Best movies like Maangamizi: The Ancient One
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Maangamizi: The Ancient One? Provide your familiarity to direct others towards movies and tv series you've seen before that they may enjoy also. Assist in enlarging the group of people proposing videos to each other. We appreciate your input!
Plot Summary:
An American woman doctor comes to Tanzania to work at a hospital for the mentally disturbed, with her Tanzanian lover. There, she meets a sometimes catatonic patient, Samahe, who seems to be in communication with another reality. In their confrontation with their individual and collective pasts, Dr Asira and Samehe are bound by fears and half remembered images of unbearable pain. Only through the spirit of Maangamizi, can the women resume their lives with an understanding of the ancestors and their eternal presence in a world of cruelty, hatred and death. It is a story that seeks to reclaim the connection between Africa and her Diaspora, and one that dares to represent the histories of two continents as it peels away layers upon layers of pain to bring healing of the soul.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Drama
Country: Tanzania, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, allegory, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like Maangamizi: The Ancient One (2001):
Similar in 87%
White Shadow (2013)
Plot Summary:
Since 2008, albinos in Tanzania have become human targets. Witch doctors offer huge sums of cash for their body parts to be used in magic potions. From 2008 to 2010, more than 200 witch-doctor inspired murders occurred. As a local saying goes: “Albinos do not die, they just disappear.” This is the story of Alias, an albino boy on the run. After his father’s murder, his mother sends him to the city. His uncle Kosmos, a truck driver, takes care of him. Alias learns fast in the city, selling sunglasses, DVDs and cellphones, it will not take long before the boy experiences at first hand the difficulties of life and of being different.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Drama
Country: Tanzania, Germany, Italy
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, touching, suspense, existential horror, offbeat
Similar in 82%
The Perfect Gift (2009)
Plot Summary:
A spoiled schoolgirl, her overworked executive mother, and a disillusioned young minister each receives an uplifting message about friendship, commitment, and the truest meaning of Christmas from a friendly, but mysterious drifter.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 464
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, christian film
Similar in 78%
Camino (2008)
Plot Summary:
A religious organization interferes with the life of a terminally ill girl.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, serious, realistic, spiritual, odd, complex
Similar in 79%
Pressure Point (1962)
Plot Summary:
An African-American prison psychiatrist (Sidney Poitier) finds the boundaries of his professionalism sorely tested when he must counsel a disturbed inmate (Bobby Darin) with bigoted Nazi tendencies.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychedelic, political, surreal, independent film, psychological, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Elephant Song (2014)
Plot Summary:
A psychiatrist is drawn into a complex mind game when he questions a disturbed patient about the disappearance of a colleague.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, thought provoking, sexy, independent film, aesthetic, gay cinema
Similar in 81%
Eternal Salvation (2016)
Plot Summary:
Jonathan Wright has it all, a prestigious job, incredibly beautiful wife Amy, gorgeous 7-year-old daughter Megan and countless friends. In the prime of his life, Jonathan suffers a life threatening brain aneurysm that leaves him comatose. After regaining consciousness, he begins the grueling task of rebuilding his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 108
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: christian film, touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 78%
Joshua (2002)
Plot Summary:
When Joshua moves to the outskirts of Auburn, he awakens the curiosity of the sleepy town. They don’t know who he is or where he came from, but no one can shake the feeling they’ve known him for years. Despite his benevolence and selfless work in the community, some remain suspicious. Just what exactly is Joshua up to?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, spiritual, christian film, inspirational, esoteric, feel good, independent film, uplifting
Similar in 87%
What If God Were the Sun? (2007)
Plot Summary:
A grieving nurse finds comfort and inspiration in her new assignment, where she meets a terminally ill woman with a quick with and strong faith.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, atmospheric, emotional, serious
Similar in 76%
Black Girl (1972)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring dancer and her wicked sister's resent their mother's love for a foster daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: social, independent film, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, black cinema
Similar in 82%
Dancing in the Dark (1995)
Plot Summary:
Anna Forbes suffers an attack and sexual abuse by her father-in-law. But when she overcomes her fear and tells her husband Mark what happened he does not believe her, choosing instead to believe his father who denies everything. As Anna becomes increasingly desperate to be believed and her actions become more erratic, Mark has her committed to a mental institution for psychiatric treatment.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, clever, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, talky
Similar in 79%
Lilith (1964)
Plot Summary:
Lilith is a about a mysterious young woman in an elite sanitarium in New England, who seems to weave a magical spell all around her. A restless, but sincere young man with an equally obscure past is seemingly drawn into her web. As time passes, their relationship deepens and intensifies, and the differences between them begin to blur, leading to a shocking, but oddly logical conclusion.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, suspense, retro, social, surreal, sexual, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Lost Transmissions (2019)
Plot Summary:
When an acclaimed music producer goes off his medication for schizophrenia, his friends chase him though the LA music scene to help commit him to a psychiatric hospital, revealing the troubling inadequacies of the mental health care system.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspense, realistic, touching, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, sincere, enigmatic, depressing
Similar in 76%
On the Edge (2001)
Plot Summary:
On the Edge is about suicidal patients discovering their true selves while going through therapy in a treatment center.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, sincere, talky, independent film, cerebral, cult classic, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 77%
The Promise (1999)
Plot Summary:
Lisa's husband, Bill, abuses her. With her sister's encouragement, she takes their three kids and leaves her husband. Bill keeps interfering with Lisa's attempts at a new life. She gets an order of protection against him, but the police can't do anything else to help her. One night Bill breaks into Lisa's apartment and shoots her. As she dies in the hospital, Lisa asks her sister to promise to take care of her three children. The sister takes the kids into her home, but Bill is still on the loose, an ever present threat.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Angela (1995)
Plot Summary:
A ten year old girl named Angela leads her six year old sister, Ellie, through various regimens of 'purification' in an attempt to rid themselves of their evil, which she believes to be the cause of their mother's mental illness. Precocious, to say the least, Angela has visions of Lucifer coming to take her and her sister away, and one of her remedies for this is for them to remain within a circle of their dolls and toys until they see a vision of the virgin Mary come to them. But such thinking can only lead to an ending befitting of her own mental state.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, atmospheric, depressing, disturbing, controversial, offbeat, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Speakeasy (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two men become unlikely friends after a minor traffic accident.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, disturbing, sexy, gloomy, crying
Similar in 77%
Redwood Highway (2013)
Plot Summary:
Marie, a reluctant resident of a retirement community in Southern Oregon, decides to walk 80 miles down the Redwood Highway to see the ocean for the first time in 45 years.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 585
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, feel good, serious, realistic, independent film, detective
Similar in 79%
Waking Madison (2010)
Plot Summary:
A woman suffering from multiple personality disorder tries to piece back together her life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, mind bending, serious, realistic, touching, depressing, atmospheric, independent film, bleak
Similar in 87%
Odd Girl Out (2005)
Plot Summary:
A mother and her daughter confront the intimidation of teen peer pressure and the emotionally brutalizing social rituals of high school.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, exciting, captivating, touching, suspenseful, sad, teen
Similar in 90%
Eve's Bayou (1997)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The big Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive women patients. One day Louis is flirting with married and sexy Metty Mereaux, not knowing that he is observed by his youngest idealistic daughter Eve, who is there by accident. Eve can not forget the incident which is traumatic for her naiveté, and shares a secret with older sister Cisely. Lies start to roll.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: cult classic, independent film, southern gothic, gothic, mysterious, family saga, hood, visual, spooky, atmospheric
Similar in 77%
Sling Blade (1996)
Plot Summary:
Karl Childers is a mentally disabled man who has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, Karl is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: independent film, southern gothic, neo noir, serious, sincere, touching, bleak, depressing, emotional, sad
Similar in 81%
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 86%
David and Lisa (1962)
Plot Summary:
The emotional story of a young man in a mental institution for teens who begins to understand his psychosis in the environment of others with mental and emotional problems. He finds intimacy with Lisa, a young woman suffering from schizophrenia.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, retro, mind bending, psychedelic, spiritual, social, surreal, intense, independent film, sincere
Similar in 75%
Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
Plot Summary:
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, psychological, captivating, teen, sincere, uplifting, touching
Similar in 85%
Reign Over Me (2007)
Plot Summary:
A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, depressing, sincere, inspirational, heartbreaking, compassionate, feel good, tear jerker, psychological
Similar in 87%
Helen (2009)
Plot Summary:
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Canada
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, depressing, sentimental, atmospheric, sincere, serious, independent film, beautiful
Similar in 82%
The Necessities of Life (2008)
Plot Summary:
In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to speak French and faced with a completely alien world, he becomes despondent. When he refuses to eat and expresses a wish to die, his nurse, Carole, comes to the realization that Tivii's illness is not the most serious threat to his well-being. She arranges to have a young orphan, Kaki, transferred to the institution. The boy is also sick, but has experience with both worlds and speaks both languages. By sharing his culture with Kaki and opening it up to others, Tivii rediscovers his pride and energy. Ultimately he also rediscovers hope through a plan to adopt Kaki, bring him home and make him part of his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, intercultural, feel good, inter cultural
Similar in 85%
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Plot Summary:
While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, implacable rabble-rouser, Randle Patrick McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse, Mildred Ratched.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 11000000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, dramatic, serious, captivating, surprise ending, tragicomedy, bleak, emotional, inspirational
Similar in 87%
White Oleander (2002)
Plot Summary:
A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: emotional, intense, touching, disturbing, serious, realistic, erotic, sentimental, gothic, social
Similar in 84%
K-PAX (2001)
Plot Summary:
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away Planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 191000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, cerebral, sentimental, surprise ending, futuristic, philosophical, atmospheric, clever, mind twisting