Best movies like Bright Future
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Two friends who work in the same oshibori laundry are lost in the drudgery of everyday life. They hang out together, barely functioning and barely communicating. Their middle-aged boss makes a desparate attempt to connect with them with disasterous consequences. Their future is far from bright.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative
Best tv shows and movies like Bright Future (2002):
Similar in 84%
The Great Passage (2013)
Plot Summary:
Majime, an eccentric man in publishing company, who has unique ability of words, joins the team that will compile a new dictionary, ‘The Great Passage.’ In the eclectic team, he becomes immersed in the world of dictionaries. But the team is overwhelmed with problems. Will ‘The Great Passage’ ever be completed?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, feel good, serious, realistic, thought provoking, sweet, poignant
Similar in 75%
Bashing (2005)
Plot Summary:
Yuko is a Japanese girl who was taken hostage in Iraq while volunteering there as an aid worker. Finally released and back in her hometown, Yuko finds herself ostracized as a national disgrace by society that sees her helping a country other than Japan, and the embarrassment of getting captured but not killed, as things of which to be brutally ashamed.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 506
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Return to Ithaca (2014)
Plot Summary:
Sun is setting on Havana. Five friends are gathered to celebrate the return of Amadeo after 16 years of exile in Madrid.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 832
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, talky, weird
Similar in 83%
The Rebirth (2007)
Plot Summary:
Coincidence and the aftermath of violence. A man's middle-school daughter has been murdered. His wife is already deceased. He tells a counselor he wants to live in anonymity, working with his hands. He moves away and gets a job in a factory. The woman who is the mother of the killer wants to apologize to the father, although she knows it would change nothing. He refuses to meet. She moves back to her hometown. She works in the kitchen at an inn where the man now lives. No one speaks. He eats alone. He reads in his apartment. She walks to her home and has a sandwich. She keeps her eyes lowered. He drives to work. Does either want to connect? What bond can they establish? Written by.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 263
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 85%
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 84%
Spring Forward (1999)
Plot Summary:
As the seasons change in a Connecticut town, two men of different age and backgrounds who work together outdoors for the local park system, share thoughts and feelings that gradually deepen into a relationship approaching father and son. Paul is just out of prison for armed robbery, assigned to work with Murph, a middle-aged vet whose grown son Bobby is dying. Paul is trying to control his temper and build a spiritual side based on reading. Murph is a down-to-earth Sancho Panza to Paul's more ethereal ideas. And Murphy seems to need forgiveness for mistakes as a dad. As Murphy's retirement approaches and winter sets in, the men talk and love blossoms.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, talky, independent film, existential, sincere, semi serious, road movie, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 88%
Café Lumière (2003)
Plot Summary:
Making her way through life by forming superficial relationships, Yoko (Japanese pop idol Yo Hitoto) keeps everyone at arm's length, whether it's her father (Nanji Kobayashi) and stepmother (Kimiko Yo) or Hajime (Tadanobu Asano), the owner of a small bookstore who could be the father of her unborn child. Yoko seems most at home when she's riding the train, speeding around the city with only her thoughts to entertain her.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan, Taiwan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, uplifting, art house, slow cinema, aesthetic
Similar in 75%
Maborosi (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant. Yumiko remarries and moves from Osaka to a small fishing village, yet continues to search for meaning in a lonely world.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: art house, atmospheric, contemplative, slow cinema, retro, aesthetic, psychological, serious, realistic, light
Similar in 76%
Distance (2001)
Plot Summary:
On the eighth anniversary of a cult's failed chemical attack on Tokyo and their subsequent mass suicide, family members of those affected gather at the cult's former base on the shores of a lake to observe the anniversary of their loved ones' deaths.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, serious, atmospheric, mind bending, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Angel's Fall (2004)
Plot Summary:
Zeynep, Tülin Özen works in a hotel as a housekeeper. But she suffers hell on earth because of her father's behavior. She only talks to Mustafa, 'Engin Dogan' who works in the same hotel and he is interested in Zeynep. She is not interested in Mustafa who is younger than Zeynep, but she is not indifferent to him. While Zeynep is trying to make a bonfire of bad situation, Selçuk, Budak Akalin who lives on the other side of city is a voice technician. He feels guilty after his wife's death. The suitcase which has his wife's dresses changes the Zeynep's destiny.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece, Turkey
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, atmospheric, touching, tense, bleak, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Liverpool (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sailor takes a short leave to visit his hometown and see if his mother is still alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, contemplative, psychological, captivating, road movie, dread, slow cinema, aesthetic, sincere
Similar in 79%
Homeland (2014)
Plot Summary:
When Jiro Sawada was a sophomore in high school he was framed for something he did not do. Afterwards, he left his hometown in a small village in Fukushima Prefecture. After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Jiro Sawada goes back to his hometown, when nobody is able to live there, and begins to live there again. His separated family begin to reunite.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 108
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: touching, atmospheric, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 84%
The Errand of Angels (2008)
Plot Summary:
Sister Rachel Taylor of Boise, Idaho is an eager young missionary of the LDS Church who has been sent on an 18-month long mission to Austria. Rachel finds herself having a hard time adjusting to her new cultural surroundings in the foreign country. Due to differences in opinion, she is also unable to get along with the companion missionary that was assigned to her by the church.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 293
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, psychological, captivating, emotional, christian film, touching, serious
Similar in 82%
Memories of Tomorrow (2006)
Plot Summary:
After being stricken with Alzheimer's disease in the prime of his life, a successful young businessman slips slowly away from his loving family.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 912
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, emotional, captivating, independent film, serious
Similar in 86%
Erratum (2010)
Plot Summary:
Michał jedzie do miasta swojego urodzenia, aby załatwić sprawę o którą prosi go szef i od razu wracać. Sprawy przybierają jednak inny obrót. Michał musi pozostać tu parę dni dłużej. Chodząc po mieście spotyka bliskie mu niegdyś osoby, natrafia na znajome miejsca. Powoli odzywa się w nim coś, o czym dawno zapomniał.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 564
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, contemplative, realistic, psychological, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 85%
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 82%
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 81%
Firelight (2012)
Plot Summary:
Incarcerated women join a band of volunteers who battle forest fires and assist during natural disasters.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 631
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, psychological, captivating
Similar in 84%
The Kirishima Thing (2012)
Plot Summary:
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, touching, semi serious, psychological, captivating, clever, humorous, stylized
Similar in 82%
Tokyo Noir (2004)
Plot Summary:
In this excursion into Tokyo's dark side, a sexually repressed woman finds liberation by turning tricks at night a sex worker is taken by surprise when her ex drops by and a sex blogger finds strange kinship with a loner.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
About Her Brother (2010)
Plot Summary:
Ginko’s younger brother Tetsuro, a failed comedian, is the oddball of the family. Embarrassing, loud and plain inappropriate at times causes Ginko to disown him. The two reunite when she discovers Tetsuro is terminally ill. Tetsuro’s impending death marks the beginning of love and toleration.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 843
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, emotional, captivating, independent film, sincere, touching, serious, entertaining
Similar in 77%
The Eel (1997)
Plot Summary:
White-collar worker Yamashita finds out that his wife has a lover visiting her when he's away, suddenly returns home and kills her. After eight years in prison, he returns to live in a small village, opens a barber shop (he was trained as a barber in prison) and talks almost to no-one except for the eel he "befriended" in prison. One day he finds the unconscious body of Keiko, who attempted suicide and reminds him of his wife. She starts to work at his shop, but he doesn't let her become close to him.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, captivating, psychological, touching, independent film, atmospheric, offbeat, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Max & Lenny (2014)
Plot Summary:
Max and Lenny is the story of a friendship between two girls fighting for survival in a northern area of Marseille.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Wild Field (2008)
Plot Summary:
A young doctor relocates to a remote region of central Asia, thinking his fiancee soon will join him.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, touching, emotional
Similar in 78%
Kabei: Our Mother (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Be Sure to Share (2009)
Plot Summary:
Shiro’s struggle with his father’s cancer and impending death leads to a realization that he must communicate his love and admiration for him before it’s too late. A series of flashbacks reveals their relationship over time, and the trouble Shiro faced connecting to his strict father who was also his teacher and soccer coach. With a consuming secret of his own, Shiro, now in his late twenties and about to get engaged, must eventually learn how to share the pain of it with his loved ones.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, contemplative, psychological, sentimental, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 82%
All Around Us (2008)
Plot Summary:
Kanao, a courtroom portrait artist, observes crimes, scandals and the decline of Japanese values without passing judgement. As he and his wife endure the tragedy of their first child’s death, hope slowly unfolds and their love story flickers to life once again.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 890
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, psychological, serious, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Blue Spring (2001)
Plot Summary:
Soon after being named the new leader of his high school's gang system, Kujo grows bored with the violence and hatred that surround him. He wants desperately to abandon his post… but his once-enviable position of power has a strange way of making him feel powerless.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: bleak, realistic, disturbing, serious, manga
Similar in 80%
A Beautiful Secret (2002)
Plot Summary:
The beloved screen legend Katy Jurado, the lights one last time in the history of a special friendship that develops between a lonely old woman and Jorge, a rebellious teenager in Mexico City in 1984. Through the use flashbacks, Jorge, now an adult, remembers the unforgettable lessons and conversations about human nature and society in general. This fascinating film provides a beautiful tribute to the legendary actress in a history of heart that will make you laugh and think.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 88%
Snow in August (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a world filled with hatred, their only hope was magic. Believe and anything can happen.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 326
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, atmospheric, emotional, psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative