Best movies like By Dawn's Early Light
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When Mike Lewis leaves L.A. to stay with his grandfather in Colorado for the summer, he hates the old man's cowboy ways. When Mike demands to go home, the old man agrees and saddles up a couple of horses for a six week trip toward California, home, the Pacific and redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 475
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like By Dawn's Early Light (2001):
Similar in 82%
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009)
Plot Summary:
Delia, a young Romanian girl, comes to Bucharest with her parents to collect a prize she has won in a contest organized by a soft-drinks company. The prize is a beautiful new car. All Delia has to do now is appear in front of the camera in a commercial. All goes well until it becomes clear that Delia and her parents have very different ideas about what to do with the new car. Meanwhile, the contest's sponsor needs a radiant prize-winner with a gleaming smile. A wicked satire and a psychological portrait of a society perverted by its slavery to capitalism and consumerism.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Romania, Netherlands, France, Japan
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, atmospheric, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Lake Tahoe (2008)
Plot Summary:
A story of a teenager and the strange events that take place in his small town.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico, Japan, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, captivating, humorous, independent film, no music
Similar in 87%
Logan (2010)
Plot Summary:
A teen does everything he can to finish his younger brother's project when tragedy strikes.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 317
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 84%
The Runnin' Kind (1989)
Plot Summary:
An Ohio teen moves to L.A. to find fame as a rock musician and to find a drummer.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 159
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, offbeat, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 89%
All the Wilderness (2014)
Plot Summary:
Keeping to himself in the wake his father's death, James Charm finds refuge in solitary walks and creating morbid sketches — until a charismatic new friend and a quirky young woman begin to draw him out of his shell.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, teen, stylized, interesting
Similar in 76%
The Dream Kids (2013)
Plot Summary:
JB suffers from a heart malformation .He falsifies his medical file ,so that he can enter a top athlete training center.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, humorous, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
The Last Summer (2007)
Plot Summary:
Four good friends, all seventeen-year old, lose their innocence during their last summer together. Flanders 1996. Rik, Tim, Roel and Bart aimlessly wile away the summer days in a small village where nothing exciting ever happens. When Rik becomes fascinated by the mysterious Sandrine, the boy's friendship comes under increasing pressure. Their reckless behaviour lands the boys in a web of intrigue, which they have a hard time escaping from.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 437
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone (2009)
Plot Summary:
Tony Luke, Jr. stars as Joey Nardone, an out-of-shape boxer, who after 8 years in prison for an unfortunate accident leaves prison and gets a shot at redemption by fighting for one young boy's future - 14 year old Jesus.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 486
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 84%
Mom, Dad and Her (2008)
Plot Summary:
Sydney is a troubled teen heading for trouble. After being caught shoplifting and a case of alcohol poisoning, Sydney's desperate single mother sends her off to the country to live with her father, Ben, and his new pregnant wife, Emma. Sydney misses her boyfriend, her city life and doesn't get on with her dad or stepmom. Slowly she starts to settle in as she makes friends with Jess, a local girl whose mother died of cancer. Sydney makes a couple of mistakes but after her grandfather's death the extended family start to heal.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 405
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, atmospheric, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Waterproof (2000)
Plot Summary:
Single mother Tyree Battle struggles to keep her young son Thaniel away from the gang-plagued city streets that he is mixed up in. Under severe gang pressure, Thaniel accidentally shoots Jewish shopkeeper Eli Zeal in a botched robbery attempt. Tyree, protecting her son from the law, kidnaps Eli and flees to her hometown of Waterproof.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, emotional, christian film, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Spin (2003)
Plot Summary:
"Spin" tells the story of a boy who loses his parents in a plane crash, is taken in by his uncle (Tucci), who then leaves him for ten years in the care of his Hispanic ranch hand (Blades) and his wife (Delany). Once in high school, Eddie (Merriman) reconnects with a girl from his past (Garces), and their growing interracial relationship teaches the sometimes-sullen Eddie to think of others before himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 537
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 90%
Just Like the Son (2006)
Plot Summary:
A petty thief's mentoring of an apparent orphan takes a profound turn when he kidnaps the boy from a foster home and drives him cross-country to his sister's house in Texas.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film, serious
Similar in 89%
Two Bits (1995)
Plot Summary:
It's a hot summer day in 1933 in South Philly, where 12-year old Gennaro lives with his widowed mom and his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding tight to his last quarter, which he's promised to Gennaro and which Gennaro would like to have to buy a ticket to the plush new movie theater. But grandpa's not ready to pass on the quarter or pass on to his final reward: he has some unfinished business with a woman from his past, and he enlists Gennaro to act as his emissary.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, independent film, anamorphic, cult classic, serious, realistic, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 89%
Man in the Chair (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of an aspiring young filmmaker's encounter with a grumpy fount of movie lore.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, sincere, cult classic, masterpiece
Similar in 77%
Jess + Moss (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jess, age 18, and Moss, age 12 are second cousins in the dark-fire tobacco fields of rural Western Kentucky. Without immediate families that they can relate to, and lacking friends their own age, they only have each other. Over the course of a summer they venture on a journey exploring deep secrets and hopes of a future while being confronted with fears of isolation, abandonment and an unknown tomorrow.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 980
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, stylized, psychological, captivating, teen, aesthetic, sincere, touching
Similar in 89%
Being 14 (2015)
Plot Summary:
The lives and turbulent adventures of a bunch of fourteen-year-old teenagers, through the eyes of three young girls - Sarah, Jade and Louise - with one last year to go before high school.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, tense, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Palo Alto, CA (2007)
Plot Summary:
On their last night of Thanksgiving break, four old friends, now all college freshmen, realize their small town has more meaning than they ever imagined.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 911
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: humorous, teen sex comedy, captivating, light, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Funeral Kings (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's always a good day for a funeral at St. Mark's Middle School. Andy and Charlie, two altar servers, don't just get to miss class anytime a parishioner kicks the bucket, they cut out early and play hooky as soon as the service is over. Eventually their irreverent personalities will put them in a situation that is too big for them to handle.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 78%
True Adolescents (2009)
Plot Summary:
At 34, struggling Seattle musician Sam finds himself broke, jobless and losing touch with the person he wants to become. When his girlfriend kicks him out, he's forced to crash with his Aunt Sharon and is reluctantly enlisted to take her teen son, Oliver, and his friend Jake camping.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 776
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, mumblecore, indie film, talky, independent film
Similar in 77%
Foreign Letters (2012)
Plot Summary:
A bittersweet coming-of-age film, Foreign Letters is itself a love letter to the unshakeable bond between friends. Set in the pre-email era of the 1980s, young Ellie, newly arrived to the US from Israel, anxiously waits for letters from her best friend back home. Suffering from homesickness, language difficulties and rejection at school, life brightens when she meets Thuy, a Vietnamese refugee her age. As the two bond and become inseparable, they eventually hurt each other, and Ellie must find a way to restore their trust. Based on director Ela Thier's personal immigration experience, Foreign Letters is a film about poverty, prejudice, shame, and the healing power of friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 273
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
As Cool as I Am (2013)
Plot Summary:
A smart teenage girl comes of age in a small town with her self-centered parents who had her when they were teenagers.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic, independent film, vintage
Similar in 86%
Quitters (2015)
Plot Summary:
Quitters tells the story of the Raymans, a wealthy Jewish family that's falling apart. The son, Clark, is a bright and curious high schooler with a talent for manipulation. As his mother May enters treatment for a pill addiction, and he and his father Roger stop getting along, Clark thinks about running away from home. He just needs to decide where to go.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, captivating, independent film
Similar in 88%
Bruno (2000)
Plot Summary:
The story of a unique young boy genius, Bruno, whose expression of his own individuality leads his family and community along an emotional journey.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, inspirational, motivational, independent film, flamboyance
Similar in 81%
Two-Bit Waltz (2014)
Plot Summary:
Suspension from school, the loss of a friend, a broken heart and lack of inspiration lead to Maude's downfall in this romp through teenage error. Your teenage years are never easy… but for Maude, things couldn't be worse. Within one week, she is suspended from school, stranded by her best friend, dumped by the boy she loved and inherits an enormous amount of money with the passing of her grandmother– only to be claimed under one condition: Maude must prove by age 18 that she knows exactly what to do with her life. But with her 18th birthday rapidly approaching, Maude must dive into a world of self-discovery or else lose the inheritance.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sentimental, humorous, realistic, witty, stylized, clever, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 78%
Drunkboat (2010)
Plot Summary:
After twenty years of broken bottles and empty hallways, Mort Gleason witnesses his nephew Moo being beaten while in a drunken stupor. The short contact with family brings Mort back to what are left of his senses and he returns to the last home he remembers in Chicago. His sister Eileen lives in their family home now with her sixteen year old son, Abe. Her older son Moo, the now missing nephew, helped spark Mort's return to his family. Three, four, five weeks pass as Mort waits outside his home and makes a tenuous re-entry into family life. Abe dreams of a sailboat and distant horizons. He saves money and sees an advertisement for the Kathy II. He and his friend calculate a way to buy the vessel from two unscrupulous rogues who make ends meet wholesaling liquor and operating a sometime boatyard.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 703
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, sad
Similar in 85%
Toe to Toe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, sentimental, sexy, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 75%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 80%
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, she runs away to find the truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 632
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, psychological, sincere, captivating
Similar in 90%
Time Stands Still (1982)
Plot Summary:
A Budapest high school in the beginning of the 1960s. Dinis suffers the torments of adolescence. His father had to leave Hungary after the uprise in 1956, and since then Dini's mother has had to take care of her two sons on her own. A friend of Dinis' father, Bodor, is released from prison and moves in with them. Dinis and his brother Bodor are far from happy over this intrusion of their family life.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, emotional, realistic, serious
Similar in 89%
My Suicide (2009)
Plot Summary:
A teen coming-of-age romantic dramedy about a media-obsessed geek and the most beautiful and twisted girl in school.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, independent film, depressing, teen, clever, offbeat