Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
2001 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 654 votes
The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Curated by SceneIt · United States
Inspiring Movies
This SceneIt list helps you quickly choose acclaimed dramas and true-story favorites with an uplifting arc. Results are selected for the United States and balance audience response with practical watchability.
Updated 2026-08-03 · Ratings from TMDB
How we chose these titles
We rank eligible titles using TMDB audience ratings, vote confidence, relevance to the theme, and current popularity. Ratings can change as new votes are added.
Army of Shadows
1969 · TMDB 7.9/10 · 761 votes
Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
In Cold Blood
1967 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 440 votes
After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
22 July
2018 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 1,277 votes
On 22 July 2011, neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 young people attending a Labour Party Youth Camp on Utøya Island outside of Oslo. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
2013 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 285 votes
The true story of the "Flying Sikh" world champion runner and Olympian Milkha Singh who overcame the massacre of his family, civil war during the India-Pakistan partition, and homelessness to become one of India's most iconic athletes. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Rang De Basanti
2006 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 514 votes
After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
12 Mighty Orphans
2021 · TMDB 7.2/10 · 254 votes
Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Mutiny on the Bounty
1935 · TMDB 7.4/10 · 395 votes
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Cyrano de Bergerac
1990 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 834 votes
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Never Look Away
2018 · TMDB 7.7/10 · 762 votes
German artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR regime. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Grand Illusion
1937 · TMDB 7.9/10 · 788 votes
A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Monsieur Aznavour
2024 · TMDB 7.2/10 · 354 votes
From his poor childhood to his rise to fame, from his triumphs to his failures, from Paris to New York, discover the exceptional journey of an artist. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Ophelia
2019 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 609 votes
Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet's affections. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Jodhaa Akbar
2008 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 285 votes
A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
The Damned United
2009 · TMDB 7.2/10 · 705 votes
Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Testament of Youth
2015 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 805 votes
Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Bajirao Mastani
2015 · TMDB 7.3/10 · 312 votes
Peshwa Bajirao married to Kashibai, falls in love with Mastani, a warrior princess in distress. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Birdman of Alcatraz
1962 · TMDB 7.5/10 · 344 votes
After killing a prison guard, convict Robert Stroud faces life imprisonment in solitary confinement. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress
1957 · TMDB 7.1/10 · 359 votes
After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.
Day of Wrath
1943 · TMDB 8.0/10 · 252 votes
In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. This title fits the list's theme and selection thresholds.