Best movies like As If I Am Not There
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A harsh dose of cinematic realism about a harsh time-the Bosnian War of the 1990s-Juanita Wilson's drama is taken from true stories revealed during the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Samira is a modern schoolteacher in Sarajevo who takes a job in a small country village just as the war is beginning to ramp up. When Serbian soldiers overrun the village, shoot the men and keep the women as laborers (the older ones) and sex objects (the younger ones), Samira is subjected to the basest form of treatment imaginable.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, Sweden
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, disturbing, serious, disgusting
Best tv shows and movies like As If I Am Not There (2010):
Similar in 75%
Bad Roads (2020)
Plot Summary:
Four short stories are set along the roads of Donbass during the war. There are no safe spaces and no one can make sense of just what is going on. Even as they are trapped in the chaos, some manage to wield authority over others. But in this world, where tomorrow may never come, not everyone is defenseless and miserable. Even the most innocent victims may have their turn at taking charge.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 826
Genere: Drama
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, serious, disgusting, psychological, captivating, disturbing, road movie, anthology
Similar in 84%
Circles (2013)
Plot Summary:
Circles (Serbian: Krugovi) is a Serbian movie based on the true story of a Serbian soldier who risked his life to protect a Muslim civilian during the war in Bosnia. During the war in Bosnia in 1993, a Serbian soldier pays for his life after protecting a Muslim civilian from being attacked by three other soldiers. 12 years later, the consequences of this act of heroism are still having their repercussions.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Serbia, Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, thought provoking, captivating, twisted, tense, atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Hearts & Minds (2009)
Plot Summary:
Conscription has been introduced in Britain. Across the country, young people are being called upon to serve the nation in another reactionary Middle-Eastern conflict. They face war on a scale not seen in any of their lifetimes. hearts & minds follows ten of these young people in the weeks leading up to the first wave of departures, as they are forced to question their own principles and come to terms with what they stand to lose.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 12
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, captivating, psychological, bleak
Similar in 86%
Blind Intersections (2012)
Plot Summary:
Three protagonists, one city, different backgrounds: Nour, India and Marwan pass each other but they never meet, though the effect of one incident will drastically alter their lives. Caught in a moment, their lives fall apart in just a matter of seconds.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 193
Genere: Drama
Country: Lebanon, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, non-linear, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Cargo (2011)
Plot Summary:
A young Russian woman, smuggled into America by human traffickers, and a notorious Egyptian transporter hired to drive her from the Mexican border to New York City, form an unlikely bond that transforms them and threatens to derail the traffickers' plans.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 531
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 87%
Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006)
Plot Summary:
A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Austria, Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, realistic, psychological, serious, emotional, islamic, captivating, social, masterpiece
Similar in 84%
Storm (2009)
Plot Summary:
Hannah Maynard, a prosecutor of Hague's Tribunal for war crimes in former Yugoslavia, charges a Serbian commander for killing Bosniaks. However, her main witness might be lying, so the court sends a team to Bosnia to investigate.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, tense, realistic, suspense, political thriller
Similar in 83%
Warriors (1999)
Plot Summary:
If the conflict in Bosnia has become something of a forgotten war, it's not for the want of trying from the immensely powerful BBC film Warriors, the story of five young soldiers and their harrowing experiences in the region.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Twice Born (2012)
Plot Summary:
Full-throttle melodrama about an ill-starred romance set against the backdrop of the siege of Sarajevo. A mother brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Italy, Spain
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, romantic, sincere, melancholic, suspenseful, erotic, social, sad
Similar in 75%
Halima's Path (2012)
Plot Summary:
In order to recover the body of her son lost during the war in Bosnia, a grieving, but strong-willed Muslim woman, Halima, must track down her estranged niece, who we find carries a mysterious connection to him.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 89%
In Our Name (2010)
Plot Summary:
Suzy's a British soldier, born and bred, but fitting back into civilian life after fighting in Iraq isn't easy. Haunted by the responsibility she feels for the death of an Iraqi child, she becomes obsessed with the safety of her own daughter, feeling the need to protect her against a threat that doesn't seem to exist. As Suzy's paranoia builds, her behaviour becomes more and more erratic, until finally, she puts her own child in serious danger.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 511
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: tense, emotional, realistic, thought provoking, serious, captivating, disturbing, suspense, entertaining
Similar in 78%
Badland (2007)
Plot Summary:
Jerry (Jamie Draven) was an idealist when he served in the first Gulf War. But when he was later deployed to Iraq, Jerry was an older man, a father of three and embittered by broken promises and unfulfilled desires. When Jerry returns from Iraq he has been transformed by horrors that cannot be forgiven. He lives a life of poverty, his children afraid of him and his wife, Nora (Vinessa Shaw), unsympathetic and unhappy. When Jerry discovers that Nora has betrayed him, his anger and despair drive him to commit an act so heinous and irreversible that nothing he had experienced in combat could have prepared him for.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, disturbing, bleak, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 86%
I Don't Give a Damn (1987)
Plot Summary:
Like many, another young Israeli, Rafi never gave much thought to the fact that when he reached a certain age, he would be expected to serve in the Israeli Army and that he would experience active duty in combat. It certainly never occurred to him that he might be injured, and if it did, it never occurred to him that he would be crippled, as he was. Now he must try to learn to cope with a life which is vastly different from anything he ever imagined, and at first he has nothing but bitterness. An older veteran tries to help him learn to cope, and his relatives work hard to adjust as well. However, only his sister-in-law Maya seems to understand his state of mind and doesn't freak out at his easily provoked displays of temper.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 68
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 77%
Witnesses (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set amid the atrocities of war in the Balkans, Witnesses is retold, Rashomon-style, from various characters' viewpoints, adding new information about the complexity of war and humanity. Beginning inside a rustic house with a woman in black (Mirjana Karanovic) standing beside her husband's coffin, Witnesses interweaves the stories of a small town confronting ethnic hatred and deep moral ambiguities.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 828
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Croatia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, bleak, serious, disturbing, realistic, non-linear
Similar in 89%
The Melon Route (2006)
Plot Summary:
The journey of a Chinese woman and her fellow countrymen as they travel in search of a better place to live, only to end up struggling for survival in the Balkans.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 507
Genere: Drama
Country: Croatia
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, bleak, serious
Similar in 85%
For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (2013)
Plot Summary:
Kym, an Australian tourist, decides to travel to Bosnia. Her guidebook leads her to Višegrad, a small town steeped in history, on the border of Bosnia and Serbia. After a night of insomnia in the 'romantic' Hotel Vilina Vlas, Kym discovers what happened there during the war. She can no longer be an ordinary tourist and her life will never be the same again.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 349
Genere: Drama
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Germany
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, disturbing, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Children of Sarajevo (2012)
Plot Summary:
A microcosm of the fathomless suffering that remains more than 16 years since the siege of Sarajevo ended, writer-director Aida Begic’s follow-up to her 2008 Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize-winning debut Snow tells the story of two orphaned siblings struggling in a transitional society where only the fittest survive.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Drama
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, France, Turkey
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 83%
Ezra (2007)
Plot Summary:
Ezra, jeune ex-soldat Sierra-Léonais, essaie tant bien que mal de retrouver des repères pour revenir à une vie normale après la guerre civile qui a ravagé son pays. Son quotidien est partagé entre un centre de réhabilitation psychologique et un tribunal de réconciliation nationale organisé sous l'égide de l'ONU. Durant le procès en réhabilitation auquel Ezra participe, il doit affronter sa soeur qui l'accuse du meurtre de leurs parents. Ezra, qui a traversé cette violente guerre civile complètement drogué et alcoolisé, ne se souvient de rien. Ezra reconnaîtra-t-il l'horreur et par ce fait, permettra-t-il à sa soeur et à sa communauté villageoise d'accéder au pardon ?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Nigeria, USA, UK, Austria
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: captivating, rough, thought provoking, disturbing, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Savior (1998)
Plot Summary:
A hardened mercenary in the Foreign Legion begins to find his own humanity when confronted with atrocities during the fighting in Bosnia.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, depressing, tense, rough, suspenseful, realistic, road movie, smart, serious
Similar in 87%
Say That You Love Me (2006)
Plot Summary:
Fatou is a teenager yearning for attention and love in Sweden's suburbs. When she is gang raped by some class mates her whole world starts falling apart.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)
Plot Summary:
Follow a group of international journalists into the heart of the once cosmopolitan city of Sarajevo—now a danger zone of sniper and mortar attacks where residents still live. While reporting on an American aid worker who’s trying to get children out of the country, a British correspondent decides to take an orphaned girl home to London.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, harsh, brutal, heartbreaking, political, emotional, thought provoking, touching, serious
Similar in 82%
The Poet (2007)
Plot Summary:
At the dawn of World War 2, a Rabbi's daughter and a disenchanted German soldier fall in love and are separated by the war. They struggle on a perilous journey to find one another.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, disturbing, serious, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Rose (2011)
Plot Summary:
This harrowing tale of survival centers on Rose, a Masurian woman, whose German soldier husband was killed in the war, leaving her alone on their farm. A single woman had no defense against Russian soldiers who raped as a form of revenge, nor against plundering Poles who found themselves in desperate straits. Help arrives for Rose in the form of Tadeusz, a former officer in the Polish Home Army who deserted after he saw his wife raped and murdered by Russian troops and is attempting to hide his identity.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, bleak, serious, emotional
Similar in 79%
The Bridges of Sarajevo (2014)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen European directors explore the theme of Sarajevo; what this city has represented in European history over the past hundred years, and what Sarajevo stands for today in Europe. These eminent filmmakers of different generations and origins offer exceptional singular styles and visions.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 387
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Germany
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, disturbing, anthology, bleak
Similar in 78%
Jew-Boy Levi (1999)
Plot Summary:
Benjamin Levi (Bruno Cathomas) is a Bavarian cattle dealer traveling to pre-World War II Germany on his annual trip to a remote farming village. Levi hopes to do some business and, more importantly, win the hand of the lovely Lisbeth (Caroline Ebner). But Nazi propaganda has gripped the small community and poisoned it forever. Now, Levi and Lisbeth are targets of hate in this provocative and shocking drama.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Switzerland, Austria
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, biting, suspense
Similar in 82%
Fugitive Pieces (2007)
Plot Summary:
A child escapes from Poland during World War II and first heads to Greece before coming of age in Canada.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Greece
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, bleak, serious, emotional, exciting, rough, touching, suspense, suspenseful, breathtaking
Similar in 88%
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)
Plot Summary:
During the Bosnian War, Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, re-encounters Ajla, a Bosnian who's now a captive in his camp he oversees. Their once promising connection has become ambiguous as their motives have changed.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, touching, erotic, exciting, romantic, sexy, romantic drama, bleak
Similar in 87%
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 83%
Precious (2009)
Plot Summary:
Set in Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father; at home, she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret--she can't read.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: bleak, depressing, emotional, rough, sad, inspirational, disturbing, touching, independent film, harsh
Similar in 80%
Silenced (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on actual events that took place at Gwangju Inhwa School for the hearing-impaired, where young deaf students were the victims of repeated sexual assaults by faculty members over a period of five years in the early 2000s.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, serious, bleak, realistic, dark, intense, depressing, sad, noir