Best movies like East Is East
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In 1971 Salford fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways. But his children, with an English mother and having been born and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and start to reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion, and living in general.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: hilarious, humorous, witty, realistic, sentimental, touching, feel good, semi serious, independent film, funny
Best tv shows and movies like East Is East (1999):
Similar in 76%
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
Plot Summary:
Matt and Christina Drayton are a couple whose attitudes are challenged when their daughter brings home a fiancé who is black.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, touching, intense, compassionate, sincere, semi serious, black and white, clever, realistic
Similar in 75%
Gone Too Far! (2013)
Plot Summary:
GONE TOO FAR follows two estranged teenage brothers over the course of a single day as they meet for the first time, and struggle to accept each other for who they are. Yemi can't wait for his big brother to join him on the estate in Peckham - but when Ikudayisi arrives from Nigeria wearing socks and sandals Yemi questions both his judgement and his African heritage. A day on the estate filled with danger and excitement teaches both of them the values of family and self respect.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 422
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Nigeria
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, humorous, semi serious, captivating, psychological, sentimental, touching, realistic
Similar in 81%
Meantime (1983)
Plot Summary:
A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: mysterious, surreal, independent film, cult classic, touching, humorous, realistic, gloomy, semi serious, crying
Similar in 88%
The Infidel (2010)
Plot Summary:
Based in a London suburb Mahmud Nasir lives with his wife, Saamiya, and two children, Rashid and Nabi. His son plans to marry Uzma, the step-daughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric' from Waziristan, Pakistan. Mahmud, who is not exactly a devout Muslim, he drinks alcohol, and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place. Shortly thereafter Mahmud, while going over his recently deceased mother's documents, will find out that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, light, captivating, surreal, realistic, witty, talky, biting, suspense
Similar in 83%
Crossing Borders (2006)
Plot Summary:
Spain 1960, the dawn of the country's economic development. Industrial "reorganization" means that many workers have lost their jobs and are forced to emigrate. Martin is one of them. Martin, his wife Pilar and their son Pablito live with Martin's parents in a basement apartment that comes with their job as superintendents of the building. Encouraged by Marcos, his friend and co-worker, Martin decides to emigrate to Switzerland. The whole family has to admit that for the time being this is the most promising plan. Unable to obtain a work contract from the Swiss Consulate, Martin and Marcos decide to go anyway, pretending they are tourists to get past the border police. Pablito will experience drastic changes in a short period of time: his father's departure, a new way of life in a different country with a different environment and learning another language. But afterwards, in Switzerland, they will face new experiences which will allow them to live with renewed happiness.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, humorous, feel good, intercultural
Similar in 75%
Times Have Been Better (2006)
Plot Summary:
After moving in with his beau, 30ish banker Jérémy (Arnaud Binard) decides to let the cat out of the bag, telling his unsuspecting parents, Guy (Bernard Le Coq) and Rosine (Charlotte de Turckheim), that he's gay. Though they've always envisioned themselves as enlightened, the news staggers Guy and Rosine -- who are determined to get to the root of Jérémy's homosexuality. Olivier Guéritée also stars in this delicious French farce.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 566
Genere: Comedy
Country: France
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, semi serious, humorous, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 87%
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 81%
Brooklyn Lobster (2005)
Plot Summary:
Giorgio's Lobster Farm has been a tradition in Brooklyn for over 65 years. Manned by an eccentric crew and serving the best seafood in the state.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 489
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, atmospheric, captivating, sentimental, sincere, touching, realistic, semi serious, semi autobiographical
Similar in 90%
Go for Zucker (2004)
Plot Summary:
Germany director Dani Levy filmed this comedy about Jewish life in today’s Germany along side the familiar east-west conflict. With it great success this film is a joyful comedy of humor and knowledge.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, witty, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Rolling Family (2004)
Plot Summary:
A wedding invite from an estranged sibiling inspires a grandmother to assemble her family and embark on a roadtrip in a broken down caravan.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: road movie, touching, semi serious, feel good, humorous, realistic, offbeat
Similar in 86%
Cemetery Junction (2010)
Plot Summary:
In 1970s England, three blue-collar friends spend their days joking, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce and lovable loser Snork are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a new job as a door-to-door salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie, the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives for ever.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: witty, inspirational, stylized, funny, humorous, talky, semi serious, melancholic, atmospheric, clever
Similar in 90%
The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008)
Plot Summary:
A commitment-phobic man reunites with his estranged, ailing father and comes to terms with his own childhood.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 85%
My Son the Fanatic (1997)
Plot Summary:
Pakistani taxi-driver Parvez and prostitute Bettina find themselves trapped in the middle when Islamic fundamentalists decide to clean up their local town.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: talky, multicultural, independent film, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, light, thought provoking, enigmatic
Similar in 75%
Manhood (2003)
Plot Summary:
A black comedy about a reformed womanizer who struggles to keep his family together.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 293
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Soft Fruit (1999)
Plot Summary:
For the first time in 15 years, all four siblings in a family show up to care for their dying mother, who is only given a couple of weeks to live. One comes from America with her two children. A divorced sister also comes with her child and sneaks off regularly to meet a mystery man who may be her ex-husband. The third & youngest daughter is an unmarried nurse aware of her ticking biological clock. The only son chases after his grumpy father who seems to not care a whit about his wife's circumstances. The four are also faced my their mother's dreams to accomplish a few things before she dies - to visit a beach she had visited in the past, to see her youngest married, and to visit Paris. She also wants to be embalmed and be honored with a 21 gun salute. Thus the whole group has to set off in the quest to fulfill their mother's wishes.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 566
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, independent film, black comedy, sentimental, touching, offbeat, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy, erotic
Similar in 81%
White Teeth (2002)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of Zadie Smith's bestseller concerning the lives of two families from as far back as the 1800s and India to late 1990s Willesden.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 770
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, multicultural
Similar in 83%
Strange Relations (2001)
Plot Summary:
Drama - A NYC psychiatrist is diagnosed with leukemia - and when he finds out he was adopted, he travels to England in search of his birth mother and some answers. - Paul Reiser, Amber Sealey, Lachele Carl.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 807
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, emotional, semi serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 88%
High Hopes (1988)
Plot Summary:
Slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London, Shirley and Cyril, his mother, who's aging quickly and becoming forgetful, mum's ghastly upper-middle-class neighbors, and Cyril's pretentious sister and philandering husband. Shirley wants a baby, but Cyril, who reads Marx and wants the world to be perfect, is reluctant. Cyril's mum locks herself out and must ask her snooty neighbors for help. Then Cyril's sister Valerie stages a surprise party for mum's 70th birthday, a disaster from start to finish. Shirley holds things together, and she and Cyril may put aside her Dutch cap after all.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, retro, black comedy, cult classic, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious
Similar in 88%
All in Good Time (2012)
Plot Summary:
East is East writer Ayub Khan-Din returns with another funny, tender-hearted portrait of family strife. Based on his popular play Rafta, Rafta (itself inspired by Bill Naughtons 1960s classic All in Good Time), the film is set in Bolton where Atul and Vina are celebrating their marriage. However, a honeymoon spent with his parents was not part of their plans. Thoughtless patriarch Eeshwar seems determined to emasculate and embarrass his son. As the weeks pass, consummating their union becomes an impossibility that threatens the couples entire future. A breezy mixture of heartbreak and hilarity, All in Good Time also offers peerless performances from original stage stars Harish Patel and Meera Syal.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, touching, feel good, captivating, light, multicultural, sentimental, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Plot Summary:
A British-Pakistani man renovates a rundown laundrette with his male lover while dealing with drama within his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, sexy, romantic, cult classic, lgbt cinema, art house, eros, sincere, clever, touching
Similar in 77%
Kryptonite! (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1970s Naples, bullied nine year-old Peppino is watching the world around him as his extended dysfunctional family change. Psychedelic flower power and hippie love is threatening the old traditional southern Italian family. Dad is having an affair and Mom has taken to her bed with depression. Super-mod brother and sister Titina and Salvatore take the boy under their wings, introducing him to demonstrations and love-ins, whilst caped superhero Gennaro visits Peppino even after being knocked down and killed by the number 12 bus. It is the imaginary appearances of this older superman cousin that help the nine-year-old navigate the complicated adult world.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 695
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Full Monty (1997)
Plot Summary:
Sheffield, England. Gaz, a jobless steelworker in need of quick cash persuades his mates to bare it all in a one-night-only strip show.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Italy, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: feel good, funny, humorous, black comedy, hilarious, light, touching, realistic, witty, social
Similar in 78%
West Is West (2010)
Plot Summary:
Comedy sequel to "East is East". Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan (Mrs Khan No2) with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly follows to sort out the mess, past and present.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, witty, sentimental, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Anita & Me (2002)
Plot Summary:
Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of Indian parents who've come to England to give her a better life. This idyllic existence is upset by the arrival in the village of Anita Rutter and her dysfunctional family.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Secrets & Lies (1996)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged London factory worker is shocked when the mixed-race daughter she gave up at birth decides to track her down. At first she denies she is her mother. All family members become emotional, as everyone's secrets are exposed.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: emotional, independent film, touching, realistic, dark comedy, sincere, spiritual, social, art house, comedy drama
Similar in 89%
Life Is Sweet (1990)
Plot Summary:
Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, leads aerobics at a primary school, jokes like a vaudevillian, agrees to waitress at a friend's new restaurant and dotes on Andy, a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, and with a drunken friend, buys a broken down lunch wagon. Natalie, with short neat hair and a snappy, droll manner, is a plumber; she has a holiday planned in America, but little else. Last is Nicola, odd man out: a snarl, big glasses, cigarette, mussed hair, jittery fingers, bulimic, jobless, and unhappy. How they interact and play out family conflict and love is the film's subject.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sentimental, independent film, compassionate, funny, sweet, melancholic, humorous, sincere, realistic, talky
Similar in 79%
The Best Things in the World (2010)
Plot Summary:
Everyday family life as perfectly normal madness. “As Melhores Coisas do Mundo“ follows a few days in the life of the 15-year-old Mano, who is fighting on two fronts: his parents have just got divorced and he is going through puberty. Mano tries to make his way through life, with its first sexual experiences, his depressed brother and his self-centered parents. It’s a humorous homage to the pitfalls of daily life and the diversity of life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, captivating, spectacular, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
The Sum of Us (1994)
Plot Summary:
"The Sum of Us" is an Aussie story about a father and a son both searching for love and sharing an unconventional bond. Harry, the father, is the caring and open-minded "mate" that borders on annoyance. His son Jeff unsuccessfully searches for love, with the unwanted guidance of his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, melancholic, sentimental, emotional, independent film, lgbt cinema, cult classic, humorous, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Debut (2000)
Plot Summary:
Filipino-American high school student Ben (Dante Mercado) works in a comic book shop to earn money to pay his way into Cal Arts. His father, a postman, is determined that his son--who has won a pre-med scholarship to UCLA--will become a doctor. The eighteenth birthday party of Ben's sister, Rose, sets off a comedic and touching series of events and family struggles that will in turn determine young Ben's future. This fresh independent production from Gene Cajayon presents a lighthearted and warm coming-of-age tale filtered through the eyes of an American subculture rarely seen on film.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching, realistic, witty, independent film
Similar in 76%
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Plot Summary:
A story centered around an Indian family who moves to France and opens a restaurant across the street from a Michelin-starred French restaurant.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: India, United Arab Emirates, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: feel good, inspirational, sentimental, touching, sweet, culinary, humorous, serious, realistic, semi serious