6 movies about real-life people and events that made history

In this age of high-flying animation, alien robots, superheroes and video game adaptations, reality often takes a back seat. Pure escapism can float you away to fantasy kingdoms but can also be experienced in someone else’s world, as we live vicariously through them.

Here are eight biopics that have the power to immerse audiences in another time and place, giving you a slice-of-life, a fresh perspective and a powerful chronicle of someone who dared to seize the day and be extraordinary.

Judas and the Black Messiah

Several films have been made about The Black Panthers, a revolutionary party that dared to rise against the watchful FBI, Chicago police and US government. Judas and the Black Messiah centres on William O’Neal, an FBI infiltrator, and Fred Hampton, an influential political figure, as their paths intertwined at a critical turning point in the movement.

Written and directed by Shaka King and produced by Ryan Coogler, this intense and vivid biopic captures the spirit of Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman). Swathing audiences in authentic production design and relaying throwbacks like flashbacks, this is essentially a hybrid documentary drama. While it’s easy to slip into the life and times of this fierce political story, it’s the performances that shine brightest, with Daniel Kaluuya storming his way to an Oscar.

Adrienne

Documentaries like Adrienne remind us to live life to the full. As an indie actor, writer and aspiring filmmaker, Adrienne Shelly did just that in her quirky comedy drama, Waitress. Her life force was strong and her ambition was even stronger, making this a character portrait of a young woman who was at the pinnacle of her career when tragedy struck suddenly and unexpectedly.

Serving as an intimate tribute to the bright star, Adrienne attempts to capture the filmmaker’s essence by chronicling her rise, unpacking close relationships and investigating the mystery surrounding her untimely demise. Led and directed by her husband, Andy Ostroy, this retrospective and bittersweet celebration of Adrienne’s life is wistful, joyous and life-affirming.

Lion

Lion tells the story of Saroo Brierly, a five-year-old boy who was separated from his parents when he fell asleep on a train traveling across India. Unable to be reunited with them, the orphan was adopted by an Australian family, only to resume the search for his biological family some 20 years later. A film of two halves, this directorial debut from Garth Davis paints a vivid picture of a rustic and magical India as a young Brierly navigates his life in Australia.

Starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, this touching real-life adventure drama portrays a dislocated man’s struggle with identity and his eventual homecoming. Garnering six Oscar nominations, Lion is rewarding and emotional, one of Australia’s highest grossing films of all time.

12 Years a Slave

Solomon Northup’s story is tragic, powerful and heartbreaking as captured in his 1853 slave memoir. Born free in New York State, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, working on plantations in Louisiana for 12 years. His journal has been adapted into the taut and intense biographical and historical drama 12 Years a Slave, by modern auteur Steve McQueen.

This was a breakthrough film for Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o, whose deeply affecting performances were nominated for major awards, winning a BAFTA for Ejiofor and an Oscar for Nyong’o. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as the best film of 2013, it received nine Oscar nominations, winning Best Picture.

Stronger

Jake Gyllenhaal is a bold and strong actor whose curious mix of light and dark make him captivating to watch in just about any role. While the iconic Donnie Darko and Bubble Boy may have launched his career, the actor has matured with first-rate performances in Prisoners, End of Watch and Southpaw to name a few. In Stronger, he takes on the challenging role of a man who lost his legs during the Boston marathon bombings.

Based on the memoirs of Jeff Bauman, Stronger starts with the tragic event and gets to grips with an emotional comeback story. A triumph of the human spirit, this biographical drama captures one of Boston’s darkest days yet focuses on recovery and restoration as Bauman starts his new life.

Darkest Hour

Winston Churchill is best remembered for his wit, yet the late Prime Minister’s diplomacy has been the subject of many recent biographical productions including Churchill, The Crown and Darkest Hour.  Focusing on his earliest days as Prime Minister and his refusal to sign a peace treaty with Nazi Germany, Darkest Hour centres on the 1940 War Cabinet Crisis.

In spite of his surname, Gary Oldman is definitely not the first person you’d think of to play Churchill. Yet, through the magic of prosthetics, he’s the spitting image of the great man, embodying his mannerisms, vocal affectations and spirit to a well–deserved and long overdue Oscar.

Looking for African biopics and doccies?

Try these, all streaming on Showmax.

• Brenda Fassie: Not A Bad Girl
• Africa And I
• An Act of Defiance
• Dr Kenneth Kaunda