12. Amazing Grace (2006)
One of the most obvious examples of liberation is the abolition of the slave trade, which has happened in many ways across many countries over many years and decades.
For Britain, it was William Wilberforce who led the campaign in the late 19th century during post-religious enlightenment. Unsurprisingly, this move made him less than popular in the House of Commons.
Nonetheless, Wilberforce pushed on until the slave trade slowly eroded and eventually disappeared in the British Empire.
Ioan Gruffudd stars as the determined Member of Parliament, whose public speaking skills were so eloquent that he was nicknamed the “Nightingale of the Commons.” Pretty handy for a politician!
Michael Apted’s earnest biopic is named after the 1772 hymn “Amazing Grace,” the author of which features as a character in the movie.
Related:The Best Movies About Slaves and the Slave Trade, Ranked
11. Freedom Writers (2007)
Teacher characters in movies tend to fall into two buckets: either overly strict antagonists (e.g.MatildaandThe Breakfast Club) or understanding mentors (e.g.Dead Poets SocietyandHalf Nelson).
InFreedom Writers, we get the latter in Erin Gruwell (played by Hilary Swank), who becomes a teacher for at-risk students in California.
Richard LaGravenese adapted the 1999 bookThe Freedom Writers Diaryfor this biopic, which was comprised of real entries from her students.
Hilary Swank delivers her usual caliber of acting as the sheltered English teacher who struggles to gain the respect of her teen students. Although they initially judge Erin for her privileged white position, she comes to understand and even inspire them.
Her empathy and guidance is what ultimately provides some freedom from their troubled home lives and gang rivalries, and in this safe space they go on to publish their own book.
Related:The Best Movies About Teachers and Students, Ranked
10. Room (2015)
InRoom, Joy is a prisoner without the bars and her son Jack is a prisoner without even knowing he is one.
Held captive in a tiny room by “Old Nick,” Joy (played by Brie Larson) is regularly raped by her captor while trying to shield her son (played by Jacob Tremblay) from the fact that they’re hostages.
Joy does this by pretending “Room” is the entire world—up until an opportunity to escape presents itself.
And while they do escape, “freedom” remains a distant concept as Joy finds it difficult to readjust to normal life and must live with the scars that her trauma left on her. Jack, too, is overwhelmed by the breadth of his new life, showing how freedom is not a simple concept.
Emma Donoghue turned her 2010 novel into a screenplay for this Oscar-winning drama, directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
Related:The Best Movies About Mother-Son Relationships
9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Education is a human right that allows for independence and employment. Knowledge is, after all, power. But that doesn’t mean going to school can’t feel like prison!
InFerris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris Bueller (played by Matthew Broderick) unsurprisingly decides to take a day off from high school and bask in the free time of a weekday spent joyriding through Chicago.
This fake sick day gives Ferris the space for art, sports, and even dancing on a float to The Beatles. And yet, if Ferris didn’t have to go to school every day, he probably wouldn’t enjoy this day off so much!
It’s the paradox of good stuff: when you have too much of a good thing, it loses its value. Conversely, it’s only when you’re deprived of the good stuff that you can really cherish what you have.
John Hughes wrote, directed, and produced the 80s teen classic that reminds us all to “stop and look around once in a while.”
Related:Inspirational Movie Quotes on Life, Friendship, and Love
8. The Master (2012)
Although Freddie (played by Joaquin Phoenix) may “pay no rent” and is “free to go where you please,” that doesn’t make him free.
This WW2 Navy veteran is subject to a different kind of slavery—a psychological one. Freddie lives a spontaneous life of chaos and moonshine so potent that it even kills a man.
Lancaster Dodd (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) invites Freddie aboard his yacht in an attempt to rehabilitate him. But despite Dodd’s help, Freddie is unable to quell his addiction.
Paul Thomas Anderson is a master himself at cinematic execution, and concludesThe Masteron these words: “If you figure a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let the rest of us know, will you? For you’d be the first person in the history of the world.”
Related:The Best Movies About Cults and Creepy Religious Groups
7. Braveheart (1995)
Historical epics featuring warriors and fighters tend to climax with a big, empowering speech near the end. InBraveheart, that speech comes from Mel Gibson’s William Wallace as he stirs his men up before they storm into battle.
“They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” is the iconic quote shouted by Wallace, who was commander of the Scottish rebels in the First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328). That line sums up the entire point ofBraveheart.
Although we will never know the full details of William Wallace’s life, historians gathered a fair amount from the epic poemThe Wallaceby “Blind Harry,” which was used as reference by director Randall Wallace (no relation).
Related:The Best Movies About the Medieval Times, Ranked
6. Into the Wild (2007)
Most of us feel the pressures of consumerism and materialism in modern society: embarrassed by second-hand cars and rental situations, expected to attend college than travel the world, striving for wealth and success over contentment and happiness.
Those are everyday restrictions of our capitalist world—and Chris McCandless was one of the few people to actually do anything about it. Sean Penn retells his noble (if tragic) endeavor inInto the Wild.
Chris McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) tosses his credit card and hits the road to experience all that nature has to offer, living off the land while traveling to his dream spot in Alaska.
He finds his life utterly more expansive, rich, and peaceful when he’s answering to the mountains instead of being a CEO. Yet even while he’s free, there’s one thing he can’t be free of: loneliness.
Related:The Best Movies About Going Off Grid and Self-Reliant Living
5. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Chris Gardner inThe Pursuit of Happynesswas a real-life guy in pursuit of freedom, who searched for it in stockbroking.
After losing his life savings on a bad investment, Chris ends up divorced, homeless, and unable to land a job. He vows to climb out of his hole, to find a place in the office, to finally break out of the tightening cage imposed on him by poverty and debt.
Will Smith gives a fiery, determined performance as the down-on-his-luck salesman, with Smith’s real-life son Jaden Smith also appearing as Chris’s five-year-old boy, Christopher Jr.
The authenticity of their father-son performance adds an extra dimension to Gabriele Muccino’s already powerful biopic, in which the two must sleep on the streets while Chris works as an unpaid intern.
Related:The Best Movies About Poverty and Homelessness, Ranked
4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemptiontakes the notion of “freedom” in more literal terms, with Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) plotting to escape his double life sentence at a high-security prison.
Set in 1947, Andy befriends prison smuggler Red (played by Morgan Freeman), one of the only men at Shawshank who doesn’t think Andy is a freak for his quiet and gentle nature that doesn’t fit in.
Together, they develop a friendship that transcends any differences they might have and share all kinds of wisdom between them.
When you imprison someone, you take away their rights as punishment for their crimes. But what if they’re innocent? Does that make their freedom any more or less valuable?
Based on the novella by Stephen King,The Shawshank Redemptionis a film buff classic with a lasting cinematic legacy. You’d never guess it was an Oscar snub or a box office flop!
Related:The Best Movies About Prison and Prison Life, Ranked
3. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Sickness can be restrictive, whether it’s a short-term inability to work or a life-long debilitating ailment. It’s even worse when you’re denied access to a drug that could really help.
InDallas Buyers Club, Ron Woodroof (played by Matthew McConaughey) is a cowboy who’s diagnosed with AIDS. When he discovers pharmaceuticals that ease his symptoms, he decides to smuggle them into Texas.
Despite its helpfulness, the drug remains unapproved by the FDA. Why? Because it was the 1980s and HIV was still misunderstood.
While Woodroof may seem unsavory at the start of Jean-Marc Vallée’s biopic, he overcomes his prejudice to help fellow sufferers and form the “Dallas Buyers Club.” Through this, he gifts them some relief—some freedom—from their illness.
Related:The Best Movies About Cancer and Terminal Illnesses
2. Django Unchained (2012)
A film about a slave being “unchained” certainly has to feature on this list—especially when that film is as great as this one!
Django Unchainedis one of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies, filled with impeccable performances, intense dialogue, and bloody shootouts. It’s everything we expect to love in a Tarantino movie!
The revisionist Western begins in 1858, where a bounty hunter (played by Christoph Waltz) offers a slave (played by Jamie Foxx) his freedom in exchange for his help.
From there,Django Unchainedturns into a revenge thriller with appearances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and, of course, Samuel L. Jackson.
In his pursuit to avenge his past, Django takes back his liberation with ruthless savagery. Along the way,Django Unchaineddelivers some hard hits with the usual Tarantino controversies.
Related:The Best Revenge Movies About Vengeance and Payback
1. Spartacus (1960)
Most of Stanley Kubrick’s films are epic. His first major one wasSpartacus, based on the 1951 novel by Howard Fast (which would later inspire Ridley Scott’sGladiator).
Set in Roman times,Spartacusloosely tells the true story of a Thracian gladiator who escaped slavery in the Third Servile War.
Kirk Douglas stars as said gladiator, who’s purchased by Lentulus Batiatus (played by Peter Ustinov) for his strength and defiance before he breaks out. Elected as leader of the fugitives, the escapees form their own army and do pretty well for themselves… at least, for a while.
While Spartacus himself doesn’t get a happily-ever-after ending, his son “will live as a free man” thanks to his actions.
Read next:The Best Movies About Gladiators, Ranked
