Genre: Social Issue Dramas
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Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly …
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
A widow's growing dependence on amphetamines and a self-help television show parallels the struggles of her heroin-addicted son and his girlfriend and friend in Darren Aronofsky's…
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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Cast: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton …
Directed by: Gabriele Muccino
Will Smith earned an Oscar nomination for an inspiring performance opposite his real-life son Jaden in this tearjerker about a struggling single parent who's determined to build a better…
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The Green Mile (1999)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse …
Directed by: Frank Darabont
On death row in a Southern prison, gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cellblock's head guard recognizes Coffey's…
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Crash (2005)
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon …
Directed by: Paul Haggis
In post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles, tensions erupt when the lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple…
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Invictus (2009)
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge …
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
This drama based on real-life events tells the story of what happened after the end of apartheid when newly elected President Nelson Mandela used the 1995 World Cup rugby matches to unite his…
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Gran Torino (2008)
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Cory Hardrict …
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Curmudgeonly Korean War vet Walt must confront his Hmong immigrant neighbors -- and his own prejudices -- when their teenage son Thao tries to steal Walt's beloved 1972 Gran Torino. Walt…
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Blood Diamond (2006)
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly …
Directed by: Edward Zwick
In war-ravaged Sierra Leone, diamond smuggler Danny Archer learns that a local fisherman has stumbled upon a gigantic gem, and he offers to reunite the man with his family in exchange for the diamond.
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American History X (1998)
Cast: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo …
Directed by: Tony Kaye
A California neo-Nazi gets sent to prison for murder and comes out a changed man. But can he atone for his sins and prevent his younger brother from following in his hate-filled footsteps?
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Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton …
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Visciously abused by her mother and impregnated by her father, Harlem teen Precious has an unexpected chance at a different life when she enrolls in an alternative school, but she still must…
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Milk (2008)
Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin …
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered along with Mayor George Moscone…
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The Life of David Gale (2003)
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney …
Directed by: Alan Parker
When Texas professor David Gale (Kevin Spacey), an advocate for the elimination of the death penalty, is falsely accused and convicted of the rape and murder of another activist (Laura…
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Babel (2006)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal …
Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
When an American couple vacationing in Morocco falls victim to a random act of violence, a series of events unfolds across four countries that demonstrates both the necessity and…
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I Am Sam (2001)
Cast: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning …
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
After fathering a child with a homeless woman, Sam (Sean Penn) -- a grown man with the mental capacity of a 7-year-old -- raises the baby himself until an incident at a birthday party finds…
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Erin Brockovich (2000)
Cast: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart …
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Julia Roberts earned an Oscar in this unconventional drama based on actual events for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich, a twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the…
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Elephant (2003)
Cast: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson …
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Gus Van Sant's minimalist drama uses unknown actors and partially improvised dialogue as it follows several students and teachers on the day that two bullied teenagers stage a massacre…
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The Kite Runner (2007)
Cast: Shaun Toub, Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni …
Directed by: Marc Forster
Years after fleeing the Taliban and immigrating to the United States, a privileged Afghan man returns to his war-ravaged homeland to try to repay a debt to a loyal childhood friend whose…
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Kids (1995)
Cast: Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny …
Directed by: Larry Clark
Armed with a raw, provocative script penned by 19-year-old Harmony Korine (Gummo), controversial photographer-filmmaker Larry Clark follows a group of aimless New York teens around the city…
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The Help (2011)
Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard …
Directed by: Tate Taylor
In 1960s Jackson, Miss., aspiring writer Eugenia Phelan crosses taboo racial lines by conversing with Aibileen Clark about her life as a housekeeper, and their ensuing friendship upsets the…
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The Constant Gardener (2005)
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Koundé …
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes), a member of the British High Commission based in Africa, launches a quest for the truth and begins his own international investigation when his wife (Rachel…
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Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Cast: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte …
Directed by: Terry George
Amid the holocaust of internecine tribal fighting in Rwanda that sees the savage butchering of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, one ordinary hotel manager musters the courage…
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Pay It Forward (2000)
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment …
Directed by: Mimi Leder
In this gentle drama from director Mimi Leder, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) responds to a school assignment with a plan to help three people who will, in turn, help three more,…
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Philadelphia (1993)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards …
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
In this heartfelt drama, Philadelphia attorney Andrew Beckett launches a wrongful termination suit against the hand that feeds him when his law firm finds out about his HIV-positive status --…
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Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Cast: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard …
Directed by: Kimberly Peirce
Based on actual events, director Kimberly Peirce's powerful, often harrowing drama stars Hilary Swank (in an Oscar-winning performance) as Brandon Teena, a transgender young man…
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Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Cast: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles …
Directed by: Mike Newell
At Wellesley College in 1953, the all-female student population constitutes the best and the brightest, yet they're still measured by how well they marry until the arrival of professor…
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Men of Honor (2000)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron …
Directed by: George Tillman Jr.
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's…