Best movies like Hala
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Meet 17-year-old Hala, who struggles to balance being a suburban teenager with her traditional Muslim upbringing. As she comes into her own, Hala finds herself grappling with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, inspirational
Best tv shows and movies like Hala (2019):
Similar in 88%
Conrad & Michelle: If Words Could Kill (2018)
Plot Summary:
Two suicidal teenagers, Conrad and Michelle, turn to each other for support, communicating via text messages. But when Conrad expresses his desire to end his life, instead of trying to stop him as she had previously, Michelle encourages Conrad to take his life, even providing him suggestions on how to do it.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 416
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, complex
Similar in 78%
A Sort of Homecoming (2015)
Plot Summary:
A Sort of Homecoming tells the story of Amy, a New York news producer who thought she left her high school experiences long in the past. She unexpectedly returns to Louisiana at the request of her high school debate coach. Their strained reunion brings back memories of her tumultuous senior year of high school.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 289
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 90%
I'm Going to Change My Name (2012)
Plot Summary:
Based on the Armenian ‘Sharakan’, a nine-part song that brings us gradually closer to meaning, Maria Saakyan’s new film further develops the poetic invention apparent in her first feature, The Lighthouse. Focusing on the world of a 14-year-old girl, Evridika, who is experiencing the first extremes of adolescent emotion, it makes effective and imaginative use of her private world centred on internet chat rooms and mobile phone recordings.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 94
Genere: Drama
Country: Armenia, Germany, Russia
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: romantic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 77%
Layla M. (2016)
Plot Summary:
18-year-old Layla, a Dutch girl with Moroccan roots, joins a group of radical Muslims. She encounters a world that nurtures her ideas initally, but finally confronts her with an impossible choice.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Jordan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Raging Rose (2015)
Plot Summary:
Jozef travels from Poland to France to work and to find his son Roman, who he abandoned 15 years earlier. Jozef works for a Polish immigrant family that has successfully settled in France. Rose, the family’s teenaged daughter, volunteers to help him find his son. Roman happens to go to the same school as Rose, and she finds him attractive. After an unexpectedly wonderful experience with Roman, she falls desperately in love with him.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Poland
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
That Special Summer (2007)
Plot Summary:
The year is 1984. It's summer, and the rebellious 12-year-old girl Kid wants to stay in Gothenburg, but her mother has other plans. Kid discovers that summer vacation in Finland isn't as bad as first feared. In a few hot weeks she discovers her dawning sexuality, and experience her first crush.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 585
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, Finland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 86%
Sea Change (2017)
Plot Summary:
A teenage girl makes a startling discovery about her connection to the Seawalkers, legendary beings who are half-human, half-sea creature.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 643
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 82%
The Fisherman's Diary (2020)
Plot Summary:
A 12-year old girl - Ekah (Faith Fidel) is inspired by the story of the youngest Noble Peace Prize Winner - Malala Yousafzai's. She is determined to go to school in a village of fisherman where the education of a girl child is considered to be a taboo. Her burning drive and determination to break this old adage gets her embroiled with her father's - Solomon (Kang Quintus) past experience with girl child education.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 735
Genere: Drama
Country: Cameroon
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, inspirational
Similar in 77%
The Good Son (2001)
Plot Summary:
Bonjour tristesse: Teenager Luc lives with his mother Liliane and his little brother Paul in Paris, has to cope with the fact that his mother is a prostitute and practically raise his brother alone. Luc is disillusioned. One day, little Paul wants to phone his grandmother in Nord-pas-de-Calais, one thing leads to another and suddenly the whole family finds themselves in a holiday in northern France. For Liliane it means a reunion with her mother, for Luc and Paul the reunion with their grandmother. And then someday on the beach Luc gets to know Manu(el) who teaches him lessons in love, life, fun, teenagerhood and friendship.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 59
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Another Child (2019)
Plot Summary:
17-year-old Joo-ri discovers her father is having an affair with the mother of her hard-headed classmate Yoon-ah.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 81%
Selah and the Spades (2019)
Plot Summary:
Paloma, the new girl at an esteemed prep school, is drawn into the daily aggressions of warring senior class factions. She joins the Spades and becomes friends with the Spades’ leader, an enigmatic and scheming cheerleader named Selah.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, social, black cinema
Similar in 81%
Asia (2020)
Plot Summary:
Asia is the single mother of 17-year-old Vika. Vika's deteriorating health urges Asia to finally find her voice as a mother and to embrace and cherish their time together.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 703
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, social
Similar in 76%
Ito (2021)
Plot Summary:
A shy country girl chooses a part-time job at a maid cafe where she serves customers while dressed up as a maid.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 533
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 85%
32A (2007)
Plot Summary:
This story is set in the "in-between" time of a girl's life, when she is no longer a child and not yet a woman. We open with our heroine, Maeve, putting on her new snow white bra, and stepping out into the world as a young woman. She has an obsession with breasts and bras and can't help but stare at other girls and women, even the head nun doesn't escape her gaze. Otherwise, her world revolves around her three friends, Ruth, Claire and Orla, who are more experienced in the ways of the world. They wear bras already (except Claire the feminist) and they've all had boyfriends. The new bra is a start but they really hope Maeve can find a fella, even offering kissing lessons to prepare her. What no one expects, least of all Maeve, is that she should snare the local sixteen-year old heartthrob. Maeve is so smitten with him that she lets her friends down when they need her the most.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Before the Rooster Crows (2016)
Plot Summary:
Teenager Carmín lives in a mountainous village in the center of Puerto Rico with her tough and conservative grandmother. Her mother left for the US without her. The arrival of her father, after long years in prison, eases Carmín’s profound sadness. The relationship with him, however, brings its own ambiguousness and complexities and as Carmín moves into womanhood this causes great confusion, mostly for her.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 214
Genere: Drama
Country: Puerto Rico
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Dark Was the Night (2018)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of tragedy, a woman and her teenage son must forge into uncharted territory in order to move on with their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
A Girl Like Grace (2015)
Plot Summary:
Raised by a single mother, a bullied 17 year-old girl seeks guidance from her best friend and the girl's older sister.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 679
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: captivating
Similar in 87%
100% Coco (2017)
Plot Summary:
13 year old Coco loves fashion and has her own unique style. She dreams of becoming a famous fashion icon. But on her first day of school she is made fun of and everyone calls her 'Coco the Clown'. Devastated, she decides to leave her vintage dresses, panther boots and striped socks at home and to dress herself more unnoticeable. Her anonymously kept fashion vlog as Style Tiger is a huge hit however. Is there still a chance that she will become a style icon? And does Bruno, that quirky boy she knows from school and secretly likes, finally notice her? Slowly Coco learns that she just has to be 100% herself!.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Guidance (2015)
Plot Summary:
The truth behind a series of scandalous photos of Miriam, the most popular girl in school, unfolds through weekly sessions with the school’s guidance counselor, Anna.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 318
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 6 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 90%
All Together Now (2020)
Plot Summary:
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: captivating, thought provoking, touching, psychological, uplifting, inspirational, emotional, teen
Similar in 85%
It Felt Like Love (2013)
Plot Summary:
Fourteen-year-old Lila is experiencing an ennui-filled Brooklyn summer. She awkwardly wears a Kabuki-esque mask of sunscreen at the beach and plays third wheel to Chiara, her more experienced friend, and Chiara’s boyfriend, Patrick. Determined to have a love interest of her own, a bravado-filled Lila pursues Sammy, a tough but handsome older boy.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, realistic, erotic, sexy, captivating, underground film, psychological, social, sincere
Similar in 78%
The Rachels (2017)
Plot Summary:
After a popular teen falls to her death, her best friend basks in the glow of the social media attention, while their rival seeks to avenge the past and uncover the truth behind the mysterious death.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 367
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing, exciting
Similar in 85%
Share (2019)
Plot Summary:
After discovering a disturbing video from a night she doesn’t remember, sixteen-year-old Mandy must try to figure out what happened and how to navigate the escalating fallout.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing, dark, social, cult classic
Similar in 76%
Strands (2002)
Plot Summary:
Isabel and Clara are two childhood friends separated by fate. Isabel is a naive provincial lass who works as an indigenous fabric weaver while Clara is the liberated city girl. Clara has gone wild after her mother runs off with another man. The two meet after years of separation when Clara returns to the barrio to visit her father, Roman. But their cultural difference further separates them as Lando, Isabel's boyfriend, enters into the picture. Lando, frustrated with Isabel's conservatism and idealism, turns his attention to Clara, which irked Isabel. Isabel, in turn, seduces Clara's father.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 192
Genere: Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, erotic, tagalog
Similar in 77%
She's Too Young (2004)
Plot Summary:
A mother/daughter relationship is thrown off balance when the mother (Marcia Gay Harden) discovers that her "good girl" daughter (Alexis Dziena) is part of a group who are engaging in sexual activities with multiple partners. Such activity results in an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, teen, sexual, crying, sexy, ridiculous
Similar in 83%
The Secret Lives of Cheerleaders (2019)
Plot Summary:
Naturally-gifted cheerleader Ava is an instant hit at her new school, but her quick rise in popularity is threatened by the rivalry of cheer captain and Homecoming Queen Katrina, who puts Ava and the other new recruits through a brutal initiation process, leaving Ava to face consequences both at school and at home.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 483
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 79%
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (2007)
Plot Summary:
Based on a popular manga, the film is a tender coming-of-age love story set deep in Japan's countryside. When eighth grade cool guy Hiromi transfers from Tokyo to a small elementary/middle school with only six kids enrolled, wholesome and honest Soyo becomes enthralled with his sophisticated world.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, disturbing, romantic
Similar in 82%
Life without Sara Amat (2019)
Plot Summary:
Pep, a 13-year-old boy, is in love with a girl from his grandparents village, Sara Amat. One summer night Sara disappears without a trace. After a few hours, Pep finds her hiding in his room. Although Pep knows that the entire town is looking for her, he agrees to her stay. Consequently, the boy will be forced to live a double life: he must lie to everyone while satisfying the Sara's demands.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 198
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense
Similar in 77%
Fremde Tochter (2017)
Plot Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Lena meets 19-year-old Farid, a young Muslim. She has a clear-cut attitude towards his culture and religion: utter rejection. Despite their differences – or perhaps because of them – they fall in love.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 178
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, contemplative
Similar in 85%
Palo Alto (2013)
Plot Summary:
Palo Alto weaves together three stories of teenage lust, boredom, and self-destruction: shy, sensitive April, torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy; Emily, who offers sexual favors to any boy to cross her path; and the increasingly dangerous exploits of Teddy and his best friend Fred, whose behavior may or may not be sociopathic.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: melancholic, atmospheric, serious, teen, realistic, indie film, aesthetic, erotic, mumblecore, artsy