Best movies like The War
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The son of a Vietnam War Veteran must deal with neighborhood bullies as well as his dad's post-traumatic stress disorder while growing up in the deep south in the 1970's.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, epic, dark comedy, cult classic, sincere, serious, tear jerker
Best tv shows and movies like The War (1994):
Similar in 88%
In Country (1989)
Plot Summary:
Samantha Hughes, a teenaged Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before her birth. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around with Tom, Earl, and Pete, three other Vietnam vets who, like Emmett, all have problems of one kind or another that relate to their war experiences. Samantha,becomes obsessed with finding out about her father.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, sex comedy, psychological, sincere, serious, contemplative, sentimental, sexy
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Similar in 88%
Lifted (2010)
Plot Summary:
The chance to shine in a singing competition offers much-needed hope for a Southern middle-schooler who's drowning in worries, from bullies in the halls to turmoil at home -- and the news that his reservist father has been called back to Afghanistan.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Music, War
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, sentimental, uplifting, feel good, serious, independent film
Similar in 83%
Ode to My Father (2014)
Plot Summary:
Amid the chaos of refugees fleeing the Korean War in December 1950, a young boy, Duk-soo, sees his fate change in the blink of an eye when he loses track of his younger sister and he leaves his father behind to find her. Settling at Gukje Market in Busan, Duk-soo devotes himself to his remaining family, working all manner of odd jobs to support them in place of his father. His dedication leads him first to the deadly coal mines of Germany, where he meets his first love, Youngja, and then to war-torn Vietnam in this powerful generational epic about one man’s personal sacrifices.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, captivating, social, sad, sentimental, epic, extraordinary
Similar in 79%
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006)
Plot Summary:
A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in the year of 1970, where both world cup and dictatorship happen in Brazil.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, emotional, touching, realistic, sincere, spectacular, period piece, masterpiece
Similar in 84%
Missing in America (2005)
Plot Summary:
A haunted Vietnam veteran, living in exile in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, is faced with a life-changing decision after he is visited by a former platoon member and his young Amerasian daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, touching, emotional, captivating, serious, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 82%
Three Seasons (1999)
Plot Summary:
Three Seasons wants to show individuals triumphing over adversities, recovering from traumas, looking forward to better times, as well as nostalgia for those better days before American and French and other invasions, material and ideological. It is a poetic film that tries to paint a picture of the urban culture undergoing westernisation.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Vietnam, USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: scenic, independent film, sentimental, touching, lyrical, sincere, atmospheric, thought provoking, serious, captivating
Similar in 84%
The '60s (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Herlihys are a working class family from Chicago whose three children take wildly divergent paths: Brian joins the Marines right out of High School and goes to Vietnam.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 172 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic
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Similar in 78%
King of the Hill (1993)
Plot Summary:
Based on the Depression-era bildungsroman memoir of writer A. E. Hotchner, the film follows the story of a boy struggling to survive on his own in a hotel in St. Louis after his mother is committed to a sanatorium with tuberculosis. His father, a German immigrant and traveling salesman working for the Hamilton Watch Company, is off on long trips from which the boy cannot be certain he will return.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, heartbreaking, serious, depressing, sentimental, atmospheric, sad, grim, mind twisting
Similar in 81%
The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003)
Plot Summary:
A troubled teen is given the chance to redeem his criminal debt to society.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 594
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, UK, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 78%
Secrets of War (2014)
Plot Summary:
Tuur and Lambert are best friends. But the war is closing in and is about to change their lives forever. Tuurs dad joined the resistance and even his big brother seems so be part of it. Lamberts family on the other hand choose to obey the Germans. Then a new girls from the city shows up, befriending the boys but telling her secret to only one of them. A choice that separates the boys and ultimately gets her in trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, touching, serious, realistic, social, period drama
Similar in 78%
Little Boy (2015)
Plot Summary:
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Mexico, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, touching, sweet, sad, semi serious, fairy tale, christian film, spiritual, scenic
Similar in 78%
1969 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Two rebellious youths, Ralph and Scott, find themselves struggling with adulthood as the Vietnam War rages. Feeling trapped in their small town, Scott battles with his conservative veteran father, Cliff, and Ralph deals with his desperately sexual mother, Ev. When tragic news arrives from overseas, the entire town, inspired by Ralph and Scott's antiwar efforts, reevaluates its attitude toward the war.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, independent film, sentimental, sincere, thought provoking, serious, road movie, intellectual, feel good, emotional
Similar in 82%
Snow Pirates (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the shadow of the military coup in 1980, these children aged 12-13, playing their childish games soon arrive at an understanding of life's responsibilities and are hastily introduced into the world of the grownups.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Turkey
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, captivating, bleak
Similar in 81%
Birdy (1984)
Plot Summary:
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam war. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, psychological, touching, realistic, art house, thought provoking, offbeat, political, surreal
Similar in 88%
Fly Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
The poignant yet humor filled story about a single mother of a teenager severely impacted by autism, forced to reckon with her daughter's future. As her child becomes an adult, what used to work, no longer does. What will sustain her daughter, and herself? A parent-child love story, when love means letting go.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
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Similar in 84%
Radio Flyer (1992)
Plot Summary:
A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sentimental, serious, realistic, sad, suspense, scary, depressing, epic
Similar in 87%
The Cure (1995)
Plot Summary:
Dexter, age 11, who has AIDS, and his next door neighbor Eric, a little older and much bigger, become best friends. Eric also becomes closer to Dexter's mother than to his own, who is neglectful and bigoted and violently forbids their friendship upon learning of it. Dexter and Erik start the journey to find "The Cure" they had read about in the local newspaper.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sad, touching, tear jerker, inspirational, sincere, realistic, depressing, spiritual, epic, crying
Similar in 77%
Mother of Mine (2005)
Plot Summary:
1943: Nine-year-old Eero whose father is killed during the war is brought to Sweden to foster parents to his protection like thousands of other Finnish children. Eero feels lost, particularly as his foster mother Signe behaves very unfriendly. She was expecting a little girl and still mourns for her daughter who drowned in the sea.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, melancholic, bleak, realistic, sincere, captivating, serious, gloomy, surprise ending
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Similar in 85%
Paradise (1991)
Plot Summary:
Willard Young is a 10-year-old boy who is sent by his mother to stay with her best friend Lily Reed, who lives in the Delta shrimp-fishing country in a town called Paradise. Lily and her husband Ben have been living in an unmentioned emotional vacuum since the death of their own three year old boy. Willie makes friends with the local 9-year-old tomboy Billie Pike, who teaches him to be comfortable with himself. When Willard gains a handle on his own emotions, he can now help Lily and Ben to connect, overcome grief and rediscover themselves.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, sad, cult classic, feel good, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, light
Similar in 87%
Green Dragon (2001)
Plot Summary:
A tale about Vietnamese refugees sent to an orientation camp on the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California, 'Green Dragon' focuses on a young boy and his sister. Set in 1975, the film chronicles the stories told to the two children by other refugees in the camp and of Tai Tran, who dares to introduce himself to Sergeant Jim Lance. In developing a relationship with Lance, Tran is able to improve.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, emotional, independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
Stolen Summer (2002)
Plot Summary:
Pete, an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1970s, attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of the Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson, who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny, who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, cult classic, feel good, serious, realistic, inspirational, dramatic
Similar in 75%
This Boy's Life (1993)
Plot Summary:
In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an impossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. Based on a true story by Tobias Wolff.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: depressing, touching, emotional, realistic, epic, retro, uplifting, sad, period piece, thinking
Similar in 89%
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, sentimental, emotional, sweet, inspirational, crying, psychological, captivating, intense
Similar in 89%
Kauwboy (2012)
Plot Summary:
Ten-year-old Jojo lives with his father, a security guard with a volatile personality who drinks to manage the unspoken despair he feels about his wife's absence, which he refuses to discuss with his son. In the midst of so much uncertainty, Jojo finds comfort and happiness in caring for an abandoned baby bird, a jackdaw, who is even more vulnerable than himself.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, melancholic, realistic
Similar in 79%
Stand by Me (1986)
Plot Summary:
After the death of a friend, a writer recounts a boyhood journey to find the body of a missing boy.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 432000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sad, emotional, feel good, atmospheric, cult classic, teen, road movie, inspirational, clever
Similar in 84%
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Plot Summary:
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sad, heartbreaking, sentimental, tear jerker, serious, crying, thought provoking, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
Plot Summary:
A mother and daughter dispute is resolved by the "Yaya sisterhood" - long time friends of the mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, emotional, intense, sincere, captivating, funny, gothic, feel good, independent film
Similar in 76%
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Plot Summary:
Through a series of flashbacks, four young chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sincere, captivating, thought provoking, emotional, sad, retro, depressing, spiritual
Similar in 79%
The Color Purple (1985)
Plot Summary:
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing "Mister" Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa. Based on the novel by Alice Walker.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 154 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, inspirational, sad, sincere, emotional, compassionate, period piece, heartbreaking
Similar in 83%
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
Plot Summary:
Amidst her own personality crisis, southern housewife Evelyn Couch meets Ninny, an outgoing old woman who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, two young women who experienced hardships and love in Whistle Stop, Alabama in the 1920s.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, touching, captivating, inspirational, sad, tear jerker, heartbreaking, emotional, realistic