Best movies like A Brand New Life
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like A Brand New Life? Share your insights to steer others to tv series and movies you've watched previously that might similarly absorb them. Aid in expanding the network of people mentioning videos to each other. We encourage your involvement!
Plot Summary:
Young Jinhee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jinhee desperately believes her father will come back for her and take her on a trip. The film is based on the experiences of the director, an ethnic Korean who was adopted by a French couple in the 1970s.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, South Korea
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, captivating, emotional, inspirational, sad, poignant
Best tv shows and movies like A Brand New Life (2009):
Similar in 78%
Holy Lola (2004)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young couple, Pierre and Geraldine, and their desire for a child, which leads them on a journey of initiation to Cambodia. On their difficult and transformative adventure, they must contend with obstructive authorities and the jealousies and mistrust of a small community of would-be adoptive parents.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 754
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sincere
Similar in 84%
Treeless Mountain (2008)
Plot Summary:
In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after each other when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, South Korea
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, sentimental, serious, realistic, depressing, stylized, contemplative, crying
Similar in 80%
Arcadia (2012)
Plot Summary:
Greta's dad Tom is moving the family cross-country in a dented station wagon, promising a California paradise to his kids. All that's missing is Mom.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 692
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, sincere, realistic, independent film, crying
Similar in 81%
Ode to My Father (2014)
Plot Summary:
Amid the chaos of refugees fleeing the Korean War in December 1950, a young boy, Duk-soo, sees his fate change in the blink of an eye when he loses track of his younger sister and he leaves his father behind to find her. Settling at Gukje Market in Busan, Duk-soo devotes himself to his remaining family, working all manner of odd jobs to support them in place of his father. His dedication leads him first to the deadly coal mines of Germany, where he meets his first love, Youngja, and then to war-torn Vietnam in this powerful generational epic about one man’s personal sacrifices.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, captivating, social, sad, sentimental, epic, extraordinary
Similar in 79%
Second Best (1994)
Plot Summary:
The difficult relationship between a british postal officer and his adoptive son.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 87%
I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive (2009)
Plot Summary:
This finely acted, delicate and provocative new film by one of France’s most impressive filmmakers—working here with his son, Nathan—depicts the troubled life of an adopted boy who, as a taciturn adult, visits his birth mother and strikes up a relationship fraught with tension and emotion.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, tense, emotional, realistic
Similar in 79%
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 86%
Bad Hair (2013)
Plot Summary:
A nine-year-old boy’s preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother, in this tender but clear-eyed coming-of-age tale.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Germany
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, political, hispanic
Similar in 78%
Misunderstood (2014)
Plot Summary:
Rome, 1984, Aria is nine-year-old girl. On the verge of divorce, Aria's infantile and selfish parents are too preoccupied with their careers and extra-marital affairs to properly tend to any of Aria's needs. While her two older sisters are pampered, Aria is treated with cold indifference. Yet she yearns to love and to be loved. At school, Aria excels academically but is considered a misfit by everyone. She is misunderstood. Aria finds comfort in her cat - Dac and in her best friend - Angelica. Thrown out of both parents' homes, abandoned by all, even her best friend, Aria finally reaches the limit of what she can bear. She makes an unexpected decision in her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, sincere, serious, stylized, cult classic
Similar in 85%
For the Love of a Child (2006)
Plot Summary:
1959, support from US troops based in Asia and later from the Sates enables two actresses to start a charity for mixed-race 'orphans' who are locally neglected as outcasts. Thus originates Childhelp, which later runs multi-disciplinary centers for abused and/or neglected children in the States. Among them is bright Jacob Fletcher, whose stepfather, a lawyer, terrorized him into utter trauma and reclaims him shortly after 10 months in jail. Jacob's peers have distressing stories of their own, but competent, devoted staff helps most of them decisively on the former farm, using animal therapy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, tense, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 81%
Offline (2012)
Plot Summary:
A man attempts to reclaim the life that prison took from him but his dark past threatens to ruin everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 876
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 83%
Taken Away (2014)
Plot Summary:
A corrupt politician covers up his daughter Vicky's pregnancy by forcing her to give the baby up for adoption. The newborn is adopted by a loving couple unable to have children, but a year later Vicky, now in college, realizes she was forced into signing the papers and really wants her daughter back. After sneaking into the adoption agency to find out who the adoptive parents are, she takes them to court to fight for custody.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 211
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 89%
The Orheim Company (2012)
Plot Summary:
A strong, human tale about a boy growing up with an alcoholic father, but also an energetic story about teenage lust, pain and passion – about liberation and redemption.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, emotional, captivating, sincere, stylized
Similar in 87%
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 90%
Nobody Owns Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
The story of a lone father's relationship with his daughter, of the destructive power of alcohol, of a child's vulnerability, but also of love, betrayal and socialist politics in 1970s Sweden. A unique and moving story freely based on Åsa Linderborg's best-selling novel.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, social
Similar in 75%
When Andrew Came Home (2000)
Plot Summary:
A mother searches for five years to find her kidnapped son in this fact-based drama. Unexpectedly the boy is found, but the reunion is not as she hoped. She now has to deal with five years of abuse that the boy suffered at the hands of his kidnappers.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 657
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sad
Similar in 76%
You (2009)
Plot Summary:
You is a love story. It spans 21 years, bouncing around in time, creating a kind of family quilt that wraps around a father as he struggles to overcome the grief of losing his beloved wife and raise their daughter alone. A coming-of-age journey for both the father and his daughter, You is filled with the magic of life and love and family.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, psychological, captivating, independent film, sincere, touching, offbeat, serious
Similar in 90%
Abandoned (2001)
Plot Summary:
Áron is a happy child in his family. But at some point things take a different turn, and his mother starts to lose her health rapidly. As this happens, the man in charge decides what's best for Áron without consulting the young boy's opinion, and the boy finds himself thrown out of his warm home into an orphanage in the woods. He's utterly displeased by what's happening, without knowing he has yet to face much worse. After a hard time getting over the harrassment of his classmates and being accepted as one of them, another obstacle on the way to his peace of mind faces him: His obnoxious teachers. He has no intention of being bad, but it's beyond his ability to blend into the revolting place he's in. The nasty treatment of the teaching crew gets the better of him, and he's not all that calm and passive anymore. But that leads into unpleasant events which Áron himself wouldn't want.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 610
Genere: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, art house, bleak, emotional, realistic
Similar in 84%
Waterproof (2000)
Plot Summary:
Single mother Tyree Battle struggles to keep her young son Thaniel away from the gang-plagued city streets that he is mixed up in. Under severe gang pressure, Thaniel accidentally shoots Jewish shopkeeper Eli Zeal in a botched robbery attempt. Tyree, protecting her son from the law, kidnaps Eli and flees to her hometown of Waterproof.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, emotional, christian film, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 87%
A Year in My Life (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s France, a young boy is taken in by a couple after spending a few months in the care of social service.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, sincere, captivating, feel good, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 78%
Rails & Ties (2007)
Plot Summary:
A deadly collision between a train and car lead to an unlikely bond between the train engineer and a young boy who escapes the carnage.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, sincere, psychological, sentimental, captivating, sad, anamorphic, serious
Similar in 77%
Gracie's Choice (2004)
Plot Summary:
For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled apart, Gracie will have to do the impossible and make the ultimate sacrifices to keep her family together.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, emotional, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Imaginary Crimes (1994)
Plot Summary:
A recently widowed, small-time hustler struggles to raise his two teenage daughters on his own and still make a dishonest living in 1950s Indiana.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sad, sentimental, sincere, realistic, depressing, contemplative, semi serious, sexy
Similar in 89%
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
Plot Summary:
Difficult tale of poor, struggling South Carolinian mother & daughter, who each face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance. The film won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Special" and was nominated for "Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Special", "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special", and "Outstanding Made for Television Movie". It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, realistic, touching, suspense, thought provoking, serious, heartbreaking, depressing, gothic
Similar in 88%
Kauwboy (2012)
Plot Summary:
Ten-year-old Jojo lives with his father, a security guard with a volatile personality who drinks to manage the unspoken despair he feels about his wife's absence, which he refuses to discuss with his son. In the midst of so much uncertainty, Jojo finds comfort and happiness in caring for an abandoned baby bird, a jackdaw, who is even more vulnerable than himself.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, melancholic, realistic
Similar in 77%
Sisters (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lyon, France in 1970s, Sibylle, Corinne, and Georgette are sisters who share everything, as they live with their Italian mother. Sibylle is the only blonde in the family, except for their father who abandoned them, and she feels isolated. She dreams of meeting her French father one day.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 230
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 76%
Mommy Is at the Hairdresser's (2008)
Plot Summary:
Summer 1966. It's time to enjoy the summer holiday, total freedom. Teenage Élise discovers that the sudden departure of her mother completely disrupts the family. Her brother Coco seeks solace in the garage, building a super racing car. Her youngest brother Benoît throws himself into his own inner world. The father seems absolutely knocked out by the situation. Élise decides to take control of her family, in an eloquent attempt to save them. With the assistance of flourishing nature around her, she stands on the threshold of an incomparable summer.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, disturbing, sexy, sincere, captivating, sexual
Similar in 76%
Along the Ridge (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young father and his two children struggle to find harmony after his wife leaves them for another man.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, emotional, realistic
Similar in 75%
Blessed (2009)
Plot Summary:
Seven lost children wander the night streets while their mothers await their return home.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 777
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, touching, captivating, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 89%
Take Care of My Cat (2001)
Plot Summary:
The fashionable Hye-joo is focused on her career at a brokerage house. She's making a decent living, but her co-workers look down on her. Tae-hee is sick of living under the thumb of her domineering father. She spends her time doing volunteer work for a poet with cerebral palsy. Sullen Ji-young lives in poverty with her grandparents and struggles to find work. The girls, close friends in high school, find themselves drifting apart as their adult lives begin to take shape.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: lyrical, psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, erotic, atmospheric