Best movies like Family Prayers
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
This coming of age story set in the 1960s takes a look at the effects of a couple's break-up on a sensitive, thirteen year old Jewish boy in the 1960s.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 184
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: crying, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like Family Prayers (1993):
Similar in 83%
80 Steps to Jonah (1969)
Plot Summary:
Wayne Newton stars as an accused thug hiding out at a camp for blind children.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 225
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Lifeguard (1976)
Plot Summary:
Rick is a Los Angeles County lifeguard who is in his thirties. At his 15-year high school reunion, he sees his old girlfriend who is now a divorced mother. After falling in love with her, Rick considers changing his career and lifestyle.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Where It's At (1969)
Plot Summary:
A "Sixties Generation" comedy about an offbeat father-son relationship. Dad runs a Las Vegas hotel-casino and his son is a college student with a different set of moral and ethical standards. When they meet in Vegas, they immediately clash in their efforts to understand one another.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 218
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, offbeat, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 83%
Hail, Hero! (1969)
Plot Summary:
Hail, Hero! stars Michael Douglas in his screen debut as long-haired college student Carl Dixon. Reversing the usual procedure in late-1960s films, Dixon decides to quit school and enlist in the Army, even though he's already run afoul of the law as a Vietnam protestor. It is our hero's intention to use love, rather than bullets, to combat the Viet Cong. Needless to say, his idealism is no match for the harsher realities of war, but this doesn't stop him from endlessly spouting the sort of agit-prop rhetoric so beloved of filmmakers of the era. In addition to Michael Douglas, co-star Peter Strauss likewise makes his first film appearance in Hail, Hero! Dated in the extreme, the film is saved by the musical score by Gordon Lightfoot.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 233
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, cult film
Similar in 77%
An Unexpected Life (1998)
Plot Summary:
Sequel to "An Unexpected Family.".
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 207
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
A Dream of Kings (1969)
Plot Summary:
A powerful and touching drama set in Chicago's vibrant Greek-American community, A Dream of Kings benefits from the regal talent of Anthony Quinn in a role he was born to play: Matsoukos, a proud, earthy optimist, very much like his unforgettable stage and screen Zorba. Determined to take his ailing son with him to Greece, Matsukos would move all creation to secure the travel money, even risk the hard-earned respect and love he's won as a community counselor.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 548
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1991)
Plot Summary:
While newspaper writer Church struggles with the death of his wife, he receives a "special" assignment. He must answer a little girl's question about whether Santa Claus really exists.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 946
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
Blessing (1994)
Plot Summary:
Set on a Wisconsin dairy farm, Randi, the daughter, is trying to find a way to escape the farm, but her devotion to her family especially Clovis her younger brother is preventing her from doing that; until, that is, she met the local milk truck driver.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 53
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 77%
Maria My Love (2011)
Plot Summary:
Ana (Judy Marte) is a young woman trying to reimagine her life after her mother’s death during the course of one California spring. Filled with resentment over her father’s mistakes, Ana feels disconnected from herself and everyone around her. Swept up by new romance (Brian Rieger) and a warm reunion with her half-sister (Lauren Fales), Ana is so taken by the newfound support and love in her life that she sets out to find someone—anyone other than herself—to help. She finds a volunteer project in Maria (Karen Black), a reclusive hoarder who has alienated her own family with her compulsive behavior. As the two become unlikely friends and confidantes, Ana finds herself in an emotionally complex relationship that reveals some uncomfortable truths about herself.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 92
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, emotional, crying
Similar in 85%
The Fabelmans (2022)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, India
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: semi autobiographical, dramatic, inspirational, uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, reflective, meta, informative
Similar in 75%
Lies My Father Told Me (1975)
Plot Summary:
A Jewish boy grows up in 1920s Montreal with a grandfather who tells stories and a father who won't work.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 573
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 85%
No Place Like Home (1989)
Plot Summary:
A Pittsburgh apartment superintendent loses his job and home when the apartment building where he lives and works at is suddenly destroyed by fire. Daniel and his family moves in with his brother but that doesn't last for long due to the two families not getting along with each other. The family moves from rundown hotels to homeless shelters as Daniel searches work as a electrician while his wife takes waitress jobs to try to make ends meet.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 439
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, tv series pilot
Similar in 82%
A Call to Remember (1997)
Plot Summary:
Paula Tobias, a Holocaust survivor who has suffered the ultimate personal tragedy of losing her spouse and children during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Now re-married and living in America during the late 1960's with husband David, they build a new life together with sons Ben and Jake. One evening, Paula receives a phone call which assures her that her son, Alec, is actually alive and in New York. This brings up painful memories from the past for everyone involved, including Ben and Jake, who force their father to talk about the Holocaust. Paula rushes to New York only to find that it was a mistake - Alec was never found. She falls into a dramatic depression, as the family confronts their fears and tries to stay together.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
The Baby Maker (1970)
Plot Summary:
Tish Gray had a baby and gave it up for adoption. She is contacted by a second childless couple who want her to have the husband's baby because of the wife's inability to have children. She accepts but finds that knowing the parents, and developing a relationship with them for the entire pregnancy complicates the simple arrangement.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 341
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, tension, suspense
Similar in 81%
The War at Home (1996)
Plot Summary:
Jeremy Collier is a Vietnam veteran who has returned home and is struggling to cope with the war experiences that haunt him. He is also at odds with his family, who cannot begin to understand what he has been through. Jeremy's battles with his family finally spiral out of control on Thanksgiving Day, when a bitter secret is revealed.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: anamorphic, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Dad's Home (2010)
Plot Summary:
Ben Westman is a widowed father who has to take care of his two young children, Lindsay of twelve, and little Dylan of eight. Things get complicated when he is fired. Now, all three must remain together and try to overcome the situation in which they live.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 273
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 82%
Going for Broke (2003)
Plot Summary:
With the innocent dropping of a few coins into a video poker machine, Laura Bancroft's world is about to change forever. Inspired by true events, Going for Broke is the compelling, hard-hitting story of one woman's overwhelming addiction to gambling.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 443
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, captivating, sad
Similar in 90%
Digging to China (1997)
Plot Summary:
Harriet, a ten-year old girl, lives together with her big sister and her alcoholic mother out in the countryside. The family runs a motel. Harriet is different from the others, as she owns a great creativity and has nobody to play with. Her infinite world exists only in her mind. One day, Ricky comes along. He is a grown-up, but retarded son of an elderly lady. Soon, Harriet and Ricky share their experiences of life from a different point of view and become close friends. But his mother still plans to give Ricky away into professional care in a home, because she won't live forever to be there for him.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, intellectual, crying, independent film, sentimental, feel good, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 78%
After This Our Exile (2006)
Plot Summary:
After his mother flees the family home, a son turns to thieving in order to support his father, an abusive sort who is addicted to gambling.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 908
Genere: Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, erotic
Similar in 85%
Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1989)
Plot Summary:
Rocklin Colorado, 1925. A hard cold winter. Young Arturo Bandini loves his father Svevo, his mother Maria and his brothers. Even though his bricklayer father wastes the little money he has in the Imperial Poolhall and his time with the rich American widow, Hildegarde. Even though his beautiful and pious mother lets his father get away with that, even if his little brother wets the bed. Arturo loves them all. He also loves to play baseball, even though he has to wait until spring. And he also loves the movies ... and Rosa. But she doesn't love him.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 710
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Italy, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 83%
Refuge (2012)
Plot Summary:
After their parents abandon the family, a young woman works to take care of her younger siblings.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 592
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film
Similar in 86%
The Great Santini (1979)
Plot Summary:
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, serious, captivating, independent film, touching, feel good, unusual plot structure, heartbreaking, dramatic
Similar in 76%
Lullaby (2014)
Plot Summary:
Estranged from his family, Jonathan (Hedlund) discovers his father has decided to take himself off life support in forty-eight hours’ time. During this intensely condensed period, a lifetime of drama plays out. Robert (Jenkins) fights a zero sum game to reclaim all that his illness stole from his family. A debate rages on patients’ rights and what it truly means to be free. Jonathan reconciles with his father, reconnects with his mother (Archer), sister (Brown-Findlay), and his love (Adams) and reclaims his voice through two unlikely catalysts – a young, wise-beyond-her-years patient (Barden) and a no-nonsense nurse (Hudson). Through this intensely life affirming prism, an unexpected and powerful journey of love, laughter, and forgiveness unfolds.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, realistic, sad
Similar in 75%
The Dynamiter (2011)
Plot Summary:
All fourteen-year-old Robbie Hendrick ever wanted was a family. Yet as another Mississippi summer begins, his wayward mother has run off again fearing a breakdown and he's left to burn the days caring for his half brother, Fess. As the deep days and nights pass without her return and with older brother Lucas dangerously in their lives again, Robbie must face the fact that his dream of a family may only be a dream and he might just lose the only family he's ever had: Fess.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 609
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, sentimental, sincere, feel good, gothic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 82%
My Family (1995)
Plot Summary:
Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930's. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the 50's. As the second generation become adults in the 60's, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: touching, thought provoking, sad, independent film, serious, captivating, realistic, hispanic, hood, sentimental
Similar in 75%
Radio Flyer (1992)
Plot Summary:
A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sentimental, serious, realistic, sad, suspense, scary, depressing, epic
Similar in 82%
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Matthew Clark is the head of a state institution for mentally retarded children. Jean Hansen, a former music teacher anxious to give her life some meaning, joins the staff of the hospital. Jean, who tries to shelter the children with her love, suspiciously regards Clark's stern training methods. She becomes emotionally involved with 12-year-old Reuben Widdicombe, who has been abandoned by his divorced parents.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, intellectual, social, sad, sentimental
Similar in 89%
Walkout (2006)
Plot Summary:
Walkout is the true story of a young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro. He mentors a group of students in East Los Angeles, when the students decide to stage a peaceful walkout to protest the injustices of the public school system. Set against the background of the civil rights movement of 1968, it is a story of courage and the fight for justice and empowerment.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating, political, informative, thought provoking, freeze frame
Similar in 89%
An American Rhapsody (2001)
Plot Summary:
A Hungarian family forced to flee the Communist country for the United States, must leave a young daughter behind. Six years later the family arranges to bring the absent daughter to the United States where she has trouble adjusting. The daughter then decides to travel to Budapest to discover her identity.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Hungary
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, melancholic, heartbreaking, stylized, sincere, realistic, contemplative, serious
Similar in 90%
White Oleander (2002)
Plot Summary:
A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: emotional, intense, touching, disturbing, serious, realistic, erotic, sentimental, gothic, social