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10 Inspiring Films Celebrating Everyday Heroes

10 Inspiring Films Celebrating Everyday Heroes

By Movieguide® Contributor

Movies about everyday people becoming unexpected heroes inspire viewers to leave their comfort zones. While most people won’t find themselves in situations as dramatic as the characters in these films, the Lord can use anyone or anything for His glory. Many of these characters overcome huge obstacles and achieve amazing things. This curated list features movies that celebrate everyday heroes. Movieguide® suggests using caution with young children as many films contain scenes that may be scary or too intense for them.

HIDDEN FIGURES

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
HIDDEN FIGURES is an engaging, encouraging, uplifting salute to three African-American women who contribute greatly to the 1960s NASA program during the Space Race with Communist Russia. Led by three fantastic actresses, HIDDEN FIGURES is an uplifting movie that exemplifies a positive way to stand with Christian strength and grace in the face of opposition, but caution is advised for older children due to many light obscenities and one strong profanity.

SCHINDLER'S LIST

Quality:
****
Content:
-2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.
SCHINDLER'S LIST tells the story of a German businessman, Oskar Schindler, who risked his life and fortune to save Jews during World War II. Aside from the nudity, sex and violence, Spielberg has captured on film the utter horror of the holocaust with its dehumanization of the Jews; but he has also shown what one individual can accomplish with determination.

THE BLIND SIDE

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
THE BLIND SIDE is a compelling, feel great drama that tells the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless young black teenager who is welcomed into a caring Christian family. Though there are unneccessary elements requiring caution, this wonderful drama is a faith filled, truly inspiring movie with overt Christian values.

UNBROKEN: PATH TO REDEMPTION

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
UNBROKEN: PATH TO REDEMPTION picks up where Angelina Jolie’s 2014 movie UNBROKEN ends, but showcases Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini’s faith journey toward Jesus back in America. UNBROKEN: PATH TO REDEMPTION is an emotionally stirring tear jerker, with great production values and a powerful ending, though caution is advised for older children due to some mature content, such as alcohol addiction.

SULLY

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
SULLY is a very powerful, miraculous, heroic story about the airline pilot who safely landed 175 people in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009. SULLY takes a small slice of life and turns it into a tremendous insight into the political, politically correct battles of our day. Caution is advised for older children because of some light foul language and intense air crash moments.

SOUND OF FREEDOM

Quality:
****
Content:
-2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.
SOUND OF FREEDOM tells the true story of Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent who puts his life on the line to rescue hundreds of children out of sex trafficking. SOUND OF FREEDOM is an incredible, gripping and heartbreaking, but hope-giving, movie with a strong Christian, moral that sheds light on the need for strong people to stand up for God’s children around the world who are caught in the vicious, abusive system of human trafficking, but MOVIEGUIDE® advises strong and extreme caution for the movie’s mature subject matter, some implied and depicted violence, implied abuse of children, and a scene of some bad guys using cocaine.

A MILLION MILES AWAY

Quality:
****
Content:
+3 Some minor questionable elements. (Media-wisdom is suggested to discuss.)
A MILLION MILES AWAY on Amazon Prime is based on the true story of Jose Hernandez, the first migrant farmworker ever to go on a space mission for NASA, and tells an incredibly inspirational, completely clean movie that all ages can enjoy. Starring an outstanding Michael Peña as Jose, A MILLION MILES AWAY shows Jose’s hardscrabble childhood as a traveling farmworker, until one of his teachers reads of his dream to be an astronaut and begs his parents to stop traveling and allow their children to flourish in a stable environment.

OCTOBER SKY

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
Based on a true story, the movie tells how a West Virginia teenager named Homer in 1957 starts building home-made rockets with his friends so that they can eventually win a prize at the state science fair. Homer's father is the major obstacle the "rocket boys" face in their goal to escape the confined world of their mining hometown. The movie's pro-family, moral worldview is marred by more than 30 obscenities and one line of dialogue about teenage premarital sex that is not rebuked.

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is the true story of the kidnapping of Captain Richard Phillips and his crew off the coast of Africa by Somali pirates in 2009. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS is an intense, riveting drama with a strong moral, patriotic worldview. Caution for younger children is advised.

HARRIET

Quality:
****
Content:
-1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.
HARRIET is the incredible story about how Harriet Tubman became Harriet Tubman, the woman who saved thousands of slaves and brought them to freedom before the Civil War. HARRIET is an exceptionally well-made movie with a strong Christian worldview, but it does have intense scenes and some foul language.

Watch THE SNOOPY SHOW: Season Three
Quality: - Content: +2
Watch WHEN CALLS THE HEART: Lost and Found
Quality: - Content: +4