Can’t get enough of period drama?

Some people want to see life as it is: pure, undiluted, and exposed. In the cinema, when history repeats itself, it is because the director has succeeded in framing real events from another time in the cultural model of today. The price to justify these events can cost anything from a gripping performance to a fictionalized interpretation. We’ve found 10 period dramas based on real events on our favorite OTT platforms that are worth binge-watching right now.

Sergio (2020)

Wagner Moura from the acclaimed Netflix series “Narcos” is back with another unfeigned performance in “Sergio” as United Nations diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello. The film moves in a non-linear pattern framing the life and experiences of Vieira de Mello as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Special Representative for Iraq leading to his death in the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing. Written by Oscar nominee Craig Borten of “Dallas Buyers Club” (2013), the film’s intense narration was moderated by Moura, complemented by heartfelt expressions from Ana de Armas .

Watch it here.

The Founder (2016)

“The Founder” is not about McDonald’s founders Richard and Maurice McDonald, but about the man who made it the world’s largest restaurant chain (in terms of revenue) and the world’s second-largest private employer. The story revolves around how Ray Kroc (played by Michael Keaton) who joined the McDonald’s team as a franchise agent and turned it into a global franchise, ultimately bankrupting the founders. Directed by John Lee Hancock of “The Blind Side” (2009) and “Saving Mr. Banks” (2013), the film earned Michael Keaton rave reviews for his wrinkle-free performance.

Watch it here.

Hidden numbers (2016)

As the film was released in 2016, 2020 seems like the right time to revisit its glow which highlights the crucial role three black mathematicians (Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson) played during the Space Race at The NASA. The period drama, loosely based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s 2016 book, is an ode not only to empowering women, but also to black women winning an intellectual platform dominated by white men. The cast of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe offers an inspiring blend of daring and common sense.

Watch it here.

Resistance (2020)

It’s been 75 years since World War II, but millions of stories buried under its concrete debris and emotional rubble remain unknown. Between ground level and emotional jolts haloed by heroic representations, “Resistance” tells the role of the legend of the mime Marcel Marceau (played by Jesse Eisenberg) in the French Resistance to save the lives of orphan children in the hands of the Nazis. Director Jonathan Jakubowicz contacted Marceau’s first cousin and resistance fighter Georges Loinger for research on the film.

Watch it here.

The Boy Who Bought the Wind (2019)

A 2013 memoir by Malawian engineer William Kamkwamba became Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut in 2019. The film unveils a fluid storyline filled with empathy, persistence and ambition. After a famine in Malawi, Kamkwamba was unable to attend school, which led him to use his gift for electronics by building a wind turbine to generate electricity. Ejiofor, who also starred in the film, received praise for this difficult first attempt.

Watch it here.

Muddy (2017)

Set in rural 1940s Mississippi, “Mudbound” reveals the story of two World War II veterans – a black and a white – who attempt to disentangle racism and PTSD in the aftermath of the war. Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan, this is another shining example of the fluid cinematography of director Dee Rees (who also wrote and directed the television series “Empire”). As the breed weaves the plot of the story together, there is no need to undermine topics like friendship and love here.

Watch it here.

Darkest Hour (2017)

“Darkest Hour” appeals to fans of Gary Oldman more than Winston Churchill. In an incredible character transformation, Oldman delivers one of his finest performances with this film, which also won him the Oscar for Best Actor. Directed by Joe Wright of ‘Atonement’ (2012) and ‘Pan’ (2015), ‘Darkest Hour’ also resonates with its choice of storytelling and historical screenplay. The film chronicles the beginnings of Churchill’s role as Prime Minister during World War II.

Watch it here.

The Whole World (1996)

‘The Whole Wide World’ portrays romanticism [but platonic] relationship of Robert E. Howard (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Novalyne Price Ellis (Renée Zellweger). Howard, creator of “Conan the Barbarian,” did not achieve fame in his lifetime, and it was only posthumously that his stories gained worldwide representation. He was one of the writers of the popular 1920s pulp fiction magazines “Weird Tales”, which also published some of HP Lovecraft’s early works.

Watch it here.

Twelve Years’ Night (2018)

If you love foreign films that even hit the Oscars radar, add this one to your list. Álvaro Brechner’s Uruguayan drama presents the grim reality of 12 years of incarceration of members of the Tupamaros, a left-wing urban guerrilla group active in the 1960s and 1970s. The film tends to magnify the subjects of solitary confinement. and claustrophobia under the military dictatorship.

Watch it here.

The Resistance Banker (2018)

You watch the most watched Dutch movie of 2018 here. Joram Lürsen’s ‘The Resistance Banker’ is a World War II drama encircling the role of banker Walraven van Hall (Barry Atsma), who funded the Dutch Resistance against the Third Reich. Melancholy cinematography tends to fill the film with real-time sensations of a dark era. The characters dive deep into the story, managing to excel in their performances.

Watch it here.

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All images: courtesy films. The story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India