Best movies like Ithaca
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley, 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses. And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain... and death... to the good people of Ithaca. And Homer Macauley will grapple with one message that will change him forever - from a boy into a man. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel, The Human Comedy, ITHACA is the quintessential wartime tale of the Home Front. It is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the sweetness of life, the sting of death and the modesty and sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, thought provoking, realistic, crying, freeze frame
Best tv shows and movies like Ithaca (2015):
Similar in 90%
December (1991)
Plot Summary:
In December of 1941, five teenage boys at a New England prep school hear the news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and realize their lives are going to be changed forever. Released in 1991.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, talky
Similar in 85%
Mudbound (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the post–World War II South, two families are pitted against a barbaric social hierarchy and an unrelenting landscape as they simultaneously fight the battle at home and the battle abroad.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: southern gothic, thought provoking, period piece, costume drama, exciting, tense, captivating, inspirational, serious, art house
Similar in 85%
A Separate Peace (2004)
Plot Summary:
Four friends with one dark secret they could never outrun.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 652
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 90%
American Pastime (2007)
Plot Summary:
American Pastime tells a poignant story set against the Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. Rounded up and uprooted from their everyday lives, they remained loyal to the United States and ironically turned to that most American of sports - baseball - as a way to deal with their plight.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 772
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sport, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, emotional, uplifting, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
Their Finest (2016)
Plot Summary:
During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter (Gemma Arterton) works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters (Lily Knight and Francesca Knight) who undertook their own maritime mission to rescue wounded soldiers are met with mixed feelings by a dismissive all-male staff.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, Sweden, France
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: historical drama, costume drama, thought provoking, humorous, captivating, disturbing, period piece, romantic, touching, social
Similar in 88%
Fatima (2020)
Plot Summary:
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. As secularist government officials and Church leaders try to force the children to recant their story, word of the sighting spreads across the country, inspiring religious pilgrims to flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Portugal
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: christian film, sincere, touching, realistic, captivating, mystical
Similar in 84%
Killer Kid (1994)
Plot Summary:
Eleven-year-old Laïd lives in war-torn Lebanon. Chosen and trained by an extremist organisation, he has been forced to enter the adult world far too early. He has been transformed into a fanatical and programmed machine, whose life could be summed up in the words "kill without hesitation".Because of his intellect and his commitment to the holy war he is handpicked for a deadly assignment in Paris. But in order to get access to the target he has to learn how to merge in, to become an ordinary eleven-year-old. Karim becomes his role model. Karim is the same age as Laïd and grew up in one of the Paris suburbs. He is carefree and "hip" and becomes the perfect teacher in a world of skateboards, rap music and video games.Despite the cultural differences, despite the fact that one of them is an indoctrinated machine and the other one a perfectly ordinary carefree boy, a friendship begins to grow between the two.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, disturbing, crying
Similar in 87%
Come See the Paradise (1990)
Plot Summary:
Come See The Paradise is a deeply touching love story set against the backdrop of a dramatic and controversial period in American history, It follows the romance and eventual marriage of Jack McGurn (Dennis Quad), a hot blooded Irish American, and a beautiful Japanese American Lily Dawanura (Tamlyn Tomita), at the outset of World War II. The clash of cultures, at once painful for the two lovers, becomes insurmountable after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Lily and the Kawamuras are relocated To a bleak, outdoor internment camp in California, Jack is drafted into the Army, powerless to help the woman he loves abandoning all hope of ever winning her family's approval.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, crying, sentimental, romantic, clever
Similar in 76%
Last Flag Flying (2017)
Plot Summary:
Thirty years after serving together in the Vietnam War, Larry "Doc" Shepherd, Sal Nealon and the Rev. Richard Mueller reunite for a different type of mission: to bury Doc's son, a young Marine killed in Iraq. Forgoing burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Doc and his old buddies take the casket on a bittersweet trip up the coast to New Hampshire. Along the way, the three men find themselves reminiscing and coming to terms with the shared memories of a war that continues to shape their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: road movie, thought provoking, touching, sincere, humorous, captivating, depressing, sad, twisted, interesting
Similar in 87%
Bless Me, Ultima (2012)
Plot Summary:
In a village in New Mexico, the life of young farm boy Antonio is dramatically changed when an old medicine woman joins his household. This affecting coming-of-age tale recounts Antonio's experiences to reveal the spiritual conflict in his community.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: spiritual, captivating, realistic, serious, touching, disturbing, esoteric, hispanic
Similar in 88%
David (1979)
Plot Summary:
Although members of the Hitler Youth chant anti-Semitic paroles in front of his house during the Purim festival, Rabbi Singer is still profoundly convinced that Germany will stay a safe country for him, his family, and his fellow believers. But several years later, his son David is banned from going to school because he is a Jew. Shortly after, Rabbi Singer and his wife are deported. Now, young David also fears for his life. In constant fear of being detected, he tries to find a way to leave Germany.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Circle of Deceit (1981)
Plot Summary:
Georg Laschen leaves his family in West Germany to go work as a war correspondent in Beirut during the fights between Christians and Palestinians.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 948
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 80%
Taking Chance (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental, sad, serious, harsh, christian film, motivational
Similar in 85%
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 85%
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Plot Summary:
In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 76%
Journey's End (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, variously await their fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, period piece, thought provoking, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Only the Brave (2006)
Plot Summary:
A searing portrait of war and prejudice, 'Only the Brave' takes you on a haunting journey into the hearts and minds of the forgotten heroes of WWII - the Japanese-American 100th/442nd.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 909
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspenseful, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 81%
Stop-Loss (2008)
Plot Summary:
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, sad, harsh, serious, thought provoking, realistic, suspense, cult classic, edutainment, psychological
Similar in 85%
Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed (2012)
Plot Summary:
A group of American GIs work their way through war-torn France during the final days of the Second World War.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: realistic, thought provoking, captivating, disturbing, christian film, action packed, historical drama, exciting, tense, rough
Similar in 88%
All My Loved Ones (1999)
Plot Summary:
Told from the perspective of man reflecting on his childhood in Prauge in the early years of World War 2 and the eventual destruction of his family as the Nazis rise to power. The storyline focuses heavily on Jewish-Czech Silberstein family members. Drama was filmed on the real events as a tribute to Mr. Nicholas Winton, the British humanitarian who organized the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kindertransport from German-occupied Czechoslovakia and likely death in the Holocaust.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 570
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative, crying
Similar in 79%
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
Plot Summary:
In late 1930s Ferrara, Italy, the Finzi-Continis are a leading family: wealthy, aristocratic, and urbane; they are also Jewish. Their adult children, Micol and Alberto, gather a diverse circle of friends for tennis and parties at their villa with its lovely grounds, and try to keep the rest of the world at bay. But tensions between them all grow as anti-Semitism rises in Fascist Italy, and even the Finzi-Continis will have to confront the Holocaust.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, West Germany
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: disturbing, compassionate, breathtaking, emotional, talky, sentimental, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating
Similar in 80%
To Live (1994)
Plot Summary:
Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: epic, family saga, sad, touching, emotional, sincere, depressing, independent film, mind blowing, tense
Similar in 77%
Red Cherry (1995)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, this horrifying tale follows two orphaned friends as they struggle to survive during World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 745
Genere: Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, mesmerizing, saga, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Plot Summary:
Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death - a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Unbeknown to his doctors, he remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories and unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: depressing, disturbing, thought provoking, surreal, political, psychological, atmospheric, controversial, black and white, emotional
Similar in 76%
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor named Basie, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirits, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 133000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: sad, emotional, heartbreaking, period piece, touching, realistic, inspirational, historical drama, sincere, philosophical
Similar in 79%
My Mother's Courage (1995)
Plot Summary:
The deportation of 4000 Jews from Budapest to Auschwitz in July 1944, as told by George Tabori, and how the narrator's mother escaped it, owing to coincidence, courage and some help from where you'd least expect it.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 203
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, UK, Austria, Ireland
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, crying, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 81%
Goodbye, Children (1987)
Plot Summary:
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. He becomes the roommate of top student in his class. Rivals at first, the roommates form a bond and share a secret.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, West Germany, Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad, heartbreaking, christian film, depressing, art house, sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, sincere
Similar in 85%
The Boat Is Full (1981)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, Switzerland severely limited refugees: "Our boat is full." A train from Germany halts briefly in an isolated corner of Switzerland. Six people jump off seeking asylum: four Jews, a French child, and a German soldier. They seek temporary refuge with a couple who run a village inn. They pose as a family: the deserter as husband, Judith as his wife, an old man from Vienna as her father, his granddaughter and the French lad, whom they beg to keep silent, as their children. Judith's teenage brother poses as a soldier. The fabrication unravels through chance and the local constable's exact investigation. Whom will the Swiss allow to stay? Who gets deported?.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Switzerland, West Germany, Austria
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 90%
The Aryan Couple (2004)
Plot Summary:
A WWII Drama about a German/Jewish industrialist who, in order to ensure his family's safe passage out of Germany, is forced to hand over his business to the Nazis.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, suspenseful, tense, realistic, gloomy, crying, freeze frame
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