Best movies like Petite Maman
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Petite Maman? Share your insights to steer others find suitable movies and tv shows you've viewed already. Assist in growing the community that suggests videos to each other. We appreciate your contribution!
Plot Summary:
Eight-year-old Nelly has just lost her beloved grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods where her mother used to play and where she built the fort Nelly has heard so much about. One day, her mother suddenly leaves, and Nelly meets a girl of her own age in the woods, building a fort.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: France
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, talky, psychedelic, art house, independent film, teen, feel good
Best tv shows and movies like Petite Maman (2021):
Similar in 80%
Crows (1994)
Plot Summary:
A thin child of about 10, nicknamed "Crow" because she mimics the bird, has no friends and rejects a teacher's hug. At home, she is left on her own, her mom locks her out while entertaining a lover or is asleep. One morning, Crow sees a chubby, cherubic child hugged by both parents as the father leaves for work. When the toddler is left alone, Crow lifts her through the fence and kidnaps her. That day, Crow tries to mother the child, alternately playing with and scolding her, taking her to the beach, leaving shore in a boat, pushing her into the sea in a pique, and eventually carrying the sleeping child back home. Crow returns to her own mother and asks for affection.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 66 min
Plot tags: surreal
Similar in 80%
Miss Impossible (2016)
Plot Summary:
They’re all nuts. Her parents, who want to send her off to boarding school. Her new teacher, who expects her to read impossibly old books. Her fellow band members, who make her sing ridiculous lyrics and dress her up in a frilly white dress for their first show. Everyone seems to know what she should do and how she should act. And it’s not like 13-year-old Aurore has any fundamental problem with changing herself either. Who would want to be like this: unhappy, ugly and emotionally withdrawn? But the others don’t seem all that much happier to her either. She definitely doesn’t ever want to be as old, rundown and lonely as her mother. And so she prefers to stay the way she is, to observe and make her biting comments on whatever comes her way.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 337
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
South Mountain (2019)
Plot Summary:
When her teenagers head off to camp and her husband abruptly leaves her to begin a new family, Lila is left to her own curious and chaotic devices for a summer in her rural home in the Catskill mountains.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 257
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: sincere, melancholic, sentimental, light, romantic, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Ginger & Rosa (2012)
Plot Summary:
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event the comes to redefine their relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Denmark, Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, stylized, realistic, contemplative, social, teen, aesthetic, independent film, political
Similar in 89%
Unicorn Store (2017)
Plot Summary:
A woman named Kit moves back to her parent's house, where she receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: allegory, psychological, tense, sincere, humorous, captivating, disturbing, sentimental, funny, inspirational
Similar in 87%
Angel Face (2018)
Plot Summary:
A single mother abandons her 8-year-old daughter after meeting someone in a nightclub.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, touching, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Namiya (2017)
Plot Summary:
Based on Keigo Higashino's international bestseller The Miracles of the Namiya General Store comes director Han Jie's take on the fantastical novel. TFBoys' Karry Wang stars as Xiao Bo, one of three orphans on the run who take refuge in a derelict corner store. Once there, they find a mysterious letter seeking advice, leading to an emotional adventure through time and unexpected connections with their own past.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 622
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, sincere, unusual plot structure, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Little Forest (2018)
Plot Summary:
A young woman leaves the city to return to her hometown in the countryside. Seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, she becomes self-sufficient in a bid to reconnect with nature.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sincere, sad, psychological, captivating, disturbing, feel good
Similar in 76%
Wendy (2020)
Plot Summary:
A re-imagining of "Peter Pan" from the point of view of Wendy Darling, who finds herself lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued. She must fight to save her family, her freedom and the joyous spirit of youth.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, art house, independent film
Similar in 88%
Ronia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)
Plot Summary:
Ronya lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronja have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Sweden, Norway
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: modern fairy tale, exciting, feel good, captivating, semi serious, uplifting, fairy tale, eighties
Similar in 75%
The Hedgehog (2009)
Plot Summary:
Paloma is a serious and highly articulate but deeply bored 11-year-old who has decided to kill herself on her 12th birthday. Fascinated by art and philosophy, she questions and documents her life and immediate circle, drawing trenchant and often hilarious observations on the world around her. But as her appointment with death approaches, Paloma finally meets some kindred spirits in her building's grumpy janitor and an enigmatic, elegant neighbor, both of whom inspire Paloma to question her rather pessimistic outlook on life.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, contemplative, sentimental, realistic, inspirational, captivating, aesthetic, surprise ending, thought provoking, breathtaking
Similar in 85%
Mother Earth (2010)
Plot Summary:
TIERRA MADRE is based on the true story of Aidee Gonzalez, a woman determined to raise her children with her female partner in the Mexican border town of Tecate. Aidee works hard as an exotic dancer providing for her family. One day her girlfriend shares her desire to have a child of her own, and convinces Aidee to go on the hunt for a male to conceive a child.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 105
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 62 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, touching, psychological, sincere, captivating, suspense, humorous, crying, hispanic
Similar in 90%
The Dreamlife of Angels (1998)
Plot Summary:
In Lille, two penniless young women with few prospects become friends. Isa moves in with Marie, who's flat-sitting for a mother and child in hospital in comas following a car crash. Isa is out-going, unskilled, with hopes of moving south to warmer climes. Marie usually is either angry or detached. Then, while Isa begins to visit the child in whose flat they live, going to hospital to read to her, Marie slowly falls for a rich youth. At first Marie keeps him at bay, then she not only pursues him, she begins to dream he is her life's love. When Isa tries to warn Marie, their friendship flounders. How will Marie handle the inevitable? And once they lose the flat, where will they go?.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, depressing, emotional, meditative, compassionate, psychological, sincere, contemplative, talky
Similar in 76%
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Ana, a sensitive seven-year-old girl in a rural Spanish hamlet is traumatized after a traveling projectionist screens a print of James Whale's 1931 "Frankenstein" for the village. The youngster is profoundly disturbed by the scenes in which the monster murders the little girl and is later killed himself by the villagers. She questions her sister about the profundities of life and death and believes her older sibling when she tells her that the monster is not dead, but exists as a spirit inhabiting a nearby barn. When a Loyalist soldier, a fugitive from Franco's victorious army, hides out in the barn, Ana crosses from reality into a fantasy world of her own.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Spain
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: art house, surreal, visual, atmospheric, contemplative, political, poetic, mind bending, psychedelic, depressing
Similar in 84%
Luna (2014)
Plot Summary:
Renowned artist and filmmaker Dave McKean (MirrorMask) brings his distinctive blend of live action and gorgeously wrought animation to this dreamlike reverie about four people whose weekend idyll in an isolated English seaside home becomes an opportunity for spiritual healing.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 302
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: emotional, atmospheric, psychological, sentimental, captivating, dark, dark fantasy, sincere, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
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 83%
Starry Starry Night (2011)
Plot Summary:
There was once a young girl named May who felt alienated from everyone around her. May is worried about her mother and father, whose marriage is on the rocks, and she yearns to return to the woods where her grandfather lives. One day, May befriends a boy as lonely as she is. When reality catches up, they run away to a beautiful world that belongs only to them. Both imaginatively escapist and heartbreakingly realistic, their journey speaks to kids and adults alike with the pain of solitude, the sorrow of loss, and the warmth of hope.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Taiwan, China, Hong Kong
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, psychological, visually appealing, sexy, experimental, independent film, touching, serious, stylized
Similar in 90%
In Bloom (2013)
Plot Summary:
Eka and Natia leave their childhood behind and ignore societal customs to escape from their turbulent family lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Georgia, Germany, France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, serious, captivating, social, art house, transgressive, sincere, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
Waiting for the Miracle to Come (2018)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring trapeze artist discovers a cryptic letter, written once by her recently deceased father, that leads her to a gold mine in a remote California desert.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: art house, psychological, captivating, disturbing, inspirational
Similar in 90%
Ponette (1996)
Plot Summary:
A four-year-old girl must come to terms with the loss of her mother and the reality of death in this award-winning French drama. Little Ponette (Victoire Thivisol) is riding in a car with her mother when they're involved in a serious accident; Ponette survives, but her mother does not. Her father (Xavier Beauvois) initially reacts with anger over his late wife's careless driving, while her Aunt Claire (Claire Nebout) tries to comfort the child by telling her about Jesus and the resurrection. However, none of this does much to reassure Ponette or clarify her confusion about the practical realities and spiritual dilemma posed by death. In time, Ponette and her cousins Matiaz (Matiaz Caton) and Delphine (Delphine Schiltz) are sent off to boarding school, where they have to resolve their confusion and loss on their own. ~Mark Deming, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, talky, depressing, philosophical, spiritual, psychological, sincere, serious
Similar in 86%
Amanda (2018)
Plot Summary:
Twenty-year-old David lives in the moment. He juggles a variety of different odd jobs and continues to put off – just for a while longer – the time to make more serious decisions. This solitary daydreamer succumbs to the charm of Lena, a newly arrived neighbour. But the relaxed pace of his life shifts up a gear when his elder sister is brutally killed in an attack. He must then take charge of his seven-year-old niece, Amanda.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, social
Similar in 83%
Old Enough (1984)
Plot Summary:
The 12 years old well-bred Lonnie meets the impudent Karen on the street. They spend some time together and Karen teaches Lonnie some of her favorite occupancies, like make-up, shoplifting, skipping school and lying to the parent about it, but confessing to the priest later. But Karen also learns some honesty from Lonnie. A film about social differences and growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 895
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious, slasher
Similar in 90%
Ratcatcher (1999)
Plot Summary:
James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, crying, depressing, art house, atmospheric, stylized, controversial, independent film, inspirational
Similar in 89%
Being 14 (2015)
Plot Summary:
The lives and turbulent adventures of a bunch of fourteen-year-old teenagers, through the eyes of three young girls - Sarah, Jade and Louise - with one last year to go before high school.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, tense, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 88%
The Florida Project (2017)
Plot Summary:
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, captivating, social, aesthetic, inspirational, anamorphic, visually stunning, funny, political
Similar in 83%
Tomboy (2011)
Plot Summary:
A French family with two daughters, 10-year-old Laure and 6-year-old Jeanne, moves to a new neighborhood during the summer holidays. With her tomboy ways, Laure is immediately mistaken for a boy by the local kids and passes herself off as Mickaël.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, touching, captivating, crying, emotional, lgbt cinema, educational, sad, stylized
Similar in 77%
Paperhouse (1988)
Plot Summary:
Anna is becoming lost in the loneliness of her own world when she discovers she can visit another, a house she has drawn herself and occupied by a young disabled boy. But as she discovers more of the links between her fantasy world and the mundane present, she is drawn only deeper into a dream turning into a nightmare.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: scary, disturbing, psychological, atmospheric, suspenseful, surreal, tense, intense, serious, creepy
Similar in 86%
Water Lilies (2007)
Plot Summary:
Set during a sultry summer in a French suburb, Marie is desperate to join the local pool's synchronized swimming team, but is her interest solely for the sake of sport or for a chance to get close to Floriane, the bad girl of the team? Sciamma, and the two leads, capture the uncertainty of teenage sexuality with a sympathetic eye in this delicate drama of the angst of coming-of-age.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: romantic, serious, realistic, sexy, psychological, sexual, erotic, sad, anthology, art house
Similar in 81%
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Plot Summary:
Jesse Aarons trained all summer to become the fastest runner in school, so he's very upset when newcomer Leslie Burke outruns him and everyone else. Despite this and other differences, including that she's rich, he's poor, and she's a city girl, he's a country boy, the two become fast friends. Together, they create Terabithia, a land of monsters, trolls, ogres, and giants and rule as king and queen.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 169000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, tear jerker, sad, touching, heartbreaking, fairy tale, sentimental, teen, captivating, melancholic
Similar in 89%
A Little Princess (1995)
Plot Summary:
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self- worth.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, fairy tale, heartbreaking, serious, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sweet, sad