Best movies like Adopt a Highway
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Having spent the last 21 years in a Californian prison for possession of marijuana, a middle-aged man must find his way in a world that has changed completely since he was incarcerated in the 1990's. Finding an abandoned baby in a dumpster sets off a chain of events, sending him on a journey back to his childhood home and far beyond.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, melancholic, scenic, colorful, depressing, ambiguous ending, colourful
Best tv shows and movies like Adopt a Highway (2019):
Similar in 81%
Blessings (2003)
Plot Summary:
Released from jail after a term basically served instead of friends he refused to rat out, Charles 'Skip' Cuddy is grateful his gentleman instinct gets him a job with living quarters as handyman on a semi-destitute estate Blessings. Working hard, he wins further confidence from the owner, bitter widow Lydia Blessing, unlike her in-living bitch nurse Jennifer. When a baby is left at the state, Skip takes it in and secretly cares for it. Lydia eventually finds out but sides with him, feeling robbed of grandchildren by her careerist only daughter Meredith. Then Skip's past comes knocking, and the baby's birth parents.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Americano (2011)
Plot Summary:
A real estate agent from Paris arrives in Los Angeles to settle his late mother's estate, but a found photograph sends him on an impromptu journey to Mexico to find a woman named Lola.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, sentimental, psychological, touching, captivating, erotic, sincere, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Icebox (2018)
Plot Summary:
Forced to flee his home in Honduras, Óscar seeks asylum in the United States, only to find himself trapped in the immigration system.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 815
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: rough, suspense, ambiguous ending, touching, suspenseful, political
Similar in 90%
The Forgotten Kingdom (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young man reluctantly embarks on a journey to his ancestral land of Lesotho to bury his estranged father, and finds himself drawn to the mystical beauty and hardships of the people and the land he had forgotten.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 248
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, South Africa, Lesotho
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 86%
Night Comes On (2018)
Plot Summary:
Angel LaMere is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, she embarks on a journey with her 10 year-old sister that could destroy their future.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, tense, rough, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
The David Dance (2014)
Plot Summary:
Away from the microphone, David is soft spoken, shy and unsure of himself. However, as his on-air alias ‘Danger Dave,’ the host of “Gay Talk,” he’s poised, witty, and every listener’s best friend! His sister, Kate, a thrice divorced banker has a yen for Schumann and cats. Though successful, the siblings suffer from a secret, yet vast, sense of inadequacy. Kate fills her void through an adoption; David gawkily romances his coworker; then, life one day throws him a lemon. Past and present intertwine to tell the story of a man learning to love and accept himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 157
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sexy, unusual plot structure, melancholic, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Beverly Lewis' The Confession (2013)
Plot Summary:
Based on the novel by New York Times best-selling author Beverly Lewis, "The Confession" is the continuing story of Katie Lapp, a young Amish woman who goes on a journey in search of her identity - only to find herself embroiled in a mystery that must be solved before she can be reunited with the "Englisher" mother who gave her up to adoption 20 years earlier. Written by Brian Bird.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 807
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, sad, scenic
Similar in 81%
A Good Baby (1999)
Plot Summary:
A young loner wandering the back roads of North Carolina comes across an abandoned baby. He immediately starts seeking the baby's parents, but starts developing a bond with the child that explores his own isolated roots.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 342
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, independent film, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Deep in My Heart (1999)
Plot Summary:
In this made-for-tv movie, an adopted woman decides to find her birth mother. Her search leads her to a shocking discovery that she has to face and why her upbringing was not an easy one.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 457
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 89%
Casa de los Babys (2003)
Plot Summary:
A group of women, including Skipper, the wealthy young Jennifer and the domineering Nan, journey from the United States to South America in hopes of easily adopting children. Unfortunately, their plans are complicated by local laws that require the women to live in the foreign nation for an extended period before they can take in orphaned kids. While stuck in another country, the women bond as they share their aspirations and anxieties.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: melancholic, stylized, sincere, touching, independent film, talky, emotional, cult classic, clever, serious
Similar in 76%
Redemption Road (2010)
Plot Summary:
A Tennessee-set drama focused on an individual's spiritual redemption.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 586
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, semi serious, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, humorous, talky, independent film
Similar in 86%
Palmer (2021)
Plot Summary:
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, touching, captivating, motivational, inspirational, dramatic, cult classic, crying
Similar in 86%
X/Y (2014)
Plot Summary:
As Mark, Jen, Sylvia, and Jake navigate through their emotionally-arrested states, X/Y reveals the honest and wanton desire we all have to connect with someone and what is at stake when that connection fades.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, sexy, sincere, touching, serious, independent film, erotic
Similar in 90%
Melody (2014)
Plot Summary:
Melody, 28 years old, a confused child born under the name X, decides to rent out her body in order to get the money she needs to realize her dream: opening a hair-dressing salon. To do so, she accepts to carry the child of Emily, a rich English woman 48 years old who can no longer have children. To make sure everything goes well and keep an eye on her future child, Emily decides to welcome Melody into her home and stay by her side throughout the pregnancy. Although they first appear to come from completely different worlds, the two women end up adopting each other: Melody finds in Emily the mother she never had, and Emily sees in Melody the daughter she always wanted to have. Evidently, the bonds that emerge during this double maternity create all sorts of doubts and questions.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, atmospheric, serious, realistic, contemplative, non-linear
Similar in 76%
Baby for Sale (2004)
Plot Summary:
A couple discover that the baby girl they're trying to adopt is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. The couple become part of a sting operation to bust the baby-selling ring.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 90%
The End of Love (2012)
Plot Summary:
Mark is a struggling actor stuck between the life he once knew and the one waiting for him. When the mother of his two-year-old son suddenly passes away, Mark is forced to confront his shortcomings. Their fates, now intertwined, hang in the balance as Mark grapples with his ability to grow up. When he meets Lydia, a young mother, he is no longer able to live in the comfort of denial.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sad, independent film, gloomy, tragic
Similar in 78%
Choking Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
The social anxiety of a morbidly shy Ecuadorian dishwasher working in a Queens diner provides the psychological engine that powers this blend of drama and magical realism.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, touching, captivating, psychological, sentimental, serious, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Not Waving But Drowning (2012)
Plot Summary:
Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from two different stories. The two sets of friends represent the American dilemma between what you have known and what you hope to know; the tear between longing for the past and the desire to explore.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 76%
Two Gates of Sleep (2010)
Plot Summary:
After preparing for their mother's imminent death, two brothers go on an arduous upriver journey to honor her final request.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 266
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 78%
Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008)
Plot Summary:
Luz Cuevas baby daughter Delimar disappeared in 1997 after their house caught fire during a party, The police reported that she was killed in the fire. However, Cuevas suspects that she was kidnapped and that the fire was staged by an outsider. Six years after the fire, Cuevas meets Valerie Valleja former wife of one of Pedro's cousins, who was also at the party. She has a six-year-old girl with her, named Aaliyah. The girl bears a resemblance to Cuevas and she suspects it is Delimar. Cuevas begins an investigation….
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 509
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, hispanic
Similar in 83%
Sherrybaby (2006)
Plot Summary:
After serving time in prison, former drug addict Sherry Swanson returns home to reclaim her young daughter from family members who have been raising the child. Sherry's family, especially her sister-in-law, doubt Sherry's ability to be a good mother, and Sherry finds her resolve to stay clean slowly weakening.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, emotional, bleak, depressing, serious, sexual, cult classic, realistic, scary, political
Similar in 80%
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the massive city of Tokyo, Kumiko, a twenty-nine year old, lives in utter solitude. She works a dreadful, dead-end job under an awful boss, is intimidated by her well-off peers, and nagged incessantly by her overbearing mother who is exasperated by the fact that her daughter is not married or even in a relationship. The only joys in her life come from a grainy VHS tape – an American film in which a man buries a satchel of money in the snowy Midwestern plains - and her beloved pet rabbit, Bunzo. Kumiko is somehow convinced that this treasure is real, and obsesses over its discovery. With a hand-stitched treasure map and a quixotic spirit, Kumiko embarks on an incredible journey over the Pacific and through the frozen Minnesota wilderness to uncover a purported fortune.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: depressing, surreal, art house, melancholic, emotional, atmospheric, touching, serious, road movie, bleak
Similar in 75%
Just Like the Son (2006)
Plot Summary:
A petty thief's mentoring of an apparent orphan takes a profound turn when he kidnaps the boy from a foster home and drives him cross-country to his sister's house in Texas.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film, serious
Similar in 82%
Deep in the Heart (2012)
Plot Summary:
An alcoholic man refocuses himself on putting kids through college via 4H and FFA scholarship donations. Guiding him is a spiritual figure he calls "The Bearded Man".
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 275
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: realistic, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, sincere, independent film, entertaining
Similar in 87%
All the Light in the Sky (2012)
Plot Summary:
An insomniac actress is facing the waning days of her career, when her niece pays a visit to her Malibu house.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 751
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, realistic, atmospheric, serious, captivating, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Losing Isaiah (1995)
Plot Summary:
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, touching, emotional, melancholic, serious, thought provoking, sexy, sad, hood, cult classic
Similar in 78%
One True Thing (1998)
Plot Summary:
A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, emotional, realistic, depressing, clever, serious, contemplative, gloomy, tear jerker
Similar in 89%
Goodbye Solo (2008)
Plot Summary:
A man planning to commit suicide hires a taxi driver to take him to his jumping-off point.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, independent film, sincere, thought provoking, captivating, road movie, depressing, emotional, realistic
Similar in 86%
Nebraska (2013)
Plot Summary:
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 122000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: road movie, black and white, depressing, humorous, touching, realistic, meditative, emotional, melancholic, witty
Similar in 81%
Palo Alto (2013)
Plot Summary:
Palo Alto weaves together three stories of teenage lust, boredom, and self-destruction: shy, sensitive April, torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy; Emily, who offers sexual favors to any boy to cross her path; and the increasingly dangerous exploits of Teddy and his best friend Fred, whose behavior may or may not be sociopathic.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: melancholic, atmospheric, serious, teen, realistic, indie film, aesthetic, erotic, mumblecore, artsy