Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXVIII -- Based on a True Story

Wildflower was a winner.  It's certainly not the only movie about a family which is non-traditional in its own way, but it's one of the better ones I've seen, even as it edges toward the predictable.  Young Bea has two intellectually disabled parents who, against some substantial odds, have raised their daughter in their own way.  Families interfere, but love and understanding win the day, carried in no small part on the shoulders of the daughter.  If you were a Mad Men watcher, you'll recognize Kiernan Shipka, who played Sally Draper, as Bea.

The title character in Yara was a 13-year-old girl who went missing when she was on her routine walk home from her gym one winter night. Her body was found three months later, but it took years to identify a suspect and bring the matter to trial.  Though the crime is of course the center of the story, the real narrative is the doggedness of the investigator and the patience of the victim's family.  The movie is based on a real murder and subsequent criminal investigation.

Mutiny on the Bounty is one of those movies that everyone knows the name of.  I imagine only a small fraction of those people have actually seen it.  Until recently, I was one of those.  For my part, I watched the 1962 version.  (There are at least four other film versions, some now lost to history.)  Marlon Brando, young though he looks as lead mutineer Fletcher Christian, had been in major films for 10 years by the time Mutiny came out.  It's an old movie, so expect a lot of racism and sexism.  I didn't love the movie, but at least now I can say that I've seen it.

None of these movies are documentaries, but Bridge of Spies has gotten some flak for taking pretty substantial liberties with the real story, especially the timeline.  But, I love Tom Hanks, I love a good historical tale, and I love a war movie, so I don't really care. Hanks plays an American lawyer who, after he is tapped to defend a Soviet spy caught in the US, is sent to East Germany to try to facilitate a prisoner swap, exchanging his convicted former client for an American pilot.  His unwavering certainty about how to handle the negotiations is where the inspiration lies.

If you, too, think the idea of watching a guy whittle wooden keys for 90 minutes sounds as dull as watching paint dry, try Escape from Pretoria.  Real-life political activist Tim Jenkin is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe.  When he is arrested in South Africa, along with his friend, for their anti-apartheid activities, Jenkin plots his - you guessed it - escape from Pretoria Prison. Surprisingly suspenseful.

Soccer fans may already know the story told in The Keeper, but I didn't. It profiles Bert Trautmann, a German POW who elected, at the end of the war, to remain in England rather than return to Germany.  He made a name for himself as an excellent football goalie, eventually guarding the goal for many years as the keeper for Manchester City.  The movie is pitched as a love story, but even immediately after concluding viewing I would have told you it's more about overcoming prejudice and building bridges through sport than it is a love story.  Upon reading a bit more about Mr. Trautmann's post-film personal life, I find that to be even more true.  Regardless, I enjoyed watching the impressive saves.