The Best Movies about Education that will Make you Wish You had Friends or a Teacher like that

Hollywood has one of the most inspiring teachers and mentors, making us jealously wishing we had a figure like that while we were in school. Although many of us aren’t that lucky, these movies do reveal issues underlying in education systems, whether it’s in India (see number 1 on this list) or Pakistan (see number 19 on this list). They also highlight the familiar dynamics of a classroom, featuring the jock, the challenger, the diligent, the frsutrated etc. Scoll down for more inpiration! We think you will learn something from this movie list.

1

3 Idiots

Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi
Rajkumar Hirani
2009

In the tradition of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” comes this refreshing comedy about a rebellious prankster with a crafty mind and a heart of gold. Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's sexy daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.

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8.4 IMDB
2

Like Stars on Earth

Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tisca Chopra
Aamir Khan
2007

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate. Colours, fish, dogs, and kites don't seem important to the adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks, and neatness. Ishaan cannot seem to get anything right in class; he is then sent to boarding school, where his life changes forever.

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8.4 IMDB
3

Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck
Gus Van Sant
1997

Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.

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8.3 IMDB
4

Detachment

Adrien Brody, Marcia Gay Harden, James Caan
Tony Kaye
2011

A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment.

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7.7 IMDB
5

The Ron Clark Story

Matthew Perry, Judith Buchan, Griffin Cork
Randa Haines
2006

A passionate and innovative teacher leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to this students, Ron Clark must use unconventional methods, including his ground-breaking classroom rules, to drive them toward their potential.

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7.6 IMDB
6

The Great Debaters

Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, Forest Whitaker
Denzel Washington
2007

The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.

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7.6 IMDB
7

Waiting for "Superman"

Michelle Rhee, George Reeves
Davis Guggenheim
2010

Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, Waiting for Superman is an impassioned indictment of the American school system from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim.

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7.5 IMDB
8

Freedom Writers

Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton
Richard LaGravenese
2007

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

7.5 IMDB
9

The Class

François Bégaudeau, Franck Keïta, Louise Grinberg
Laurent Cantet
2008

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

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7.5 IMDB
10

Monsieur Lazhar

Mohamed Fellag, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx
Philippe Falardeau
2011

During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.

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7.5 IMDB
11

The First Grader

Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Nick Reding
Justin Chadwick
2010

The true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau freedom fighter who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.

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7.5 IMDB
12

An Education

Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper
Lone Scherfig
2009

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

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7.3 IMDB
13

Precious

Gabourey Sidibe, Mo\'Nique, Paula Patton
Lee Daniels
2009

Set in Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret--she can't read.

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7.3 IMDB
14

Finding Forrester

Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham
Gus Van Sant
2000

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

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7.3 IMDB
15

Akeelah and the Bee

Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett
Doug Atchison
2006

Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from an English professor named Dr. Larabee for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.

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7.3 IMDB
16

Bad Education

Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano
Cory Finley
2019

A superintendent of a school district works for the betterment of the student’s education while embezzling public funds to live the life he wants.

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7.2 IMDB
17

Half Nelson

Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps, Anthony Mackie
Ryan Fleck
2006

Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.

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7.2 IMDB
18

He Named Me Malala

Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Toor Pekai Yousafzai
Davis Guggenheim
2015

A look at the events leading up to the Taliban's attack on the young Pakistani school girl, Malala Yousafzai, for speaking out on girls' education and the aftermath, including her speech to the United Nations.

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6.9 IMDB
19

Won't Back Down

Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ving Rhames
Daniel Barnz
2012

Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

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6.4 IMDB