Best movies like Lions
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Deep in the forest a group of five friends wander around like a lion herd. Lost in their word games, they play and seduce each other while going back and forth into adulthood territory, in a desperate search to avoid their already written story.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Netherlands, France
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: gothic, experimental, apocalyptic, crying, allegory, weird, fable
Best tv shows and movies like Lions (2012):
Similar in 83%
The Chimp (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Chimp is the nickname of a teenage boy (with large ears) who lives in the small town of Balyktchy, Kirghizstan, a former part of the USSR in central Asia. His family is being torn apart by his dad's alcoholism, his emotions are being torn as he sees his friends pair off into couples, and his job working on the railtracks is uninspiring.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Kyrgyzstan, Japan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Kosumosu (1997)
Plot Summary:
Teen Akiko (Akane Oda) returns to her home village in Japan after seven years in South America, where she contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. The town, thick with paranoia, is quick to ostracize the ailing Akiko. With only her best friend (Megumi Matsushita) and her mom (Mari Natsuki) in her corner, Akiko suffers awful discrimination at school and at home.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 43
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 83%
Fate (1994)
Plot Summary:
The paths of people from various countries cross during the course of one night. They speak different languages, but they are fatefully bound together by the solitary quest for happiness and deliverance. Sloping paths are all that's left for them in an age of lost perspectives, lost refuges and lost homelands. They sink deeper with every movement that should be liberating them. Every gesture of love becomes a gesture of humiliation. The desperate dance of their life has become a passionate dance of death. In the centre of this centrifuge at the end of the millennium the Russian emigrant Valery and his lover Ljuba are turning around each other in a nocturnal round dance of desire and pain, hope and violence and the indestructible will to survive.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 103
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: slow cinema, aesthetic, sad, experimental, apocalyptic, crying
Similar in 82%
Beauty and the Beast (1983)
Plot Summary:
When Mette and her father are left alone over the Christmas holidays to paint the new nursery the father ends up alone most of the time. The 16-year-old Mette is always off with her friends at the disco or skating, and the father does not mind until he discovers that young Jønne has taken some semi-nude photos of Mette and clearly is intending to go further in their relationship. Suddenly the father starts hanging out with Mette and her friends as they practice winter sports together - and there is hardly anything stranger, or more embarrassing, as far as Mette is concerned. It is clear that father and daughter are heading toward a change in their relationship as both have to adjust to her "growing up.".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 614
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Metalhead (2013)
Plot Summary:
It's the year 1970 and as Black Sabbath record their first album and mark the birth of Heavy Metal, Hera Karlsdottir is born on the cowshed floor at her parents farm in rural Iceland. The years of her youth are carefree until a tragedy strikes. Her older brother is killed in a accident and Hera blames herself for his death. In her grieve she finds solace in the dark music of Heavy Metal and dreams of becoming a rock star. As the years pass on the farm buried under a shroud of snow and a looming ominous mountain Hera practises her guitar and dreams of forming a band. Hera is a rebellious, misunderstood delinquent in her early twenties who can't help but get into trouble. She dreams of escaping out into the world but somehow always ends up at her own doorstep. When her childhood friend returns intent on marrying her and a young priest moves to the farming community the wheels of fate start turning. Hera has to grow up, find her own voice and realize she can't run away her whole life.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iceland
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, psychological thriller, gothic, brutal, poignant, art house, crying
Similar in 84%
Virgins (2018)
Plot Summary:
Teenage Lana is languishing in her run-down hometown on Israel’s sun-soaked north coast—until an older, attractive writer arrives with tales of a mermaid sighting off the shore of the declining resort town.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 245
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Israel, Belgium
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 75%
Rocks (2019)
Plot Summary:
A young teenage girl finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother after being abandoned by their single mother with no choice but to live out on the streets.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, suspense, rough, social
Similar in 89%
Park Hwa-young (2018)
Plot Summary:
Hwa-young is an 18-year-old student living alone. Her friends call her “mom” and use her house as their place to hang out, but don’t really include her in their clique. Hwa-young pays particular attention to one of the friends, Mijeong.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, weird
Similar in 78%
The Good Son (2001)
Plot Summary:
Bonjour tristesse: Teenager Luc lives with his mother Liliane and his little brother Paul in Paris, has to cope with the fact that his mother is a prostitute and practically raise his brother alone. Luc is disillusioned. One day, little Paul wants to phone his grandmother in Nord-pas-de-Calais, one thing leads to another and suddenly the whole family finds themselves in a holiday in northern France. For Liliane it means a reunion with her mother, for Luc and Paul the reunion with their grandmother. And then someday on the beach Luc gets to know Manu(el) who teaches him lessons in love, life, fun, teenagerhood and friendship.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 59
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 77%
The Devil, Probably (1977)
Plot Summary:
In order to be technically free of the mortal sin of suicide, a young man who has given up on the world pays a drug-addict to shoot him. Charles (Antoine Monnier), who is a student, has tried political action and investigated the claims of religion but ultimately finds nothing which will change the overwhelming bleakness he feels surrounded by. In this austere movie by director Robert Bresson, the power of the storytelling comes from the lucidity of the imagery captured on film, rather than in the acting.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: spiritual, slow cinema, light, bleak, artsy, anthology, art house, existential, aesthetic, realistic
Similar in 80%
Happy End (2017)
Plot Summary:
A middle-class family living in Calais deal with a series of setbacks while paying little attention to the grim conditions in the refugee camps within a few miles of their home.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Austria, Germany
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, art house, thought provoking, captivating, disturbing, parody, political, surreal, mind blowing, saga
Similar in 77%
A Better Place (1997)
Plot Summary:
A high school outcast new to town becomes friends with a violent loner still haunted by the death of his parents.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: art house, cerebral, independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, emotional
Similar in 81%
Hold Me Tight (2010)
Plot Summary:
I skoletimerne sender Mikkel prøvende blikke til klassens stille og indelukkede pige, Sara, der er smigret over opmærksomheden. Da Mikkel og hans ven Hassan leger flirtende med hende i et frikvarter, bliver Hassans kæreste, Louise, jaloux og begynder at sprede ondsindede rygter om Sara. Louises hævn udvikler sig hurtigt til mobning og det, der er værre.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 573
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 82%
Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (1994)
Plot Summary:
The young teenager Otto is entering the summer holidays in 60'ies Oslo, without getting a real holiday, and he is not accepted in the gang or the football team. But then he meets exciting mysterious Frank, which changes everything.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 687
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Digging to China (1997)
Plot Summary:
Harriet, a ten-year old girl, lives together with her big sister and her alcoholic mother out in the countryside. The family runs a motel. Harriet is different from the others, as she owns a great creativity and has nobody to play with. Her infinite world exists only in her mind. One day, Ricky comes along. He is a grown-up, but retarded son of an elderly lady. Soon, Harriet and Ricky share their experiences of life from a different point of view and become close friends. But his mother still plans to give Ricky away into professional care in a home, because she won't live forever to be there for him.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, intellectual, crying, independent film, sentimental, feel good, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Hide Your Smiling Faces (2013)
Plot Summary:
Tommy and his older brother Eric live in the midst of vast remote forests. The death of their friend pushes them close to the edge. Eric doesn’t know how to channel his energy. All at once, nature’s vastness feels stifling.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, bleak, serious, gothic, mumblecore, visually stunning, atmospheric, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 80%
George Washington (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in the landscape of a rural southern town, "George Washington" is a stunning portrait of how a group of young kids come to grips with a hard world of choices and consequences. During an innocent game in an abandoned amusement park, a member of the group dies. Narrated by one of the children, the film follows the kids as they struggle to balance their own ambitions and relationships against a tragic lie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, independent film, meditative, lyrical, touching, realistic, stylized, southern gothic, thought provoking
Similar in 76%
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Plot Summary:
The story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Sweden
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: depressing, art house, cerebral, philosophical, black and white, spiritual, heartbreaking, disturbing, thought provoking, touching
Similar in 89%
Cuties (2020)
Plot Summary:
Amy, an 11-year-old girl, joins a group of dancers named “the cuties” at school, and rapidly grows aware of her burgeoning femininity—upsetting her mother and her values in the process.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: controversial, sad, independent film, crying, disgusting
Similar in 78%
Girlhood (2014)
Plot Summary:
Oppressed by her family setting, dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, hood, realistic, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
The Turin Horse (2011)
Plot Summary:
A monumental windstorm and an abused horse's refusal to work or eat signals the beginning of the end for a poor farmer and his daughter.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama
Country: Hungary, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: bleak, atmospheric, slow cinema, contemplative, thought provoking, serious, existential, black and white, art house, experimental
Similar in 76%
Third Star (2010)
Plot Summary:
James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, contemplative, uplifting, touching, realistic, semi serious, sad, thought provoking, road movie
Similar in 79%
Mouchette (1967)
Plot Summary:
Robert Bresson plumbs great reservoirs of feelings with one of the most searing portraits of human desperation ever put on film.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: art house, black and white, depressing, bleak, emotional, disturbing, contemplative, stylized, spiritual, inspirational
Similar in 82%
Giant Little Ones (2018)
Plot Summary:
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, realistic, thought provoking, lgbt cinema, independent film, freeze frame, indie film, meditative, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
Close (2022)
Plot Summary:
Two thirteen year-olds have always been incredibly close but they drift apart after the intimacy of their relationship is questioned by schoolmates. An emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Netherlands, France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad, teen, crying, iconic
Similar in 75%
Wild Reeds (1994)
Plot Summary:
As the Algerian War draws to a close, a teenager with a girlfriend starts feeling homosexual urges for two of his classmates: a country boy, and a French-Algerian intellectual.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, lgbt cinema, sad, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 78%
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Plot Summary:
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 305000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: sad, depressing, heartbreaking, psychological, emotional, touching, independent film, compassionate, realistic, cerebral
Similar in 83%
Ordinary People (1980)
Plot Summary:
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, depressing, realistic, sentimental, compassionate, crying, serious, existential, inspirational
Similar in 83%
Palo Alto (2013)
Plot Summary:
Palo Alto weaves together three stories of teenage lust, boredom, and self-destruction: shy, sensitive April, torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy; Emily, who offers sexual favors to any boy to cross her path; and the increasingly dangerous exploits of Teddy and his best friend Fred, whose behavior may or may not be sociopathic.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: melancholic, atmospheric, serious, teen, realistic, indie film, aesthetic, erotic, mumblecore, artsy
Similar in 86%
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 539000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, teen, melancholic, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, heartbreaking, independent film