Best movies like Circle of Deceit
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Georg Laschen leaves his family in West Germany to go work as a war correspondent in Beirut during the fights between Christians and Palestinians.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 948
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Best tv shows and movies like Circle of Deceit (1981):
Similar in 86%
In the Shadows of the City (2000)
Plot Summary:
To escape the civil war between Christians and Muslims, a Lebanese family moves from the countryside to Beirut, only to find themselves caught in an equally dangerous situation.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: France, Lebanon
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
A Thousand Times Good Night (2013)
Plot Summary:
On assignment while photographing a female suicide bomber in Kabul, Rebecca – one of the world’s top war photojournalists - gets badly hurt. Back home, another bomb drops as her husband and daughters give her an ultimatum: her work or her family.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Norway, Ireland, Sweden
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, emotional, realistic, serious, visually stunning, crying
Similar in 83%
Antonieta (1982)
Plot Summary:
Anna is a psychologist undertaking research about famous suicidal women. She takes a specific interest in the case of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, who killed herself in 1931 in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 396
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: France, Mexico, Spain
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
The Mark of Cain (2007)
Plot Summary:
After a bomb kills their company commander in Iraq, British soldiers Treacle and Shane are ordered to round up suspects and use torture on the detainees. Back home, the press gets the story and the pair achieves instant infamy.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, realistic
Similar in 84%
Ararat (2002)
Plot Summary:
A variety of characters, some close relatives, others distant strangers, are each affected by the making of a film about the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, thought provoking, realistic, sexy, meta, existential, serious, contemplative, non-linear
Similar in 80%
The Patience Stone (2012)
Plot Summary:
A woman in an unnamed, war-torn Middle Eastern country delivers an engrossing, emotional monologue to her comatose husband, in novelist and filmmaker Atiq Rahimi's poetic and politically charged allegory based on his award-winning novel. (TIFF).
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, Germany, UK, Afghanistan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, disturbing, rough, captivating, realistic, independent film, inspirational, social, sad, islamic
Similar in 89%
Coup de grâce (1976)
Plot Summary:
A countess loves her brother's Prussian-officer friend in the 1919 Baltic area.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, West Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, realistic, bleak, philosophical, depressing, political, sad, art house, black and white
Similar in 77%
The Damned (1969)
Plot Summary:
In the early days of Nazi Germany, a powerful noble family must adjust to life under the new dictatorship regime. The transition from democracy to dictatorship is thus dramatized through the lives of the family which also owns a powerful German industrial firm. Through such characters as a German Baron, a child molester, a Nazi Storm Trooper, an innocent man framed for murder, and a Captain in the German SS, "Damned" thus shows how so called "German Upper Class Nobility" first resented Adolf Hitler, then accepted him, and at last embraced him.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, West Germany
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: disturbing, controversial, erotic, retro, political, sad, art house, neorealism, dread, insightful
Similar in 85%
The Road to Guantanamo (2006)
Plot Summary:
Part drama, part documentary, The Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, realistic, intense, serious, suspenseful, tense, sincere, political, road movie
Similar in 79%
Killer Kid (1994)
Plot Summary:
Eleven-year-old Laïd lives in war-torn Lebanon. Chosen and trained by an extremist organisation, he has been forced to enter the adult world far too early. He has been transformed into a fanatical and programmed machine, whose life could be summed up in the words "kill without hesitation".Because of his intellect and his commitment to the holy war he is handpicked for a deadly assignment in Paris. But in order to get access to the target he has to learn how to merge in, to become an ordinary eleven-year-old. Karim becomes his role model. Karim is the same age as Laïd and grew up in one of the Paris suburbs. He is carefree and "hip" and becomes the perfect teacher in a world of skateboards, rap music and video games.Despite the cultural differences, despite the fact that one of them is an indoctrinated machine and the other one a perfectly ordinary carefree boy, a friendship begins to grow between the two.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, disturbing, crying
Similar in 75%
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1920s Ireland young doctor Damien O'Donovan prepares to depart for a new job in a London hospital. As he says his goodbyes at a friend's farm, British Black and Tans arrive, and a young man is killed. Damien joins his brother Teddy in the Irish Republican Army, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, bleak, brutal, factual, bloody, captivating, dramatic, period piece, realistic, sexy
Similar in 84%
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 78%
Eleni (1985)
Plot Summary:
Nick is a writer in New York when he gets posted to a bureau in Greece. He has waited 30 years for this. He wants to know why his mother was killed in the civil war years earlier. In a parallel plot line we see Nick as a young boy and his family as they struggle to survive in the occupied Greek hillside. The plot lines converge as Nick's investigations bring him closer to the answers.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: political, independent film, psychological, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 89%
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Plot Summary:
Tracing the struggle of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale to gain freedom from French colonial rule as seen through the eyes of Ali from his start as a petty thief to his rise to prominence in the organisation and capture by the French in 1957. The film traces the rebels' struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government to quell the revolt.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, Algeria
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: political, black and white, art house, bleak, realistic, disturbing, philosophical, sad, sincere, touching
Similar in 86%
Salon Kitty (1976)
Plot Summary:
Kitty runs a brothel in Nazi Germany where the soldiers come to "relax". Recording devices have been installed in each room by a power hungry army official who plans to use the information to blackmail Hitler and gain power himself. A girl named Margherita discovers the little ploy and with Kitty's help plans to take on the dangerous task of exposing the conspiracy.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: erotic, disturbing, sexy, controversial, intense, psychotronic, grindhouse, sensual, creepy, devastating
Similar in 86%
David (1979)
Plot Summary:
Although members of the Hitler Youth chant anti-Semitic paroles in front of his house during the Purim festival, Rabbi Singer is still profoundly convinced that Germany will stay a safe country for him, his family, and his fellow believers. But several years later, his son David is banned from going to school because he is a Jew. Shortly after, Rabbi Singer and his wife are deported. Now, young David also fears for his life. In constant fear of being detected, he tries to find a way to leave Germany.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Under Fire (1983)
Plot Summary:
Three U.S. journalists (Nick Nolte, Joanna Cassidy, Gene Hackman) get too close to one another and their work in 1979 Nicaragua.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, political, atmospheric, serious, emotional, suspenseful, political thriller, cult classic, independent film
Similar in 85%
Harrison's Flowers (2000)
Plot Summary:
Harrison Lloyd is a Pulitzer-winning photojournalist. His wife and family are making it hard for him to keep his mind on his work when he's in a war zone, and he wants to change jobs to something less stressful. But he's got one last assignment, in war-torn Yugoslavia, in 1991, at the height of the fighting. Word comes back that he apparently died in a building collapse, but his wife Sarah (also a journalist for Newsweek) refuses to believe that he's dead and goes looking for him. She's helped immensely by the photo-journalists Eric Kyle and Marc Stevenson that she runs into over there; together, they're determined to make it through the chaotic landscape to Vukovar, which is not only the nexus of the war but where she believes Harrison is located. Meanwhile, Harrison's son Cesar is looking after his father's prized greenhouse, keeping hope, and flowers, alive.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: France
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: disturbing, suspense, bleak, realistic, political, art house, brutal, serious, gloomy, crying
Similar in 82%
A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
Plot Summary:
Something in his past keeps career Army man John Paul Vann from advancing past colonel. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he comes to despise some South Vietnamese officers while he takes charge of some of the U.S. forces and continues his liaisons with Vietnamese women.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 83%
Cross of Iron (1977)
Plot Summary:
It is 1943, and the German army, ravaged and demoralised, are hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of all this madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich are still vastly superior to the Russian army; however within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors. Steiner's lack of respect results in a growing animosity between the two.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, West Germany
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: political, brutal, cult classic, tense, bleak, realistic, independent film, philosophical, mind bending, psychedelic
Similar in 90%
Talk of Angels (1998)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of a young Irish woman who comes to Spain to escape from the pressures she feels about her impending marriage to a political activist in Ireland. But in Spain in the 1930's, taking a job of governess in a wealthy family, she finds the same kinds of political unrest. In fact, it isn't long before she finds herself attracted to a married man who is similarly involved in the struggle against fascism and Franco. This awakens her to her nature that brings her to such men and resolves for her what she must do about the life she left in Ireland.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 893
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sentimental, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 90%
Red Cherry (1995)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, this horrifying tale follows two orphaned friends as they struggle to survive during World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 745
Genere: Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, mesmerizing, saga, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Incendies (2010)
Plot Summary:
A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 192000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, heartbreaking, bleak, emotional, thought provoking, visually appealing, suspense, sad, rough
Similar in 90%
The Tin Drum (1979)
Plot Summary:
Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: surreal, disturbing, controversial, art house, harsh, talky, realistic, clever, epic, serious
Similar in 77%
The Truce (1997)
Plot Summary:
Although liberated from Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, Levi did not reach Turin until October 19 of that year. After spending some time in a Soviet camp for former concentration camp inmates, he embarked on an arduous journey home in the company of Italian former prisoners of war from the Italian Army in Russia. His long railway journey home to Turin took him on a circuitous route from Poland, through Russia, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: sincere, historical drama, uplifting, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
A Private War (2018)
Plot Summary:
One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, disturbing, rough, suspense, psychological, bloody, political, grim, cult classic, powerful
Similar in 78%
City of Life and Death (2009)
Plot Summary:
City of Life and Death takes place in 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army has just captured the then-capital of the Republic of China, Nanjing. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a period of several weeks wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, bleak, black and white, tense, captivating, depressing, breathtaking, political, dark
Similar in 84%
Downfall (2004)
Plot Summary:
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 370000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, Austria, Italy
Duration: 156 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, dramatic, disturbing, harsh, realistic, suspense, political, atmospheric, thought provoking
Similar in 78%
The Quiet American (2002)
Plot Summary:
A stylish political thriller where love and war collide in Southeast Asia. Set in early 1950s Vietnam, a young American becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle when he falls for the beautiful mistress of a British journalist. As war is waged around them, these three only sink deeper into a world of drugs, passion, and betrayal where nothing is as it seems.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Germany, USA, Vietnam, Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: realistic, political, atmospheric, talky, intense, thought provoking, serious, period piece, political thriller, sincere
Similar in 80%
In Darkness (2011)
Plot Summary:
A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov. In Darkness tells the true story of Leopold Soha who risks his own life to save a dozen people from certain death. Initially only interested in his own good, the thief and burglar hides Jewish refugees for 14 months in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied town of Lvov (former Poland).
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland, Germany, Canada
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: harsh, disturbing, sincere, uplifting, social, educational, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful