Cinematic Defiance: 10 Dramatic Films About Resistance

Description: A classic film depicting the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial rule, focusing on the urban guerrilla warfare in Algiers.

Fact: The film was shot in a documentary style, using real locations in Algiers, and it was banned in France for several years due to its sensitive subject matter.

Description: While not a direct story of resistance, Oskar Schindler's efforts to save over 1,000 Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories is a form of passive resistance against the Nazi regime.

Fact: Steven Spielberg shot the film in black and white to give it a documentary feel, and the iconic red coat worn by a little girl is one of the few splashes of color in the movie.

Description: Based on the memoir of Władysław Szpilman, this film portrays his struggle to survive in Warsaw during the Holocaust, showcasing his resistance through his music and will to live.

Fact: Adrien Brody lost 30 pounds to play Szpilman and learned to play the piano for the role. He also won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.

Description: Set in East Germany, this film follows a Stasi officer who begins to question his role in the surveillance state as he listens in on a playwright and his lover, leading to a subtle form of resistance.

Fact: The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007, and it was Ulrich Mühe's final film role before his death.

Description: This film chronicles the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., highlighting the civil rights movement's resistance against racial injustice.

Fact: Oprah Winfrey, who plays Annie Lee Cooper, was instrumental in getting the film made, and the film was shot in actual locations in Selma, Alabama.

Description: This film tells the true story of the Bielski partisans, Jewish brothers who escaped into the forests of Belarus during WWII to wage guerrilla warfare against the Nazis. It's a testament to the power of resistance and survival against all odds.

Fact: The film was shot in Lithuania, with the cast and crew enduring harsh winter conditions to capture the authenticity of the setting. Daniel Craig, known for his role as James Bond, plays one of the Bielski brothers.

Description: Based on a true experiment, this German film explores how a teacher's experiment to demonstrate the appeal of fascism leads to a real-life wave of resistance against his own teachings.

Fact: The film was inspired by the real-life "Third Wave" experiment conducted by Ron Jones in 1967 in California.

Description: While not a traditional resistance film, it explores themes of fascism, conformity, and the personal resistance against one's own moral decay in Mussolini's Italy.

Fact: The film was shot in Paris, and its cinematography, particularly the use of light and shadow, has been highly praised.

Description: This film portrays the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Civil War, focusing on the personal and political conflicts that arise from resistance against British rule.

Fact: The film was controversial in the UK for its portrayal of the Black and Tans, leading to some cinemas refusing to screen it.

Description: This film focuses on the 1981 Irish hunger strike, particularly the story of Bobby Sands, an IRA member who led the strike in protest of the treatment of IRA prisoners.

Fact: Michael Fassbender lost 42 pounds for his role as Bobby Sands, and the film features a 17-minute single-take scene of a conversation between Sands and a priest.