Best movies like Aftersun
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum. As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, depressing, tear jerker, poetic, crying, masterpiece, beautiful, moody
Best tv shows and movies like Aftersun (2022):
Similar in 90%
Levelland (2003)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age drama, with skateboards, set in Texas.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 160
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 79%
The Genesis Children (1972)
Plot Summary:
A charismatic leader and a high-spirited student group are on holiday in Italy. The surreal adventures of these friends are a free-flowing, four-part "multi-sensual symphony," bereft of traditional story line. One national critic described the boys' anarchic revelry as a "dream-like descent from civilization into the chaos reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.".
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: independent film, art film, gay cinema
Similar in 77%
Wakefield (2016)
Plot Summary:
A man's nervous breakdown causes him to leave his wife and live in his attic for several months.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, sad, depressing, suspense, crying, spy comedy, weird, interesting
Similar in 79%
Madeline's Madeline (2018)
Plot Summary:
Madeline has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop's ambitious director pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women's lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, contemplative, inspirational, thought provoking, mumblecore, black cinema
Similar in 80%
My Salinger Year (2020)
Plot Summary:
A college grad takes a clerical job working for the literary agent of the renowned, reclusive writer J.D. Salinger.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Ireland
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, independent film
Similar in 81%
Another Round (2020)
Plot Summary:
Four high school teachers launch a drinking experiment: upholding a constant low level of intoxication.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 186000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, psychological, thought provoking, social, unusual plot structure, funny, ironic, art house, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 85%
Honey Boy (2019)
Plot Summary:
The story of a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade, loosely based on Shia LaBeouf’s life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, inspirational, sincere, touching, captivating, independent film, sentimental, thought provoking, indie film, crying
Similar in 88%
Imaginary Heroes (2004)
Plot Summary:
Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best competitive swimmer, so everyone is shocked when he inexplicably commits suicide. As the following year unfolds, each member of his family struggles to recover from the tragedy with mixed results.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, emotional, stylized, sentimental, humorous, witty, black comedy, art house, aesthetic, clever
Similar in 89%
The Safety of Objects (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA, Canada
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: philosophical, psychological, depressing, confusing, disturbing, compassionate, suspense, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 76%
Morvern Callar (2002)
Plot Summary:
Morvern Callar wakes on Christmas morning to discover that her troubled boyfriend has committed suicide, leaving behind the unpublished manuscript to his first novel and a sum of money intended to pay for his burial. Instead, Morvern attempts to use both to reinvent her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, talky, psychological, touching, serious, contemplative, sincere, atmospheric, erotic, intellectual
Similar in 86%
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)
Plot Summary:
An aging Hollywood star, Joe Scott, lives a life of narcissistic hedonism, observed by his laconic personal assistant, Ophelia. The death of his childhood best friend, Boots, takes our protagonist, and the movie, into an extended flashback to a sea-side town in 1970's Britain.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: melancholic, psychological, sentimental, serious, erotic, dark, powerful, profound, realistic, tense
Similar in 90%
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
Plot Summary:
Jack Slavin is an environmentalist with a heart condition who lives with his daughter, Rose, on an isolated island. While Jack fights against developers who wish to build in the area, he also craves more contact with other people. When he invites his girlfriend, Kathleen, and her sons, Rodney and Thaddius, to move in, Rose is upset. The complicated family dynamics makes things difficult for everyone in the house.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: melancholic, disturbing, sentimental, touching, emotional, inspirational, mumblecore, mind blowing, sincere, serious
Similar in 88%
All or Nothing (2002)
Plot Summary:
Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy, and she works on the checkout at a supermarket.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, meditative, sentimental, sincere, talky, offbeat
Similar in 82%
The Lost Daughter (2021)
Plot Summary:
A woman's seaside vacation takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront secrets from her past.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, Israel, Greece
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, captivating, tense, art house, existential, grim, independent film, weird
Similar in 82%
Spa Night (2016)
Plot Summary:
A young Korean-American man works to reconcile his obligations to his struggling immigrant family with his burgeoning sexual desires in the underground world of gay hookups at Korean spas in Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, captivating, suspenseful, sexy, sensual, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
One Night in Miami... (2020)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of Cassius Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964, the boxer meets with Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown to change the course of history in the segregated South.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: uplifting, thought provoking, suspense, political, sad, political drama
Similar in 89%
Sexual Dependency (2003)
Plot Summary:
A poor girl, a rich stud, a university student and a model -- nothing in common, except the desire to experience true intimacy. Their stories unfold and overlap as each becomes victim to their own sexual dependencies, self-perceptions and illusions. Thematically structured around issues of femininity, masculinity, virginity, rape and sexuality, each teen struggles to make sense of their own identity, reaching for ideals that represent everything they feel they are supposed to be, but are not.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 810
Genere: Drama
Country: Bolivia, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: erotic, psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 81%
Echo Park LA (2006)
Plot Summary:
As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, sentimental, realistic, emotional, humorous, semi serious, crying, hispanic, novela
Similar in 77%
We the Animals (2018)
Plot Summary:
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, sentimental, touching, inspirational, social, sad, poignant, independent film, indie film
Similar in 77%
Beach Rats (2017)
Plot Summary:
An aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn struggles to escape his bleak home life and navigate questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends, a potential new girlfriend, and older men he meets online.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, captivating, disturbing, erotic, exciting, sexy, lgbt cinema, social, controversial
Similar in 83%
James White (2015)
Plot Summary:
James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sad, psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, mumblecore, weird
Similar in 81%
Mommy (2014)
Plot Summary:
A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: melancholic, touching, depressing, emotional, psychological, independent film, atmospheric, surreal, sincere, sad
Similar in 84%
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Plot Summary:
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, psychological, independent film, realistic, controversial, heartbreaking, serious, gloomy, emotional
Similar in 90%
The Keys to the House (2004)
Plot Summary:
Meeting his handicapped son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Germany, France, USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, touching, emotional, sincere, bleak, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 76%
Boyhood (2014)
Plot Summary:
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 364000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: melancholic, emotional, independent film, depressing, serious, realistic, philosophical, touching, sincere, inspirational
Similar in 85%
Short Term 12 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: compassionate, emotional, sad, touching, realistic, independent film, depressing, sweet, thought provoking, spiritual
Similar in 87%
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Plot Summary:
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 305000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: sad, depressing, heartbreaking, psychological, emotional, touching, independent film, compassionate, realistic, cerebral
Similar in 89%
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 539000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, teen, melancholic, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, heartbreaking, independent film
Similar in 86%
Thirteen (2003)
Plot Summary:
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: teen, sincere, realistic, tense, disturbing, emotional, intense, serious, depressing, bleak
Similar in 86%
Pain and Glory (2019)
Plot Summary:
Salvador Mallo, a filmmaker in the twilight of his career, reflects on the choices he's made in life as past and present come crashing down around him.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, disturbing, psychological, captivating, twist ending, hispanic, enigmatic, sentimental, inspirational