One of the amazing things about film is that there are endless stories we get to see on screen. There are stories that are based on real events people lived through and are worth watching. Below I have compiled a list of 5 films that are based on real people who shared parts of their lives for the world to know.
1. 22 July
Based on Norway’s deadliest terrorist attack, 22 July takes you through the devastating events that occurred on Utoya Island. Hundreds of teenagers went to Utoya Island for summer camp organized by the Labour Party. The killer, Anders Behring Breivik, and his anti-immigrant and anti-globalization beliefs were the reason he planned the attacks against the students in attendance. He killed 77 people, most of them being students until he surrendered. The film follows the experience of Viljar Hanssen, one of the survivors who was injured trying to protect his brother. We see the aftermath when Breivik is taken to court and the trauma Viljar and his brother deal with. The film is broken up equally between the fates of the killer and the surviving victim.
2. The Impossible
Based on the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, The Impossible follows the experience of Maria Belon and her family. Belon and her family went to Khao Lak, Thailand for a Christmas holiday, but two days after their arrival they were hit by a tsunami. They were separated and Maria suffered various injuries but eventually found her oldest son, Lucas. Together they made it to a hospital where Maria was set to get surgery for her injuries. Meanwhile, her husband searched for his family with hopes that they were still alive. The family reunited when their youngest son, Thomas ran into his father outside the hospital with Lucas recognizing them at a distance.
3. Into the Wild
Based on Christopher McCandless, who hiked from North America to the Alaskan wilderness in the 1990s, wanting to find happiness away from modern society. After McCandless graduated from Emory University, he decided to destroy his ID and donate his savings to live in the wilderness. He abandoned his family and belongings, leaving on foot with only some cash. He traveled to various cities meeting people with problems of their own. Some taught him skills, but all ended up caring for him deeply. He eventually made it to Alaska and camped in an abandoned bus until he ran out of food to survive.
4. Beautiful Boy
Based on the struggles that addiction brought into the Sheff family, Beautiful Boy follows the relationship between a father and his son. Nicolas was a teenager when he started using drugs and his father, David helped get him into rehab various times. Nicolas completed his rehab and makes it to college with hopes to become a writer. After relapsing and overdosing multiple times his father sends him to live with his mother in Los Angeles. This film shows the heartbreak a parent feels when they can’t help their children.
5. Silenced
Based on the mass sexual abuse case at the Gwangju Inhwa School in South Korea, Silenced follows Kang In-ho and his discoveries after starting his new teaching job. The school is for children who are deaf and were having trouble getting close to him. He comes to find that various teachers and officials had been sexually and physically abusing their students. Kang tried to make the public aware of what had been happening for years at the school but is stopped by police and leaders who have money to cover it up. The families were silenced with money and the abusers only faced probation.
