Titles based on a true story

Subtle, humane, full of kindness, modesty and heartwarming life lessons about coping with traumas and mental illness, as well as the mental care and healing process of disaster victims.
Powerful without being noisy or preachy, devastating without being emotionally forceful.
Beautifully filmed and exceptionally acted, especially from Emoto Tasuku who delivered a stunning performance of a lifetime.
A solid 10/10, an absolute must-watch!
Thanks @HPriest for the subtitles of this wonderful story :)

"Doctors don't heal people's traumas. The only thing doctors can do is to offer support as they're trying to recover by themselves."
"I finally understand what mental care means. It means to never leave anyone alone."

Once again Yoo Ah In gave an excellent performance!
In every scene he was in, everything else didn't mattered...
I am always anticipating to see the next Yoo Ah In's project!

Such an incredible, awesome drama! One of the best dramas I've seen, ever!
Top-notch acting from a superb cast, beautiful plot and subplots, captivating and well-written characters, magnificent scenery and costumes.
One of the best villain characters and one of the most tragic love stories that ever existed in dramaland...
Kim Nam Gil gifted us with a performance of a lifetime as Bidam - pure perfection!

A criminally underrated gem!
Touching, emotionally heavy subject derived from a real life story, presented in a realistic, positive, heart-warming way.
The relationship between Cho Won and his mother is painfully captivating, while Cho Won's interactions with his family and surroundings are equally humorous and heart-wrenching.
Jo Seung Woo's acting is out of this world!!! One of the most talented actors in a superb, magical performance... What makes his portrayal so convincing is that he never tries to be in the spotlight or wants to be the star of the movie: he is just who he is in a subtle and authentic, as humanly possible, way.
Don't miss it!

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I had this movie in my PTW list for ages but I couldn't bring myself to watch it.
Was I right? Yes. Do I regret watching it? Definitely not.

One of the most intense, devastating, heart-wrenching films I've ever watched...
Unbelievable performances, especially from wonderful child actress Lee Re, and a story that gives hard punches in the gut with the cruelty and injustice of these real life events it describes.

Devastating, but so beautiful and heartwarming!

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One of the most beautiful, heartfelt and utterly humane documentaries I've ever watched.
A real life story filmed in breathtaking landscapes by the protagonists themselves, thus making it more impactful and touching...
That wonderful creature, Green, with his actions, maturity and devotion, can be a role model for so many humans.
Highly recommended!

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Cruel and raw and absolutely justifiable!

Based on reports and testimonies of people directly involved, this drama depicts in a documentaristic, very realistic way the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and the impending nuclear disaster.
It shows the politicians and corporate managers with their agendas and hesitation and, most of all, the ordinary people/workers and their determination, doing the best they could do with the little they were given, becoming heroes when all they ever wanted was for them and their families to survive.
Without any over-the-top drama, without being emotionally manipulative, but with long silences making more impact that any music or words can make, this was a difficult, extremely heavy and devastatingly sad watch, especially knowing and witnessing from the news this real-life tragedy when it actually happened...
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This based on a true story film is a gripping, utterly sad and psychologically challenging watching experience.
Superbly filmed and acted, with an eerie, hauntingly dark atmosphere and some piercing social commentaries and satire on the police prejudice, arrogance and incompetence, it describes the unsuccessful and lacking procedurals of catching a serial killer in an inventive fascinating way, without exploiting the crimes and the victims.
 Worth every minute of it.
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Heartwarming and inspiring!

Heartwarming, sweet and inspirational!

Such a heartbreaking, meaningful, inspiring story!

Warm, tender, inspiring and yummy little gem!
… and the cutest dad ever!

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What a heart-warming and heart-breaking story! Hachi was phenomenal!  

What a beautiful, touching, inspiring movie!
Both Hisashi (Sato Takeru) and Mai (Tsuchiya Tao) were wonderful!

Strong, impressive, heartbreaking and captivating story, a solid 10/10 performance from Song Kang Ho.

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A heartwarming story wonderfully depicting that, regardless of our background (social, economic, educational) and physical or mental ability, we are all still human and we can dream and make our dreams come true.
And that -although there might be some hindrances, misfortunes and health issue, as well as gaps in language, culture, gender, age or social status- we can still form a strong, lifelong connection with someone.

"You cannot choose not to sit on a wheelchair, but you can choose how to sit on it."

The movie is well-written and beautifully shot, with magnificent scenery, many poignant moments and top-notch performances from Kim Young Ok, Kim Sae Ron and Kim Hyang Gi.
Even without featuring explicit scenes, KSR and KHG successfully managed to depict the heart-wrenching agony and pain suffered by the comfort girls, as well as their friendship, support and courage.

Such a warm and gentle approach to the tight life-bond of visually impaired people and their guide dogs! Sentimental, but not overly-dramatic, it tells a beautiful story that is worth watching :)

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A sad, intense love story, beautifully dressed in a technically exceptional sageuk format, with superb cinematography, lighting, colouring and costumes, and beautifully fitted music.
There were many memorable characters and cast members, but Lee Jun Ho's compelling, nuanced performance undoubtedly stood out among them.
Politics and scheming were used only as a supporting background and were left undeveloped, which made the story feel somehow flat and incomplete or even disconnected some times, but if watching this only for the heartbreaking love story, it was an exceptional experience.

All actors did a wonderful job - especially Won Jin Ah was exceptional in her first main role!
Lee Jun Ho proved that he is not just another eye-candy idol-turned-actor!
With both "Chief Kim" and this drama he proved that he is a skilled, versatile actor, immersed in his roles and has a very promising future!

Such an interesting, well-balanced story: funny, touching, thought-provoking!
The classical music parts during some hilarious situations were brilliant and the hammer scene was just awesome...

Based on a dark moment of Korea's history, this was a captivating thriller full of tense, powerful and devastating moments.
The stellar cast and their compelling performances, the gripping built-up and the tight storytelling, and especially the knowledge that it was based on true events made this a fascinating as well as demanding watching experience.
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A quiet, gentle, but extremely raw emotional gut punch.
Not just sad, but utterly heartbreaking and infuriating.

Engaging and inspiring story, excellent cinematography, loved Sato Takeru and Kuroki Haru's acting and interactions!

Infuriating, devastating and unforgettable.

One of  Lee Kwang Soo's best performances in a heartwarming, touching story.

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"I cannot wait for you one year and one month.
I cannot wait for you until you're 25.
But I have waited for you my whole life."
A delicate, emotional depiction of an innocent young love, beautifully filmed and acted.

Superb acting, heartfelt and intense story.

Heartwarming, touching and inspiring!

A wonderful emotional and touching journey to Korean history!

A harrowing, devastating, utterly dark movie...
Knowing it is based on real events makes it even more heartbreaking...

A bold, gritty, dark, but also very heartwarming story, presented by a loud silence interrupted by minimal dialogues and a raw cinematography aesthetic... Han Ji Min was superb!

Intense, intriguing, well-built suspense and an excellent performance from Shin Hye Sun in her first leading movie role!

This film depicts the story of Yun Dong Ju, one of Korea’s most well-known and beloved poets, whose poems conveyed his worries and hopes for his country’s future during the colonial period in Korea. The story of his life, from being an awkward idealistic teenager to his imprisonment by the Japanese, as well as the impact his poetry had on Korean consciousness, as it became a voice for the revolution and symbolized Korea’s escape from oppression, is wonderfully delivered by Kang Ha Neul with his expressive yet restrained, elegant, subdued and melancholic performance, which is brilliantly enhanced by the graceful black and white cinematography. And KHN’s singing during the credits was the most emotional and intense closure…
“What’s the use of literature, if it doesn’t change the world?” - Dong Ju: The Portrait of a Poet

Funny, entertaining, touching!

A tense political/economical thriller based on true events viewed by three different perspectives, one for each of the three main leads, whose performances were outstanding.
It seemed quite realistic (probably there’s more to the story that 'Default' left out, but I am not a history or finance expert, so I wouldn't know) as its story-telling was centered mainly on society approach rather than a documentary reenactment of Korea's IMF crisis.

A slow paced character-centered story, with a subtle but layered performance from a phenomenal Choi Woo Sik!

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A delicate, empathetic, deeply moving road movie, that explores the child-abduction problem in China.
Wonderful camera work that generously gifts us with the beauty of rural China, great natural, subtle performances from Andy Lau and Jing Bo Ran.

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A phenomenal performance from Go Ah Sung as the historical figure Yoo Kwan Soon, an important figure in Korea’s history, one of the organizers of the March 1st Movement against the colonial occupation, who, even during her imprisonment, refused to submit to the Japanese threats and tortures and inspired other prisoners and people on the outside.
While this film does not add anything new to the well-established legend and mainly focuses on portraying Yoo Kwan Soon as a martyr, rather than a member of the Korean resistance, it’s helpful for younger viewers and foreigners to understand better Korea’s struggle for independence.

Heartwarming, inspiring and powerful.

An interesting social commentary about financial inequality and social isolation.

Touching and inspirational.

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An interesting, nuanced directorial debut from Takumi Saitoh, with a short film that deals with the subject of dysfunctional families and different coping mechanisms in a story that unfolds it two different timelines, with flashbacks of events that fill some blanks of the 13 years of the father- figure absence.
Takahashi Issei is the star of this film with his exceptional performance as Koji, Saitoh Takumi has a more reserved and distanced role, Lily Franky is great as Masato, while Jiro Sato and many other supporting actors delightfully portray a number of "misfits" mourners in the brilliantly orchestrated funeral scene.

An intimate, affectionate and bittersweet love story, based on an autobiographical novel.
Beautifully filmed and acted, with a unique and thoughtful approach of grief, loss and family bonding, and a wonderfully layered performance from Suzuki Ryohei, this is a powerful, emotional and hauntingly absorbing journey of a heartbreaking love.
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When the story is based in true events and the cast includes Ra Mi Ran and Yeom Hye Ran, who never fail to deliver with any role they're given, the expectations are definitely high.
With many funny, touching, violent and tense moments, this was an entertaining watch, mainly thanks to Ra Mi Ran's down-to-earth and on-point depiction of an ordinary ahjumma that lost everything from a voice phishing scam and takes matters on her own hands, with the help of her friends, trying to find justice and her money back.
Time well-spent.
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A bleak, slow-burn story inspired by a real-life case of a young student's struggling, exploitation and tragic demise, told in two parts.
A piercing social commentary on the crushed hopes and dreams of young people caused by the indifference and derogation they face at their exploitative working environment, as well as the social stigma for those who are unable to 'endure' the suffocating family and societal expectations.
Top-notch performances from Bae Doo Na and Kim Shi Eun, in a difficult but thought-provoking watch.
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Based on true events, this is an inspirational, feel-good and very entertaining sports story about an underdog high school basketball team, full of youth, dreams, talent and hard work that manages to achieve an impossible success.
A perfect weekend watch.
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Based on true events of one of S. Korea's darkest moments, this is an intense, engaging political/ military thriller, fast-paced but easy to follow even though its long duration and its numerous characters.
With a tight, dense and coherent plot, masterful direction, storytelling and production, and a superb cast (especially unrecognizable Hwang Jung Min in a blood-boiling role), this movie is a captivating experience for those who want to delve into S. Korea's history.
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A real story, with real people enduring everyday life, aging, illness and loss.
Even though there were some rather forced scenes where the lack of subtlety was very obvious, the couple's genuine love and affection -through small gestures and gentle strokes- made this 'documentaristic' movie really heartbreaking, but so worth watching it!

A slow paced but very intense story, based on a real-life tragedy, delivered by subtle cinematography and great performances.
Devastatingly beautiful.

Deeply emotional, with a vivid, devastating and loud silence full of anger, frustration and hope.

It could have been much better with this cast, but it felt somehow 'procedural' and rushed - not that inspiring for such a real tragic love story...

Fast, fun, with a flawless finale!

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An easy-going, cheerful, very entertaining high-school sports comedy, with beautiful aquarium and beach scenes, catchy music and an awesome finale synchro performance.

Entertaining, visually impressive, with rich imagination and intriguing creativity.
The jokes were a bit weak/cheap and the stellar cast weren't able to show their full potential, but overall it was enjoyable and funny.

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A heavy, odd, eerie, intriguing and artistic film with an impressive combination of music and cinematography. The stunning white and cold snowy mountain scenes and the dark and warm interior set make a brilliant symbolic contrast.
With only a little dialogue and some worth noting quotes, an outstanding performance from Eita and a unique depiction of his heartbreaking inner conflict with his angelic and demonic monsters, this film may not be for everyone, but it's definitely worth it for the 'unconventional' movie lovers.

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A biopic historical story, told trough a gorgeous monochromatic cinematography and stunning visuals, impressive directing and great acting, especially from Sol Kyung Gu and Byun Yo Han.

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A story about the power of education, morality, imperialism resistance and patriotism, based on true events from resistance fighter Kim Chang Soo's life.

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A warm, nostalgic road-movie (bicycle-movie to be precise) with magnificent scenery and depiction of everyday life in rural China of the early 80s.

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Knowing this was one of the last works of Miura Haruma, makes this movie special and his character twice sad to watch...

Based on the true story of South Korea's ex-president Roh Moo Hyun, this is a heavy and shocking story of seeking justice, democracy and humanity during dark oppression times.
With a riveting performance from veteran Song Kang Ho and some powerful court scenes, this was a demanding as well as impactful and thought-provoking watch.
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A biographical story about one of the most beloved Japanese authors, Kenji Miyazawa, presented mostly from his father's perspective.
Beautifully directed and shot, though with more melodrama than necessary, it was an interesting and very touching watch, mainly due to its protagonist, Koji Yakusho and Suda Masaki, their exemplary versatility, chemistry and bonding.
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Mellow and touching story, with Lee Soo Kyung's acting and character being its greatest asset.

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Calm, bittersweet and girly road movie about an odd, emotionally suppressed young woman - who balances between her denial to embrace her adulthood and her hesitation to allow forgotten childhood memories affect her - and her return to her dysfunctional family and home village with the help of her zany, supportive friend.
Excellent acting from both leads, and especially Shim Eun Kyung: despite not being Japanese she was so natural and convincing.

“I try to make the best of every day — but what does that even mean anyway?”

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Artistic, fast-pasted, quirky humorous and emotional.

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Based on a summer day in the everyday life of the painter Kumagai Morikazu, this slow-paced and definitely not plot-driven film is a portrait of an eccentric recluse, a garden gnome who just inhabits and observes happily his microcosm in his overgrown garden, full of insects, ants, fish, small animals and flora, while his wife deals with an endless string of visitors and their persistent requests in their open-door policy house.
It is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I found it charming and soothing
Needless to say that veteran actor Yamazaki Tsutomu and late actress Kiki Kirin were superb in their subtle, both comic and sly acting :)

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Touching story, adapted from a novel based on true events, with adorable puppies and kittens :)

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Based on an incredible but true story, Onoda isn't just an anti-war movie, but a contemplative character study of a Japanese soldier and his denial to believe that World War II had ended, thus continued to fight a guerilla war on a remote Philippine island until 1974.
Although a little bit too long, it is a captivating story of survival, loyalty and extreme dedication (or blind obedience and brainwashing, if you prefer).

High on adrenaline, heavy on politics, this based on true events story is a tense political and survival thriller with a good production and great veterans cast.
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Based on true events, this is a heartbreaking story of childhood innocence shattered by a highly dysfunctional family trying to survive in post-war Japan.
A scathing social commentary on the traumas caused by severe domestic violence and emotional abuse, a tragic but absorbing confrontation about human condition.
With a brilliant use of colour versus black & white filming, as a means to depict the Boy's mental and emotional state, and a straightforward, genuine performance from Tetsuo Abe, this is  definitely a difficult and thought-provoking watch.
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A historical epic about the life, rise and fall of warlord Oda Nobunaga, heavily focused on his marriage and love story with lady Nohime.
Lavish costumes, rich settings, impressive music and cinematography, and an undeniable chemistry between Kimura Takuya and Ayase Haruka in a not-so-accurate story based on one of the most recognizable historical figures of Japan.
With characters that could have been fleshed out better, a romance that could have been less subtle, and sequences showing the whys and hows of Oda’s transformation that could have been more informative and less disjoined, it was a movie with a unique approach worth watching.
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Based on true historical events, this is a funny and lighthearted depiction of scholar Kim Yu's coming-of-age journey that led him to write 'Suunjapbang', a cookbook and a national Korean treasure recording the food of early Joseon period.
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The fact that it was based on a true story makes it touching and inspiring.

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An interesting and insightful documentaristic presentation of the Uyghur minority, their everyday life, tradition and struggles, through the eyes of three kids, their friendship and families.
Beautiful landscape scenes and naturalistic filming of these kids playing are among the film's strengths.

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Based on true events, this biopic tells the story of Wang Jicai and his devoted wife, who spent more than three decades on Kaishan island, a tiny rocky island serving as a Militia post for navigation and meteorological observations.
Though the patriotic element was more enhanced than necessary, the realistic depiction of their poor living conditions, their endless battles against typhoons and rainstorms throughout the years, as well as their strong bonding made this film an interesting watch.

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Bitter-sweet, inspiring but too predictable and 'noisy'.
Definitely not the best work of Kamio Fuju (he did put a lot of effort but he was a mismatch).
But, knowing this is based on a true story and a real person, it hits different and most of its mishaps can be overlooked.

Frankly, if not for the charismatic cast, I'd probably never watched this.
Predictable and slow-paced for a hostage action drama, focused more on the politics and diplomacy rather than action itself (thus not utilizing fully Hyun Bin's charisma), with a few comic reliefs and a few tense, dramatic scenes. Not bad, but nothing memorable either.
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