Highest-Rated Movies about 'Illegitimate Child'

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), Three Colors: Blue (1993), Zakhm (1998), The White Ribbon (2009), The Magdalene Sisters (2002), Johnny Belinda (1948), Les Misérables (2012), Sense and Sensibility (1995) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Illegitimate Child movies.

#1. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Storyline: In prison awaiting execution the next morning, Louis, the 10th Duke of Chalfont, puts down on paper the events that led him to his current situation. His mother has been banished from her family, the D'Ascoynes, after she married Louis' father, who was considered far beneath her. After her death, the D'Ascoynes refused permission for her to be buried in the family crypt. Louis then plots his revenge, and kills all those ahead of him in the succession until he becomes the Duke. Along the way, he becomes involved with the married Sibelia who, when spurned, makes sure he ends up in prison. The day before his execution, Sibelia recants her testimony, saving him not only from the gallows, but also sets him free. Once outside the prison however, he realizes he's forgotten one little thing.

Plot Keywords: heir, camera, social class, revenge, memoir, jealousy, murder ...

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#2. Three Colors: Blue (1993)

Storyline: The first part of Kieslowski's trilogy on France's national motto: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 'Blue' is the story of Julie who loses her husband, an acclaimed composer and her young daughter in a car accident. The film's theme of liberty is manifested in Julie's attempt to start life anew, free of personal commitments, belongings, grief or love. She intends to numb herself by withdrawing from the world and living completely independently, anonymously and in solitude in the Parisian metropolis. Despite her intentions, people from her former and present life intrude with their own needs. However, the reality created by the people who need and care about her, a surprising discovery and the music around which the film revolves heal Julie and draws her back to the land of the living.

Plot Keywords: liberty, paris france, 1990s, accidental death, mourning, telling a joke, trauma ...

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#3. Zakhm (1998)

Storyline: Mrs. Desai is a Bombay-based widow and lives with her singer son, Ajay, his pregnant wife Sonia, and a second son, Anand, who is currently involved in a right-wing organization run by Subodh Malgaonkar. Things take a turn for the worst when militants storm the Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh and demolish it. Anger runs high amongst the Muslim community which lead to riots, even in far-off Bombay. The Bombay police move quickly and a curfew is imposed in the more sensitive parts such as Mohammed Ali Road, Jogeshwari, and Dharavi. It is on this day that Mrs. Desai goes to offer prayers at her usual place of worship, and it is here that she will be attacked by militants, set ablaze, admitted to the Holy Family Hospital with more than 80% burns, and virtually no chance of surviving. Ajay must now deal with conflicts with Sonia, who wants to leave India, and re-locate to England, where she wants to give birth to her child without any constraints as to religion and caste, on one hand, and on another attempt to cool a vengeful Anand into attacking other innocent Muslims. But the main thing Ajay has to do is carry out his mother's last request - to bury her - which is consistent with the Christian and Muslim religions. Ajay is the only one who knows the answer to this and must ensure that her last request is fulfilled despite of Subodh Malgaonkar's increasing pressure that his mother be cremated according to Hindu Rites.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Plot Keywords: father son relationship, actor shares first name with character, illegitimate child, religious fanatic, religious intolerance, mother son relationship, husband wife relationship ...

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#4. The White Ribbon (2009)

Storyline: From July, 1913 to the outbreak of World War I, a series of incidents take place in a German village. A horse trips on a wire and throws the rider; a woman falls to her death through rotted planks; the local baron's son is hung upside down in a mill; parents slap and bully their children; a man is cruel to his long-suffering lover; another sexually abuses his daughter. People disappear. A callow teacher, who courts a nanny in the baron's household, narrates the story and tries to investigate the connections among these accidents and crimes. What is foreshadowed? Are the children holy innocents? God may be in His heaven, but all is not right with the world; the center cannot hold.

Plot Keywords: year 1914, sexual abuse, repression, fatal accident, patriarchy, patriarch, verbal abuse ...

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#5. The Magdalene Sisters (2002)

Storyline: A thoroughly mind-provoking film about 3 young women who, under tragic circumstances, see themselves cast away to a Magdalene Asylum for young women in 1964. One of many like institutions, the asylums are run like prisons and young girls are forced to do workhouse laundry and hard labor. The asylum, one of many that existed in theocratic Catholic Ireland, is for supposedly 'fallen' women. Here, young girls are imprisoned indefinitely and endure agonizing punishments and a long, harsh working system which leaves them physically drained and mentally damaged. As the girls bond together, it soon becomes clear that the only way out of the Magdalene convent is to escape, but with twisted Sister Bridget running the wing, any chances seem limited...

Plot Keywords: irish, ireland, unwed pregnancy, unwed mother, based on true story, dublin ireland, rape ...

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#6. Johnny Belinda (1948)

Storyline: Dr. Robert Richardson, a dedicated young general practitioner, seeks to establish himself in an isolated fishing village on Cape Breton Island off the Nova Scotia coast. The population is poor and the struggling physician generally gets paid for his efforts in barter. When he meets Belinda McDonald, a young deaf mute callously dismissed by family and neighbors as "the dummy," he alone senses her innate intelligence. He overcomes the initial skepticism of her flinty, gruff father and indifferently cold aunt, who operate a hardscrabble grist mill and farm, and devotes himself to teaching the young girl sign language and lip-reading. Hopes are even raised that she might even eventually qualify for a medical procedure that might improve her condition. Her optimism is crushed, however, when she raped by Locky McCormick, a brutish local fisherman. Traumatized, she is unable to communicate the outrage to her family, who are baffled and angry when they learn she is pregnant. The local gossips blame the doctor, and he and the McDonalds become pariahs, unable to earn a living in the provincial village. Matters come to a head when McCormick and his new wife pressure the local council to declare Belinda an unfit mother and declare them the baby's legal guardians.—duke1029

Plot Keywords: egg, chicken, rapist, pregnant from rape, acquittal, trial, murder trial ...

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#7. Les Misérables (2012)

Storyline: Jean Valjean, known as Prisoner 24601, is released from prison and breaks parole to create a new life for himself while evading the grip of the persistent Inspector Javert. Set in post-revolutionary France, the story reaches resolution against the background of the June Rebellion.

Plot Keywords: rebellion, france, orphan, corpse, arrest, suicide, sewer ...

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#8. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Storyline: When Mr. Dashwood dies, he must leave the bulk of his estate to the son by his first marriage, which leaves his second wife and their three daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) in straitened circumstances. They are taken in by a kindly cousin, but their lack of fortune affects the marriageability of both practical Elinor and romantic Marianne. When Elinor forms an attachment for the wealthy Edward Ferrars, his family disapproves and separates them. And though Mrs. Jennings tries to match the worthy (and rich) Colonel Brandon to her, Marianne finds the dashing and fiery John Willoughby more to her taste. Both relationships are sorely tried.

Plot Keywords: england, 19th century, based on novel, party, mother daughter relationship, kite, illegitimate child ...

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#9. Detective Story (1951)

Storyline: Jim McLeod is a hard-nosed and cynical detective. He believes in a strict interpretation of the law and doesn't believe in turning the other cheek. The current object of his zealousness is Karl Schneider, an abortionist responsible for the death of several young women. Schneider's lawyer tells the precinct lieutenant that McLeod has his own personal reasons for going after his client. It turns out that his wife was a patient before they met, although Jim knew nothing of it. His world suddenly turned upside down, McLeod is too late in re-evaluating his priorities.—garykmcd

Plot Keywords: taxi driver, wife leaves husband, thief, corpse, dead body, dead man, gun ...

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#10. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)

Storyline: Trudy Kockenlocker, a small-town girl with a soft spot for American soldiers, wakes up the morning after a wild farewell party for the troops to find that she married someone she can't remember--and she's pregnant. Norval Jones, the 4-F local boy who's been in love with Trudy for years, tries to help her find a way out of her predicament. Trudy complicates matters further by falling for Norval, and events snowball from there.—James Meek <james@oz.net>

Plot Keywords: cooking, farce, fight, flashback, flat tire, friendship, gas ...

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#11. A Royal Affair (2012)

Storyline: In 1767, the British Princess Caroline is betrothed to the mad King Christian VII of Denmark, but her life with the erratic monarch in the oppressive country becomes an isolating misery. However, Christian soon gains a fast companion with the German Dr. Johann Struensee, a quietly idealistic man of the Enlightenment. As the only one who can influence the King, Struensee is able to begin sweeping enlightened reforms of Denmark through Christian even as Caroline falls for the doctor. However, their secret affair proves a tragic mistake that their conservative enemies use to their advantage in a conflict that threatens to claim more than just the lovers as their victims.

Plot Keywords: infidelity, insanity, based on true story, love triangle, costume drama, extramarital affair, sex in public ...

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#12. The Corn Is Green (1945)

Storyline: Schoolteacher Lilly Moffat is dismayed by conditions in a Welsh mining town. She sets up a school to teach fundamental education to the villagers. Her housekeeper and daughter oppose the project, as does the local Squire who will not rent her space. Using part of her own home, she goes ahead with Miss Moffat's School. One of her students Morgan Evans turns from bully to brilliant student.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Plot Keywords: based on play, implied nudity, implied sex, ringing a bell, solicitor, school bell, 1890s ...

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#13. Belle (2013)

Storyline: BELLE is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Captain. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges, yet the color of her skin prevents her from fully participating in the traditions of her social standing. Left to wonder if she will ever find love, Belle falls for an idealistic young vicar's son bent on change who, with her help, shapes Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.

Plot Keywords: slavery, interracial relationship, based on true story, biracial child, illegitimate child, racism, white male black female relationship ...

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#14. A Thousand Clowns (1965)

Storyline: 12-year-old Nick lives with his Uncle Murray, a Mr. Micawber-like Dickensian character who keeps hoping something won't turn up. What turns up is a social worker who falls in love with Murray and a bit in love with Nick. As the child-welfare people try to force Murray to become a conventional man (the price they demand for allowing him to keep Nick), the nephew, who until now has gloried in his uncle's iconoclastic approach to life, tries to play mediator. But when he succeeds, he is alarmed by the uncle's willingness to cave in to society in order to save the relationship.—Warlen Bassham <wcb@zso.dec.com>

Plot Keywords: new york city, child custody, based on play, illegitimate child, precocious child, uncle nephew relationship, kite ...

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#15. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Storyline: When his partner is killed by the mysterious and possibly nonexistent Jaguar Shark, Steve Zissou and his Team Zissou crew set off for an expedition to hunt down the creature. Along with his estranged wife, a beautiful journalist and a co-pilot who could possibly be Zissou's son, the crew set off for one wild expedition.

Plot Keywords: original story, nudity, breasts, revenge, expedition, shark, documentary crew ...

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