Best movies like Forgotten Light
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Father Holy, a village priest, battles against the state and religious bureaucracies of 1980s Czechoslovakia in his fight to raise money for a new church roof. Permeated by his love for the villagers, his encounters are marked by his good humor. In his losing battle against Church and State, Holy is ordered to be transferred away from his parish and his allies. The Czech-American, Milena Jelinek, adapted this moving story from the the novel The Forgotten Light, by the 1930s Czech writer/poet and Catholic priest Jakub Deml. (1934).
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 296
Genere: Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: weird
Best tv shows and movies like Forgotten Light (1996):
Similar in 84%
The Pacifist (1970)
Plot Summary:
Barbara (Monica Vitti) is a journalist investigating the local counterculture who becomes involved, after an unpleasant start of battery and stalking, with Pierre Clémenti's louche all-around dropout.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 210
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: political
Similar in 88%
The House Between the Fields (1980)
Plot Summary:
Fresh out of university, agricultural engineer Voica Teodorescu returns to her native village where she joins a local team of engineers in the planning of a dam and an irrigation mega project.Although Voica is engaged to be married to Ilarie she also is romantically attracted to local engineer Radu. Radu doesn't agree with local boss Vasile Axente's management style and deems Vasile incompetent.Therefore, Radu tries to form an alliance with the village vice-mayor Dumitru Vardaru but when a large sum of money from the public works budget goes missing Radu is investigated by authorities for embezzlement of public funds.His relationship with Voica and the villagers gets sourly tested.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 86
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Werther (1986)
Plot Summary:
This adaptation of Geothe's The Sorrows of Young Werther offers a chilly and remote view of love and its passions. The setting is changed to Spain, and Werther (Eusebio Poncela) has taken a job tutoring the son of an estranged husband and wife. The boy's mother is a surgeon and therefore a rather uncommon woman for her society. She and Werther gradually become romantically involved, and his feelings for her begin to run much deeper than is apparent on the surface.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 108
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Guests of Hotel Astoria (1989)
Plot Summary:
An Iranian couple (Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mohsen Marzban) declare themselves political refugees after police detain them on their way to Cuba.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 89
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 86%
Christmas Oratorio (1996)
Plot Summary:
The 1930s. Sidner's mother Solveig dies in a very unfortunate bicycle accident involving some cows. Sidner, his sister and his father Aron move to Sunne to work at a hotel. Aron tries hard to leave the sweet memories of his wife behind him but that isn't made easier by the fact that he always meets her ghost. Aron gets himself a pen friend, a young girl in New Zealand called Tessa. He starts to dream of beginning a new life on the other side of the world. Will his dreams come true and can they help him to cure his regret over the death of his wife?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 413
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: weird
Similar in 79%
Doctor Glas (1968)
Plot Summary:
Doktor Glas finds himself attracted to a young woman, married to a corrupt clergyman. She's miserable in her marriage, so he agrees to help in anyway he can. But he is quickly torn between passion and morality. The story is based on the 1905 novel by author Hjalmar Söderberg but is updated to the time of the release of the film in 1968.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 144
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Brothers (2003)
Plot Summary:
Photographer Sami, maybe 35 and living in a loveless marriage, has to travel south to Pärnu, Estonia, to find his much younger brother Joni and get him back to Helsinki for treatment. Joni, around 20, is possibly fatally ill but would rather stay in Estonia enjoying a simple life together with a local girlfriend Rimma and her little baby.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 134
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Estonia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Canary Season (1993)
Plot Summary:
It's 1980. Malin is fatherless, angry, and in trouble. At 20, he's spent a year in jail for assaulting a lover of Lily, his mother. In her desk he finds a soldier's photograph and assumes he's found his father. He confronts the man, now a teacher, and gets nowhere. At home again, he mocks his mother. Finally, she tells him her grim story, from the year before his birth. We see a people's court, where Lily's parents seek justice for their grandchild to be. We follow Lily to a prison camp, to the city where she's told to inform on the only person who's been kind, to an asylum, and finally to her current poverty and loneliness. How will Malin respond to these revelations?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama
Country: Bulgaria
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Sparrow (1993)
Plot Summary:
Catania, Sicilia 1854. A serious epidemic of cholera is hitting the region. Maria a 16 years old novice leaves her convent and returns her home to avoid contamination. Here she finds a difficult situation, in fact her stepmother and her half-sisters prevent Maria to live the normal life of a teenager. In their minds Maria is the promised "bride of God" and a regular life for her is inappropriate. Nino, her handsome neighbor, falls in love for Maria who isn't indifferent to him. But when Maria comes back to her convent the way to become nun is compelled. Now Maria can understand Sister Agata, and realizes she became mad cause a lost and impossible love like the one between Maria and Nino.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 619
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Japan
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: erotic, sensual
Similar in 79%
Santo Luzbel (1996)
Plot Summary:
A conflict arises between the people of the town and the local priest when they have to decide how to represent certain biblical episode.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 44
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Perfect Parents (2006)
Plot Summary:
After a violent incident in Lucy's public school, her atheist parents Stuart and Alison decide to find her a safe 'traditional' school. The only one they can afford is St. Mary of the Veil, run by nuns whose 'preference' for Catholic families is de facto exclusivity, given the waiting list. So they pose as devout, and get his murky mate Eddie to find them a priest they can 'bribe' for a parish reference, while Lucy is genuinely converted. It works, but when Stuart overhears a dark secret things take a tragic turn.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 151
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 77%
The Shadow Box (1980)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of a day in a California hospice, three terminally ill patients are observed with their families reflecting on life and death. Adapted for television from the award-winning play by Michael Cristofer.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 232
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
The Forgettable Life of Liam White (2021)
Plot Summary:
Liam White's career has peaked—to put it kindly. Uninspired and burnt-out, the titular character loses his will to finish his next novel and even shirks his public appearance commitments. To top it all off, Liam is told by his oncologist that his cancer has returned. Resigned to the fact that his life will soon come to an end, he begins a journey of reflection as he comes to grips with his life thus far and the people who shaped him, for better and worse.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 20
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Pupendo (2003)
Plot Summary:
Artist Bedřich Mára (Bolek Polivka) is unable to find much secure work due to his public antagonism toward the ruling Communist Party. He has a wife and two children. Life begins to change when art historian Alois Fábera (Jiři Pecha) begins working on a piece about Bedřich, leading to a job offer from a Party official. Things are looking up, until the wrong people hear portions of the historian's writing.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: realistic, humorous, captivating, semi serious
Similar in 77%
In My Father's Garden (2016)
Plot Summary:
The story of a loving man and father who falls under the influence of an extremely orthodox Protestant sect. He sacrifices everything and everyone to this faith, including his business and the respect of his younger son. However, he never loses the love of his wife.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 664
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 83%
My Breast (1994)
Plot Summary:
Meredith Baxter plays Joyce Wadler in this heartwarming story of hope, courage and redemption inspired by the New York City journalist's real-life struggle with breast cancer. Stuck in a lackluster relationship with her boyfriend, she's forced to re-examine her life when she receives the troubling diagnosis.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 140
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
How Rare a Possession: The Book of Mormon (1987)
Plot Summary:
Depicts the factual accounts of Vincenzo Di Francesca and Parley P. Pratt and how they came to appreciate the contents of the Book of Mormon.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 184
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 64 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Saint Anthony: The Miracle Worker of Padua (2002)
Plot Summary:
Depiction of the life of St. Anthony, beginning with his initial calling to the priesthood as a young Portugese nobleman, and following him as he becomes a Franciscan monk and preaches across Africa and Europe.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 204
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 89%
The Third Miracle (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Vatican sends a priest to verify some miracles, performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: biblical, controversial, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film, psychological, sentimental
Similar in 77%
Higher Ground (2011)
Plot Summary:
Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND, depicts the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, aesthetic, independent film
Similar in 88%
Saved by Grace (2016)
Plot Summary:
A retired police officer, despondent over the loss of his family, contemplates a dramatic decision which will change his life forever, until he meets a mysterious woman who, through her personal stories, gives him a reason to re-examine what is most important to him.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: christian film, sincere, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Mass Appeal (1984)
Plot Summary:
A young seminarian rattles the established order at a Catholic parish run by an older pastor. (TCM.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: talky, psychological, captivating, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, light, inspirational, sexy, touching
Similar in 87%
Double Standard (1988)
Plot Summary:
The true story of a judge who lives a double life, and stays married to two women for more than 15 years. While one knows nothing of the other, his second wife doesn't care that he is married already as long as he comes home to her as well. When his secret finally does come out, tragedy strikes, costing him more than he could have thought.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 124
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 87%
On the Black Hill (1988)
Plot Summary:
The story covers eighty years in the lives of a pair of Welsh identical twins with an unusual bond, as they go through war, love affairs, and land disputes.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 180
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, serious, realistic, family saga
Similar in 80%
Therese (1986)
Plot Summary:
The life of little St. Therese of Lisieux, depicted in minimalist vignettes. Therese and her sisters are all nuns in a Carmelite convent. Her devotion to Jesus and her concept of "the little way" to God are shown clearly, using plain modern language. A sense of angelic simplicity comes across without fancy lights, choirs, or showy miracles.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 978
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: spiritual, slow cinema, aesthetic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 90%
Communists (2014)
Plot Summary:
Jean-Marie Straub pushes this musicality of blocks to a paroxysmal extreme, mixing blocks of time (40 years separate the various extracts that are going to be used, and what is to be filmed), blocks of text (Malraux, Fortini, Vittorini, Hölderlin) and blocks of language (French, Italian, German), and from this ruckus emerges the history of the world, yes, History with a capital H, and from the same movement, the political hope of its being overtaken. So this is an adventure film, about the Human adventure, still one that is always, in the end, overtaken by Nature. (Arnaud Dommerc).
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 192
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Switzerland
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: experimental, thought provoking, atmospheric, serious, realistic, political
Similar in 81%
Ida (2013)
Plot Summary:
Anna, a young novitiate in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a family secret dating back to the years of the German occupation.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, Denmark, France, UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: black and white, art house, emotional, melancholic, visually stunning, bleak, depressing, serious, independent film, cerebral
Similar in 87%
The Letters (2014)
Plot Summary:
Mother Teresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the greatest humanitarians of modern times. Her selfless commitment changed hearts, lives and inspired millions throughout the world. The Letters, as told through personal letters she wrote over the last 40 years of her life, reveal a troubled and vulnerable women who grew to feel an isolation and an abandonment by God.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: spiritual, atmospheric, thought provoking, serious, christian film
Similar in 79%
Three Brothers (1981)
Plot Summary:
In a farmhouse in southern Italy, an old woman dies. Her husband summons their sons: from Rome, Raffaele, a judge facing a political case for which he risks assassination; from Naples, the religious and ideological Rocco, a counselor at a correctional institute for boys; from Turin, Nicola, a factory worker involved in labor disputes. Once home, each encounters the past and engages in reveries of what may come: Raffaele imagines his death, Rocco dreams of lifting the youth of Naples out of violence, drugs, and corruption, Nicola pictures embracing his estranged wife. Meanwhile, the old man and his young granddaughter explore the rhythms of the farm and grieve together.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 83%
Water (2005)
Plot Summary:
The year is 1938, and Mahatma Gandhi's groundbreaking philosophies are sweeping across India, but 8-year-old Chuyia, newly widowed, must go to live with other outcast widows on an ashram. Her presence transforms the ashram as she befriends two of her compatriots.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, India
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, melancholic, poignant, independent film, controversial, philosophical, offbeat, intense, erotic