Charukesh Venkatraman
The Imitation Game is a silent tribute to those war heroes who have never been featured in the pages of history book. Yet were the back bone in a much celebrated victory. The extraordinarily brilliant, queer, arrogant, homosexual English mathematician, Alan Turing and his band of merry men(and woman) proved to be the pivot around which the fate of the Second World War had turned in favor of the Allies. But Alan Turing and co. had faded away into oblivion.
The Imitation Game also brings to light that something as superficial as homosexuality. That could tarnish the image of a war hero. Subject him to something as horrific as chemical castration and drive him into something as shameful as suicide. Not exactly the way a person who had statistically shortened the war in Europe by 4 years, would have wanted to go. The father of theoretical computing is one of the best minds to be born on Earth.
Here is the list of films similar to The Imitation Game that I would recommend to never stop chasing your dreams and never let loose of what you want to achieve. You can watch several of these movies like The Imitation Game on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.
10. Rush
James Hunt and Niki Lauda battle it out to beat each other in every championship race they participate. Not knowing that they are discovering the best versions of themselves in that journey. The James Hunt vs Niki Lauda rivalry is one of the glorious and celebrated rivalries in sports history still spoken about even today.
This film will teach you what it means to be competitive on the track and in life and how to make others jealous of yourself by outperforming yourselves every time you get a chance to prove yourself. This film is one of the apex of inspirational stories you might have ever heard.
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9. The Theory Of Everything
A story of one of the most adored and celebrated scientists of our century, ‘The Theory of Everything’ is so much more. A visceral and tangible exposition of his vanguard work on the concept of black holes and particle theory. The movie is well-crafted and appealing. Charmed with a splendid and mind-boggling performance from Eddie Redmayne (He won the Academy Award for Best Actor).
The film does justice to the great man, who battled ALS and society mocking to become one of the greatest ever. The ground struggles, which he had to go through, in parlance with his own family, are truly terrifying and endearing. His carefree style of carrying himself, and his witty humor, were enough to get us hooked on his genius.
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8. Good Will Hunting
Matt Damon wrote and starred in this film as Will Hunting, a 20-year-old Boston labourer. A recognized genius who, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement after assaulting a police officer after engaging in a local fight, becomes a client of a therapist and studies advanced mathematics with a MIT professor. Throughout his therapy sessions, Will re-evaluates his relationships with his best friend (Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the film with Damon) and his personal life. Facing the uphill task of confronting his past and his future.
Robin Williams delivers a Oscar-winning performance for the ages as Damon’s therapist who completely transforms his life. The monologue which Robin Williams delivers in the film is considered one of the best dialogues ever written in cinema history.
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7. Dead Poets Society
“ O’Captain, My Captain”. The captain of this ship, Robin Williams, the dear departed who was loved by every human being on this planet instils in us the very purpose of living our life. Medicine, law, business, engineering: these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, romance, beauty, love…these are what we stay alive for. Robin Williams taught us what it means to be compassionate, loving and how to love what you do every day in all aspects of your life.
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6. Ray
If you want the blues, just listen to Ray Charles. The poetic barracks of his ballads of life and gospel will win you over. Which deliver you in a state of permanent happiness. His biopic, which starred the incongruously talented Jamie Foxx, is a mixed bag of beans. The performances in the film were sublime (Foxx won the Academy Award for Best Actor). The narrative, which moves at a glacial pace, was a huge let-down.
The music was spot on, so was the endearing cinematography. But the director’s minimal attention to the repealing responses from the people around him proved to be the reason for its inability to capture the essence of those times.
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5. Hidden Figures
“A year in which white people save jazz, and black people save NASA.” This particular quote by Jimmy Kimmel, the host of the 2017 Oscars, indicates respect towards this film. The film is a story about a group of three inspired and inspiring mathematicians who were the brains behind the launching of John Glen into space, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race and galvanized the world.
The deftly acted film is a compliment to the strong personalities women of color. Who withered racial storms and sexist storms to achieve the impossible. Well, the word itself says “I’m-POSSIBLE”.
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4. Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was one of the most controversial figures of the 21st Century. Plagiarism allegations, a lawsuit initiated against himself by his own wife, and his crazy dream to change the world. Sounds unbelievable right? Starring Michael Fassbender as the titular character, Boyle’s fluid direction and the charismatic performances from the lead ensured that we had a pseudo-first hand experience of the unveiling of the Apple Mac. The movie centralizes on his tumultuous life. Also his insouciant behavior towards other people. Tightly wound up in his dream to change the world. Jobs was one of a kind. I love the words that follow.
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
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3. The Social Network
It was really blasphemous that this masterpiece, based on the rise of Mark Zuckerberg to the world’s youngest billionaire, didn’t win the Best Picture award at the Oscars. I have hardly seen a movie with a better and more engaging narrative than this one. It moves at a brisk pace. Objectively giving equal attention to all characters and their development.
It is told in a non-linear story-line, where one is of the present day, when Zuckerberg is being sued by Eduardo Saverin, his former best friend who was deceived into giving up his shares in the company. The other,the making of Zuckerberg in his college days. Fincher absolutely pelts this one out of the park, delivering a movie that will live in our conscience for decades to come.
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2. The Shawshank Redemption
“Some birds are never meant to be caged”. Andy Dufresne perfectly captures the agony of a man who is wrongly convicted for a murder he didn’t commit. His slow and steady plan to get himself evicted from the hell he is holed up into. Watching Morgan Freeman is a visual treat for very Hollywood fan. He supplies inspiration whenever Andy is disappointed of his life. But wise words are all we need when we are devoid of all hope. The reason this film is glorified among all cinephiles is learnt only when we experience this film individually. It can only be felt, cannot be explained to the whole.
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1. 12 Years A Slave
Steve McQueen’s film didn’t shy away from pointing out the naked brutality. That slaves had to undergo in the pre-Civil War USA. It is intense and gripping; the gore will make the viewer’s blood curl. McQueen’s blatant use of physicality heightens the power of the film even more. The director likes to showcase the torment of the body and how that torment affects a person’s mind. He looks straight and shows straight.
Steve keeps the focus and for long in lengthy single takes which forces the viewer to watch the barbarity when he/she might have been compelled to look away at least once. McQueen didn’t move away from Solomon when he was strung up from a tree. The camera moved with him when the subject was choking and grasping in his fight for life. The Captain of the ship cleverly uses the continuation. When the other slaves look up to see Solomon struggling with life but walk away. To show the horror and subjugation of the slaves in erstwhile USA cotton plantations.
McQueen lets these intense scenes haunt the viewer, striking a chord of sensitiveness and asking a bigger question every time.
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