A selection of the most fascinating historical films of recent years. These films received prestigious awards and participated in reputable film festivals.
Royal Affair (2012)
The plot is based on a true story that took place in the 18th century, at the court of the mentally ill King of Denmark, Christian VII. The young Queen Matilda hates her husband, because he prefers the company of prostitutes.
New emotions in the life of the queen are brought by the appearance of the doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee in the king’s retinue. He not only makes Matilda fall in love with him, but also changes the lives of the Danes. Struensee has a serious influence on the king, who is gradually reforming the government.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
The film is based on the true story of an illegally captured African American in the mid-19th century. Solomon Northup outlined his sad experience in his memoirs entitled “Twelve Years a Slave,” which formed the basis for the film’s script.
Solomon, a free black man, by chance falls into the hands of slave traders. For 12 years he goes through humiliation and trials of slavery, changes more than one owner, but does not lose his dignity. It is thanks to this that he manages to find legal freedom after hard work, bullying and insults.
The Butler (2013)
The film is based on the true story of Eugene Allen, who served as a White House butler for eight presidential terms from 1952 to 1986. His work was in many ways similar to the work of any other owner.
And although his family always really wanted to listen to gossip from the lives of officials, Eugene managed to keep everything he heard secret and do his job without being noticed. This is what helped Eugene stay as a butler for such a long time and become a direct participant in the changes that were taking place in society.
Kon-Tiki (2012)
Historical film dedicated to Thor Heyerdahl’s expedition on the Kon-Tiki raft in 1947. It was a legendary journey in the footsteps of the Polynesians, which confirmed the assumption of the possibility of such a journey and changed ideas about the boundaries of human capabilities.
Six daring and stubborn travelers under the leadership of Heyerdahl conceived an extremely dangerous expedition. They decided to cross the Pacific Ocean on a raft made of 9 logs to prove to the scientific world that the ancestors of the Polynesians migrated thousands of miles from South America.
For exactly 101 days the world waited for the end of the epic journey of the Norwegians, who covered 8,000 km across the waters of the treacherous Pacific Ocean. Their raft Kon-Tiki, named after the old Inca god of the Sun, became no less famous than the Titanic liner, but, fortunately, much happier.
Jane Eyre (2011)
The film adaptation of one of the most famous classic English novels – “Jane Eyre” by Cary Fukunaga – differs from previous film versions of the well-known story in its special poetry. After spending eight long, joyless years in a boarding school for girls, where day after day the teachers beat the pupils on the palms with a ruler, frightened them with stories of hell, and where the girls died in their beds from the cold, the orphan Jane Eyre receives a position as a governess in the house of the mysterious Mr. Rochester.
The owner of the estate rarely visits his native land, and in his absence Jane must look after eight-year-old Adele Varens, the aristocrat’s pupil. And then one day Rochester returns. Thus begins one of the most famous romantic stories in European literature and world cinema.
Promise (2016)
The majestic Ottoman Empire is one step away from its collapse. As the beautiful capital of the empire, Constantinople, plunges into ruin and unrest, a love triangle arises. Mikael Bogosyan, a medical student, fell deeply in love with the beautiful Anna, and this love is mutual.
At the same time, the American correspondent of the largest news agency Associated Press, Chris Myers, is crazy about the girl. The guys would really like to attract the girl’s heart, but when the lives of hundreds of Armenians are at stake, there is no time for love wars. Everyone is trying to save not only their own lives, but also the lives of other people.
Stephen Hawking’s Universe (2014)
An unusual love story begins at a party in 1963, when two young Cambridge University students, Stephen and Jane, met. The relationship between the future physicist, who received a global vocation, and his other half, Jane Wilde, an expert in Romance languages, was soon overshadowed by sad news.
Doctors discovered Hawking had amyotrophic sclerosis. But Stephen does not give up, because his faith in himself is supported by his beloved woman and the thirst for knowledge of the secrets of the universe.
Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
A touching, melodramatic story based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Hardy, which was included in the list of the best love stories. In the story, young Bathsheba Everdeen inherits a rich sheep farm. This girl is proud and independent. She resolutely joins in work by hiring workers.
The poor, but very sincere and kind shepherd Gabriel asks for the hand of the energetic Bathsheba. But the girl considers his proposal absolutely inappropriate. Wealthy bachelor William also chose Everdeen and would be a worthy match, but she does not feel anything for him. The real test for the girl is meeting the narcissistic, handsome Sergeant Frank Troy.
Suffragettes (2015)
Young Maude Watts lives a very ordinary life: she works long hours at a hard job, and then takes care of the house where her husband and little son are waiting for her. That was until she accidentally found herself in the ranks of the socio-political movement of suffragettes, who had been fighting in vain for many years to give women the right to vote.
Maude becomes one of the ideological fighters of the movement and, without realizing it, begins to make history. She has to risk everything she has to achieve her goal.
Unbroken (2014)
The film is based on real events from the life of American Louis Zamperini, an athlete and long-distance runner who took part in the 1936 Olympics. It was held in Nazi Germany. With the outbreak of World War II, Zamperini joined the US Air Force and was sent to the Pacific region.
In 1943, while performing his next mission, his plane crashed over the Pacific Ocean, as a result of which only he and two other crew members survived. For more than forty days, Zamperini and his comrades drifted across the ocean on life rafts until, barely alive, they were captured by the Japanese. But this was by no means salvation, but the beginning of new, even more terrible trials.