Browse Movies : Netflix Originals : "true story"

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1 – 20 of 28 movies

Hit Man

Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher moonlights as a mysterious gun man for hire for cops. When he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (Adria Arjona) trying to flee an abusive husband, he finds himself becoming one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with turning into a criminal himself.

Completed

June 7, 2024 Limited Netflix

Blue Miracle

Following Hurricane Odile hit in 2014, a group of Mexican residents enter the world’s biggest fishing tournament in hopes of winning the prize money to save an orphanage.

True Spirit

When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft) sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben Bryant (Cliff Curtis) and her parents (Josh Lawson and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin), Jessica is determined to accomplish what was thought to be impossible, navigating some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean over the course of 210 days.

22 July

In 22 July, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips, United 93) tells the true story of the aftermath of Norway’s deadliest terrorist attack. On 22 July 2011, 77 people were killed when a far-right extremist detonated a car bomb in Oslo before carrying out a mass shooting at a leadership camp for teens. 22 July uses the lens of a survivor’s physical and emotional journey to portray the country's path to healing and reconciliation.

Against the Ice

In 1909, Denmark’s Arctic Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was attempting to disprove the United States’ claim to Northeast Greenland. This claim was based on the assumption that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land. Leaving his crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen embarks on a journey across the ice with his inexperienced crew member, Iver Iversen (Joe Cole). The two men succeed in finding the proof that Greenland is one island, but returning to the ship takes longer and is much harder than expected. Battling extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack, they finally arrive to find their ship crushed in the ice and the camp abandoned. Hoping to be rescued, they now must fight to stay alive. As the days grow longer, their mental hold on reality starts to fade, breeding mistrust and paranoia, a dangerous cocktail in their fight for survival.

Penguin Bloom

In 2013, Samantha Bloom (two-time Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), her husband Cameron (The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln) and their three sons left their home in Australia for a holiday in Thailand. While enjoying a view, Sam fell off of a rooftop due to what was later determined to be a rotted railing...breaking her vertebrae in two places. Paralyzed from the chest down, Sam — a lifelong outdoorswoman, surfer, and traveler —was unrecognizable to herself, and spent long months in a depression that made her question who she could be in the world and in her own family.

A year later, her children brought home a wounded baby magpie they found. Warily eyeing the black-and-white bird the kids affectionately named “Penguin,” Sam bonded with the household’s new member, beginning a process of emotional healing that surprised her husband and sons, her mother (Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver), and herself. Penguin Bloom tells the amazing true story of renewal that occurred when a woman whose life seemed shattered found hope and purpose in her family’s love — and in a bird on its own journey of recovery.

The Swimmers

The Swimmers tells the true story of swimming sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini’s miraculous journey as refugees from war-torn Syria, all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Nyad

The remarkable true story of marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, who, at the age of 64, became the first person to complete the “Everest of swims," a 53-hour, 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida through dangerous open ocean without a shark cage.

Completed

November 3, 2023 Limited Netflix

Rescued by Ruby

State trooper Dan (Grant Gustin) dreams of joining the K-9 Search & Rescue team, but no one will give him the chance. Shelter dog Ruby dreams of having a home, but is running out of hope. When fate brings Dan and Ruby together, it's their unshakable bond that helps them face their toughest challenge yet.

The Boy Who Harnessed T...

Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. Based on the true story of William Kamkwamba.

Completed

March 1, 2019 Limited Netflix

The Deliverance

When Ebony Jackson, a struggling single mom, moves her mother and children into a new home, strange occurrences begin to happen, and child protective services suspects Ebony of child abuse. But when these occurrences reveal to be demonic, Ebony not only has to battle the system for her children, but she soon finds herself in a spiritual battle against a demon for her faith, her life, and for the souls of her children. Inspired by a true story.

Woman of the Hour

Woman of the Hour is based on the stranger-than-fiction true story of Cheryl Bradshaw and Rodney Alcala. Bradshaw was a bachelorette on the hit 70s TV matchmaking show The Dating Game and chose handsome and funny bachelor number three, Rodney Alcala. But behind Alcala’s charming facade was a deadly secret: he was a psychopathic serial killer.

The Highwaymen

The outlaws made headlines. The lawmen made history. From director John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side), The Highwaymen follows the untold true story of the legendary detectives who brought down Bonnie and Clyde. When the full force of the FBI and the latest forensic technology aren't enough to capture the nation's most notorious criminals, two former Texas Rangers (Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson) must rely on their gut instincts and old school skills to get the job done.

Completed

March 29, 2019 Limited Netflix

Six Triple Eight

Six Triple Eight tells the inspiring true story of the incredible and brave women of the only all-black, all-female World War 2 Battalion. These 855 women joined the war effort with little knowledge of what exactly they would be doing, but were quickly given the mission of a lifetime: sort through and fix the three-year backlog of undelivered mail. A herculean task, that most thought to be impossible, the women not only succeeded but did it in half the time they were given. Facing discrimination, unfamiliar land, and a war-torn country, they persevered and sorted over 17 million pieces of mail, reconnecting American soldiers with their families and loved ones back home. The motto that kept them going each day was one they created themselves: “No Mail, Low Morale.” The women of the 6888 weren’t just delivering mail, they were delivering hope.

Dog Gone

A young man and his father begin a desperate search to find their beloved dog Gonker on the Appalachian Trail before it’s too late.

Good on Paper

Andrea Singer always put her stand-up career first, and while dating came easy, love wasn't a priority... that is until she meets Dennis, a quirky nerd with disarming charm who coaxes her into letting her guard down. Her best friend Margot isn’t convinced he’s all he seems and she urges Andrea to embark on a wild goose chase to uncover who Dennis really is.

Joy

Tells the remarkable true story behind the ground-breaking birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978, the world’s first ‘test-tube- baby’, and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible. Told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist, who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards and surgeon Patrick Steptoe to unlock the puzzle of infertility by pioneering in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The Angel

The true story of Ashraf Marwan, who was Egyptian President Nasser's son-in-law, and special advisor and confidant to his successor Anwar Sadat, while simultaneously one of Israeli Intelligence's most precious assets of the 20th century.

The Hatchet Wielding Hi...

The true story of Caleb "Kai" McGillvary, an unhoused nomad who, after saving a woman from a violent attack, became an overnight celebrity sought after by reality TV producers and adoring fans alike — until murder turned his fame into notoriety.