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10 best autobiographical movies, ranked according to rotten tomatoes.

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Steven Spielberg's name will be back on the tip of everyone's tongue this awards season, with his new film The Fabelmans set to release on November 23. Spielberg's upcoming movie is unique from the rest of his masterpieces because it serves as a semi-autobiographical story of his own life, with a fictional character embodying a young aspiring director dealing with his parents' failed marriage.

The Fabelmans has received rave reviews since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, but Spielberg is far from the first filmmaker to illustrate his own life for material. Semi-autobiographic films are surprisingly common, whether a filmmaker recaptures a youthful memory or the hardships they faced during a cultural shift.

Amarcord (1974) - 87%

Federico Fellini was one of Italy's great auteurs, and Amarcord is one of his most acclaimed movies, having won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, alongside two nominations Fellini received for Best Director and Original Screenplay. The story is a series of vignettes about the eccentric inhabitants of a small town in Fascist Italy, told from the point of view of Titta, a young teenager.

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Fellini himself grew up in similar circumstances in the town of Rimini (near the movie's setting) and based Titta in part on a childhood friend, Luigi "Titta" Benzi (via The New York Times ). Perhaps, the adolescent perspective explains why so many characters are childishly obsessed with sex, such as young Titta and Uncle Teo.

Almost Famous (2000) - 89%

Almost Famous is a story of young would-be music journalist William Miller, who adventures with the band Stillwater. Considering Cameron Crowe had written for Rolling Stone as a teenager, he created the leading characters based on his own life, which makes his comedy-drama his most personal film (via Indiewire ). Although Stillwater is a fictional band, they are probably based heavily on real bands like The Eagles or Led Zeppelin.

Not only is Almost Famous is an engaging coming-of-age story and nice tribute to the rock bands of the '70s, it's one of the ultimate "plotless" hang-out movies . The viewer gets to know the band just like William, and seeing guitarist Russell Hammond betray him is genuinely heartbreaking after so much fun.

The Big Red One (1980) - 90%

The Big Red One is a highly underrated World War II movie about five soldiers in the eponymous 1st Infantry Division. The film has some impressive battle sequences and great performances from actors like Lee Marvin and Mark Hamill, but what makes it stand out is that director Samuel Fuller used his own wartime experiences as a basis for the story.

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Like the Sergeant and his squad, Fuller served in the "Big Red One" and even participated in the liberation of Falkenau concentration camp (via RogerEbert.com ). The liberation sequence is the movie's most heartbreaking, as it is nearly dialogue-free and shows Sarge helpless to save a suffering child, illustrating the graphic tragedies of the war.

Lost In Translation (2003) - 95%

Lost in Translation was a critical darling and a surprise hit with audiences, grossing over $118 million worldwide against a $4 budget (via Box Office Mojo ). The movie showed Sofia Coppola's directorial talents, Scarlett Johansson as a then-upcoming star, and Bill Murray's dramatic chops, as some fans still want a sequel to follow up on that infamous cliffhanger.

The movie also has some loosely autobiographical elements, with Coppola having spent a lot of time in Japan (via Departures ), presumably leading to the same kind of culture shock that Bob experiences. In addition, Coppola wrote Lost in Translation before her divorce from Spike Jonze, who may have served as a basis for Charlotte's husband John.

American Graffiti (1973) - 96%

Before he cemented his legacy as a pop-cultural icon with Star Wars , George Lucas' magnum opus was American Graffiti , a beloved teen comedy that has left a huge impact on many of the coming-of-age movies that followed it. In one of his best-directed movies, Lucas was innovative in creating the film's structure and authentic teen narrative, as he came up with the film's premise based on his own teen years.

American Graffiti is set in Lucas' hometown of Modesto, California, and John Milner's love of drag-racing is the one thing the director shared growing up, which also nearly ended up killing him (via SlashFilm ). The fact that much of the film is inspired by real-life also gives it an air of melancholy, particularly how the epilogue shows that two protagonists are doomed to early deaths.

Persepolis (2007) - 96%

Based on the autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is a coming-of-age film based on young "Marji's" life after the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi co-wrote and directed the movie herself, along with fellow French graphic novelist Vincent Paronnaud.

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The movie adaptation was critical acclaimed and was nominated for many awards, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. From youthful rebellion to growing up under an oppressive regime, Marji's story is told with a powerful voice, giving a firsthand account of the struggles that came along during a cultural change.

Au Revoir Les Enfants (1988) - 97%

Since so many great filmmakers lived through World War II, it makes sense that they would integrate the deadliest conflict in human history into their works. Louis Malle's Au revoir les enfants is the French filmmaker's take on the subject, following a young boy who discovers that his school's headmaster is sheltering Jewish children.

Au revoir les enfants was inspired by the actions of real-life Catholic priest Père Jacques, who happened to be the headmaster of Malle's own boarding school (via Film School Rejects ). Knowing this makes his film counterpart, Père Jean, immensely sympathetic, and the movie's ending, in which he is unable to save the titular enfants , becomes even more of a tearjerker.

The 400 Blows (1959) - 99%

The 400 Blows may have been François Truffaut's feature debut, but viewers can already see a filmmaker in the making of becoming one of the French New Wave's essential figures . The movie is a slice-of-life look at Antoine Doinel, a rebellious boy who is misunderstood and mistreated by all the adults in his life.

Truffaut put a lot of himself into Antoine, having been a troublemaking kid who never knew his biological father and a difficult relationship with his adoptive parent (via The Criterion Collection ). This makes Antoine's arguments with Julien and the latter's subsequent abandonment of him feel more realistic than a typical coming-of-age movie.

Lady Bird (2017) - 99%

Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut, Lady Bird follows Christine "Lady Bird" MacPherson, a nonconformist teenage girl who doesn't fit in with her peers and has to contend with well-being but an overbearing mother. The film received critical acclaim, with high praise going to Saoirse Ronan's performance, as well as Gerwig's direction.

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Lady Bird was a labor of love for Gerwig, who spent many years writing the script and was inspired by her own teen years growing up in Sacramento. At the New York Film Festival, she stated "Nothing in the movie literally happened in my life, but it has a core of truth that resonates with what I know" (via IndieWire ).

Fanny And Alexander (1983) - 100%

The story of a brother and sister whose lives are turned upside down when their mother marries an abusive tyrant of a bishop, but Fanny and Alexander was Ingmar Bergman's cinematic swan song. The movie's three-hour running time and slow pacing mean it's not for everyone, but admirers like Sam Mendes consider it one of their favorite movies .

For inspiration, Bergman drew from his experiences with his own father, a member of the clergy who was described as having a "volatile" personality (via The Independent ). The scene in which the ghost of Bishop Vergerus taunts Alexander by saying he will never be free reads very differently knowing this context, like an acknowledgment from Bergman himself that he could never fully rid himself of his father's influence.

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14 Best Biopics on Netflix (November 2024)

Biopics are an aspirational genre of filmmaking that arouses feelings ranging from tragedy to triumphant joy inside all of us. They serve as a reminder of the achievements of real-life people and the hardships endured while trying to accomplish something. Naturally, we are drawn to these shining examples of endeavor, perseverance, and grit. Most biopics depict personalities who are driven by something greater than them, showing us what it means to strive for higher objectives. Their life and experiences, told through a dramatic lens, inspire us to look at our own while dissecting the complexities of theirs. As such, to cater to your need for stories about real-life figures, here is a list of the best biopics available on Netflix.

14. Black Mass (2015)

‘Black Mass’ is a gripping biopic based on the life of crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp), whose notoriety kept the whole of Boston on its feet during the 1970s. He became an FBI informant, providing information regarding the Italian-American gang of the Angiulo Brothers. However, he did this at the expense of the growing power of his own gang, the Winter Hill Gang, and soon became one of the most dangerous gangsters in American history.

Joel Edgerton plays the role of FBI agent John Connolly, Whitey’s childhood friend who made the deal with him. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Massachusetts Senate president William “Billy” Bulger, Whitey’s brother. With brilliant performances and a captivating plot that is adapted from Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s book ‘Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob,’ ‘Black Mass’ is a must-watch. It can be streamed here .

13. Blonde (2022)

‘ Blonde ’ tells the story of Hollywood and film industry icon Marilyn Monroe (Ana de Armas) , whose rise to stardom is punctuated by internal conflicts and pressure to live up to a pristine image as she winds down a circuitous path of torment. Writer and director Andrew Dominik presents a more fictionalized version of her life based on the 2000 eponymous biographical novel by Joyce Carol Oates. 

Although it is not the most authentic tale owing to its deviations from the real-life story of Monroe, the film’s portrayal of mental health challenges and its uncommon narration style make it an intriguing watch for those who want an inside look into the famed actresses’ life. Separating fact from fiction is a different matter altogether, but it should not detract from an otherwise solid viewing experience. It can be streamed here.    

12. Big George Foreman (2023)

Directed by George Tillman Jr., ‘ Big George Foreman, ’ also known as ‘Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World,’ follows the remarkable life of boxer George Foreman (Khris Davis). The narrative covers his retirement from boxing, his new life as a preacher, and his return to the Heavyweight Division of boxing. Owing to the vast yet astounding events surrounding his achievements, the narrative picks up on Foreman’s incredible feats when everyone thinks he is done and dusted. The underdog story of blood, sweat, and tears may be a well-versed motif, but it’s present in abundance to make the audience root for Foreman every step of the way . Watch the film here.

11. Roxanne Roxanne (2017)

Living in the Queensbridge housing projects during the 1980s was not easy . In the Michael Larnell-directed film, ‘Roxanne Roxanne,’ the iconic hip-hop figure, Roxanne Shanté, has to navigate the difficulties of an impoverished beginning in the projects while plotting her eventual rise to stardom amidst a whole host of challenges. 

The film depicts her challenges with making a name for herself in a male-dominated industry, the complexities of her interpersonal relationships, and her familial responsibilities. Roxanne’s journey presents a rousing tale of overcoming obstacles, achieving success, and aspiring to be the best no matter what. Although life is rarely easy, Roxanne showcases the determination and optimism it takes to push through the struggle. ‘Roxanne Roxanne’ can be streamed here.    

10. Shirley (2024)

Directed by John Ridley, ‘Shirley’ is based on the life and career of the first-ever Black congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm (Regina King), who broke race and gender barriers and eventually competed against Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential run. Be it the first black candidate to receive a major-party nomination for the presidency or the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s nomination, Chisholm has paved the way for women in politics.

The film shows the battles she fought and the stand she took against misogyny and racial differences to become one of the most significant figures in world politics. In terms of her personal life, we get to know about her relationship with her sister and Alabama segregationist governor George Wallace, both of which contributed to her becoming the woman we know and learn about today. With a powerful performance by Regina King and well-depicted events from Chisholm’s life that effectively showcase the political scenario of the time, ‘Shirley’ serves as a worthy biographical drama that you can stream right here .

9. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)

Based on the memoir by Malawian inventor/author William Kamkwamba, ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ is directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor. It follows a young William (Maxwell Simba) as he tries to bring water to his village of Kasungu, Malawi, by building a windmill. However, his strained relationship with his father (Ejiofor) threatens to compromise his dream to “harness the wind.” An underrated drama that offers an emotionally moving view of faith and self-belief, ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ is a must-watch. It can be streamed here .

8. Srikanth (2024)

The Indian Hindi-language film, ‘Srikanth,’ tells the story of successful entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla (Rajkummar Rao), who defies all odds to turn an eco-friendly products manufacturing company, Bollant Industries, into a viable, profitable business in the modern market. Director Tushar Hiranandani depicts the struggles faced by the eponymous business leader after being born visually impaired in a rural village in the former state of Andhra Pradesh, India. 

The film is a sparkling reminder of the perceived limitations of individuals and how Srikanth turns the adversity in his life into a force for change. The narrative brilliantly showcases his drive, motivation, and inability to give up as he fights to achieve his ambitions despite a whole world of naysayers stacked against him. It is a rousing and inspiring entry that can be watched here.

7. Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022)

In ‘ Gangubai Kathiawadi, ’ a young girl named Ganga is duped into traveling to Mumbai, India, by her boyfriend under the lure of a career in the film industry. Once there, she is sold into sex work at a brothel. However, she rises to power within the ranks and becomes the madam of the establishment, fighting for the rights of her sex workers and the equality of women who are overlooked by society.

Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ is an adaptation of a chapter from the non-fiction novel ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands’ by Hussain Zaidi. The Bhansali directorial is a powerful exploration of resilience in the darkest corners of the world as the real-life protagonist climbs her way out of obscurity to fight for the freedoms she never had. It highlights her work and how formidable she was despite the cards dealt in her favor. You can watch her journey here.

6. On the Basis of Sex (2018)

Directed by Mimi Leder, ‘ On the Basis of Sex’ depicts the trials and tribulations of young fledgling lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones), whose personal challenges with her husband’s health and being a woman in a primarily male-led legal industry during the mid-1900s forces her to fight against the prevailing attitude to prove her worth. The film mainly revolves around Ginsburg’s early life and her work promoting gender equality through her cases.

It is an insightful look into the life of a pioneering individual in a demanding field with various trappings. Ginsburg’s struggles and accomplishments form the tapestry of the film’s emotional core, further enhanced by the presence of those who helped her along the way and her growing influence as a powerful figure. You can savor the movie here.    

5. Maestro (2023)

‘Maestro’ chronicles the life and career of famed American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. Written, directed, and produced by Bradley Cooper, who also plays Bernstein, the film dives into the complexities of the composer’s inner battles with sexuality and his complicated relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre. His turbulent bond with her plays a pivotal role in his personal life as he tries to come to grips with his identity and musical genius. 

The film is an intricate mosaic examining the various facets that made Bernstein who he was, making it an intriguing watch with a sharp performance by Cooper in the lead role. While it may not have a definite plot, watching a man’s life unfold over several decades, alongside his musical ambitions, presents a sense of deep poignancy to the narration and the humanity at its center. The film is available for streaming here.

4. Cinderella Man (2005)

Starring Russell Crowe, Paul Giamatti, and Renée Zellweger, ‘Cinderella Man’ is based on the life of former world heavyweight champion James J. Braddock (Crowe). After being given a second chance by his former manager, Joe Gould (Giamatti), Braddock, working as a day laborer, decides to get back inside the ring, much to the fear of his wife, Mae (Zellweger). An inspirational Great Depression-era story executed in a captivating manner, ‘Cinderella Man’ won three Oscar nominations, among many other accolades. You can watch it here .

3. Rustin (2023)

The George C. Wolfe-directed film, ‘Rustin,’ unearths the real-life story of a lesser-known figure in history named Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), who played an integral role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech. The film explores how, as a Black gay man, Rustin’s work and influence were diminished as he tried to fight against the discrimination of the time.

The narrative alights upon several critical moments within the Civil Rights Movement, providing an unseen perspective into the affair through the eyes of Rustin, who makes enormous contributions to the struggle despite never gaining attention. His unending work, beliefs, vision, and optimism are faithfully brought to the fore through the prescient movie and Colman Domingo’s stellar portrayal of a complicated man torn by the forces of his time but looking ahead all the same. Stream the film here.

2. Darkest Hour (2017)

With fears surrounding World War II gathering in Western Europe, the world looks for comfort and leadership in a precarious period. Newly appointed British prime minister Winston Churchill faces a difficult task in ‘ Darkest Hour ’ when he has to navigate the treacherous waters of parliament while trying to fight Hitler’s growing power, which threatens the rest of Europe, including his home nation. 

Helmed by Joe Wright, the film explores the strength, caliber, and legacy of the iconic leader facing the impossible task of unification against a turbulent tide of War. The film is graced by a mesmerizing performance by Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, who evokes the great man with deftness. Additionally, the film provides a fresh vantage point into World War II, one led through politics, making it a unique exploration of an otherwise well-covered subject. Watch it here.  

1. Tick, Tick … Boom! (2021)

In his directorial debut, ‘ Tick, Tick… Boom! ’ Lin-Manuel Miranda tells the story of Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield), a composer in his early 30s who hears a strange ticking sound in his head that sounds akin to the expiring time limit on his life. Larson is worried about the pressures of his career, constantly wondering if he made the wrong choice. While battling his inner fears, he discovers what it means to be an artist who is caught in the web of achieving success without finding any triumph.  

Based on the eponymous semi-autobiographical stage musical by the real-life Jonathan Larson, the film explores his doubts, relationships, and anxieties about an uncertain future in which nothing seems to go to plan. The narrative is a meditation on a person’s dreams and what it takes to see them through, regardless of the countless failures on the path. Larson’s life is one that many aspiring career professionals will latch on to as they find moments of levity, joy, and creativity in a story about human perseverance. Check it out here.

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How in the name of oz does 'wicked's nessarose become the wicked witch of the east, 'moana' and this 35-year-old disney classic are basically the same movie.

You can't go home again, but you can recreate it on film. Oftentimes, a director will take a semi-autobiographical approach to a film early in their career, when the story that they feel most compelled to tell is one of their childhood or teenage years. Other times, a director farther along in their careers is able to light a new creative spark by mining their own past. Luckily, most of these films ended up being either commercially or critically successful, so there clearly is an audience for these types of ultra-personal films. With the upcoming releases of The Souvenir: Part II and Belfast , as well as a Steven Spielberg autobiographical film on the way, there seems to still be a place in cinema for directors telling their own story.

Here are some of the best:

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The 400 Blows (1959)

François Truffaut ’s debut is not just one of the most influential movies ever made, but also introduced the way in which a director could tell their own personal story with breathtaking intimacy. The 400 Blows centers on Antoine Doinel, a kid who can’t help but get into trouble on the streets of Paris. Much like the young Truffaut, Antoine comes from a somewhat fractured family, being passed around to live with various family members before finally living with his mother and stepfather. However, despite Antoine’s troubles with his parents and the authority figures at school who can’t figure out what to do with him, we see that cinema is an escape for him. This hints at the obsessive nature towards cinema Truffaut would adopt as an adult while writing for the film magazine, Cahiers Du Cinema, with many other cinephiles-turned-directors who would create the French New Wave. One of the ideas that Cahiers Du Cinema emphasized was the auteur theory, in which the director is the sole author of a film, much like the author is to a novel. It’s hard to think of a better early example of this than The 400 Blows , since by incorporating the story of his own childhood and the kinds of playful techniques that Truffaut would return to throughout his career, it’s impossible to imagine the film being made by anyone else.

Amarcord (1973)

While The 400 Blows sees its director looking at the past from the perspective of its teenage protagonist, Armarcord feels much like we’re experiencing a flood of memories coming back to the director as he looks back on his youth. The film sees director Federico Fellini returning to the coastal town in Northern Italy that he grew up in, Rimini. Specifically, it sees him recreating the time in which Mussolini’s Fascist party had seized power in Italy, though before the tumultuous era surrounding World War II. The film is less interested in making a political statement than it is in showcasing a revolving door of colorful characters that exemplify the kind of vibrancy and humanity that can still flourish even when those in power are trying to oppress them. It makes for a film that perhaps ends up smoothing over some of the rough edges of this period in Italian history, but the affection that Fellini has for these characters is truly infectious, and whether any of them are real or imagined, show how much these types of people had stuck in Fellini’s mind even in this later stage of his career.

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

It’s hard to think of a filmmaker more committed to exploring themes that only adults are forced to ponder than Ingmar Bergman . This makes it somehow fitting that Bergman decided to make his final film about childhood, and specifically a childhood not unlike his own, growing up in Upsala, Sweden. Originally conceived for Swedish TV as a 4-part miniseries and released theatrically in a trimmed down (but still sprawling) 188-minute version, Fanny and Alexander clearly contains subject matter that Bergman had no trouble diving head-first into. It’s one of Bergman’s warmest films, possibly due to the fact that the children whose eyes we see the film through are less encumbered by the cynicism and ponderousness that plagues the adults of Bergman’s other films. Still, Bergman manages to wrestle with the brutishness of the adult world by having Alexander (Bergman’s film avatar) constantly struggling with his bishop stepfather and his strict Christian morals. The most touching moment in the film might also be the most personal, when we see Alexander playing with a magic lantern, a moment that Bergman has thoroughly recounted from his own life that would hint at his future fascination with the magic of cinema.

Crooklyn (1994)

Though there is a character in Crooklyn that is a fictionalized childhood Spike Lee (he has oversized glasses and loves the Knicks), this is the rare example of a film that’s autobiographical for multiple storytellers. This is because while Crooklyn was directed by Spike Lee, and is undeniably a Spike Lee film in style and tone, he also wrote it with his two siblings Joie Susannah Lee and Cinqué Lee . This feels more than appropriate for a film centered on a family living in Brooklyn in the 1970s, who bear a resemblance to the real-life Lee’s (the family’s father is a composer and mother is a teacher, much like Spike Lee’s own parents). The film is an underrated little gem in Spike Lee’s filmography, and there’s something especially poignant about how he's less interested in exploring his own story than that of his parents’ struggles with raising a family as well as that of Troy, the lone girl of the siblings in the family. Reflecting on the film in 2017 , Lee said the three siblings who wrote the film were unintentionally writing a love letter to their mother, and it’s remarkable the way the film manages to radiate that warmth while not glossing over the fact that their family didn’t always grow up under ideal circumstances.

Almost Famous (2000)

This may be the hardest to relate to of all the films discussed here, and yet also might be the one where the director has claimed the most events in the film actually happened. Yes, through a series of fortuitous circumstances, a 15-year-old Cameron Crowe became a writer for Rolling Stone in the mid-70s, where he covered such rock luminaries as The Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. In Almost Famous , he turns these experiences into one streamlined story, as Crowe’s stand-in, William Miller ( Patrick Fugit ), finds himself in the same situation as the teenage Crowe, except going on tour with a fictional band called Stillwater. It’s a love letter both to ‘70s arena rock as well as the journalists that covered them, all while giving the 1970s the same wistful gaze that’s usually reserved for the 1960s. Even if Crowe's films have been ever-diminishing since, at least Almost Famous saw him as a golden god capable of the kind of sweetness few can pull off.

The Squid And The Whale (2005)

Noah Baumbach has stated a number of times that there’s a degree of fiction to The Squid And The Whale , even if the core of the movie has a lot of parallels to his parents’ divorce. Regardless, it’s hard not to connect some of the uncertainty in Walt ( Jesse Eisenberg ’s character and the film’s little Baumbach) to the grown-up Baumbach while making this film. He was reluctant to tackle subject matter so close to his own experiences, and at first, wanted co-writer Wes Anderson to direct. He also wasn’t sure that divorce was that interesting of subject matter and also didn’t think the world needed one more dramedy about New York intellectual types (though the fact that no one wants to watch Woody Allen movies anymore makes The Squid and The Whale an appealing alternative). However, this delving into more personal material paid off, as it rejuvenated a career that had stalled out after Baumbach’s '90s films and kicked off the middle period of his career that saw him etching more mature sketches of characters that are both charming and caustically annoying at the same time.

The Tree of Life (2011)

This, of course, is the hardest film to verify in terms of how autobiographical it is, since Terrence Mallick is one of cinema’s most notorious recluses. Still, one can’t help but get the sense that what’s on the film’s mind is also what’s on Mallick’s mind when he reflects on his childhood and his place in the universe. This is because the film focuses on the O’Brien family, who just like Mallick’s family, lived in Waco, Texas, and seemed to have an ambitious and domineering father much like the one Brad Pitt plays in The Tree of Life . The majority of the film takes place in this '50s Texas setting, with the most overtly autobiographical element being the combative relationship that the young boy Steve has with his father, which judging from the accounts of family friends , doesn’t seem dissimilar from Mallick’s own relationship with his dad. While the aimless architect that Steve grows up to be in the film’s present-day sequences doesn’t quite line up with Mallick himself, it still feels like we’re seeing a distillation of his feelings on nature and spirituality, even if he’ll never give an interview that'll reveal whether that’s true or not.

Lady Bird (2017)

Another instance where the director has made some comments to dispel the notion that a film is entirely autobiographical, as Greta Gerwig has said “nothing in the movie literally happened in my life, but it has a core of truth that resonates with what I know.” This is certainly believable, since the pugnacious teen we follow in Lady Bird doesn’t quite match the breezy energy we’ve gotten to see in Gerwig’s acting before she made the transition to directing . Seeing as Gerwig clearly has a love for collaborating with actors (and Saoirse Ronan ), the character could be seen as an amalgamation of the teenage Gerwig and what Ronan brought to the role. But whether the events in the film really happened to Gerwig or not, it’s hard to imagine any other director could evoke such a personal love letter to Sacramento. It’s far from the most romanticized California city on film, but watching Lady Bird , you’d never know it. Gerwig illuminates her own relationship with her hometown by evoking the complicated feelings everyone has with their hometown, and how even if you cursed it as a teen, it’s an inseparable part of who you are.

The Souvenir (2019)

Talking about how autobiographical The Souvenir is, Joanna Hogg initially wanted to deny any parallels to her own life, then saying “I thought it was ungenerous not to admit they’re my own memories.” Much like The Souvenir ’s protagonist Julie, Hogg was a film student in the early ‘80s who had a relationship with a much older man who was also a heroin addict. It turns out to be an eye-opening introduction to adulthood for Julie, and Hogg does a disarming job of filling the film with the feeling of discovery that comes with being that age, but also tempering it with the heartbreak of how thoroughly messed up this relationship is. Adding another layer of meta-reality to the film is the fact that Julie is played by Honor Swinton Byrne , the daughter of Tilda Swinton , who was actually a classmate of Hogg when she was in film school during the time depicted in the film. Also, with the coming of The Souvenir: Part II , much like the most pivotal times in any artist’s life, you could say this moment is just the beginning.

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The 50 Best Biography Movies of All Time

1. Goodfellas

2. Lawrence of Arabia

3. Schindler's List

4. Raging Bull

6. The Wolf of Wall Street

7. The Pianist

8. A Beautiful Mind

9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

12. The Aviator

13. Ed Wood

14. BlacKkKlansman

15. The Elephant Man

16. A Hidden Life

17. Dog Day Afternoon

18. Bonnie and Clyde

19. Downfall

20. Memories of Murder

21. Fruitvale Station

22. Into the Wild

23. The King's Speech

24. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

25. The Intouchables

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Biographical films explore the fascinating lives of historical figures and cultural icons. The best biography movies offer viewers a detailed look into the lives of these people, skillfully recreating stories that have shaped history and left a lasting impact on the world. With unforgettable narratives to explore, you will find these films showcase exceptional storytelling, nuanced performances, and unparalleled cinematic vision. 

The best biography movies offer not just boring history, but gripping, groundbreaking, and original narratives. For instance, films like Catch Me If You Can follow the high-stakes exploits of a charming con artist, bringing together thrilling action with intriguing character development. Schindler's List, on the other hand, tackles the harrowing subject of the Holocaust, masterfully capturing the heroic efforts of one man to save lives during a dark time in history. Then there's A Beautiful Mind, which delves into the complex life of renowned mathematician John Nash, showcasing the challenges and triumphs associated with his brilliance. These films are but a few examples of the best biographical movies that excellently capture the essence of their subjects and the genre. 

The lasting impact of these movies demonstrates how well they resonate with audiences, transcending time and cultural boundaries. Biographical movies not only accurately depict the lives of their subjects, but they also elevate the art of storytelling by blending truth with cinematic drama. Through these exceptional films, viewers gain fresh perspectives on the world, history, and the individuals who have shaped it, marking these biographical movies as the very best in their field. 

Catch Me If You Can

Schindler's List

A Beautiful Mind

The Social Network

Raging Bull

Lawrence of Arabia

Cinderella Man

The Fighter

Remember the Titans

The Pursuit of Happyness

Walk the Line

Into the Wild

12 Years a Slave

Straight Outta Compton

La Vie en rose

Donnie Brasco

The Blind Side

Andrei Rublev

The Pride of the Yankees

The People vs. Larry Flynt

Hotel Rwanda

Man on Wire

The Imitation Game

Helter Skelter

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

A Serious Man

The Madness of King George

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Fighting with My Family

The Iron Lady

Born on the Fourth of July

Coach Carter

Man on the Moon

The Rise of Catherine the Great

Anne Frank: The Whole Story

Heavenly Creatures

Love & Mercy

Baadasssss Cinema

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

All That Jazz

The Right Stuff

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Buena Vista Social Club

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth

Bound for Glory

Good Night, and Good Luck

See Arnold Run

Deep in My Heart

Beyond the Sea

A Huey P. Newton Story

84 Charing Cross Road

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Radioactive

Sid and Nancy

The Traitor

The Crossing

Gable and Lombard

Daaaaaali !

Young Woman and the Sea

Back to Black

Gaby: A True Story

I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can

Rocky Marciano

I'm a Born Liar

Good Evening, Mr.Wallenberg

Camille Claudel

Beyond Good and Evil

An Unreasonable Man

Lords of Chaos

The Grandmaster

Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor

Max Manus: Man of War

True History of the Kelly Gang

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• Watchworthy

Looking closer at movies, TV shows, and even characters based on and "inspired by" reality.

15 Great Movies That Are Based on Directors’ Own Lives

“All art is autobiographical.”

– Federico Fellini

“The films I made are as autobiographical as fiction can be.”

– Jean Eustache

“Well, I mean, isn’t everything autobiographical? I mean, we all see the world through our own tiny keyhole, right?”

– Jesse Wallace (Ethan Hawke) talking about his art in Richard Linklater’s “Before Sunset” (2004)

Ever since the very beginning of art itself, human beings created it to express what they saw and experienced. It was later that they began using it to express what they thought, felt, imagined, wished, feared and dreamed.

The urge artists have to express themselves always carries, even in a small way, the very firm drive to put something of themselves into their work, even though they might be approaching or creating subject matter that has nothing to do with them as people or their experiences.

The very fact that an artist creates art means that such art will absolutely always, no matter what, be “personal” to one degree or another, and in that specific characteristic, the artist will be forever condemned to put himself out there, to expose himself, to say “this is me”.

Obviously, cinema has never been an exception, and its history is filled with works whose authors consciously and deliberately chose to openly show, expose, portray, flaunt, represent aspects of themselves, their personalities and their lives. Many times they choose to partially disguise such self-portrait by changing some aspects and fictionalizing, aggrandizing, minimizing, adding, and omitting certain elements.

Here we celebrate 15 films, in strict alphabetical order, about some of the best or most important and powerful examples of the autobiographical or semi-autobiographical film.

1. The 400 Blows (1959, François Truffaut)

As we all know, the film that officially started and inaugurated the Nouvelle Vague, “The 400 Blows”, Truffaut’s debut, is the story of a sad, misunderstood, often ignored and neglected 12-year-old Parisian boy. Nevertheless, the boy, named Antoine, is also full of life, energy and love. His yearning to love and be loved and accepted is so enormous you can practically feel it every single time you see the film, no matter how many times you’ve seen it.

Eventually labeled a “problematic boy” by the adults in his life, simply because they can’t be bothered to at least try to understand him, he is then abandoned by his mother and stepfather and sent to a home for juvenile delinquents. What happens after that, and the way Truffaut chose to end the film, will never leave the mind of anyone who sees it.

There’s no doubt the great Truffaut was able to make this film so magnificent and powerful because he had been through the same experiences.

Later, he met the hugely influential film critic André Bazin, who actually cared for him and became a father figure to him. Bazin expanded upon Truffaut’s already massive love of cinema and showed him hundreds of films, always acting as a mentor, friend and protector of the young would-be artist.

“The 400 Blows” is dedicated to Bazin, who passed away before the film was finished.

2. Amarcord (1973, Federico Fellini)

Who hasn’t laughed and dreamed while watching Fellini’s 1973 masterpiece?

“Amarcord” is a true marvel of mixed emotions, real excitement and true aesthetic and intellectual awakening. Based on Fellini’s teenage years in a small Italian village, surrounded by a massive family of which almost each member is unique and perfectly defined as well as hilariously unconventional, “Amarcord” paints a perfect portrait of the highs and lows, the laughs and tears, the losses and the gains of growing up in every sense of the word and having the courage to face the world.

“Amarcord” means “I remember” in Romagnol, a dialect spoken in a few rural areas of Italy, and one thing is certain: we will remember too.

3. The Andy Warhol Story (1967, Andy Warhol)

This film is definitely an absolute rarity, an oddity, a legend, a complete mystery. Behold “The Andy Warhol Story”.

The fact is that the utterly immeasurable, indecipherable, larger than life, impossible, multifaceted and legendary giant that was Andrew Warhola, better known as Andy Warhol, chose himself and his “story” to be the subject of one of his films.

The 20-minute film stars poet and philosopher Rene Ricard as Warhol and Edie Sedgwick, Warhol’s real life friend, protégé, member of The Factory and one of his “Superstars”, who was addicted to alcohol and several drugs.

There have always been rumors of Warhol taking advantage of and using people for his own gains and benefits and then discarding them without a second thought. The most peculiar thing about “The Andy Warhol Story” is that it consists of a sequence where Warhol invites Sedgwick over to his apartment to talk about himself and his career, eventually arriving at the subject of his alleged careless use of those around him.

At the end, Sedgwick breaks down and painfully withers and finally confronts Warhol on the account of him ruining her life by introducing her to drugs and promising her over and over a life of great fame and fortune.

Sedgwick passed away four years later at 27 due to her alcohol and drug problems; her relationship with Warhol was nonexistent at that time.

4. Annie Hall (1977, Woody Allen)

The great Woody Allen vehemently denies that “Annie Hall” is autobiographical at all. However, his co-star Diane Keaton has always claimed otherwise.

This revolutionary and legendary romantic comedy, one of the funniest films ever made and one of the greatest examinations of romantic relationships, deals with Alvy Singer, a comedian who’s frustrated and disappointed with how his career has turned out, who one day meets the titular character through mutual friends at a tennis match.

The film’s narrative is structured in a completely non-chronological fashion, with the first scene featuring Alvy delivering a monologue to the audience about his heartbreak caused by his breakup with Annie a long time ago.

The truth is, Allen was, as we all know, a standup comedian who was frustrated and wanted to do something else, and for all his life had dreamt of being an artist. Alvy’s views on life and the universe are the same as Allen’s, whose childhood and upbringing were similar to those Alvy went through in the film.

Additionally, both the filmmaker/writer/actor and the character share the same birthday, Keaton’s real surname is Hall and her closest friends used to call her “Annie” when she was young, Allen and Keaton were romantically involved for a long time and to this day remain close friends (the actress even claimed her relationship with Allen was extremely similar to that of Alvy and Annie),

Last but not least, it’s no secret that Keaton’s and Annie’s personalities are almost identical, with the exception of Keaton being of course much more “sophisticated”, for lack of a better word.

So, what do you think? Can we consider “Annie Hall” a semi-autobiographical film?

5. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987, Louis Malle)

If you recognize the phrase the gives title to this film, then there’s not much else to say. What can be said about the situation where that phrase is shouted? You’ll surely never forget its context, nor the entire film.

In this powerful monument of a film set in an expensive boarding school, we are witness to the everlasting and beautiful bond and love that emerges between Julien and Jean, two 11-year-old boys, who in spite being rivals upon first meeting, end up becoming the very best of friends. This friendship is one of the most beautiful, moving and powerful relationships of any kind seen in cinema history.

Sadly, this film is set in France in late 1943 and early 1944, and one of the boys is part of the group of people no one wanted to be part of at the time. No need to say more.

Louis Malle was a first-hand witness to a situation greatly similar to that depicted in the film, hence his reason for making it. Let us celebrate the fact that people like Julien and Jean exist, with their love, compassion, humanity and empathy.

6. Boyhood (2014, Richard Linklater)

“So let me go / I don’t wanna be your hero / I don’t wanna be a big man…” You know what I’m talking about. This is Richard Linklater’s second greatest masterpiece, by far one of the best and most unique films of our time.

For a number of years, Linklater had considered the idea of making a film based on his own childhood in Texas. He was the son of a divorced couple, with an older sister, and was an authentic, sensitive and smart boy, up until he finished high school and decided he wanted to be an artist. The idea was much more complex than that, though; he wanted to actually shoot the entire boyhood of a young alter-ego of his. It would cover 12 years, so everyone would actually sense and experience the passage of time.

“Boyhood” sees the great Texan auteur taking his styles and approaches to the extreme, to the very limit, or to the their ultimate destination; take your pick.

A lot is said about what we all know; the film took 12 years to shoot, the “concept” isn’t completely original, et cetera. That’s not important. What’s important is that thanks to the magic of cinema, we’ve traveled all the way to gorgeous Texas and accompanied this amazing group of people who’ve welcomed us with open arms, led by Mason Jr., and we’ve grown up and laughed and worried and dreamed and cried along with them.

Andy Warhol said (and I’m paraphrasing) that anything can be art, so why can’t life and time themselves be an art form of the highest caliber? Growing up and becoming aware of the passage of time is indeed a very big adventure.

Hey, Mason, see ya later, buddy. Look forward to your first exhibition.

7. Uzak (2002, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan, born in Istanbul in 1959, is a very special director, as all of his films contain at least a few autobiographical elements.

With his favorite filmmakers being Ozu, Antonioni, Tarkovsky and Bresson, it’s clear Ceylan isn’t worried about conventional narration or entertainment, and prefers to let things happen at a different pace. The director’s first love was photography, a love that he hasn’t forsaken to this day.

The landscapes, the countryside, the traditions, the folklore, the idiosyncrasies, the temperament, and the peculiarities of the country he was born in have always been the main preoccupations in his work, along with human interrelationships.

“Distant” shows how life has become for Mahmut, as he’s obliged to let his  unemployed cousin Yusuf live with him until he can get back on his feet. Mahmut and Yusuf do not get along; they don’t seem to even like each other, and there’s no bond whatsoever that can develop between them. They’re two broken, frustrated, alienated and repressed men who can’t open up because that simply isn’t an option for them.

9 Replies to “15 Great Movies That Are Based on Directors’ Own Lives”

[…] Pages: 1 2 […]

um, 2001 Space Odyssey…

[…] 15 Great Movies That Are Based on Directors’ Own Lives […]

Almost Famous was based on Cameron Crow’s life during his days with the RollingStone magazine…

A Time to Live a Time to Die

Still walking – Hirokazu Koreeda

“King of Comedy” (1999) by Stephen Chow is based on Chow’s own experiences before becoming successful. Also, Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” is possibly based on the story of himself and a woman he met, except with a sad ending.

The truly autobiographical film of Woody Allen is Stardust Memories. We see almost all the elements of Allen’s life, profesional and personal; the artist mad at his audience for prefer his “earlier, funnier movies”, his work getting more and more deep and dark; the presonal issues of this artist are reflected on his work; his relationship with the star of his films, the change on the films when this relationship ends, the constant worries of the artist with death. Throught the movie we see fragments of protagonist´s movies, in which he see reflected the trancision in his life (in a simple way: comedy to drama, happiness to unhappiness). The end shows the real Woody Allen, not the movie character, contemplating a black screen, that could mean the emptiness he felt in his life, despite of the fame his work brought him. Excuse my english, is not my natural language.

[…] Own Lives. [online] Taste of Cinema – Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Available at: https://www.tasteofcinema.com///2016/15-great-movies-that-are-based-on-directors-own-lives/ [Accessed 24 Feb. […]

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Best Autobiographical Movies from Major Filmmakers

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It takes a lot of courage for an artist to dive into one's personal life and create something purely autobiographical for the entire world to see. In the case of cinema, it gives filmmakers a chance to take a look back at their lives through a creative lens and to reminisce their long-lost days. Indeed, whether it's to look back fondly at their youth or tackle informative, and often difficult, moments in their past, directors will utilize the autobiographical film, not as a form of self-indulgence or vanity, but as an unearthing and a sharing of their stories in a way that belongs to them.

The autobiographical genre has been around since the beginning of cinema. However, the last handful of years has seen a sort of boom, with Kenneth Branagh directing Belfast last year (which dives into his childhood ) and, this year, Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans . Here, we’re taking a look at the best autobiographical movies ever released.

7 The Souvenir — Joanna Hogg (2019)

Written and directed by the British filmmaker Joanna Hogg, The Souvenir is a semi-autobiographical drama film starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke, and Tilda Swinton . The plot revolves around young film student Julie, who falls in love with well-to-do office worker Anthony, but their toxic relationship ends up affecting her university studies. As it turns out, Anthony is a heroin addict, has had questionable relationships with three other young girls, and doesn't shy away from breaking into Julie's apartment. The movie received critical acclaim right upon its release at the Sundance Film Festival. Despite the excellent acting, stunning cinematography, and precise editing, it may be not be everyone's cup of tea as the plot can run dry throughout its runtime.

Related: 8 Major Filmmakers Who Directed Music Videos

6 The Squid and the Whale — Noah Baumbach (2005)

The Squid and the Whale is a semi-autobiographical independent comedy-drama written and directed by Noah Baumbach . The filmmaker was one of the few screenwriters to ever sweep "The Big Four" critics awards with this Super 16mm-shot film. The plot focuses on two boys from Brooklyn dealing with their parents' divorce back in 1986. Although the arrogant novelist dad and unfaithful writer mom agree to share custody, their parenting is more combative than before. Baumbach is known for dealing with similar themes in some of his other movies, such as failed marriages of aspiring artists, but you can feel how painfully realistic this one is. While the other movies focus on the adults, The Squid and the Whale pays closer attention to how divorces affect the children and their mental state.

5 Roma — Alfonso Cuarón (2018)

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Roma is yet again a semi-autobiographical drama film starring Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira in the leading roles. Not only did Cuarón also produce, shoot, and co-edit the movie himself, the plot is also based on his own upbringing in the Colonia Roma in a neighborhood of Mexico City. Set in 1970 and 1971, the movie follows a live-in Mixteco housekeeper of an upper-class family. What sets this movie apart, as outlined by Film School Rejects , is its monochrome color and minimalist shots scattered throughout the movie. The housekeeper (inspired by Cuarón's) is treated like part of the Mexican family, even when she announces her sudden pregnancy. It illustrates class differences as a salient matter in Mexican culture and promotes that there's more to life as a Hispanic than being a maid and taking care of your children.

4 American Graffiti — George Lucas (1973)

The first movie to ever be produced by Lucasfilm, American Graffiti is a coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by George Lucas and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, and many more. Set in 1962, the movie is a study of cruising and early rock 'n roll, popular in Lucas' teenage years. At the center of the movie, there are different teenagers and their adventures over the course of one night, which were inspired by Lucas' own rebellious days. Its earnest soundtrack, on top of a grim sense of humor and its span over just one day, hits differently and more strongly than other movies. Universal Pictures was the only one to accept Lucas' pitch and agree to produce the film. Well, shame on those who passed, given how American Graffiti has become one of the most profitable movies ever made.

Related: The Best Biopics About Actors, Ranked

3 Minari — Lee Isaac Chung (2020)

Directed and written by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari is a semi-autobiographical drama movie starring Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, and Alan Kim in the leading roles. Based on Lee's own upbringing, the plot is set in the 1980s and follows a South Korean-immigrant family as they move to Arkansas to live on a farm and start their own "American Dream". The Yi family wants to grow their own Korean produce and start their own family business, but not everything's as easy as it seems. Minari explores the immigrant experience, the hardships of moving to a sparsely populated place, meeting new people, the strain it can put on marriage, what it means to sacrifice for family, and the vague concept of the American dream.

2 Lady Bird — Greta Gerwig (2017)

Written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her solo directorial debut, Lady Bird is a coming-of-age comedy-drama starring Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf in the leading roles. Inspired by Gerwig's teenage years, the movie follows a young girl — self-named "Lady Bird" — who's a high school senior in 2002 with creative aspirations, but has a strained relationship with her mother, who is not understanding of her needs. The city of Sacramento plays a huge role in the movie as Lady Bird's dream is to move somewhere with culture rather than a stagnant place where nothing ever happens. However, most importantly, it depicts the painful truth of some mothers loving their daughters out of duty rather than liking them as human beings.

1 The 400 Blows — François Truffaut (1959)

As the directorial debut of François Truffaut, The 400 Blows is one of the defining coming-of-age drama movies of the French New Wave. Jean-Pierre Léaud plays a semi-autobiographical character of Truffaut called Antoine Doinel, a rebellious Parisian boy who seeks understanding from his teachers and parents due to his rebellious nature. More than 60 years after its release, The 400 Blows is still considered one of the best French spectacles in history. It shines light on the misunderstood youth of the 50s and 60s in France, while rejecting the traditional ways of filmmaking. It won Truffaut the Best Director award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival — and rightfully so, as it helped create the foundation of new French cinema.

• Movie Lists

10 great autobiographical films

As Joanna Hogg dramatises her own experience as a young filmmaker with The Souvenir, we take a look back at 10 other great cinematic autobiographies.

The cinema screen is a window, but it can also be a mirror. Every filmmaker takes inspiration from the world around them; just a few have the honesty, audacity and/or ego to turn their life stories into art. As  Joanna Hogg  releases her starkly autobiographical new work  The Souvenir  – and in the wake of  Pedro Almodóvar ’s equally self-examining Pain and Glory (2019) – we take a look at some of the most notable films taken directly from a filmmaker’s own experience.

Dramatised autobiography in early cinema was relatively rare – the first audiences wanted spectacle, not everyday reality. And even when filmmakers did draw on their own histories these tended to be heavily stylised, as with  Jean Vigo ’s groundbreaking  Zéro de conduite  (1933), a deeply misunderstood film in its time.

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But three decades later Vigo’s masterpiece would prove a vital influence on one of the most widely seen autobiographical movies,  Les Quatre Cents Coups .  François Truffaut ’s frank evocation of his own childhood arrived right on the cusp of the Me Generation, joining popular works of art, music and literature in taking inspiration from the self; attempting to make the personal universal.

In the decades since, autobiographical dramas and documentaries have only increased in popularity – for younger filmmakers they’re a direct route to self-expression; for more experienced directors they can be the perfect cap on a storied career. And while these films can fall prey to indulgence, autobiography has produced more than its share of masterpieces. Here are 10 of the very best.

Zéro de conduite (1933)

Director: Jean Vigo

Opening with white titles over a soundtrack of schoolkids bellowing like animals, Jean Vigo’s 40-minute epic is looser and more free-spirited than almost any other film of its era. But Zéro de conduite (or Zero for Conduct, the mark given by teachers for bad behaviour) is also more intimate and personal than was fashionable at the time, drawing directly on the young writer-director’s years at a French boarding school and basing the four central characters on his friends and himself.

Depicting childhood as a time of anarchistic rebellion against repressive authority, Vigo’s film was immediately controversial – one review compared it to “lavatory flushing”, while the French Ministry of the Interior banned it for 12 years, citing the film’s potential for “hindering the maintenance of order”. Vigo would create one more extraordinary film – the 1934 classic L’A talante – before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 29.

My Childhood (1972)

Director: Bill Douglas

On the evidence of his unflinching trilogy of autobiographical dramas –  My Childhood ,  My Ain Folk  (1973) and  My Way Home  (1978) – it’s a marvel that Scottish filmmaker  Bill Douglas  survived at all, let alone went on to a successful career in cinema. Shot in the grainy, austere monochrome of wartime news footage and told with the simplicity of a religious parable, My Childhood follows 10-year-old Jamie, the child of an absentee father and a mentally damaged mother, growing up in the coalfields of Newcraighall near Edinburgh (later films would see Jamie consigned to a childrens’ home, before finding solace in friendship and self-expression).

This is autobiography as expiation, a chance for Douglas to confront and exhume the grim spectres of his past. But these stories are universal too, and powerfully political: taken together, the trilogy is both a compassionate call to action and a lament for all the world’s abandoned children.

American Graffiti (1973)

Director: George Lucas

Barely a decade had elapsed between the events depicted in  George Lucas ’s wistful  second feature  and the film’s production. But already, the early 60s had come to seem like the distant past, a pre-Vietnam, pre-revolutionary era of innocence and freedom (at least for straight, white American boys).

Loosely fictionalising his own high school graduation night, Lucas recreates the drag-strip culture of Modesto, California in 1962, where diner waitresses wear rollerskates, the Beach Boys are permanently blasting from tinny car stereos and the worst trouble you could possibly get into is a dust-up with a greaser gang. Shot on a shoestring but a massive hit with audiences, the film single-handedly sparked a wave of baby-boomer nostalgia that led to everything from Happy Days to Showaddywaddy. Its success also gave Lucas a blank cheque for his next project, a little space movie for kids.

Mirror (1975)

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Widening the concept of autobiography to include members of his own family – his poet father Arseny Tarkovsky, his mother Maria Vishnyakova – and ultimately the entire Russian populace in the 20th century,  Andrei Tarkovsky ’s most oblique and wondrous film is aptly named. Here the idea of the lens as a reflective surface reaches its apotheosis – but this mirror is a broken one, the film a shattered series of reflective fragments tied together with strands of poetry and haunting images of a dying man.

The result is unique and gripping as Tarkovsky unites the personal and the political, shifting from colour to monochrome, from the present to the past, from dream to reality. Of all the autobiographical films on this list,  Mirror  most perfectly evokes the actual experience of memory – its unpredictability, its ungraspable beauty, its poignancy.

The Big Red One (1980)

Director: Samuel Fuller

Independent maestro  Samuel Fuller  drew on his experiences as an infantryman in the Second World War for this abrasive episodic  epic . Named for the emblem of the US First Infantry, the film follows a platoon of American soldiers from the relative innocence of the North Africa campaign through the battlefields of Sicily, Normandy and the Rhineland to the liberation of the concentration camps.

Carelessly re-edited for its initial release and only restored three decades later, it’s an unforgiving and often unsettling watch, flipping from hardboiled humour to heroic action to abject horror, caught somewhere between admiration for the men who fought, regret for their sacrifice, respect for the achievements of the US military and outright disgust at humanity’s ruthlessness. It also contains some of the most surreal and striking scenes in cinema, from a pitched battle in an active mental ward to the birth of a baby in the belly of a marooned tank.

The Long Day Closes (1992)

Director: Terence Davies

Taking inspiration from the great Bill Douglas,  Terence Davies  is another British filmmaker whose best work is inspired by his personal history. From his breakthrough feature  Distant Voices, Still Lives  (1988) to Liverpudlian love-poem  Of Time and the City  (2008), Davies mined his childhood as a working-class boy from a tight-knit Catholic family for every ounce of pathos.

A loosely structured companion piece to Distant Voices,  The Long Day Closes  is a more evocative, experiential film than its predecessor, immersing us in its young hero’s sensual world; what he sees, touches and especially what he hears (this is a film filled with music, from grand opera to film musicals to singalongs in the pub). Davies knows every inch of these streets, every thread of every gown, every note of every tune – and the result isn’t so much autobiography as recreated reality.

The Alcohol Years (2000)

Director: Carol Morley

Am I the person I believe myself to be? That was the question posed by  Carol Morley  as she embarked upon  The Alcohol Years , a brutally honest documentary in which she explores her own misspent youth with the aid of friends from the time, many of them rediscovered via a series of personal ads placed in the Manchester press. Morley wanted to know – needed to know – if she was as much fun to be around as she thought she was at the time or, as she suspected, just a messy drunken nightmare.

The process of discovery is what drives the film – this is autobiography as detective work, as Morley pieces together a period of her own past that she’s managed to almost entirely forget. It’s also a fascinating depiction of Manchester in the post-industrial, pre-Hacienda 80s – a city that, like Morley herself, has fought to escape its past.

This Is England (2006)

Director: Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows  had flirted with autobiography before – both  TwentyFourSeven  (1997) and  A Room for Romeo Brass  (1999) were inspired by his Midlands childhood – but  This Is England  was more direct than either. The main character’s name is a slight giveaway: Shaun Fields is a lonely suburban adolescent who finds friendship with a gang of good-natured skinheads, only to be drawn into a subculture of white nationalism and mob violence.

What makes This Is England fascinating is that Meadows didn’t stop there, spinning off three additional long-form TV series in which the characters – initially based loosely on real people – took on lives of their own, the focus shifting until his alter-ego Shaun became almost a side-player in his own story. The result is something far more ambitious and affecting than simple autobiography – an epic but still fiercely personal examination of working class lives in the 1980s.

Persepolis (2007)

Directors: Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi

Autobiographical animation is relatively rare, but in 2007-08 a pair of films – French-Iranian coming-of-age tale  Persepolis  and Israeli war memoir  Waltz with Bashir  – turned traumatic memories into expressive animated art. Of the pair, Persepolis is perhaps the more approachable, recounting the story of rebellious, middle-class Iranian adolescent Marji as her family are uprooted and driven into exile by the Islamic revolution.

Based on co-director  Marjane Satrapi ’s own comic book, the film utilises the same monochrome graphic style – but for added realism, Satrapi would act out every scene for her team of animators, giving them a physical framework to work from while ensuring that the film remained as directly autobiographical as possible. The result drew inevitable condemnation from the Iranian government and protests in Tunisia, plus, bizarrely, complaints from American parents, who found its depiction of religious oppression too harrowing for their precious offspring.

The Beaches of Agnès (2008)

Director: Agnès Varda

Reinventing and revitalising the autobiographical documentary,  Agnès Varda ’s late-period films are playful, poignant and richly imaginative, almost a genre unto themselves.  The Beaches of Agnès  is as much a junk-shop collage as a documentary, mixing up old photos, home footage, movie images and digicam travelogue to examine the director’s own past, from childhood holidays in Belgium to (modest) fame as a photographer, artist and new wave filmmaker.

In the hands of a less skilful, more self-important director – as opposed to a self-described “little old lady, pleasantly plump” – this might have been insufferable. But Varda is a joy to spend time with, roving the thrift markets of Paris and setting up a mirrored art-show on the beach, revisiting the tiny port where she and her family sheltered on a houseboat during the war, while generously opening up her overstuffed memory-box and inviting us to rifle inside.

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7 True Stories and the Autobiographical Films They Inspired

Published April 24, 2014 Lists , Movies By Monika Bartyzel Disclaimer When you purchase through affiliate links on our site, we may earn a commission.

All creations are, in some way, autobiographical. As the merging of imagination and experience, at least a little bit of the creator’s self is infused in their creation.

At times, it’s little more than a thematic hint, like Ethan Hawke’s discussion of his failing marriage in Before Sunset , as the actor himself went through a public break-up. It can also be the combination of memory and fantasy, like Guy Maddin’s eccentric documentary about his hometown and childhood memories, My Winnipeg . And other times, cinema becomes the therapist investigating familial turmoil, like Sarah Polley’s excellent Stories We Tell .

On occasion, the film itself becomes a revealing cinematic journal, one that makes its audience witting (or unwitting) voyeurs snooping through private lives with a depth tabloids can only dream of. These films allow the filmmaker moments of introspection, revenge, and confusion that make for compelling narratives, but even more fascinating autobiographies when you know what inspired them.

What Maisie Knew

What Maisie Knew doesn’t look like an autobiography; it’s a close adaptation of Henry James’ 1897 novel of the same name. Yet actress Oscar-nominated actress Ronee Blakley ( Nashville ) just filed a defamation suit against ex-partner and Maisie co-writer, Carroll Cartwright, claiming his adaptation furthers “his own feelings of hatred for Blakley by maliciously and falsely portraying her as a selfish and uncaring mother.”

As it turns out, the adaptation is more than just an exploration of James’ work; it’s also an exploration of personal experience. Blakley and Cartwright had a relationship in the ’80s, one that resulted in the birth of their daughter, Sarah, and a long battle for custody that lasted over a decade. By Cartwright’s own admission, he decided to adapt James’ novel during his own battle, using his comprehensive notes about his daughter as a guide.

When the film was finally made and distributed, he called it the magic combination of “Maisie in the book, stealing from Sarah, and Onata the actress.”

The same year that Nora Ephron debuted as the screenwriter of Mike Nichols’ Silkwood , she published the autobiographical novel “Heartburn,” inspired by her mother’s lesson: “everything is copy.” Detailing the doomed marriage between herself and journalist Carl Bernstein (of Watergate fame), the novel became a bestseller, and a second collaboration between herself and Nichols quickly followed, when they adapted the story into the Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson-starring 1986 dramedy.

While Ephron was pregnant with her first child, she discovered that Bernstein was having an affair with Margaret Jay. After four years of marriage, and one more child, the pair split, and she worked out her anger in “Heartburn.” In her words : “If I tell the story I can make you laugh, and I would rather have you laugh at me than feel sorry for me.” In an update for a new edition of the book she also noted that she “left out a lot of what happened,” but Bernstein was, and is, still mad that she wrote it.

Beware of a Holy Whore

Many of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films were bred out of personal experience. One of the best is the 1971 dark comedy classic, Beware of a Holy Whore . In the film, the cast and crew fall apart while waiting for the arrival of their director, who, in turn, can’t rein in the chaos (or reign in the chaos).

The film is inspired by the production of Whity , a spaghetti western that reads like the love child between Lars von Trier’s American trilogy and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained . Shot in Spain in 1970, the once-forgotten production was plagued with on-set melodrama that led Fassbinder to immediately explore the experience in a separate film – one that participants claim “more or less accurately records the paranoia and desperate needfulness that reigned on Fassbinder’s sets.”

Chapter Two

Like Fassbinder, playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon is known for infusing his life into his art, and sometimes the line blurred well beyond mere words on paper. His 1979 rom-com Chapter Two detailed the life of a writer who barely mourns the death of his first wife before he jumps into a whirlwind relationship and marriage with a charismatic actress, one that is soon plagued by memories of his first wife.

The film was based on the play Simon wrote about his marriage with actress Marsha Mason – one that led to a number of hit films, but also a troubled marriage. His story, however, wasn’t one of revenge. Simon only wrote Chapter Two with Mason’s consent , and while she didn’t want to play it on Broadway, she did play the fictionalized version of herself in the film.

Abuse of Weakness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_tZXCMjwoM

Many autobiographical films strive to provide answers or resolutions, unless it’s a story straight from the mind of reflective director Catherine Breillat. In her 2013 film, Abuse of Weakness , she fictionalizes her post-stroke experiences, when she was manipulated by notorious con manChristophe Rocancourt .

In 2004, the filmmaker suffered a stroke that paralyzed one side of her body. During her long recovery, she met Rocancourt, and offered him a lead in one of her movies. Though he gave her companionship, he also took hundreds of thousands of Euros from her, which he was later jailed for, under what France calls an “abuse of weakness.” Though Breillat offers a closer look at her experience, she doesn’t strive to explain such a strange scenario; she lets the obvious questions of why remain unanswered.

Short Term 12

Though the structure around the facility is fictional – the film is anchored by Larson’s protagonist – it is based on an old journal entry Cretton wrote about the experience with an “I don’t really give a shit” kid whose father didn’t show up for his birthday. The experience led to the epiphany that, “All of that anger that he took out on me had absolutely nothing to do with me,” which inspired Cretton to transform the story into a short film, and then the recent feature.

Monika Bartyzel