5 Must-See Netflix Movies that are Based on a True Story

I’ma sucker for true stories so when I watch movies, I’m always browsing the documentary section!  In the last few months, I have watched 5 incredible Netflix movies, all based on a true story, that you must see!

First up, is Lion! Based on the memoir A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, the film depicts Brierley’s incredible journey to find his birth mother after he became separated from her at the tender age of five.  Saroo, who is only 5 years old,  falls asleep on a train and wakes up miles away from home. He ends up in an orphanage before being adopted by an Australian couple.  He has a joyful upbringing and then, 20 years later, he decides to seek out his hometown and birth parents.  The tears were flowing y’all.

The Salt of the Earth was both amazing and heartbreaking.  The son of the very distinguished photographer, Sebastiao Salgado, gives us a look at his father’s photography over a span of his 40 year career.   He was known for capturing some of the most deprived communities.  If you are sensitive, some of the photos will be hard for you to see.  I always feel like these types of situations are necessary to see. It’s a humbling visual reminder of what’s important.

The Impossible is based on the story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaos of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.   The family of 5 is separated by the tsunami and at one point, each member is trying to find one another. It absolutely blows my mind how this came together.  It will leave you holding your breath, tearing up, and even offers a feel-good moment.  I can’t even imagine the devastation these people (not just the family) endured.

The Case for Christ.  I could probably write a whole post on this movie because the book had a huge impact on me during my finding faith journey.  Basically, a journalist doesn’t believe in Jesus and sets out on a 21month investigation to prove that Jesus never existed.  What I love about this movie, is that it’s based on facts and not emotion, although, I did cry.  Scientific facts y’all and they are mindblowing.  I won’t tell you how it ends but it’s definitely at the top of my list to see.

First They Killed My Father is unbelievable and one that you absolutely have to watch.  The story is told through the eyes of a 5-year-old girl.  It’s when the Khmer Rouge assumes power over Cambodia in 1975 and they begin a four-year reign of terror and genocide in which nearly 2 million Cambodians die.   Forced from her family’s home in Phnom Penh, Ung is trained as a child soldier while her six siblings are sent to labor camps.  It’s heartbreaking to imagine what she and all those people experienced. 

BONUS: Finally, I am hesitant in recommending this last movie but I found myself completely consumed with it. In fact, now that I’m writing this, I don’t recommend it.  It’s called The Sound of Insects and, well, the movie is based on the real diary of a man who went to the forest to commit suicide by the torturously slow method of starving himself to death.   I had a very hard time watching this but at the same time, I couldn’t stop.  There’s a narrator reading the diary that holds your attention in a flat but very gripping tone.  There really isn’t much to watch really because you are mostly just listening.  I still can’t understand the why.  It’s not the type of movie I’d normally watch but it was so fascinating and disturbing that I couldn’t stop watching. I think that I kept hoping for the best, hoping someone would find him before it was too late, or just hoping he’d change his mind. It’s dark and sad. So yeah, you might not wanna watch this one.

What are some of your favorite movies?  I’m always looking for recommendations!

Keep in mind that Netflix often removes and adds movies so if it’s not on there one week, it might be there another week.  Regardless, you can probably find them elsewhere as well.