It seems like the end of 2023 marked a turning point in the movie industry. Is it me, or every single movie that came out at the end of last year was based on true stories? I don’t know if the reason why this change presented itself is due to the pressure of our time, or the sociopolitical events going on today. Regardless, these movies based on true stories always seem to hold a place of relevance. 

Huebner Oak Regal Theater offers something called “Mystery Movies,” which are 5-dollar movies that have not come to theaters yet. My mom and I have made this into our pastime, always surprising ourselves with these new, undercover movies. The last one we watched was a biographical drama called One Life, directed by James Hawes and starring Anthony Hopkins, Lena Olin, and Johnny Flynn. The movie is based on the true story of a man named Nicholas Winton, a London broker, in the year 1938. It narrates the time in which he went to Prague to help out with the refugees in Czechoslovakia, especially the children. I will not disclose the rest of the story— we do not like spoilers. 

My point is that, after watching this movie, it made me realize that although the film is set during WW2, I was alive before Nicholas Winton passed away. There was a brief period of time in which we were both alive on the same planet— defying the laws of time and history. It impacted how I see myself compared to what he went through when he was younger; I felt really inspired by what he did, and even though it was dangerous, he didn’t care. He just wanted to help.