Best movies like Ballast
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A single mother and her embattled son struggle to subsist in a small Mississippi Delta township. An act of violence thrusts them into the world of an emotionally devastated highway store owner, awakening the fury of a bitter and longstanding conflict.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, emotional, captivating, suspense, southern gothic, sentimental, sincere, bleak
Best tv shows and movies like Ballast (2008):
Similar in 88%
Kicks (2016)
Plot Summary:
When his hard-earned kicks get snatched by a local hood, fifteen-year old Brandon and his two best friends go on an ill-advised mission across the Bay Area to retrieve the stolen sneakers.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, hood, action adventure, suspense, social, mind blowing, aesthetic
Similar in 90%
Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day (2012)
Plot Summary:
The Ames' seem to have built the perfect life until their six year old daughter is kidnapped; over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 664
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, christian film, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 81%
Mother of George (2013)
Plot Summary:
A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Nigeria, USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, psychological, captivating, visually stunning, sincere, independent film
Similar in 76%
All God's Children Can Dance (2008)
Plot Summary:
In Korea Town Los Angeles, a young man, Kengo, believes he's the son of God - that's what his mother told him since he was a young boy. He spends his days working his dead-end job and figuring out his complex feelings for his girlfriend until, one day, he sees a one-eared man who could be his father and decides to follow him around Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, atmospheric, realistic, stylized, contemplative, independent film, art house
Similar in 75%
Girlfriend (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young man with Down's Syndrome romantically pursues a small town single mom who is still mixed up with her volatile ex-boyfriend.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 713
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, melancholic, independent film, realistic
Similar in 75%
About Sunny (2011)
Plot Summary:
As things unravel for a struggling single mother in Las Vegas, she must decide what she's willing to give up to get by.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 380
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, emotional, psychological, independent film, sincere, touching, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Five Star (2014)
Plot Summary:
After John’s absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to verse the young boy in the code of the streets—one founded on respect and upheld by fear. A member of the Bloods since the age of twelve—both in the film and in reality—the streets of Brooklyn are all Primo has ever known. While John questions whether or not to enter into this life, Primo must decide whether to leave it all behind as he vows to become a better husband and father. Set during those New York summer weeks where the stifling heat seems to encase everything, Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity. Director Keith Miller observes the lives of these two men with a quiet yet pointed distance, carefully eschewing worn clichés through its unflinching focus. Distinctions between fiction and real life remain intentionally ambiguous, allowing the story of these two men to resonate beyond the streets, as they face the question of what it means to be a man.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 569
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, sexy, hood, tense, sincere, rough, bleak
Similar in 80%
Sivas (2014)
Plot Summary:
Establishing a bleak village in Eastern Turkey as its setting, Sivas features the story of Aslan, an eleven-year-old boy, and Sivas, a weathered fighting dog who develop a strong relationship after Aslan finds Sivas wounded in a ditch, left to die.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Turkey
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, touching, captivating, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Cook County (2008)
Plot Summary:
After a stint in prison, Sonny returns to his home in East Texas, determined to repair his relationship with his son. Standing in his way is his brother, who has turned the home into a crumbling meth lab (IMDb.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 559
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Mississippi Damned (2009)
Plot Summary:
Three poor Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 988
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, touching, emotional, informative, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Way We Are (2008)
Plot Summary:
The Way We Are is a respectful, unglamorous, and serenely charming portrait of regular people and a Hong Kong town that normally gets a bad rap. It may put you to sleep, but the visit and Ann Hui's quiet touch are exceptionally worthwhile.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, emotional, captivating, sincere, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Shirley Adams (2009)
Plot Summary:
Shirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son, Donovan - he was shot in the back of the neck on his way home from school one afternoon over a year ago. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. Shirley has no money, no job and no husband - he left. The shooter is one of Donovan's childhood friends. Her reaction to the betrayal is so overwhelming that she chooses not to tell Donovan in fear of further damaging his already unstable emotional state. Determined to make a change in their lives, Shirley actively decides to embrace their new circumstances, hoping that Donovan will follow her example.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 124
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa, USA, UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Low Tide (2012)
Plot Summary:
A 12 year old boy and his single mother live separate lives. The boy spends his days alone while his mother works and goes out with her friends. The boy’s solitude is both a source of freedom and a cause for grief. His explorations slowly bring to light the dark contrast between the rules of society and the laws of nature. And before long, the delicate balance of his inner world becomes shattered by unforeseen events.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 661
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Belgium, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, serious, psychological, sincere, rough, bleak, independent film
Similar in 75%
Children of Invention (2009)
Plot Summary:
Two young children living illegally in a model apartment outside Boston are left to fend for themselves when their hardworking mother disappears.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 657
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, touching, realistic, sad, independent film, moody
Similar in 76%
Bluebird (2013)
Plot Summary:
On a freezing January evening, school bus driver Lesley completes her route, but her final inspection abruptly ends when a bluebird comes into view. What happens next shakes her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 976
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film, atmospheric, gloomy
Similar in 81%
A Quiet Little Marriage (2008)
Plot Summary:
A Quiet Little Marriage is the love story of Dax and Olive, who manage to find harmony even as they juggle family, romance and intimacy, but that all changes the night she asks him for a baby. Writer/director Mo Perkins’ intense and profound, raw feature debut is laced with sly humor, exquisitely rendered characters, and a pitch-perfect emotional honesty.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 361
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, captivating, sincere, serious, talky, independent film
Similar in 80%
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2007)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, captivating, independent film, realistic
Similar in 76%
Empire of Dirt (2013)
Plot Summary:
Like many Native families, Lena Mahikan grew up in the cycle of abuse. Her father, a residential school survivor, was an alcoholic until he killed himself when Lena was 10. Her mother, only 14 years her senior, turned to the slots. By the time Lena was 15, she was pregnant and, before giving birth, was kicked to the curb by her mom. The cycle continues and Lena is now watching helplessly as her own daughter, Peeka, spirals out of control, landing herself in the hospital following a drug overdose. As a final attempt at survival, Lena decides to return home and face her own mother and a past she’s desperate to escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 79%
A Raisin in the Sun (2008)
Plot Summary:
Dreams can make a life worth living, but they can also be dashed by bad decisions. This is the crossroads whare the Younger family find themselves when their father passes away and leaves them with $10,000 in life insurance money. Should they buy a new home for the family? Perhaps a liquor store? While no choice is easy, life on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s is even harder.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, emotional, uplifting, touching, serious, family saga, captivating, realistic
Similar in 84%
The End of Innocence (1990)
Plot Summary:
Seemingly autobiographical story of a woman overwhelmed with trying to please everyone except herself, and not finding any answers until she's admitted to a rehab center by her parents. Eventually here is where she finds her answers.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 233
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, serious, emotional, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 77%
Back to School Mom (2015)
Plot Summary:
Mary Thomas, a free-spirited musician, has spent the past two decades traveling the world, but at age 41 she decides to go back to college and finish her degree so that, for once, she can finally finish something she started. Back at her old university, she becomes close friends with her popular and charming "peer tutor" -- only to learn that he is actually the son she gave up 20 years earlier.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, touching, sincere, captivating
Similar in 79%
The New Year Parade (2008)
Plot Summary:
When Mike and Lisa separate, their children suffer quietly in the middle of the annual Mummer's Parade.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 126
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, psychological, contemplative, captivating, sincere, serious, emotional, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 78%
Mending Fences (2009)
Plot Summary:
When big-city TV journalist Kelly Faraday (Laura Leighton) gets fired, she moves back to her Nevada hometown, where a severe drought may force her aging mother, Ruth (Angie Dickinson), to sell the family farm to a casino developer. As Kelly and Ruth sort out old differences, the erstwhile reporter and her ex-beau Walt (David Lee Smith) begin to suspect the casino of manipulating the town's water supply. Stephen Bridgewater directs this drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 231
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, touching, serious
Similar in 88%
Virgin (2003)
Plot Summary:
When a teenager finds herself pregnant, with no memory of having had sex, she determines that she is carrying the child of God.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 601
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, captivating, erotic, sincere, serious, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 76%
White Water (2015)
Plot Summary:
White Water is the story of a 7 year-old black kid in segregated 1963 Opelika, Alabama who becomes obsessed with the desire to taste the water from the "white's only" drinking fountain and sets out on a quest to do the unthinkable: drink from it.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 209
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 82%
Harrison Montgomery (2008)
Plot Summary:
In a rundown apartment complex in San Francisco's Tenderloin, a septuagenarian seer is waiting for his final message. For decades the eccentric recluse has chronicled the phrases of the Wheel of Fortune and deciphered their hidden meaning - the details of a mission to save his neighbors from their troubles.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 85
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 77%
Candles on Bay Street (2006)
Plot Summary:
DeeDee returns to her hometown with her 11 year old son, Trooper, 13 years after she ran off with her boyfriend. Her childhood best friend, Sam, is now married and he and his wife, Lydia, are the town's veterinarians. Lydia is a little wary about DeeDee after Sam tells her that they were best friends growing up and DeeDee was his first crush. But DeeDee and Trooper find their way into many hearts of the townspeople with their sweet helpfulness and friendships. DeeDee sets up a candle making business in town square and invites many of the ladies of the town to weekly candle making parties, and through these parties she and Lydia become good friends. One evening after dinner with Lydia and Sam, DeeDee tells Sam she's very sick and she doesn't have much longer to live and she needs his help to find a good family in town to adopt Trooper. Sam later tells Lydia everything and they decide to adopt Trooper themselves if/when something happens to DeeDee.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 75%
Fly Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
The poignant yet humor filled story about a single mother of a teenager severely impacted by autism, forced to reckon with her daughter's future. As her child becomes an adult, what used to work, no longer does. What will sustain her daughter, and herself? A parent-child love story, when love means letting go.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
The Rising Place (2001)
Plot Summary:
The close friendship of two young women, each of a different race, and their struggle to find purpose in their lives during this time of social injustice and world war.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
Of Boys and Men (2008)
Plot Summary:
Robert Townsend stars as the patriarch of a family devastated when his wife is killed in a senseless auto accident. Reeling with grief, each family member must find courage and vision to carry on, ultimately eager to do the mother proud.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 192
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, sentimental, captivating, touching, serious, independent film