Best movies like Beloved/Friend
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Based on a work of Josep Maria Benet i Jornet entitled "Testament", the film tells the story of an aging professor of medieval literature with the dilemma of deciding who will inherit his essay on "The Book of friend and loved" by Ramon Llull. Feeling near death as a result of illness, he discovers that the ideal person is a young and intelligent student he is in love with and who is dedicated to male prostitution.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, contemplative, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Beloved/Friend (1999):
Similar in 81%
Like It Never Was Before (1995)
Plot Summary:
The Runeberg family is an ordinary middle class family, with a house in a suburb, a car and three children. By vacationing in a rented house by the sea, the hope is that the tension and anxiety between Rune and Gunnel will disappear. However, instead of spending time with his family, Rune finds himself attracted to a young man, Petrus. Whatever happens next, Rune realizes, it can never be like it was before. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 980
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, biting, suspense
Similar in 81%
For 80 Days (2010)
Plot Summary:
Where is the thin line that separates friendship from desire? After more than 50 years without seeing each other, two 70 years old women dare crossing the line.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sincere, romantic, gloomy, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
I Dreamt Under the Water (2008)
Plot Summary:
Antoine, a handsome boy in his 20s, falls for a straight best friend who does not reciprocate, and being a junkie exits the film quite early. Enter a girl, who seems to make him happy again, after he has tried living as a rent boy with men, having some familial, financial difficulties. But the girl is a junkie too.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 395
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sexy, touching, serious, realistic, sexual, crying, freeze frame, queer cinema, hot
Similar in 75%
A Thousand Peace Clouds Encircle the Sky (2003)
Plot Summary:
A teenager discovers that mending a broken heart is no simple thing in this independent romantic drama from Mexico. Gerardo (Juan Carlos Ortuno), a 17-year-old who has recently embraced his homosexuality, has just parted ways with his first serious boyfriend, Bruno (Juan Carlos Torres). Gerardo has fallen into a deep depression after losing Bruno, and he drifts through Mexico City, where he meets and makes love with a number of attractive strangers. However, his hedonistic adventures cannot wash away the pain in his heart. The first feature-length project from director Julian Hernandez, Mil Nubes de Paz Cercan el Cielo, Amor, Jamás Acabarás de Ser Amor was screened at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, where it received the Teddy award, given to the best Gay or Lesbian-themed film shown at the fest.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 519
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, erotic, gloomy, sexual, crying, independent film, sexy
Similar in 89%
Coming Out (1989)
Plot Summary:
Reportedly the first film to come out of East Germany to deal openly with gay issues. Philipp, a closeted teacher is dating a female collegue to keep up appearances. One night, by 'accident' he stumbles into a gay bar, meets and promptly falls in love with a young man. Transformed by this love he is no longer afraid to face up to who he is.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: East Germany
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 86%
Before I Forget (2007)
Plot Summary:
A portrait of a 58-year-old man battling his inner demons on the search for self-discovery.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 502
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, sexual, sexy
Similar in 82%
Forgive and Forget (2000)
Plot Summary:
A jealousy erupts between two long-time friends as one is about to move in with his girlfriend. Now the friend must confront his long-hidden homosexuality. UK.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 676
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, emotional, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 85%
Lola and Billy the Kid (1999)
Plot Summary:
When young Turkish talent Kutlug Ataman wanted to make a film about transvestites, the first location he had in mind was Istanbul. As he developed the script, his thought was to place these marginal characters, who are subject to societal prejudices in an environment where there is already discrimination, would add dramatic effect. Supported by funding from German sources, Ataman set his story in Berlin, inside the community of "guest workers" where Turkish transvestites are shunned not only by Germans, but by their own kind as well. The result is a strong film with moments of tenderness, emotion and laughter juxtaposed with the harsh realities of life for those who dare to be different. 16 year old Murat (Baki Davrak) is a Turk who is curious about gay life and eventually submerges himself in the gay hustler and transvestite subculture.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany, Turkey
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, psychological, sexual, crying, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Blackmail Boy (2003)
Plot Summary:
In the small, closed community of a provincial town, Magda tries to maintain a balance within a family facing many serious problems. The families apparently normal, bourgeois, every-day life will crack open, bringing to the surface hatred and passions of the kind that lie well-hidden in the mists of the nearby lake. An intense plot and a totally unexpected ending make up this film, which features characters who are vulnerable, innocent and ordinary, but who become ruthless and callous, worrying only about protecting their financial resources. The offences are disproportionately serious compared to the financial benefits they try to secure.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Greece
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, crying, humorous, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Saturn in Opposition (2007)
Plot Summary:
This film focuses on contemporary 30- and 40-somethings trying to make sense of their lives in an age in which the old certainties have disappeared. Lorenzo and Davide make their lives together within a circle that includes Antonio and Angelica, married with children; Nerval and her policeman husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France, Turkey
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, talky, serious, realistic, clever, contemplative, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
His Brother (2003)
Plot Summary:
Thomas has been estranged from his brother Luc for several years, due in part to his difficulties in dealing with Luc's homosexuality. But when Thomas is diagnosed with a rare blood disease, which is difficult to treat and impossible to cure, he decides he wants to bring Luc back into his life. The brothers soon become inseparable, with Luc constantly at Thomas' side as he vainly struggles against the disease and confronts the indignity of treatment. As Thomas and Luc become closer, their new relationship begins to alienate their significant others, and Thomas' father cannot understand why his son doesn't fight against his illness with great vehemence.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, serious, realistic, romantic, captivating, contemplative, gloomy, crying, entertaining
Similar in 79%
Second Skin (1999)
Plot Summary:
Diego is a doctor who has fallen in love with a married man with a son. Against the advice of his boss and best friend, he continues his affair with Alberto. The consequences of this affair profoundly alter not only the two men's lives, but also that of Alberto's wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sentimental, psychological, erotic, eros, gloomy, homoerotic, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 86%
Julie Walking Home (2002)
Plot Summary:
Julie's son is dying of cancer and her marriage falling apart. She goes to Poland in search of a man who can heal using his hands. Julie finds not only a magical cure for her son, but also comes across a love so pure it begins to heal the aching in her heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany, Canada, Poland, USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, erotic, spiritual, crying, allegory
Similar in 84%
Late August, Early September (1998)
Plot Summary:
A story about the transition from late youth to early maturity, the film follows several friends and lovers as they come to make decisions on how to live their lives--getting a job more in harmony with ones ideals, committing to a lover, giving up a lover that no longer loves you: a film about grown-ups growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, melancholic, ironic, meditative, lyrical, psychological, serious, depressing, tense
Similar in 75%
Vernie (2004)
Plot Summary:
Drama - Sean, a young thirty-something coffee shop owner, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He desperately wants to have a baby before he dies, and asks his best friend Kristy to bear his child. - John Riedlinger, Amy Colon, Patrick Coyle.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 46
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, uplifting, emotional, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 85%
Snails in the Rain (2013)
Plot Summary:
Tel Aviv, Summer 1989. Boaz, a beautiful and alluring linguistics student, receives anonymous, male written love letters, that undermine his sexual identity and interfere on his peaceful life with his beloved girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Israel
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, suspense, erotic, lgbt cinema, homoerotic, realistic, crying, disgusting
Similar in 75%
Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (1998)
Plot Summary:
Friends of painter Jean-Baptiste Emmerich gather at a Paris railroad station for a four-hour journey to Limoges, where Emmerich wanted to be buried. The dozen travelers include art historian François and his lover Louis, who develops an interest in teenage Bruno. Traveling parallel with the train is a station wagon with Jean-Baptiste's body, and this vehicle is driven by Thierry, husband of Catherine, who's on the train with their daughter. François plays a taped interview with Jean-Baptiste, revealing his sexual appeal to both men and women. Lucie is convinced that she was his main love. Also on board is his nephew, Jean-Marie and Jean-Marie's estranged wife Claire. After the funeral in "Europe's largest cemetery," the story continues in the mansion of Jean-Baptiste's brother Lucien.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy, psychological, realistic, talky, anthology, touching, serious, crying, romantic
Similar in 80%
The Witnesses (2007)
Plot Summary:
Manu arrives in Paris, in the early days of AIDS, at the beginning of the 1980s. He strikes up a friendship with Adrien, a wealthy doctor in his early fifties, who introduces him to Sarah and Mehdi, a young couple.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, erotic, crying, clever, realistic, contemplative, detective
Similar in 82%
Lan Yu (2001)
Plot Summary:
A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, captivating, depressing, heartbreaking, lgbt cinema, poignant, crying, serious
Similar in 82%
Head On (1998)
Plot Summary:
Nineteen-year-old Ari confronts both his sexuality and his Greek family. Ari despises his once-beloved parents, former radical activists, for having entombed themselves in insular tradition. Ari is obsessed with gay sex, although he does make an unenthusiastic attempt to satisfy the sister of one of his best friends. While all of this is going on, he's facing problems with his traditional Greek parents, who have no clue about his sexual activities.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: independent film, lgbt cinema, terrifying, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, erotic, rough, sexy
Similar in 89%
Little Lili (2003)
Plot Summary:
This film, loosely inspired by Anton Chekov's The Seagull, weaves a story about sex, family and the business of making films. When the young and overly sensitive filmmaker Julien screens his new DV art-film starring his girlfriend Lili (Swimming Pool's Ludivine Sagnier) --a sexy young local girl--to his famous actress mother Mado, and her lover Brice, an accomplished film director, an unraveling of the delicate peace in their house begins. The graceful beauty Lili, who dreams of becoming a famous actress like Mado, is immediately fascinated by Brice, who gladly falls prey to her charms.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, clever, touching, erotic, contemplative, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 75%
Intentions (2003)
Plot Summary:
Renee leads a fulfilling life as a professor of theater, mother of two girls, and wife to a kind and successful husband. Her life of contentment is changed forever when she discovers an undeniable attraction between herself and a female graduate student. Now every element of her life is called into question -- a question only she can answer about what she wants and needs.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
Full Speed (1996)
Plot Summary:
A brief extract of four kids' lives somewhere in France. Quentin, who won a writers contest and now pays more attention to his career as an author than to his friends, beautiful Julie, his girl-friend, much more mature than she looks, falling in love with Quentin's very best friend Jimmy, who is kind of stuck in his unability of self-expression and grown up under bad social circumstances. And there is the shy boy Samir, exiled from Algeria, who lost his "brother" and only friend some time ago. Samir heavily falls in love with Quentin, but he can't handle it.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 877
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: erotic, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, sexual, sexy, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Antarctica (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in Tel Aviv, focuses on an interconnected group of friends and their various relationships. At the center is the adorably bookish Omer, about to turn 30, who still hasn't found himself, and his free-spirited best friend Miki, who both end up inadvertently dating the same handsome journalist, Ronen.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 847
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Israel
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, sexy, gloomy, sexual, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
It's My Party (1996)
Plot Summary:
A gathering of friends. A gift of love. A celebration of life.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, independent film, philosophical, depressing, sincere, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Longtime Companion (1989)
Plot Summary:
Longtime Companion follows the lives of a small circle of friends from the first mention of the disease in the New York Times in 1981. First referred to as "Gay-Related-Immune-Disorder," we watch the effect of the disease as it devastates the lives of our protagonists. Jumping between Manhattan and Fire Island, vignettes carry us from the it-couldn't-happen-to-me mentality of the early days of the disease to the invasive effect it has had on all of our lives, today. The title of the film comes from the New York Times' refusal to acknowledge homosexual relationships in their obituary section during this period. Instead, survivors were referred to as "Longtime Companions" of the deceased.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sad, independent film, touching, emotional, realistic, art house, lgbt cinema, weeping, eros, romantic drama
Similar in 76%
North Sea Texas (2011)
Plot Summary:
Pim lives in a run-down house in a dead-end street somewhere on the Flanders coast, together with his mother Yvette Bulteel. Life here smells of cold French fries, cheap cigarettes, vermouth and stale beer. Mother Yvette uses her friend Etienne, with his lousy grey Fiat, as a driver for the nights she has to “perform”. As a kid Pim dreams of a better life, imagining princesses and beauty queens. But when Pim turns 16 he dreams of Gino, the handsome boy next door, instead. Ever since they were children there has been this tension between them. Now Gino is Pim’s motorcycling hero. Cold mockery, little humiliations and tiny bits of hope make up Pim’s life. No wonder he sometimes flees to his dream world.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Belgium
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, sincere, lgbt cinema, romantic, suspenseful, erotic, art house, sexual, cute
Similar in 88%
The Sex of the Angels (2012)
Plot Summary:
Carla and Bruno believe they have answers for everything until Rai appears in their lives, an attractive and mysterious young who lives outside the rules. In this story about love and friendship, boundaries dissolve by the rhythm of funky and break to offer a provocative, exciting and deeply touching vision about romantic relationships.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Spain, Brazil
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sexy, touching, serious, realistic, erotic, sexual, sensual, suspense thriller, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 83%
Close to Leo (2002)
Plot Summary:
When 21 year-old Leo, the oldest of four brothers, announces to his rural French family that he's HIV+, his family quickly rallys around him. Leo travels to Paris with his youngst brother Marcel for treatment. When Leo tries to push his brother away to protect him, the love and loyalty of the two brothers is tested.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, sincere, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
Floating Skyscrapers (2013)
Plot Summary:
Kuba attends an art opening with his girlfriend of two years and bumps into Mikal. The connection between these two young men is instantaneous and intoxicating, and despite opposition from all sides, he allows Mikal into his life. The results go beyond anything he could have imagined. This intimate and bold second feature from Polish director Tomasz Wasilewski captures the often-complicated consequences of finding love where others do not want it.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Poland
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, erotic, bleak, crying, queer cinema