LISTEN TO THE PLUGGED IN SHOW, EPISODE 274
“Based on a true story.”
We see those words before many a movie. But boy, do directors find a lot of wiggle room in those five words. When moviemakers pin a scripted film on a real person, the results can range from being (mostly) historically accurate to (mostly) flat-out fiction. And very often, they land somewhere in between.
Filmmakers focus on attributes that reinforce what they’re trying to say about a certain historical player—while downplaying or omitting other aspects of that character. These decisions are not necessarily malicious: It’s just that they’re trying to create a cohesive story around an inherently complex and often contradictory person.
Today, we bring together our own panel of complex personalities to discuss one of moviedom’s most venerable genres: the biopic. We concentrate especially on a recent Christian film called Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin., which brings to the screen one of the 20th century’s most compelling characters, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Adam Holz returns to the hosting chair to lead the conversation, where he’s joined by Bob Hoose, Emily Tsiao and Kennedy Unthank.
And then Adam and I will talk about another movie based on a true story, The Unbreakable Boy. This Christian-tinged film introduces us to a 13-year-old kid with Brittle Bone Disease who also lands on the autism spectrum. And he’s absolutely in love with life.
Speaking of which, do you know what we’d love? To hear from you! What is your favorite biopic? What’s the one that fell flat? Are you planning on seeing The Unbreakable Boy? Let us know by posting below. Or writing us an email at [email protected]. Or by leaving a voice message on The Plugged In Show homepage. And, as always, you can chime in on Facebook and Instagram.
Oh, and by the way, you’ll definitely want to listen to us next week, when we discuss and decide on (drumroll, please) the winners of our Plugged In Movie Awards. Will all my favorite films win? Will all yours? We’ll find out together next week.
The post Episode 274: Biopics and ‘The Unbreakable Boy’ appeared first on Plugged In.
