motivation.
Tonya, me (2017)
Margot Robbie received a nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Tonya Harding, the movie’s title competitive ice skater. Tonya’s personal problems escalate along with her celebrity, as her ex-husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan) reappears in her life. This leads to a series of events that culminated in the notorious 1994 attack on her opponent Nancy Kerrigan, who was hit in the leg with a bat. The assault was organized by Jeff and Shawn Eckardt, his accomplice. Tonya first claimed not to have known anything about the assault, but she eventually agreed to a plea deal in which she acknowledged having assisted in its cover-up. Later on, she was banned from USFSA figure skating competitions for life.
Gorgeous Boy in 2018
In this tragic tale of heroin addiction, Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet play father and son. The movie, which is based on David Sheff’s book Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction, centers on Nic, a seemingly perfect adolescent, but as his meth addiction threatens to ruin his life, his father intervenes to save his son alive.
(2010) 127 Hours
The premise of 127 Hours is our worst nightmare, and it’s even more terrifying since it’s based on a real event. Mountain climber Aron Ralston, the main character of the survival thriller, goes hiking alone in Utah and becomes lost in a canyon after slipping. He endures the unthinkable for 127 hours in order to live before being rescued.

The Terminal, released in 2004
Tom Hanks’ iconic film The Terminal is based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasser, an Iranian immigrant who spent eighteen years living at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport’s transit area from 1988 to 2006 after his admission was rejected by France. Making a movie “that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world” was director Steven Spielberg’s goal, and he most definitely succeeded in that endeavor.
Brockovich Erin (2000)
It’s not surprising that Julia Roberts took home the Best Actress Oscar for the highly regarded film Erin Brockovich. In the movie, which followed a legal assistant in Hinkley, California, who battled against the energy company after learning that their acts were damaging the citizens’ health, she gave an outstanding representation of the real-life title character.
Bloom, Penguin (2020)
Based on the actual tale of Samantha Bloom, who suffers a devastating accident that leaves her paralyzed from the chest down and fractures her back, and forms a sweet relationship with a wounded magpie that her children rescue. Prepare your Kleenex for this very moving film, which stars Naomi Watts.
The 2016 film Hidden Figures
The film Hidden Figures is based on the lives of three African American women mathematicians who played crucial roles in astronaut John Glenn’s Space Race launch: Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe). All three women faced discrimination at NASA due to their race and gender.

1999’s Girl, Interrupted
Girl, Interrupted, which is based on the best-selling 1993 book by American author Susanna Kaysen, recounts her 18-month stint at a 1960s mental health facility in the United States after a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Starring in the film are Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder, and others.
2017’s The Big Sick
The protagonist actor Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon (played by Zoe Kazan) in the film The Big Sick are based on a real-life love story. During one of his stand-up performances, Pakistani comedian Kumail falls in love with Emily, an American graduate student. But as their romance grows, Emily becomes sick and is put into a coma by medical professionals, which makes Kumail fall deeply in love with Emily’s anxious parents.
(2013) The Bling Ring
The Bling Ring, which stars Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, and Leslie Mann, examines the activities of a gang of young people infatuated with celebrity who hunted down the residences of famous people in order to break in and steal millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry, clothing, and shoes. Real-life targets of the youngsters included Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, and several more.
The 2002 film A Beautiful Mind
The historical movie A Beautiful Mind narrates the tale of American Nobel Prize laureate John Nash, who struggled with mental illness for many years while still doing ground-breaking game theory research in mathematics. This beautifully photographed drama, which won four Academy Awards, stars Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, and Russell Crowe.

(2016) Brain On Fire
Based on Susannah Cahalan’s book Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Brain on Fire stars Chloë Grace Moretz. The movie centers on a young journalist who develops an enigmatic disease that is repeatedly labeled as psychosis and who may spend the rest of his life in a hospital mental ward. But after being evaluated by Syrian-American neurologist Souhel Najjar, she is able to finally identify the true cause of her condition.
(2010) The Social Network
Does anybody remember a time before social media? Yes, we are aware of how challenging it is. The Social Network narrates the true tale of Mark Zuckerberg’s 2003 Harvard undergraduate invention of a social networking site that would eventually become known as Facebook. It also covers the legal and emotional entanglements that accompanied the emergence of his multibillionaire fortune.
2019’s The Sky Is Pink
The Sky Is Pink, which Priyanka Chopra produced and in which she also stars, is based on the tragic real tale of the brave Aisha Chaudhary, who battled pulmonary fibrosis and severe combined immunodeficiency. The movie tells the story from the viewpoint of her parents, Farhan Akhtar and Chopra, as they manage their marital and personal life while taking care of their daughter. The film is essential viewing since it delves into a number of important subjects, including relationships, loss, and acceptance.