Last updated March 2024
On the hunt for sensationally spectacular Best Drama Movies 2008 ? We assembled 30 marvelous, universally beloved Best Drama Movies 2008 handpicked by our experts for your immediate streaming enjoyment. With through the roof acclaim from revered IMDB critics and our own community of savvy users, these elite titles simply can't be matched for quality. Help other viewers find overlooked gems by voting for your personal favorites. We appreciate your help showcasing the finest titles available!
The Dark Knight (2008)
Plot Summary:
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker
Duration: 152 min
IMDB Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Votes: 28000000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Plot tags: superhero, batman, heroes, secret identity, tragic hero, psychopath, moral dilemma, corruption, organized crime, villain, comic book, joker, double life, good versus evil, vigilante, rivalry, clown, gotham city, revenge, evil clown, insanity, dark hero, super villain, psychological manipulation, billionaire
Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
Plot Summary:
A son deals with the death of his father and examines how their relationship influences him through growing up, romance, tragedy and adventure
Duration: 169 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Drama, Musical, Romance
Country: India
Plot tags: tragic love, fall in love, family relations, parents and children, couples, coming of age, youth, love and romance, father son relationship, love, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, marriage, loss of father, loss of loved one, drug addiction, dual role, in love, fight club, fictional biography, drug abuse, kidnapping, death, son, flashback, real life father and son playing father and son
A Wednesday (2008)
Plot Summary:
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, the city that never sleeps, the city of dreams, fast paced and ever changing, home to Bollywood! A City of beauty but also a city that got scarred! A city whose foundation is slowly crumbling beneath its façade of invincibility! 'A Wednesday!' tells the story of certain events that unfold between 2.P.M and 6 P.M on a particular Wednesday in this city
Duration: 104 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Plot tags: bomb threat, terrorism, terrorist, police, race against time, bomb, muslim, police investigation, danger, law enforcement, patriot, deception, misled, revenge, threat, one day, die hard, police officer, plot twist, indians, time, mysticism, politics, subway, murder
Gran Torino (2008)
Plot Summary:
Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood
Duration: 116 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 804000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: gang, friendship, elderly, veteran, racism, teenager, prejudice, gunfight, widower, gangster, interracial relations, old man, vigilante, revenge, shooting, war veteran, rape, bullying, neighbor, badass, hmong, classic car, machismo, street gang, vengeance
Ip Man (2008)
Plot Summary:
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung
Duration: 106 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 232000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, China
Plot tags: martial arts, kung fu, wing chun, human spirit, master warrior, courage, bravery, training, warrior, martial artist, ambition, fight scenes, fight, culture clash, mentor, biopic, sino japanese war, leader, medieval, fighter, war, revenge, karate, racism, sword fight
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jamal Malik is an impoverished Indian teen who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ but, after he wins, he is suspected of cheating
Duration: 120 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 869000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France, USA
Plot tags: poverty, childhood, rags to riches, destiny, orphan, society, against the odds, life is a bitch, love, street life, cheating, ambition, true love, journey, child, quiz, street kid, love story, brutality, hopes, friendship, life changing, children, slum, coming of age
Love Exposure (2008)
Plot Summary:
After Yu's mother dies his father, a priest, only seems to take solace in the confessions of his sons sins causing Yu to partake in various 'sinful' activities to appease him. This is a teen love story as only the Japanese could bring us, complete with up-skirt photography, cross dressing, and bloody gore
Duration: 237 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: sin, religion, brainwashing, coming of age, group of friends, japanese schoolgirl, family values, teenage love, youth, parents and children, teenage life, society, rebelliousness, prank, religions or cults, family relations, rebellion, porn, women, loneliness, surrealism, voyeurism, priest, lesbian relationship, virginity
Cars of the Revolution (2008)
Plot Summary:
It is just after the military take over of the administration in 1960. The new head of state believes Turkey can only be independent if it is economically strong. After sounding out the weak private sector and most of the senior bureaucrats, it is clear that nobody has a similar view. So, he dares the government sector to see if anyone can design and produce a 100% original car within 4 months... Well, one engineer shares this vision and a small and dedicated team start working in a locomotive factory. Time is short and resources are limited. Many believe this can not be achieved. This is the story of a team of idealist engineers working on this vision
Duration: 120 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: Turkey
Plot tags: working class, contests and competitions, politics, chases and races, patriotism, factory, inventions and discoveries, race against time, turk, leadership, economist, ambition, head of state, labor union, visionary, state affairs, labor, real life, powerful corporation, kiss, turkish
Departures (2008)
Plot Summary:
Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Plot tags: self discovery, funeral, father son relationship, pregnant wife, workplace, small town, character study, new job, small town life, music, melancholy, heartwarming, classical music, ritual, asian, husband wife relationship, couples, redemption, loss, death of father, buddhism, existentialism, lifestyle change, wanderlust, musician
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Plot Summary:
Much awarded animated documentary, in which director and Israeli army veteran Ari Folman interviews friends and former soldiers about their memories of the 1982 Lebanon war and especially the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut. The usage on animation enabled Folman to illustrate their personal memories and dreams
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Documentary, Animation, Biography, Drama, History, Mystery, War
Country: Israel, France, Germany, USA, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia
Plot tags: war, politics, military, soldier, memory loss, nightmare, haunted by the past, guilt, mass murder, catastrophe, memory, israeli, tragic event, life is a bitch, introspection, atrocity, military life, enemy, against humanity, wartime, conflict, visceral, revolution, trippy, mission
The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008)
Plot Summary:
A drama set in 1986 Iran and centered on a man, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village and enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant had a tragic ending
Duration: 116 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: injustice, death penalty, discrimination, society, sadism, loss of family member, conspiracy, destructive relationship, abusive husband, religion, corruption, hijab, adultery, women, tragedy, muslim, journalist, justice, tragic event, tragic hero, feminism, destiny, propaganda, violent, murder
In Bruges (2008)
Plot Summary:
Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ken, it is not what he expected
Duration: 107 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 454000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: dark humor, hitman, guilt, haunted by the past, tourist, suicidal, friendship, death, suicide, assassin, dialogue, character study, dwarf, farce, gangster, redemption, introspection, mission gone awry, shooting, violent, partner, violence, depression, drug, odd couple
The Song of Sparrows (2008)
Plot Summary:
When an ostrich-rancher focuses on replacing his daughter's hearing aid, which breaks right before crucial exams, everything changes for a struggling rural family in Iran. Karim motorbikes into a world alien to him - incredibly hectic Tehran, where sudden opportunities for independence, thrill and challenge him. But his honor and honesty, plus traditional authority over his inventive clan, are tested, as he stumbles among vast cultural and economic gaps between his village nestled in the desert, and a throbbing international metropolis
Duration: 96 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Plot tags: family in crisis, family life, family problems, parents and children, unemployment, human nature, human spirit, life is a bitch, self discovery, new job, dignity, hopes, deaf child, obsessive quest, farmer, iranian, job seeking, fired from the job, farm, child, children, motorcycle, friends, muslim, bird
The Wrestler (2008)
Plot Summary:
Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback
Duration: 109 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 317000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, France
Plot tags: wrestling, loneliness, aging, life is a bitch, fame, father daughter relationship, self destructing, stripper, ambition, character study, professional wrestling, father daughter estrangement, father daughter conflict, introspection, athlete's life, nudity, midlife crisis, honest, complex characters, wrestler, trailer park, washed up star, price of fame, fighter, veteran
Still Walking (2008)
Plot Summary:
Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion. Younger son Ryota still feels that his parents resent that he isn't the one who died; his new wife, Yukari, is awkwardly meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Daughter Chinami strains to fill the uncomfortable pauses with forced cheer
Duration: 115 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Plot tags: family relations, family reunited, family gatherings, family life, generation gap, bereavement, parents and children, reconciliation, dealing with death, old age, father daughter relationship, generation, love, grief, train, food, youth, death, summer, father, memory, dysfunctional family, asian, problem, family problems
The Chaser (2008)
Plot Summary:
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client whom one of his girls is meeting with right now
Duration: 125 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Plot tags: serial killer, psychopath, police investigation, race against time, investigation, revenge, interrogation, police detective, anti hero, murder, brutality, missing person, violent, twists and turns, killer, asian, pursuit, pimp, kidnapping, gore, moral ambiguity, great ending, dirty cop, blood, murderer
Changeling (2008)
Plot Summary:
Christine Collins is overjoyed when her kidnapped son is brought back home. But when Christine suspects that the boy returned to her isn't her child, the police captain has her committed to an asylum
Duration: 141 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 263000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: kidnapping, serial killer, investigation, missing child, fighting the system, missing person, twists and turns, uncover truth, police corruption, disorder, life is a bitch, trial, kidnapped child, corruption, insanity, disappearance, court, society, courtroom, dishonesty, tragedy, child abduction, child murder, brutality, manipulation
Let the Right One In (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1982 in the suburb of Blackeberg, Stockholm, twelve-year-old Oskar is a lonely outsider, bullied at school by his classmates; at home, Oskar dreams of revenge against a trio of bullies. He befriends his twelve-year-old, next-door neighbor Eli, who only appears at night in the snow-covered playground outside their building
Duration: 114 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 225000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Country: Sweden
Plot tags: vampire, supernatural, bullying, loneliness, coming of age, goth, snow, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, friendship, murder, boy, child, new neighbor, gore, child vampire, youth, creepy child, bully, hidden identity, deadly creature, vampire human love, fall in love, school, gory, macabre
Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)
Plot Summary:
In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'. Ghost in the Shell 2.0 is a reproduced version of its original 1995 counterpart. Among a numerous enhancements, for the film's 2.0 release, were a number of scenes were overhauled with 3D animation, visual improvements, and soundtrack rerecorded in 6.1 surround sound
Duration: 83 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: cyberpunk, androids and robots, anti heroine, female spy, hacker, artificial intelligence, cyberspace, female warrior, ghost in the shell, terrorism, woman fights a man, mind game, uncover truth, policewoman, female police officer, undercover, chaos, danger, law enforcement, fighting crime, good versus evil, technology gone awry, special agent, dystopian future, cyborgs
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Plot Summary:
Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences
Duration: 166 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 684000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: destiny, true love, life & death, life philosophy, aging, existentialism, love and romance, fictional biography, melancholy, puzzle, tragic love, old age, impossible love, fall in love, child as adult, magic realism, elderly, love, hopes, death, adult as child, storytelling, wisdom of life, selflessness, diary
Rock On!! (2008)
Plot Summary:
Sakshi Shroff, the lonely and neglected wife of busy banking executive, Aditya, decides to give him a surprise on his birthday on July 22nd, but ends surprising him multiple times. While Aditya is thrilled to know that he is going to be a dad, he is unhappy when he notices that Sakshi had also invited some ghosts (Rob Nancy and Kedar Zaveri) from his past. This gives rise to unpleasant memories involving a failed music group 'Magik' ; why the music group broke up, the acrimony especially between Aditya and his former friend, Joseph Mascarenhas; Sakshi takes it on herself to bring Magik back together
Duration: 145 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: India
Plot tags: friendship, music, follow your dream, ambition, buddies, rivalry, hopes, contests and competitions, boyfriend, bittersweet, music band, chance meeting, second chance, new beginning, music business, immaturity, fictional band, end of friendship, friends, artists and showbiz, rock music, indians, urban, coming of age, college life
Frost/Nixon (2008)
Plot Summary:
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted
Duration: 122 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 112000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, USA
Plot tags: journalism, politics, president, reporter, journalist, loneliness, biopic, american politics, conspiracy, corruption, power struggle, scandal, politician, mind game, uncover truth, lie, character study, u.s. president, american history, secret, political corruption, life is a bitch, rivalry, media, state affairs
Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the incredible true story of Lucky Singh, an extremely charismatic and fearless confident man and thief who socialized with the rich, famous and influential of Delhi society and then proceeded to rob them blind. He was the bête noire of the police and had stolen millions by the time he was caught
Duration: 125 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: India
Plot tags: thief, betrayal, master criminal, rise to the top, double life, rise and fall, lifestyle, deception, love and romance, high society, social differences, ambition, notoriety, buddies, dishonesty, cons and scams, impersonating, trial, robbery, underdog, hindu, dog, escape, guard dog, friends
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
Duration: 94 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: world war two, holocaust, concentration camp, war, children, childhood, nazi, friendship, nazism, military, gas chamber, boy, morality, against humanity, nazi germany, ss, wartime life, friends, hate, child, genocide, twists and turns, betrayal, atrocity, children in wartime
The Reader (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom
Duration: 124 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 256000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: coming of age, older woman younger man relationship, age difference, forbidden love, holocaust, nazi, first love, older woman younger man sex, secret, trial, world war two, sexuality, sex, mature woman, unlikely couple, sex scene, love story, lust, lawyer, teenage boy, prison, sexual relations, older woman teenage boy relationship, student, war crime
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
Plot Summary:
A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison
Duration: 117 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Germany
Plot tags: family relations, family drama, prison, physician, character study, job seeking, ex convict, parenthood, complex characters, honest, loss of son, sibling relationship, starting over, family reunited, loss of child, estrangement, hopes, family life, reconciliation, parole officer, male female relationship, hard life, mother son relationship, warden, unlikely friendships
The Wave (2008)
Plot Summary:
A school teacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily the masses can become manipulated
Duration: 107 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 114000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Plot tags: fascism, experiment, dictatorship, suicide, nazism, teacher, bullying, teachers and students, high school, dictator, fanaticism, education, against humanity, politics, violence, society, psychology, nazi, anarchist, friendship, vandalism, school, justice, childhood, sociology
The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sprawling drama centered on five key days in a family's life
Duration: 114 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Plot tags: family relations, marriage, parents and children, family life, family feud, couples, dysfunctional family, siblings relations, marital problem, couple relations, diary, teenager, kids and family, lifestyle, philosophy, young adult, taxi driver, coming of age, car crash, youth, virginity, slacker, teenage life, family problems, acceptance
Seven Pounds (2008)
Plot Summary:
An IRS agent with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers
Duration: 123 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 313000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: redemption, depression, life philosophy, self sacrifice, life changing experience, hopes, true love, life & death, existentialism, suicide, philosophy, sadness, secret, tragic event, love, melancholy, great ending, life changing, relationships, love story, death of protagonist, heart transplant, tenderness, tax collector, motivation
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder
Duration: 113 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Canada, Italy
Plot tags: organized crime, mafia, robbery, rise to the top, against the rules, prison, prison escape, gangster, mob boss, romancing a criminal, heist, biopic, character study, adaptation, visceral, criminal heroes, prison life, ambition, kidnapping, murder, shootout, violence, true crime, bank robbery, escape