“Success is learning to go from failure to failure without despairing,” Winston Churchill once said. Yet we often forget this and give up before reaching our goal.
As the road is often uphill, it is understandable that sometimes we fail in our strength or that doubts undermine our confidence. In such cases, it is useful to have some motivational films at hand, films in which the protagonists have managed to overcome the obstacles they have found in their path and which become true examples to follow.
For this reason, on this occasion I would like to share with you some motivational films that convey a great message, some of which are based on real events.
A movie, a story, a lesson to treasure
1. The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)
This film, directed by Italian director Gabriele Muccino, is a true ode to perseverance. In the lead role we find Will Smith, who was nominated for an Oscar in the best actor category. We cannot deny that this is a film with a well-known aftertaste of the “American dream”, but the story is real and tells the life of Chris Gardner, a man who was left homeless with his young son and later became a millionaire entrepreneur. However, beyond the money, this work leaves us with an excellent message: “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. If you have a dream, you have to protect it. People who are not capable of doing something will tell you that you can’t either. If you want something, go for it .”
2. Life is Beautiful (1997)
This film, directed by the great Roberto Benigni, won three Oscars. And it is no wonder, because its message could not be more moving and its staging is impeccable. The story is about a man who is locked up in a Nazi concentration camp with his young son. What is interesting is how, despite the environment and the hopelessness, this man does everything possible to maintain his sense of humor and to nourish the child’s hope. It is “a simple story, but it is not easy to tell. Like a fable, there is pain, and like a fable, it is full of wonder and happiness.” It is one of those films that you see not once but two or three times.
3. Forrest Gump (1994)
This is one of the most iconic films of our time, which was not only a box office success but also earned Tom Hanks the Oscar for best actor. The film is about a character with an IQ of less than 75. However, his endearing character, his drive and his innocence lead him to achieve things that for most people are just dreams. In the film, the situations are exaggerated to the maximum but it leaves us with a very interesting question to reflect on: if we were not conditioned by society, if we did not conform to conventionalisms and if we acted according to our dreams, how far could we go?
4. Precious (2009)
It is not a conventional film, or at least it is not the classic motivational film where the protagonist becomes rich and achieves all his dreams. However, it is a heartbreaking film that shows us how the limiting beliefs that have been transmitted to us during childhood can negatively determine our entire life, making us believe that we are not worthy enough or that we do not have the right to be loved and aspire to a better life. However, it is also an ode to hope and teaches us how important it is to help others. Incidentally, the film tells the story of Claireece “Precious” Jones, an obese and illiterate teenager who has been the victim of various abuses by her parents. The film has received more than 50 international awards and earned Mo’nique the Oscar for best supporting actress.
5. Before I leave (2007)
When Jack Nicholson joins forces with Morgan Freeman, the result cannot be mediocre. Such is the case with this film, which narrates the last year of life of two terminally ill cancer patients. Both characters meet in the hospital and decide to make a list of the things they want to experience before they die. Although they are two perfect strangers, they embark on the adventure of their lives, an adventure that will change them. In fact, despite the subject matter, it is not a sad film but has many hilarious moments, although it also makes us reflect. It is never too late to do what you really love. Don’t waste your life staying in a comfort zone that numbs your feelings.
6. My Left Foot (1989)
This is one of the most inspiring films on this list and stands out for its marked realism. It tells the story of Christy Brown, a boy who was born with cerebral palsy and could only control his left foot. With great tenacity and with the help of his mother and a therapist, he managed to show the world that he could integrate into society. In fact, he became a painter and writer. Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who played the character of Christy Brown, won an Oscar for his performance. The film ends with a happy ending. Unfortunately, Christy Brown died at the age of 49 and everything seems to indicate that he suffered physical and psychological abuse from his wife. However, his life is an example of tenacity and fighting against the greatest obstacles.
7. Dead Poets Society (1989)
This is a classic among classics, directed by the great Robin Williams, who plays an unorthodox literature teacher. This teacher awakens in his students, in an era (the late 1950s) that was marked by submission to social rules, the desire to follow their dreams and fight for them. He teaches them that the most valuable thing we have is time and that we should not waste it pursuing goals that are not ours. It is one of those motivational films that we should watch over and over again, until we manage to make that “Carpe Diem ” our own.
8. An Angel at My Table (1990)
This New Zealand-made film is quite long, I warn you, but it’s worth every minute. It tells the story of writer Janet Frame, played by Kerry Fox, whose childhood was marked by several tragedies that led her to feel different from others. She was confined to a psychiatric institution, where she was diagnosed with schizophrenia, following a suicide attempt, and received 200 electroshocks. She was on the verge of undergoing a lobotomy but was saved by the literary prize she won for her first book. Frame left the psychiatric hospital and continued writing until she built a brilliant literary career.
9. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
With four Oscars under his belt, this is one of those psychological films that is a must-see for lovers of psychology. However, Russell Crowe not only teaches us the ins and outs of paranoid schizophrenia but also gives us an excellent life lesson. After having been hospitalized on several occasions and suffering electroshock, John Nash managed to live with the hallucinations by eliminating the medication, which was clouding his mind and preventing him from pursuing his greatest passion: mathematics. He later received a Nobel Prize in Economics.
10. Schindler’s List (1993)
Few people would dare to classify it as a motivational film, at least from a conventional point of view, but if we manage to look beyond the disasters, violence and sadness of the background, we will find many examples of everyday heroes who bring hope in the midst of desolation. The film tells the true story of a German businessman named Oskar Schindler (played by Liam Neeson), who decides to pay for the Jews to prevent them from ending up in a Nazi concentration camp, putting at risk everything he had achieved and even his own life. In fact, this film not only highlights the atrocities of the time but is a call to humanity and solidarity. When you think that the world is going badly and that there are horrible people, think that there are also people willing to help. Become one of those people willing to help.
11. Wonder (2017)
Based on the book of the same name, “Wonder” stars Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson in this motivational film, alongside Jacob Tremblay. With a congenital disability that alters the appearance of his face, little Auggie has had to undergo 27 surgeries, although perhaps the hardest part is yet to come: going to school for the first time, since until then his mother had educated him at home. This moving film is about the importance of accepting differences, but also about the value of showing ourselves to society as we are, even if we don’t conform to the norms.
12. The Theory of Everything (2014)
This acclaimed film is inspired by the life and work of physicist Stephen Hawking, the English genius who had to deal with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that atrophies muscles and limits motor activity. Inspired by the memoirs of Jane Hawking, the physicist’s ex-wife, it delves into the diagnosis and evolution of his illness. Also worth highlighting is the performance of Eddie Redmayne, who won an Oscar for his performance in this work. This inspiring film also talks about two people capable of overcoming the worst adversities thanks to the love they felt for each other, so it will not leave you indifferent.
13. Hidden Figures (2016)
This motivational film deals with other equally important stories of overcoming, which paved the way for women and, especially, for the black community. In fact, it is a biographical film inspired by the non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly. The film tells the life of Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who calculated the flight trajectories of the Mercury project and the Apollo 11 flight to the Moon (1969). The problem is that while she was facing that complicated task, she also had to face the racism that prevailed at that time throughout American society and also at NASA.
14. I Am Sam (2001)
This extraordinary motivational film tells the story of a man who suffers from a mental disability, played by an excellent Sean Penn. However, the problems begin at age 7, when Lucy, his daughter, begins to surpass her father’s mental capacity and the State questions his ability to educate her. From that moment on, he must face a legal battle to maintain custody of his daughter, with the help of a lawyer, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who also changes her attitude throughout the film. It is a film that touches our most sensitive fibers, that tells us about the strength of will and motivation that help a person to break all limits. And it also tells us about the power of emotional bonds in early childhood education. And that sometimes, the heart is worth more than the brain.
15. My name is Khan (2010)
The protagonist of this inspiring film is an Indian Muslim who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. Unfortunately, after September 11, 2001, he is arrested and accused of terrorism due to the suspicions that his strange behavior arouses in others. From that moment on, he will have to live a journey to clear his name and win back the love of his life, Mandira, a Hindu woman who is also a single mother. Over time, after risking his life for others along the way, Khan manages to prove his innocence and makes Mandira recognize that he is an honest person, capable of loving and living a full life with his differences, not despite them.
Want to see more psychological movies? Here are some other equally interesting films:
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