This movie is so good and inspiring! It’s also based on a true story! I got to see this movie, One Life, just last week. Last Friday, my husband texted me saying he wanted to see it later that night to celebrate his birthday. It was playing an hour away, so we made the drive and I’m so glad we did! It was so worth it! We weren’t having a special birthday dinner or family party that night to celebrate because most of my children couldn’t join us because of work or other commitments, meaning we postponed our family party to Sunday. To be able to watch this high quality of a movie, to in order to celebrate instead of a party made his birthday night still feel special.

This movie is based on the true story of Nicholas Winton, a heroic man who saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. He arranged the “Kindertransport” system to transport children from Prague to England to foster parents. Sadly, most of them then lived in England for the rest of their childhood and did not see their parents again.

It was so providential that my husband texted me saying it he wanted to watch it, as just that morning, for our homeschooling Morning Basket, we had read a new picture book about Nicholas! It’s shown below.

Nicholas’ story is soooo amazing! I encourage everyone to read the picture book, including all the back matter at the end of the book, after the story, and then go watch the movie. The back matter will help you understand the movie, especially the flashbacks. Anthony Hopkins did a great job portraying the older Nicholas. Helena Bonham Carter, who played the fairy godmother in the live action Cinderella, portrays Nicholas’ mother. She helped him organize the transport of the children. I love that it showed family members working together intergenerationally along with friends. I also love that it shows a husband and wife enjoying marriage, supporting each other. (See my list of movies over here about marriage.) So, if you want a feel-good movie to inspire someone to find and pursue a mission, this is definitely one to watch! It’s not really a family movie, as under-12s will probably find it slow and boring, and too sad and/or disturbing, as they probably won’t understand the historical context. It’s perfect for teens, though, especially teen scholars or scholars of any age who are hungry to see people fighting for a cause, to help them develop their own sense of mission.

Want a teacher’s resource guide to the book (which could spill over to the movie)? Go here.

Want more ideas of heroes to study, in picture books, and movie? Go here to the Fall page of my Read Alouds and Family Traditions site, then scroll down to the October section to find a list of picture books and chapter books about heroes. A few movies about heroes are found under the “activities” list under October.