Political Dramas on Netflix
Last updated May 12, 2024
La Soga
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsMaking his screenwriting debut, Manny Perez also stars in this tough chronicle of Luisito, a young man walking the line between honesty and the corruption he sees all around him in the Dominican Republic.
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Masterpiece Contemporary: Page Eight
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsSilky-smooth veteran MI5 agent Johnny Worricker is wholly dedicated to his work, but his loyalty to the British spy agency is about to be tested. A top secret document surfaces that reveals heinous government misdeeds -- and puts Johnny on the spot.
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Tora! Tora! Tora!
1970 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsNamed for the Japanese phrase that signals the start of an attack, Tora! Tora! Tora! tells both the American and Japanese versions of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor that catapulted the United States into World War II.
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The Devil's Double
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDominic Cooper stars as Uday Hussein -- Saddam Hussein's depraved, decadent elder son -- and as Latif Yahia, the army lieutenant forcibly drafted to be his body double, in this drama based on Yahia's autobiographical novel.
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Pope Pius XII
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis controversial miniseries explores the German occupation of Rome during World War II, and the Vatican's reaction to the Nazis' treatment of Jews. James Cromwell stars as Pope Pius XII, as he struggles to save Vatican City from destruction.
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Day of the Falcon
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsTo find peace after a long and bloody war, two kings declared a large piece of desert, the Yellow Belt, neutral territory, which neither king can claim. But when it is discovered that there is oil in the Yellow Belt, one king breaks the peace treaty and begins drilling for oil.
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Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsTenente-Coronel Nascimento, a hardened vet of Rio de Janeiro's drug wars, is now head of a special police unit. With his new title comes new responsibilities and dangers, which the captain navigates with brashness and resolve.
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Cry, the Beloved Country
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsShot in the aftermath of Nelson Mandela's election, this film adaptation of South African author Alan Paton's novel tells the story of two men -- one black, one white -- who must cope with family tragedy in the apartheid era. Rural minister Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones) travels to Johannesburg in search of his troubled son, while white landowner James Jarvis (Richard Harris) comes to the city to attend to his activist son's murder.
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Confucius
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis sweeping epic revisits China's Spring and Autumn periods through the dramatic biography of Confucius, the legendary Eastern philosopher who, in spite of his mastery of the Six Arts, has difficulty instituting his political philosophies.
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Adam: His Song Continues
1986 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsHis Song Continues follows the true story of John (Daniel J. Travanti) and Reve Walsh (JoBeth Williams) who, after their child was murdered, fought to raise national awareness of the problem of missing children.
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Kagemusha
1980 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThree warlord clans are battling for control of medieval Japan. When the leader of the Takeda clan, Lord Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai), is mortally wounded, he orders that his death be kept secret from his enemies. The clan searches for a "shadow warrior," an exact double, to take his place. Now, a thief named Kagemusha (Nakadai in a double role) must fight for an empire in this stunning film from legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
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Butterfly
1999 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAt the onset of the Spanish Civil War, a sheltered boy (Manuel Lozano) in rural northern Spain forms an indelible bond with his kindly leftist teacher (Fernando Fernán Gómez), who imparts his love for nature to the young student. Director Jose Luis Cuerda gentle and nostalgic drama, based on the short stories of Manuel Rivas, was nominated for 13 Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscar), winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Lagaan
2001 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn 1890s India, an arrogant British commander challenges the harshly taxed residents of Champaner to a high-stakes cricket match. If the villagers win, they'll avoid taxation for three years; if they lose, they'll pay the tax thrice over.
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Traffic
2000 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsInterlacing three disturbing snapshots of America's drug war, this Oscar-winning saga follows a U.S. drug czar who learns his daughter's an addict, a Mexican cop caught in a corrupt system and a housewife forced to take over the family drug business.
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Pope Pius XII
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis controversial miniseries explores the German occupation of Rome during World War II, and the Vatican's reaction to the Nazis' treatment of Jews. James Cromwell stars as Pope Pius XII, as he struggles to save Vatican City from destruction.
Details about Pope Pius XII
The Queen
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis intriguing docudrama miniseries enlists five different actresses to portray Queen Elizabeth II at key points during her reign. Re-enactments and interviews craft a tale of scandals and personal tragedies -- and the monarch who rose above it all.
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Carlos: Miniseries
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsSpanning two decades, this Golden Globe-winning miniseries follows Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal as he carries out assassination plots, abductions, bombings and other acts of politically motivated violence across Europe and the Middle East.
Details about Carlos: Miniseries
Carlos: Miniseries
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsOver the course of two decades, an elusive Venezuelan terrorist pulls off assassination plots, abductions and bombings across Europe and the Middle East and carries out devastating acts of politically motivated violence.
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Sarafina!
1992 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCatch this inspirational story about a girl battling the oppression of apartheid in South Africa. Schoolgirl Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo) lives in Soweto. Her mother lives in Johannesburg, where she works for a white family. Missing her mother, Sarafina puts her energy into fighting for freedom. When police shoot and kill protesting students supporting their teacher (Whoopi Goldberg), Sarafina is arrested as a demonstrator and faces prison and torture.
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Carlos
2010 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIlich Ramírez Sánchez -- aka Carlos the Jackal -- is an elusive Venezuelan terrorist who executed scores of assassination plots, abductions and bombings across Europe and the Middle East. This biopic follows Carlos from 1973 to 1994.
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Brubaker
1980 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen new prison warden Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) goes undercover in a state penitentiary, he's horrified by what he sees: Prisoners are being sold as slaves, and decent food can't be obtained without cold, hard cash. Brubaker sets out to improve the system, but the more he reforms, the more enemies he makes among the townspeople who've benefited from the corruption. Soon, he's in a heap of trouble -- and no one seems willing to help him.
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The Queen
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis intriguing docudrama miniseries enlists five different actresses to portray Queen Elizabeth II at key points during her reign. Re-enactments and interviews craft a tale of scandals and personal tragedies -- and the monarch who rose above it all.
Details about The Queen
The Baader Meinhof Complex
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsA radical terrorist group known as the Red Army Faction uses extreme violence to combat what they perceive as a new fascist threat in 1970s Germany. The group's savagery belies its revolutionary postwar intentions in this fast-paced fact-based drama.
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The Overture
2005 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIttisoontorn Vichailak directs this captivating drama inspired by the real-life story of Thai musician Luang Pradit Pairoh, whose skill at playing a xylophone-like instrument called the ranard-ek has made him a legend of classical music.
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Atlas Shrugged: Part 1
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAyn Rand's controversial bestseller is the basis for this potent drama about Dagny Taggart, a fiercely independent railroad tycoon determined to use innovative technology and enterprising partners to revive her business, no matter the personal cost.
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