Best movies like A Summer Story
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A bittersweet tale of lost love, based on a short story ("The Apple Tree") by John Galsworthy.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: period piece, independent film, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, period drama
Best tv shows and movies like A Summer Story (1988):
Similar in 76%
A Handful of Dust (1988)
Plot Summary:
The wife's affair and a death in the family hasten the demise of an upper-class English marriage.We see the detritus of an abandoned camp in South America and a main character's hallucination. Then, the story beings. Tony and Brenda Last, lord and lady, live on his enormous estate with their young son. Tony's not much for parties, and Brenda joins London society, on the arm of a penniless man, John Beaver, a hanger-on at Tony's club. John is encouraged by his entrepreneurial mother, who sees a quid in Tony and Brenda. Brenda and John become lovers, Brenda spends more and more time in London, and Tony's without a clue. Then, bringing things to a head are tragedy, law suits, greed, and what should be a few-months' expedition to Brazil. We are each of us merely a handful of dust.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: stylized, costume drama, clever, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, biting, independent film, suspense
Similar in 88%
The Go-Between (1971)
Plot Summary:
Tale of torrid and forbidden love between Christie and Bates in the English countryside.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sexy, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Liar's Moon (1981)
Plot Summary:
Matt Dillion In East Texas, the summer after high school, Jack falls in love with Ginny, the daughter of the town's banker (Jack's mom's high school sweetheart). Ginny's been at boarding school; she's headed for Vassar. Over her father's strenuous objections, she spends time with Jack. At summer's end, Jack and Ginny elope to Louisiana (where 17-year-olds can marry without their parents' permission), and he gets a job in the oil fields. Her dad hires a menacing private eye to find them, Ginny's pregnant, her town doctor gives her horrible news, and Jack's mom has her own agenda. It seems that Jack and Ginny have grown up under a liar's moon. What will these sweethearts do?.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 726
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, eighties, cult film
Similar in 84%
Dreaming of Joseph Lees (1999)
Plot Summary:
Set in rural England in the 1950s Eva (Samantha Morton) fantasises about her handsome, worldly cousin Joseph Lees (Rupert Graves), with whom she fell in love as a girl. However, stuck in a closed community she becomes the object of someone else's fantasy, Harry (Lee Ross). When Harry learns that Eva is planning to leave the village in order to live with and look after the injured Lees, he devises a gruesome scheme in order to force her to stay and look after him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 920
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, erotic, psychological, romantic
Similar in 82%
Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1998)
Plot Summary:
Thomas Hardy's classic epic remains one of the most popular novels, this TV adaptation vividly depicts the powerful tale of a peasant girl whose life is torn apart by the love and jealousy of two men. Justine Waddell stars as the hapless Child of Nature who is tossed around by the dark forces of fate. Jason Flemyng is the dark and sinister Alec D'Urberville whose relentless pursuit of Tess triggers the heroine's downfall. Oliver Milburn plays the handsome young Angel Clare, the caring rebel who falls deeply in love with Tess.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: period piece, romantic, costume drama, historical drama, atmospheric, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 87%
The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970)
Plot Summary:
Film adaptation from the novel by D.H. Lawrence, discovered after the celebrated author's death in 1930, a romantic love story tells of a prim young English girl who is sexually attracted to a seductively virile gypsy. The climatic dam burst is linked with the consummation of her desire.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 376
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: historical romance, independent film, erotic, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 86%
Far from the Madding Crowd (1998)
Plot Summary:
This powerful adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel spins a story of passion and destruction set in the nineteenth century. The proud, flighty and bewitching Bathsheba Everdene finds herself entangled into the passions of three men and her impulsive nature pushes her into a web of deceit and destruction.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 955
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: costume drama, historical drama, serious, realistic, period drama
Similar in 84%
The Year My Voice Broke (1987)
Plot Summary:
Coming-of age feature, set in a New South Wales country town in the 1960s, about a 15 year-old boy. It follows his loves and how he copes with life's problems such as death and departure.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sad, independent film, retro, social, sex comedy, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)
Plot Summary:
Set in a rustic English village in the mid 19th century, Under The Greenwood Tree tells the story of a poor young man who falls for a middle-class schoolteacher and attempts to win her over.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, costume drama, captivating, period piece, historical drama, sexual, sexy, period drama
Similar in 78%
The Maid (2014)
Plot Summary:
An emotionally troubled teenager gets into a passionate relationship with the older French woman working in his father's house.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, serious, sexy, romantic drama, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Crossing (1990)
Plot Summary:
A single day. To challenge the past. To accept the present. To decide the future. Sam arrives in his home town after 18 months away, hopeful that Meg, the girlfriend he abandoned, will go back with him to the city. His return brings the outside world into the parochial confines of the town, provoking mixed reactions which fuel conflict. Meg, heartbroken when Sam left her, has begun an affair with Sam's friend Johnny. On the eve of Sam's arrival, Johnny asks Meg to marry him. The marriage proposal, along with Sam's unexpected return, forces Meg to choose not only between the two men but also the type of life she wants. The conflicting loyalties and emotions generated by the triangle provide the focus for an array of inter-related characters enmeshed in the life of this country town. There is a feeling of impending tragedy as night falls and Johnny becomes increasingly desparate.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 642
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, crying, independent film
Similar in 82%
Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991)
Plot Summary:
An English widow goes to Italy, falls in love with a dentist's son and marries him, against her straitlaced family's wishes.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: costume drama, period piece, cult classic, historical drama, independent film, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, stylized
Similar in 89%
Angel (2007)
Plot Summary:
Edwardian England. A precocious girl from a poor background with aspirations to being a novelist finds herself swept to fame and fortune when her tasteless romances hit the best seller lists. Her life changes in unexpected ways when she encounters an aristocratic brother and sister, both of whom have cultural ambitions, and both of whom fall in love with her.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, realistic, witty, talky, period piece, romantic, costume drama, crying, period drama
Similar in 78%
Jude (1996)
Plot Summary:
In late 19th-century England, Jude aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is trapped in an unloving marriage to a farmer's daughter named Arabella. But when his wife leaves him, Jude sees an opportunity to improve himself. He moves to the city and begins an affair with his married cousin, Sue, courting tragedy every step of the way.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: emotional, erotic, period piece, romantic, depressing, bleak, thought provoking, bad ending, anamorphic, cult classic
Similar in 86%
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Mexico, UK, Colombia
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, romantic, costume drama, emotional, serious, sentimental, atmospheric, realistic, erotic
Similar in 86%
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 classic British novel, Brideshead Revisited is a poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Italy, Morocco, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, sincere, serious, period piece, touching, costume drama, intense, clever, epic
Similar in 75%
War Bride (2001)
Plot Summary:
Anna Friel stars in classy wartime drama The War Bride. She plays Lily, an orphan who suddenly finds herself married, with child and living with hostile in-laws in the wilds of Canada.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, romantic, erotic, period piece, realistic, period drama
Similar in 83%
Summer in February (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Newlyn School of artists flourished at the beginning of the 20th Century and the film focuses on the wild and bohemian Lamorna Group, which included Alfred Munnings and Laura and Harold Knight. The incendiary anti-Modernist Munnings, now regarded as one of Britain's most sought-after artists, is at the centre of the complex love triangle, involving aspiring artist Florence Carter-Wood and Gilbert Evans, the land agent in charge of the Lamorna Valley estate. True - and deeply moving - the story is played out against the timeless beauty of the Cornish coast, in the approaching shadow of The Great War.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, retro, historical drama, realistic, stylized, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 75%
Firelight (1997)
Plot Summary:
Firelight is a period romance/drama film written and directed by William Nicholson. It was Nicholson's first, and to date only, film as director.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, touching, feel good, sexy, erotic, romantic, emotional, melancholic, realistic
Similar in 75%
Jane Eyre (1996)
Plot Summary:
Jane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to be come a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Italy, UK, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: romantic, costume drama, melancholic, period piece, emotional, intense, realistic, gothic, serious, romantic drama
Similar in 75%
Jane Eyre (1997)
Plot Summary:
Charlotte Bronte's classic novel is filmed yet again. The story of the Yorkshire orphan who becomes a governess to a young French girl and finds love with the brooding lord of the manor is given a standard romantic flare, but sparks do not seem to happen between the two leads in this version.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: costume drama, gothic, atmospheric, emotional, spiritual, sincere, serious, realistic, gloomy, period drama
Similar in 90%
A Room with a View (1985)
Plot Summary:
When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperon Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: scenic, touching, period piece, atmospheric, costume drama, romantic, sweet, captivating, visually appealing, clever
Similar in 85%
Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd is the story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene, who attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching willfulness; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love – as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: romantic, period piece, emotional, costume drama, sexy, visually stunning, scenic, talky, historical drama, inspirational
Similar in 82%
Great Expectations (2012)
Plot Summary:
Miss Havisham, a wealthy spinster who wears an old wedding dress and lives in the dilapidated Satis House, asks Pip's "Uncle Pumblechook" (who is actually Joe's uncle) to find a boy to play with her adopted daughter Estella. Pip begins to visit Miss Havisham and Estella, with whom he falls in love,then Pip a humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, costume drama, period piece, gothic, sex comedy, cult classic
Similar in 89%
Mansfield Park (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Mansfield Park, poverty-stricken Fanny Price is sent away to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt at Mansfield Park. As she struggles to adapt to her new lifestyle she begins to attract the attentions of suitors, learning about the sexual politics of high society along the way.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: period piece, costume drama, realistic, witty, stylized, romantic, historical drama, touching, gloomy, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Howards End (1992)
Plot Summary:
A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Japan, USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: romantic, costume drama, emotional, period piece, stylized, light, melancholic, talky, compassionate, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Governess (1998)
Plot Summary:
When the father of privileged Rosina da Silva violently dies, she decides to pass herself off as a gentile and finds employment with a family in faraway Scotland. Soon she and the family father, Charles, start a passionate secret affair.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, emotional, colorful, period piece, costume drama, atmospheric, scenic, serious, historical drama, realistic
Similar in 88%
Maurice (1987)
Plot Summary:
In 1909, Maurice Hall (James Wilby) enters Cambridge, where he befriends wealthy Clive Durham (Hugh Grant). Clive confesses he is sexually attracted to Maurice, who realizes he is a homosexual when he begins to return Clive's feelings. The two embark on an intense but chaste affair to avoid tarnishing Clive's reputation, but eventually the relationship ends, and Clive marries Anne (Phoebe Nicholls). While visiting Clive, Maurice is drawn toward his friend's servant, Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves).
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, sexy, melancholic, scenic, costume drama, erotic, romantic, period piece, touching, lgbt cinema
Similar in 80%
The Heart of Me (2002)
Plot Summary:
Drama set in 1930s London with two sisters, Madeleine married to Rickie, and Dinah, who falls in love with him. Rickie and Dinah begin an affair which is to have repercussions throughout all their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, romantic drama, clever, erotic, romantic, spiritual, cult classic
Similar in 77%
Jane Eyre (2011)
Plot Summary:
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meet the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Mr. Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: romantic, touching, gothic, atmospheric, captivating, costume drama, period piece, visually appealing, sexy, emotional