Films and Education- they do go together!

We watched a beautiful film today.The Painted Veil by Somerset Maughan was a birthday present and I chose it for its reviews on the photography which features rural China. As a result a trip to China is certainly on my 'to do' list. As we watched the film together my son and I witnessed beautiful scenery, learned about chinese culture and after the film talked about cholera and its causes and the life of Somerset Maughan. All in all a geography, science , history and english lesson all rolled into one. We have watched so many films like that.There are some fantastic films based on factual events in history such as Amazing Grace (William Wilberforce), the Madness of King George, Ghandi, Amistad, Cry Freedom (Steve Biko). All wonderful films in their own right. Commonsensemedia.com and Amazon are great for reviews and I have seen some films I would never have known about had it not been for their suggested purchases. Similarly www.British Empire.com has some great suggestions if you are looking for historical films. The bonus is that it doesn't feel like education because it's fun!