Sometimes movies aren’t just relatable because of their characters or plot lines, but rather because of their settings. When a movie is set somewhere familiar or somewhere that just feels like home, it really adds to the viewing experience. If you love movies set in the Midwest, then you’ll love these 8 amazing films all about life in Indiana.
- Hoosiers
Groganphoto of Danville, Illinois/wikimedia This quintessential Indiana movie is as “Hoosier” as it gets! Based loosely on the 1954 Milan High School basketball team, this movie has heart, hardship, and most importantly, basketball. Though it was filmed in 1968, this film remains timeless for any true Hoosier.
- A Christmas Story
Tim Evanson/Flickr “You’ll shoot your eye out!” is a common phrase most Hoosiers grew up hearing. This classic 1983 Christmas comedy is set in fictional Hohman, Indiana, based off of Hammond, Indiana. It’s a nostalgic movie for most Hoosiers, and one we wouldn’t dare skip any holiday season.
- Breaking Away
Nyttend/wikimedia This 1979 coming of age film follows four teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana as they struggle to find themselves and figure out their future amid class struggles. You’ll see glimpses of Bloomington and Indiana University in this film.
- Rudy
RyuuTaichou /wikimedia This heartwarming 1993 football movie took place on the campus of Notre Dame University and was an autobiographical account of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger’s struggles to achieve his dream of playing football for Notre Dame.
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Mariusz Kucharczyk/Flickr This science fiction flick is directed by Stephen Spielberg and takes place in Indiana, and at least half of the scenes are also shot in Indiana. A small town’s world, and one man’s life in particular, is rocked during a close encounter with a UFO.
- The Magnificent Ambersons
RKO Radio Pictures/wikimedia Written by Orson Welles, this 1942 American period drama deals with the quickly declining wealth of an Indiana family and the social changes that are brought about by the era of the automobile. At the start of the film, the Ambersons are the wealthiest family in Indianapolis and the film deals with turn of the century social and economic changes. It’s offered regarded as one of the best American films to date, sharing this honor with Welles’ other film, Citizen Kane.
- Going All The Way
bnpositive/Flickr Based on a 1970 novel by Dan Wakefield, this 1997 film starred Jeremy Davies and Ben Affleck as two Hoosiers who return home after the Korean War and begin looking for love.
- The Fault in Our Stars
L/Flickr This 2014 film was based on the novel by Indiana resident, John Green, and starred Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. This tragic story about two Indianapolis teens with cancer shows some pretty neat spots across the Indy area, including the Funky Bones sculpture at the Indiana Museum of Art gardens.
How many of these Indiana movies did you find relatable? For more cool facts about the Hoosier state, be sure to check out these 9 facts about Indiana you probably never knew were true.
Groganphoto of Danville, Illinois/wikimedia
This quintessential Indiana movie is as “Hoosier” as it gets! Based loosely on the 1954 Milan High School basketball team, this movie has heart, hardship, and most importantly, basketball. Though it was filmed in 1968, this film remains timeless for any true Hoosier.
Tim Evanson/Flickr
“You’ll shoot your eye out!” is a common phrase most Hoosiers grew up hearing. This classic 1983 Christmas comedy is set in fictional Hohman, Indiana, based off of Hammond, Indiana. It’s a nostalgic movie for most Hoosiers, and one we wouldn’t dare skip any holiday season.
Nyttend/wikimedia
This 1979 coming of age film follows four teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana as they struggle to find themselves and figure out their future amid class struggles. You’ll see glimpses of Bloomington and Indiana University in this film.
RyuuTaichou /wikimedia
This heartwarming 1993 football movie took place on the campus of Notre Dame University and was an autobiographical account of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger’s struggles to achieve his dream of playing football for Notre Dame.
Mariusz Kucharczyk/Flickr
This science fiction flick is directed by Stephen Spielberg and takes place in Indiana, and at least half of the scenes are also shot in Indiana. A small town’s world, and one man’s life in particular, is rocked during a close encounter with a UFO.
RKO Radio Pictures/wikimedia
Written by Orson Welles, this 1942 American period drama deals with the quickly declining wealth of an Indiana family and the social changes that are brought about by the era of the automobile. At the start of the film, the Ambersons are the wealthiest family in Indianapolis and the film deals with turn of the century social and economic changes. It’s offered regarded as one of the best American films to date, sharing this honor with Welles’ other film, Citizen Kane.
bnpositive/Flickr
Based on a 1970 novel by Dan Wakefield, this 1997 film starred Jeremy Davies and Ben Affleck as two Hoosiers who return home after the Korean War and begin looking for love.
L/Flickr
This 2014 film was based on the novel by Indiana resident, John Green, and starred Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. This tragic story about two Indianapolis teens with cancer shows some pretty neat spots across the Indy area, including the Funky Bones sculpture at the Indiana Museum of Art gardens.
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