Best movies like Upstream
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Homer and Joé trace the rivers of Croatia aboard a small boat. In spite of being fifty years old each one, none of them knew of the existence of the other until the recent death of the father of both. Now, however, they are half brothers. During the voyage, they meet Sean, an enigmatic Irish adventurer who will join them on the journey.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 118
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Belgium, Netherlands, Croatia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Upstream (2016):
Similar in 86%
A Polar Year (2018)
Plot Summary:
A Danish teacher takes a job in Greenland and tries to overcome the animosity of the tight-knit locals through a series of errors that help him embrace the snow-covered life.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 397
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: semi documentary, light, sincere, touching, sweet, captivating, entertaining, visually appealing
Similar in 85%
Directions (2017)
Plot Summary:
A road movie set in present day Bulgaria, a country remains optimistic, mainly because all the realists and pessimists have left. At a meeting with his banker, a small business owner, who drives a cab to make ends meet, discovers the bribe he will have to pay to get a loan has doubled. The ethics board that reviewed his complaint about extortion now wants its share of the action. At his wit's end, he shoots the banker and then himself. The incident sparks national debate on talk radio about how despair has taken over civil society. Meanwhile, six taxi drivers and their passengers move through the night, each in hope of finding a brighter way forward.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Bulgaria, Germany
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Name Me (2014)
Plot Summary:
A practical joke ends up very wrong in Nigina Sayfullaevas curious youth drama. Two seventeen year old Moscow girls, Olya and Sasha, are visiting Olya's long lost father who lives in Crimea, when they decide to switch places and pretend to be the other person to the father. Little do they know that their joke comes with consequenses that will change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 773
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, sentimental, captivating, social, neurotic, crying, entertaining
Similar in 82%
The Tale of King Crab (2021)
Plot Summary:
Small town in Italy, end of the 19th century. Luciano, a drunk, accidentally kills his lover during a revolt against the local Prince. To pay for his crime, he is forced into exile on the most remote island in the world, Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego. The hunt for the shipwreck treasure hidden on the island becomes his opportunity for redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Italy, France, Argentina
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
On the Road to Katanga (1987)
Plot Summary:
Obsessed by the dreams of a comfortable life, son of a coal miner comes back to his native country with plans to sell his father's house in order to travel to the African diamond mine in Katanga. Re-visiting of his hometown brings back his childhood trauma, and the nightmare of the old and new love, the events in and around the mine, all put his obsession with Katanga on test.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 173
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
9 Fingers (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of the night, Magloire is smoking a cigarette in an abandoned train station when the police shows up for an ID check. He starts running with no luggage, no future until he meets a dying man from whom he inherits a fortune. Magloire is now pursued by a gang. He becomes their hostage, but accomplice too. As he doesn’t anything to lose. Like someone who gets away with everything, someone with no expectations….
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 381
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: France, Portugal
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, surreal
Similar in 87%
The Timekeeper (2009)
Plot Summary:
A l'automne 1964, la construction des 52 derniers milles du chemin de fer du Grand lac des Esclaves est en voie d'achèvement. Une bande hétéroclite de travailleurs instables, ivrognes et voleurs, est recrutée dans les tavernes par Fisk, contremaître aux poings d'acier. Martin Bishop, dix-huit ans, arrive comme nouveau pointeur au sein de cette équipe, le précédent pointeur ayant « disparu ». Bishop découvre rapidement des faits anormaux dans ce camp isolé; celui qui ne suit pas les règles de Fisk risque d'être expulsé du camp dans la nature sauvage et hostile. Fait surprenant, tous les hommes qui ont été expulsés demeurent sur la liste de paie... Le refus de Bishop de jouer le jeu de Fisk lui vaut d'être expulsé dans la forêt, dont l'immensité devient sa nouvelle prison. Incapable de s'échapper, Bishop découvre des aptitudes à la survie qu'il ne croyait pas posséder.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 194
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, realistic, offbeat
Similar in 78%
Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961)
Plot Summary:
Tintin and Captain Haddock try to discover what is so desirable about their old and apparently worthless ship.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating
Similar in 86%
Chubasco (1968)
Plot Summary:
A wild beach boy takes a job on a tuna fishing boat.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
The Night Watchmen (2015)
Plot Summary:
Times have changed a lot for Franck who is a night watchman. About a decade ago he was a specialized worker. Today he feels bored but would jump at any chance to prove his bravery and courage.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
The Hawaiians (1970)
Plot Summary:
A wanderer returns home only to find political turmoil, disease and romantic difficulties.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: epic, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 83%
The Raven's Dance (1980)
Plot Summary:
With a keen sense of visual beauty, director Markku Lehmuskallio has created a thought-provoking, aesthetic film about a married couple and an old man living in a remote part of Finland. The young husband goes out hunting but only to support himself and his wife, not to kill off hordes of animals. He sets traps, and that gets him in trouble with the police who proceed to ticket him for using the devices. The forest cycles themselves are intimated when an old tree is shown falling to earth -- perhaps a reflection on the old man's passing years. In contrast to these few people living off the land and basically keeping the ecological balance intact, a highway construction crew is shown at work felling trees. Soon the antagonism grows between encroaching civilization and the quiet life of the young couple and elderly man.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 65
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001)
Plot Summary:
A man is forced to confront a dangerous female jaguar and his own past through the sacrificial killing of the beast he has grown to love.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Netherlands, France, Spain, Australia
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, exciting, independent film
Similar in 75%
Lone Wolf (1972)
Plot Summary:
A boy finds a large wolf-like dog in the mountain and they befriend. The local peasants think that it may be a real wolf responsible for the sheep pestilence. They decide to kill the animal, but the boy is worried about it and he secretly provides the dog with the food.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 865
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
A Dog Called... Vengeance (1977)
Plot Summary:
A political prisoner in a South American dictatorship escapes and is pursued throughout the country by a bloodthirsty dog.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 308
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Kings of the World (2022)
Plot Summary:
Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny and Nano. Five boys who live on the streets of Medellín. Five kings with no kingdom, no law, no family, set out on a journey in search of the promised land. A subversive tale told through a wild and endearing clan, somewhere between reality and delirium. A journey to nowhere, where everything happens.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Colombia, Luxembourg, France, Mexico, Norway
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: road movie
Similar in 80%
Thorn Castle (2012)
Plot Summary:
Tutajos is an excellent student whose parents decide to reward his academic achievements with a vacation to the countryside. Robbed of his gadgets and easy city-lifestyle, Tutajos finds himself completely out of his element – until a goodhearted ranger named Matula teaches him how to get back to nature. As Tutajos’ best friend Bütyök joins him on his vacation, the two boys learn the joys of camping, hunting, and living off of the land.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 263
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: Hungary
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Men with Guns (1997)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Fuentes is a medical professor approaching his retirement and journeys to find old students, with sometimes disturbing results.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: existential, cult classic, tense, thought provoking, clever, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 89%
Pure Life (2014)
Plot Summary:
1949, a French explorer goes on a solitary expedition in the Amazon forest. He leaves behind him a diary that reflects the meaning of Pure Life and his encounters but leaves the mystery of his own disappearance unsolved.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 62
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama
Country: France, French Guiana, Brazil
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: captivating
Similar in 80%
Wet Gold (1984)
Plot Summary:
Wet Gold is the story of a young woman (Laura), who works as a waitress in a cafe. Laura stumbles across a drunk elderly man (Sampson), who fills her with exciting stories of a boat that went down with millions in gold. Although Laura's boyfriend (Barnes), keeps telling her that Sampson's stories are all false, Sampson makes her believe that they are indeed true. Laura takes Sampson to a library, where she finds an old newspaper article which matches up with the events described to her by him. After becoming a true believer, Laura convinces Barnes, Sampson and a dive shop owner, Keating, to search for the treasure. Together they set off from Key West in the Baker's boat, which Barnes is supposed to be looking after. Keating shows a liking for Laura, and because of this, Barnes begins to feel uncomfortable towards him. After spending some time in the water, their dreams become reality, but the discovery of gold begins to show a change in their personalities.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 312
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Chac: The Rain God (1975)
Plot Summary:
Unique story of a village's attempts to solve drought by appealing to the powers of a mysterious mountain-dwelling diviner.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 191
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Mexico, Panama
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: spiritual, mystic, esoteric, atmospheric, serious, stylized, suspense
Similar in 83%
The Blue Butterfly (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, The Blue Butterfly tells the story of a terminally ill 10-year-old boy whose dream is to catch the most beautiful butterfly on Earth, the mythic and elusive Blue Morpho. His mother persuades a renowned entomologist to take them on a trip to the jungle to search for the butterfly, leading to an adventure that will transform their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, serious, realistic, spiritual
Similar in 88%
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Plot Summary:
Fitzcarraldo, a dreamer who plans to bring opera and Enrico Caruso to the South American jungles. With limited funding, he must figure out how to finance the opera house, and ultimately decides to capitalize on South America's rubber production. He discovers a hidden forest of rubber trees that is well protected by rapids, but the only way to get there is via a river on the other side of a small group of mountains. Fitzcarraldo therefore hires natives to pull his steamship over the mountain.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: West Germany, Peru
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: cerebral, surreal, visually appealing, visual, tense, stylized, road movie, scenic, mind bending, thought provoking
Similar in 82%
In the Forests of Siberia (2016)
Plot Summary:
Fed up with the hectic, senseless world he lives in, Teddy decides to settle down alone in Siberia, in the midst of winter, in a hut by the shore of Lake Baikal. After an initial period of elation in front of the splendor and magic of unspoiled nature, Teddy soon finds himself confronted with the less glossy side of things : solitude, extreme cold, the necessity to find food, danger... One night Teddy gets lost in a blizzard and would be doomed to a certain death, were it not for Aleksei, a Russian convict living hidden away in the forest nearby, who rescues him in extremis. Friendship soon blossoms between the two men.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 79%
The Earthling (1980)
Plot Summary:
Patrick Foley has been on the move all his live. Tired of drifting, he wants to spend his last days in an isolated Australian valley where he grew up. On his difficult journey he meets Shawn, a little desperate city-boy whose parents were killed in an accident in this remote inhospitable territory. Being unable to accompany the boy back to the civilized world he reluctantly takes him with him on his trip to that valley and teaches him in a rugged way how to survive.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: anamorphic, serious, surreal, independent film
Similar in 84%
To Build a Fire (1969)
Plot Summary:
A man travels by foot in the snow with his dog.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
The Midwife (2017)
Plot Summary:
Claire is a midwife and has devoted her life to others. At a moment when she is preoccupied by the imminent closure of the maternity clinic where she works, her life is further turned upside down when Béatrice, her father's former mistress, turns up on the scene. Béatrice is a capricious and selfish woman, Claire's exact opposite.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, captivating, suspense, disturbing, crying
Similar in 76%
Land (2021)
Plot Summary:
Edee, in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, serious
Similar in 75%
The Call of the Wild (2020)
Plot Summary:
A sled dog struggles for survival in the wilds of the Yukon.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: captivating, disturbing, sincere, inspirational, fairy tale, period piece, tense
Similar in 85%
White Water Summer (1987)
Plot Summary:
When the experienced guide Vic accompanies the city boy Alan and his three friends on their first wilderness experience, he not only hope to teach the four boys lessons about the wilderness, but about themselves. Vic pushes them to the limit. Soon after alienating the boys, Vic finds himself in desperate need of help and must rely on his students in order to survive.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: intense, sincere, exciting, suspenseful, feel good, serious, realistic, contemplative, semi serious, scary