Four Seasons Lodge (2008), The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), How to Die in Oregon (2011), Searching for Sugar Man (2011), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), The Martian (2015) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Human Spirit movies.
Storyline: Every summer, some Holocaust survivors, mostly Polish Jews, gather at the Four Seasons Lodge in the Catskill Mountains. After moving to America after the war, the survivors sought each other out to create a large family to help fill the void left by those they lost. Though many of them are well into their 90s, at the Four Seasons they play poker, cook, dance and tell jokes, creating for one another a loving experience that is the antithesis of the nightmare they survived.
Plot Keywords: documentary, holocaust, survivors, jewish, retreat, community, aging ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Filmmaker Taggart Siegel captures two turbulent decades in the life of John Peterson, an Illinois farmer who not only tends the land but also delves into writing and performance art. A man who would as soon work the fields in a feather boa as in a pair of jeans, Peterson rises out of the bankruptcy and depression plaguing Midwest farm communities in the 1980s and saves his livelihood through organic agriculture.
Plot Keywords: documentary, biography, agriculture, rural life, independent film, community, tradition ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: McMurphy has a criminal past and has once again gotten himself into trouble and is sentenced by the court. To escape labor duties in prison, McMurphy pleads insanity and is sent to a ward for the mentally unstable. Once here, McMurphy both endures and stands witness to the abuse and degradation of the oppressive Nurse Ratched, who gains superiority and power through the flaws of the other inmates. McMurphy and the other inmates band together to make a rebellious stance against the atrocious Nurse.
Plot Keywords: psychological thriller, rebellion, power struggle, black comedy, social commentary, human nature exploration, mental illness ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person's request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had legalized the practice. 'How to Die in Oregon' tell the stories of those most intimately involved with the practice today -- terminally ill Oregonians, their families, doctors, and friends -- as well as the passage of a similar law in Washington State.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: documentary, end-of-life care, medical ethics, social issue, emotional impact, true story, moral dilemma ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In the early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez was a Detroit folksinger who had a short-lived recording career with only two well received but non-selling albums. Unknown to Rodriguez, his musical story continued in South Africa where he became a pop music icon and inspiration for generations. Long rumored there to be dead by suicide, a few fans in the 1990s decided to seek out the truth of their hero's fate. What follows is a bizarrely heartening story in which they found far more in their quest than they ever hoped, while a Detroit construction laborer discovered that his lost artistic dreams came true after all.—Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com)
Plot Keywords: documentary, music, biography, south africa, mystery, cult following, oscar winner ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Wanting to learn from the best, aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) wants Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train her. At the outset, he flatly refuses saying he has no interest in training a girl. Frankie leads a lonely existence, alienated from his only daughter and having few friends. Maggie's rough around the edges, but shows a lot of grit in the ring and he eventually relents. Maggie not only proves to be the boxer he always dreamed of having under his wing, but a friend who fills the great void he's had in his life. Maggie's career skyrockets, but an accident in the ring leads her to ask Frankie for one last favor.
Plot Keywords: boxing, drama, sports, underdog, mentorship, sacrifice, tragedy ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1966, Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, captured, and, down to 85 pounds, escaped. Barefoot, surviving monsoons, leeches, and machete-wielding villagers, he was rescued. Now, near 60, living on Mt. Tamalpais, Dengler tells his story: a German lad surviving Allied bombings in World War II, postwar poverty, apprenticed to a smith, beaten regularly. At 18, he emigrates and peels potatoes in the U.S. Air Force. He leaves for California and college, then enlistment in the Navy to learn to fly. A quiet man of sorrows tells his story: war, capture, harrowing conditions, escape, and miraculous rescue. Where did he find the strength; how does he now live with his memories?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: documentary, war, survival, aviation, biography, vietnam war, rescue ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return.
Plot Keywords: sci-fi, adventure, space, survival, mars, isolation, rescue ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton 's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in 1914-1916, featuring new footage of the actual locations and interviews with surviving relatives of key expedition members, plus archived audio interviews with expedition members, and a generous helping of the footage and still photos shot on the expedition.—Jon Reeves <jreeves@imdb.com>
Plot Keywords: adventure, documentary, history, survival, legendary, expedition, courage ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In Dublin, the crippled rebel Rory O'Shea moves to the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, affecting the lives of the residents. Rory is able to understand the unintelligible speech of Michael Connolly, who was left in the shelter by his prominent father many years ago due to his cerebral palsy, and they become close friends. Rory convinces Michael to move from Carrigmore to an apartment in Dublin, and they hire the gorgeous Siobhan to assist them. Living together with Rory, Michael faces a new world, finding friendship, love and freedom and learning to survive by his own.
Plot Keywords: disability, friendship, inspirational, coming of age, social prejudice, rebellion, freedom ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Dirt track racer Sean Weathers (Andrew Cheney) was at the top of his game with an unstoppable career. When a rivalry with another racer turns personal, the ego that propelled him to success causes a tragedy, sending his life into a tailspin. Jack Reed (Gary Graham) had prospered as a businessman but failed as a family man. In a sudden turn of events, his chances for reconciliation are ripped from his grasp. Sean and Jack's lives collide, and an unexpected bond forms between them.
Plot Keywords: sports drama, boxing, underdog story, biographical, inspirational, redemption, family drama ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Quad rugby as played by the US team, between 2002 games in Sweden and the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Young men, most with spinal injuries, play this rough and tumble sport in special chairs, seated gladiators. We get to know several and their families. They talk frankly about their injuries, feelings in public, sex lives, competitiveness, and love of the game. There's also an angry former team member gone north to coach the Canadian team, tough on everyone, including his viola-playing son. We meet a recently injured man, in rehab, at times close to despair, finding possible joy in quad rugby. After Athens, the team meets young men injured in war: the future stars of Team USA.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: documentary, sports, disability, competition, inspirational, true story, usa ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Acclaimed UK adventure filmmaker Al Lee tells the story of an incredible day in the life of Jesse Dufton. Jesse was born with 20% central vision. At four years of age he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa: a rare genetic disease that breaks down the retinas' cells, and at age 20 he could no longer read. By his 30s Jesse's vision was reduced to just light perception, with around 1 or 2 % field of view. As a lifelong climber, he flies in the face of adversity and with his sight guide and fiancée Molly sets out on a fantastic challenge - attempting to be the first blind person to make a 'non-sight' lead of the iconic Old Man of Hoy sea stack in Scotland.—Jonny Tull
Plot Keywords: adventure, documentary, mountain climbing, extreme sports, inspirational, disability, blindness ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: 1930's rural Nova Scotia. Maud Dowley, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, smokes heavily to deal with the pain. Because of her unusual gait from the arthritis, she is often mistaken as a stupid, incapable woman, that perception which does make her feel stupid and incapable. That view is held by her surviving family, her brother Charlie and her Aunt Ida with whom she lives. After an action by Charlie, Maud decides to seek some independence and is the only applicant for a posted job as housekeeper for brusque Everett Lewis, a poor fish seller. Despite not wanting to hire a cripple which only adds to their antagonism, Maud negotiates to get the job for room and board. Their antagonistic relationship ends up including Everett exacting beatings on Maud whenever she doesn't do what he wants. To keep herself happy, Maud begins to paint the interior of the house with happy pictures and paint similar pictures on small cards, these folk art pictures are how she wants to see the world. ...
Plot Keywords: biography, romance, drama, art, painter, canada, true story ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: 127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he can be rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?
Plot Keywords: adventure, biography, drama, survival, true story, outdoor, desert ...
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