I present to you 10 films that inspire, motivate and help to regain self-confidence and desire to escape forward.
Prefonteine
Even if Prefonteine lost, he still won. The brilliantly recreated image of the great athlete by American actor Jared Leto successfully complemented the plot of the film, which tells the story of Steve Prefontaine, and does not glorify his figure. At the heart of the story is a story about the way of the runner from a simple stadium to the glorious Olympic Games.
The film shows dramatic events in the life of this legendary athlete, who in his time had no competitors on the treadmill. For Steve Prefontaine, there were no unattainable records or insurmountable boundaries. But the sunshine of the Olympic gold medal is very cruel for those who fly very close to it.
- Original title: Prefontaine
- Starring: Jared Leto, R. Lee Hermione, Ed O’Neill, Brekin Meyer, Lindsay Kraus
- Genre: biography, drama
- IMDb: 6.70
- Country: USA
- Year: 1997
Finishing line
The picture shows story of a blind athlete Yannika and the girl Leila are a former successful runner who has just been released from prison. Both heroes need to reach past heights from the beginning, so they begin to help each other on this difficult path. The common goal brings the heroes together and they fall in love, against which they try their best to achieve high sports results and win competitions.
Throughout the film, the viewer balances on the verge of pity for the characters and empathy with them for each new obstacle encountered in their path. This film has very mixed reviews from critics, but all fans of running should definitely look at the inspiring duo of Yannik and Leila, the European presentation of their love, as well as the unsurpassed running moments.
- Original title: La ligne droite
- Starring: Rashid Brakni, Cyril Descourt, Clementin Selarie, Seydina Balde, Thierry Godard
- Genre: sports, drama
- IMDb: 6.20
- Country: France
- Year: 2011
Marathon
The film reveals in detail the peculiarities of everyday life marathon runner's life. As soon as you become a runner, everything around you changes. But when you choose the path of a marathon runner, you begin to change the world around you. In the center of the plot is a small car repair shop located in the old part of Rotterdam. Due to the huge debt of the tax inspection in the amount of 40 thousand euros, it risks bankruptcy.
The garage workers are a bunch of losers: the owner Gerard, Keys, Nico and Leo are unlikely to find a new job somewhere after closing. They understand this well, so they come up with a crazy plan to save the garage - you can get a lot of money by taking part in the famous marathon in Rotterdam. But there is only one problem - to get a cash prize you have to finish, that is, run a huge one distance of 42 kilometers fully. This unsurpassed European film has everything - a good idea, drama and subtle humor.
- Original title: De Marathon
- Starring: Stefan Valle, Martin van Vardenberg, Marcel Hensema, Frank Lamers, Mimun Oyassa
- Genre: sports, comedy, drama
- IMDb: 7.60
- Country: Netherlands
- Year: 2012
Sarah prefers to run
In the center of the plot of the film middle distance runner named Sarah. She was once invited to join Montreal's best athletics club, far from her home in Quebec, and it changed her life dramatically. The mother is worried that such an adventure will have a detrimental effect on Sarah's health and life, so she does not want to support her daughter financially. But despite everything, Sarah and her friend Anatoly move to Montreal, where they marry, naively hoping to get better government scholarships and interest on the loan.
Marriage is not at all what the couple imagined at the age of twenty. And the film stops talking about running achievements. The Canadian film was nominated at the Cannes Film Festival. Hard training and exhausting work of a young athlete, difficult life events and character - this is not the easiest, but one of the most beautiful modern paintings that talk about running.
- Original title: Sarah prefere la course
- Starring: Sophie Demare, Jean-Sebastian Curoche, Genevieve Bouaven-Russi, Ellen Florent, Michelin Lancto
- Genre: sports, drama, melodrama
- IMDb: 6.40
- Country: Canada
- Year: 2013
Пульс
The plot of the sports drama "Pulse" is based on real events. The main heroine of the film is deserved master of sports of Ukraine, Paralympic champion of 2008, five-time silver and bronze medalist of the 2012 and 2016 Games. In preparation for the filming, the creative team constantly interacted with Oksana Boturchuk. Actress Natalia Babenko began intensive training immediately after being approved for the lead role. It took her six months to get in shape enough to work on the film. The picture was shot in Kyiv and Kyiv region.
Young Ukrainian athlete lives in a small town and has a big dream - to get to the Olympic Games. Her athletic career is just beginning, and she is doing well. But as a result of a terrible car accident, the girl suffered serious injuries and almost lost her sight. It seems that now Oksana has no chance not only for the dream of the Olympic Games, but also for a normal life. However, she is not going to give up and seeks to prove that there are no obstacles on the way to a real dream.
- Original title: Pulse
- Starring: Natalia Babenko, Victoria Levchenko, Natalia Dolya, Alexander Kobzar, Stanislav Boklan, Lilia Rebryk, Akhtem Seitablaev
- Genre: drama, action, sports
- IMDb: 8.1
- Country: Ukraine
- Year: 2020
Saint Ralph
After the death of his father and a serious illness of his mother, fourteen-year-old Ralph, a genius runner, was sent to a Catholic shelter for boys. After doctors tell him that only a miracle can help his mother, the boy decides to achieve this miracle, namely to win the Boston Marathon at any cost. From now on, he will have grueling training sessions for many months. Ralph trains on a book by Simon Langboat - an outstanding runner.
The film tells about the path and efforts of a hard-working guy, for whom running became the center of life, and the answer to such a question as "Why are you running?" He is deeper than Forrest Gump. In fact, the film is not so much about running, but about the desire to achieve goals, determination and faith in their own strength, despite the doubts and condemnations of others.
- Original title: Saint Ralph
- Starring: Adam Butcher, Michael Kanev, Gordon Pinsent, Tamara Hope, Chris Ploschansky
- Genre: sports, comedy, drama
- IMDb: 7.60
- Country: Netherlands
- Year: 2004
Chariots of fire
The plot of this film is inspired real story, covering the events of the 1924 Olympics in Paris. The British flag features two very different athletes: Eric Liddell, a missionary from Scotland, and Harold Abraham, a Jewish student at Cambridge University. The class and religious affiliation, the difference in the character and worldview of these runners further exacerbates their competition for the championship.
The picture fully conveys the atmosphere of those times Olympiad has not yet been transformed into political rivalry, and competition has not depended on big money. First of all, it was a competition of real purposeful professionals. By the way, this film once won four Oscars and was a winner at the Cannes Film Festival.
- Original title: Chariots of Fire
- Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charlson, Nigel Hevers, Ian Holm
- Genre: sports, biography, drama
- IMDb: 7.20
- Country: Great Britain
- Year: 1980
Coach (McFarland, USA)
Another the film is based on real events. The story takes place in the small town of McFarland, in America, back in 1987. More than 90% of locals are Latinos who have emigrated to the country as immigrants or refugees.
It is in this town that professional coach Jim White gathers a team of local hooligans to take part in the California Athletics Championships and achieve high results in running.
- Original title: McFarland, USA
- Starring: Kevin Costner, Carlos Pratts, Sergio Avelar, Maria Bello
- Genre: sports, biography, drama
- IMDb: 7.40
- Country: USA
- Year: 2014
Unbroken
The film tells the story of an American athlete named Louis Zamperini, who participated in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Famous during World War II long distance runner served in the US Air Force.
In 1943, a military aircraft on which Louis Zemperini was with his colleagues, was shot down over the Pacific Ocean. For more than 40 days, the guys on life rafts drifted across the ocean, until the last breath was captured by the Japanese. It was not a long-awaited salvation at all, but an even more terrible and difficult ordeal on the athlete's path.
- Original title: Unbroken
- Starring: Jack O’Connell, Jay Courtney, Donal Gleason, Garrett Hedlund
- Genre: sports, drama, military, biographical
- IMDb: 7.20
- Country: USA
- Year: 2014
Dream Run: The Story of Gail Divers
Biographical film, which tells the story of the difficult life of the famous athlete from the United States named Gail Divers, who faced a huge number of problems after participating in the 1986 Olympics. Gail has faced such terrible diseases as cancer and severe paralysis. But the athlete not only did not give up, but also proved to everyone that the possibilities of man are limitless.
After overcoming her illness, she returned to the big sport and won two gold medals at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and another in 1996 at the Olympics in Atlanta in the 100 meters.
- Original title: Run for the Dream: The Gail Devers Story
- Starring: Charlene Woodard, Louis Gosset Jr., Jeffrey D. Sams
- Genre: sports, drama, biography
- IMDb: 7.40
- Country: USA
- Year: 1996
And if you still want to see something interesting a movie about running, then as a bonus I can recommend the legendary film and which has already become a classic of cinema:
Forrest Gump
And this one legendary film you don't even have to imagine, because this is a real classic of cinema. If you haven't seen this picture yet, make up for it. This is one of the best and brightest films, which proves that in order to achieve something, you just need to start and confidently go to your goal.
The example of the hero is inspiring, because Forrest decided to running, without having any outstanding sports form.
- Original title: Forrest Gump
- Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Michelle Williamson, Sally Field, Rebecca Williams
- Genre: sports, drama, melodrama, comedy
- IMDb: 8.80
- Country: USA
- Year: 1994
I really hope that this is a very diverse selection movies about running will give each of you a lot of exciting emotions and impressions and motivate even more fruitfully run.
