Best movies like Dreamland
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young woman who lives in a desert trailer park must choose between caring for her hapless father and sick friend or fulfilling her own destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Dreamland (2006):
Similar in 77%
Promised Land (1987)
Plot Summary:
Three recent high school grads - star athlete Hancock, his cheerleader girlfriend, Mary, and the awkward Senator - aim to leave their small town behind and realize big dreams, but their idealistic plans collide with life's harsh realities.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Adam at Six A.M. (1970)
Plot Summary:
A disenchanted young Professor of Semantics at a California college learns of a distant relative's death in Missouri. He journeys cross-country to the funeral, then decides to spend the summer there and work as a laborer for a power-line company. In time, he meets a girl and falls in love but then faces an important decision as to which direction he wants his life to go.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 417
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, biting, suspense, cult film
Similar in 80%
Midnight Clear (2006)
Plot Summary:
On Christmas Eve in the Arizona desert, a middle-aged man (Stephen Baldwin) and an old woman (K Callan) contemplate suicide. But through chance run-ins with strangers and perhaps some divine intervention, they cross paths and change each other's life forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 852
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, suspenseful, christian film, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Hope (2014)
Plot Summary:
On his clandestine journey from Cameroon to Europe through the Sahara desert, Léonard meets Hope, a Nigerian girl who's following the same dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 187
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Morocco
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 85%
The Citizen (2012)
Plot Summary:
Yearning to leave behind his life of misfortune in the Middle East, Ibrahim Jarrah wins the U.S. Green Card Lottery for a chance to become an American citizen. Ibrahim lands in New York City the day before 9/11…and the events of the September terrorist attacks forever shape the struggles he faces on his journey to capture the American dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, uplifting, independent film
Similar in 90%
Skateland (2010)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1980s, in small-town Texas, dramatic events force a 19-year-old skating rink manager to look at his life in a very new way.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sincere, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
The World Made Straight (2015)
Plot Summary:
In a rural Appalachian community haunted by the legacy of a Civil War massacre, a rebellious young man struggles to escape the violence that would bind him to the past.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, tense, neo noir, suspenseful, independent film, psychotronic
Similar in 88%
The Off Hours (2011)
Plot Summary:
You're awake when everyone else is asleep. You're standing still as traffic is whipping by at 70mph. You see dusk and dawn everyday because they happen on your way to a time clock and then to a bed. Your off hours are spent trying to figure out why you're here, whether you want to stay, and how to leave.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 464
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, realistic, serious, mumblecore, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 84%
Mamitas (2011)
Plot Summary:
A teenager in Echo Park deals with the loss of his mother and his attraction to a girl not considered "cool" by his friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 488
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, captivating, psychological, light, independent film, serious
Similar in 81%
Refuge (2017)
Plot Summary:
The lives of a Hollywood actress battling drug addiction, a teen with a violent past, a teacher fighting to keep a dream alive, and a cop caught in a love triangle are brought together by fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 30
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, touching, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Anne B. Real (2003)
Plot Summary:
ANNE B. REAL is the coming of age story of a young female rapper, who finds her inspiration by reading the Diary of Anne Frank.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 79%
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 90%
Anita B. (2014)
Plot Summary:
After World War II, Anita, a young survivor of Auschwitz, becomes involved in an intense and passionate affair that almost shatters her until she gains the strength to start a new life.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 356
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, sentimental, captivating, uplifting, touching, serious, gloomy
Similar in 76%
How I Got Lost (2009)
Plot Summary:
HOW I GOT LOST is the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of Andrew and Jake, two friends dealing with loss amidst events bigger than them. Andrew is the friend we all have, the one who convinces you to come along despite your better judgment. Talented but with seemingly nothing to lose, his tailspin is balanced only by his professional drive to succeed as a trader on Wall Street. His best friend Jake, broken-hearted and writing sports instead of fiction, does his best to clean up the mess his friend creates until he runs into his capricious ex, Sarah again. So Andrew convinces him to ditch New York and hit the road, going nowhere. They commandeer a cab to Philadelphia, where they borrow Andrews moms station wagon. But when their car runs out of gas in the middle of Pennsylvania, Andrew reveals the real reason for the trip -- his father has died, and he doesn't think he can make it through the funeral alone.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 77%
A Beautiful Soul (2012)
Plot Summary:
An R&B singer snagged by the trappings of superstardom loses his way and turns his back on his church and faith-filled beginnings. Tragedy strikes, leaving a chance for redemption in its wake. But with rebirth, first comes death.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 126
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, captivating, sincere, serious
Similar in 89%
Lost Angels (1989)
Plot Summary:
Rich L.A. party brat Tim (Adam Horovitz) spins into a cycle of despair after his parents divorce, and trying to fill the void with drugs and trouble only buys him a ticket to an asylum. But with the help of a psychiatrist (Donald Sutherland) who has taken an interest in him, will Tim try to pull himself out of the muck of teenage rebellion and ennui?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, thought provoking, suspenseful, independent film, rough, captivating, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 80%
Crossroads (2006)
Plot Summary:
The life of a young Jesuit seminarian is turned upside down when he falls in love with a young woman while working as a volunteer at a soup kitchen.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, sexual
Similar in 81%
A Touch of Fate (2003)
Plot Summary:
One night in a small town in North Carolina, fate brings together three lives: an entertainment lawyer returning home to his dying mother after years in escape of his past, a woman trying to reclaim her supposed love, and a boy with a penchant for the sixth sense who struggles with the death of his father and overbearing love of his single mother. When the past and future suddenly bind these people together on a journey of need, forgiveness and discovery, they realize they've gained something when they least expected it.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 90%
Hope for Love (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young woman is faced with a tough decision to stay with her husband and father of her son who is cheating on her. She takes a vacation where she runs into an old flame and begins to rekindle their chemistry. Torn between the two, she intends to make a decision best for her son.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 65
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, realistic, captivating, serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
Love Is the Drug (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jonah Brand (John Patrick Amedori) isn't necessarily the type of guy who would interest ultra-hot Sara Weller (Lizzy Caplan). But when she and her friends find out he works at a pharmacy, they charm him into their circle and gain his trust with manipulative fawning. Jonah knows he's playing with danger, but it's tough to resist the game. Daryl Hannah and D.J. Cotrona co-star in this grizzly tale of addiction and obsession.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 794
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, independent film, suspense, suspenseful, dark, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
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 77%
3 Nights in the Desert (2014)
Plot Summary:
Three former band mates enter a cave after hearing it has the power to give them what they need. As unsettling desires rise to the surface, they all wonder if the cave has real power.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, talky, serious, realistic, minimal cast, independent film
Similar in 85%
Steam (2007)
Plot Summary:
Three women — a young coed, a forty-something single mother, and one a senior-aged widow — meet in the sauna of the local gym, where they gradually get to know one another and bond over their respective trials and tribulations.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 213
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, talky, erotic, realistic, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 89%
A Cool, Dry Place (1998)
Plot Summary:
A single father balances his work as an attorney with the care of his five year old son and his work as a high school basketball coach in rural Kansas, where he moved after his wife abandoned him in Chicago. Just as he starts to develop a new relationship with a veterinarian's assistant, his ex-wife suddenly reappears and wants to re-assert herself in her husband and son's life. On top of the romantic conflict, he is also suddenly presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to join a major firm in Dallas.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, realistic, tense, light, feel good, unusual plot structure, sweet, emotional
Similar in 84%
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%
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 82%
Home Again (2012)
Plot Summary:
Returning to a "home" they hardly know after being deported from their adopted countries for minor criminal offenses, three people from very different backgrounds try to make a new life for themselves, in Jamaica in this gutsy drama from writer-director Sudz Sutherland. (TIFF).
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 428
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 87%
Lebanon, Pa. (2010)
Plot Summary:
Will, a charming 35-year-old Philadelphia ad man, heads to Lebanon, Pa. to bury his recently deceased father. He forms an unexpected friendship with CJ, his bright, newly pregnant 17-year-old cousin. As Will becomes interested in CJ's married teacher and CJ confronts her conflicted father, both struggle with formidable decisions about the path their lives will take. Can we vault our differences and meet in the middle? This bittersweet comic drama tenderly explores the cultural divide in America through the lives of one extended family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 584
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, sincere, clever, touching, serious, independent film
Similar in 89%
Automatic (2005)
Plot Summary:
Everyone falls into self destructive habits. Automatic lets us view a small cross-section of the lives of six characters as they struggle to break free from the automatic behavior that drives their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, independent film, crying
Similar in 89%
Hide Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
A successful businessman attempting to resurrect his life buys and boards a dilapidated sailboat.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, emotional, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, independent film