4 wonderful sports movies not to be missed

In recent years, cinema has placed more interest in sporting events, whether in series, documentaries and movies, in many cases they consist of true stories and usually have as their premise effort, perseverance and companionship, according to El Español. On the other hand, while some use drama, others rely on comedy to get their message across, what is certain is that these films are not limited to transmitting the sport as we see it on television, but rather go into the reality and behind the scenes. These are some sports movies that stand out amongst the genre. 

Million-dollar babe

A film that moves the most delicate fibers for anyone, with a lot of drama, and an excellent cast made up of Clint Eastwood – who in turn is the director -, Hilary Swank who will be the protagonist and Morgan Freeman. In summary and without spoilers, Frankie Dunn is a rather cautious boxing trainer with the phrase "always protect yourself" as his motto, while Maggie is a woman with a difficult life but who has never given up and wants with all her strength to become a boxer.

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Maggie goes to Frankie's gym but Frankie refuses to train her due to her being a woman, the film advances with the constant effort of Maggie training by herself, while Scrap, who is the janitor and lives in the gym, supports Maggie and convinces Frankie to start training her. Although the path seems successful, something unexpected happens that complicates – and saddens – things a lot, according to La Nación. This is not just another movie, its plot made it the winner of 4 Oscar statuettes for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor, as well as 2 Golden Globes, according to Film Affinity.

Rush

Considered the best Formula 1 film and also based on real events, Rush has Chris Hemsworth as James Hant and Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda, the latter two coexisted to seek an interpretation that is quite close to reality due to the character of Lauda, according to Mundo Deportivo reviewed. The film is based on the historical rivalry that existed between both Formula 1 drivers, which started before they reached the top flight, however, by joining the same Ferrari team, both drivers with opposite attitudes managed to forge a friendship within and off the track, but without diminishing the rivalry.

The plot is also based on the 1976 season, when Lauda suffers an accident with his car that almost cost him his life, but that did not take away his desire to continue competing, according to Carburando review. The film, released in 2013, was nominated for the Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards, although they only won the Best Edition award at the BAFTA.

Invictus

Another Clint Eastwood movie, with Morgan Freeman as the protagonist along with Matt Damon, in a context in which Nelson Mandela is released from prison and reaches the presidency for the abolition of Apartheid . However, the social fracture and rivalry between blacks and whites is still there, to the point that the Rugby team, the country's main sport, was against the black population of South Africa, since it was mainly made up of whites.

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Due to this conflict, Mandela calls the Rugby team captain to unite the population in a peculiar way: win the 1995 Rugby World Cup to be held in South Africa. With the odds against them, the film tells how Mandela's leadership in the country and Pienaar's in rugby made sport a means of unifying an entire country that was just emerging from a historical racial and religious crisis, according to Brizas. Both lead actors of this film were nominated to an Oscar, although they failed to obtain it. 

Moneyball: Breaking the rules

What is the relationship between an economist and baseball? This is what director Bennett Miller seeks to answer with the portrayal of Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's all about a true story in which Peter Brand, a recent Yale economist, takes up the job of finding players accompanied by former baseball player Billy Bean. However, the team they work for is one of the poorest and least budgeted in the MLB, and the controversy increases with Peter's decisions based on the statistics known as "sabermetrics" used to choose players to form a complete team, but that connoisseurs considered flawed. The film that would later be nominated for 6 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes, but would not get any.