Movies about Math
Abstract thinking is one of those activities that is notoriously difficult to represent onscreen in a compelling way. And yet mathematicians have been among the most important and consequential figures in human history – what could be more cinematic? These films try to do justice to their stories.
In Our Prime
(이상한 나라의 수학자)
An outcast student as a prestigious high school gets math lessons from the school's security guard.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2022
- Director Park Dong-hun
- Cast Choi Min-sik, Kim Dong-hwi, Park Hae-jun, Park Byung-eun, Jo Yoon-seo, Tang Jun-sang
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kocowa, KoreaOnDemand, Rakuten Viki, Amazon Video, Tubi TV
Shakuntala Devi
(शकुंतला देवी)
The movie explores Shakuntala Devi's life and her personal relationships, in addition to her mathematical capabilities.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2020
- Director Anu Menon
- Cast Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra, Jisshu Sengupta, Amit Sadh, Luca Calvani, Sheeba Chaddha
- Genre Bollywood, Comedy, Drama, Family
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
The Man Who Knew Infinity
The story of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and his mentor G.H. Hardy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2016
- Director Matt Brown
- Cast Stephen Fry, Kevin McNally, Dev Patel, Devika Bhise, Jeremy Northam, Anthony Calf
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Inside Einstein's Mind: The Enigma of Space and Time
A documentary on Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2015
- Director Jamie E. Lochhead
- Cast Jay O. Sanders, David Tennant, Hamza Ripley
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
The Imitation Game
Alan Turing and his team race against time to decipher Nazi codes during World War II.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2014
- Director Morten Tyldum
- Cast Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard
- Genre History, Drama, Thriller, War
- Available on Britbox Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
The Theory of Everything
His mind changed our world; her love changed his.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan, United States • 2014
- Director James Marsh
- Cast Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, FlixFling, AMC on Demand
X+Y
A math prodigy finds new friendships when he lands a spot at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2014
- Director Morgan Matthews
- Cast Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall, Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Jo Yang, Alex Lawther
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Oxford Murders
At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try and stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols.
- Spain, United Kingdom, France • 2008
- Director Álex de la Iglesia
- Cast Julie Cox, Burn Gorman, Leonor Watling, Tom Frederic, Elijah Wood, Anna Massey
- Genre Crime, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Freevee, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Fermat's Room
(La Habitación de Fermat)
Four mathematicians must solve a puzzle in order to escape death.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Spain • 2007
- Director Luis Piedrahita, Rodrigo Sopeña
- Cast Lluís Homar, Santi Millán, Alejo Sauras, Federico Luppi, Elena Ballesteros, Helena Carrión
- Genre Mystery, Thriller
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Breaking the Code
A biography of the English Alan Turing, a genius codebreaker during WWII who was persecuted for his homosexuality.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1996
- Director Herbert Wise
- Cast Derek Jacobi, Alun Armstrong, Blake Ritson, Prunella Scales, Harold Pinter, Julian Kerridge
- Genre Drama, History, TV Movie
- Available on No streaming locations found.
A Brief History of Time
A documentary film about the life of English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan, United States • 1991
- Director Errol Morris
- Cast Stephen Hawking, Isobel Hawking, Janet Humphrey, Mary Hawking
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Cartesius
The story of French philosopher René Descartes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1974
- Director Roberto Rossellini
- Cast Ugo Cardea, Renato Montalbano, Anne Pouchie, Claude Berthy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Joshua Sinclair
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel