Best movies like Hanagatami
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Spring, 1941. Sixteen-year-old Toshihiko attends school in the coastal town of Karatsu, where his aunt cares for his ailing cousin. Immersed in the seaside's nature and culture, Toshihiko soon befriends the town's other extraordinary adolescents as they all contend with the war's gravitational pull.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 749
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, surreal, disturbing
Best tv shows and movies like Hanagatami (2017):
Similar in 76%
Grave of the Fireflies (2005)
Plot Summary:
Hisako loses her home in Tokyo to Allied bombing. With her husband fighting somewhere in Asia, she and her two children evacuate to a suburb of Kobe, where they share a house with Hisako's cousin, Kyoko. Kobe is bombed and Kyoko is killed. Hisako is forced to take care of Kyoko's two children in addition to her own, but there is not enough food for everyone.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 525
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspense, anime
Similar in 84%
Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 370
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, touching, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 81%
The Angel of Auschwitz (2019)
Plot Summary:
This is a tale of how the angel of life was confronted by the angel of death. Set in Auschwitz Birkenau, 1944.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Querô: A Damned Report (2007)
Plot Summary:
Querô is an orphan teenager, living alone near the docks in Santos, Brazil. Her mother, a prostitute, died when he was a baby, and he was raised in the bordello where she worked. He also doesn't know who his father is. Believing he rules his own destiny, he refuses to compromise with anyone else, the corrupt policemen always chasing him, the oppressive discipline in the juvenile institution Febem, or the drug dealers who try to lure him. But this independence has a price.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 367
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 87%
Little Kingdom (2019)
Plot Summary:
Soldier Jack deserts his unit and finds his wife Eva in isolated village in the mountains. She moved there to work in a factory unaware of the cruel owner Bar. Secret police arrives and it seems both Jack and Eva's time is up.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Slovakia
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Summer Solstice (2015)
Plot Summary:
Coming of Age Drama in rural Poland in the summer of 1943.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 423
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing, period piece
Similar in 82%
Our Time Will Come (2017)
Plot Summary:
In Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, a school teacher and her would-be-fiancé link up with Chinese guerrilla fighters, forging their own path to freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 995
Genere: Drama, War
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
A Melody to Remember (2016)
Plot Summary:
Second Lieutenant Han Sang-yeol leads his platoon during the Korean War in the early 1950s. He carries emotional scars and pain within. So when he meets some children from a choir, who have lost everything in the war, Sang-yeol is deeply moved and tries to protect to them.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 372
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Breitner Commando (2019)
Plot Summary:
1959, France. Colonel Breitner is given a secret mission : find the body of his former aide, Colonel Delignières, who is reported missing in French Algeria, before the French army burns the whole place to the ground. Breitner puts together a team of five outlaws, who are promised freedom if the mission succeeds.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 415
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 81%
A Good Kill (2016)
Plot Summary:
In the confused melee that follows a roadside bomb attack on their convoy in Afghanistan, a Dutch soldier opens fire on a suspect Afghan, only to find that this killing unleashes a chain of dramatic events that will cast a long shadow over the lives of all initial survivors.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 286
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 80%
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 80%
The Catcher in the Rye (2008)
Plot Summary:
This film consists of 75 minutes and 6 seconds of blue screen.
IMDB Rating: 2.0
IMDB Votes: 692
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: avant garde, psychological, captivating, disturbing, suspense, experimental, independent film, silent, silent film
Similar in 82%
The Network of Freedom (2017)
Plot Summary:
France, beginning of World War II. Hélène Studler is a nun who has been dedicated to the care of orphans and the abandoned people. But the times have changed, the people are living a whole revolt, the Germansoldiers have entered their city and the reality that now faces far exceeds the harshness to which they are accustomed: Hélène discovers that near her locality, the Nazis have installed a concentration camp. Along with some people of the city, several of her Sisters Daughters of Charity plot a whole plan to free the captives from their tragic end.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 126
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Clouds Over the Hill (2009)
Plot Summary:
Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
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 79%
Young Adult Matters (2020)
Plot Summary:
Wandering around the streets, Sejin, a pregnant teen, gets to know Juyeong and reunites with Jaepil and Sinji. The four musketeers go through a series of misfortunes, bumping into masochistic/sadistic characters and experiencing the brutality and cruelty of the world. Nevertheless, their naivety and pureness to endure through the hardships of life will stir complex emotions that will question your judgment.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 529
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 79%
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 88%
Memories of Summer (2016)
Plot Summary:
The late 1970s. It's summer in a small provincial town. Twelve-year-old Piotrek has a very strong bond with his mother. While his father is away, his mother starts going out almost every night. Their simple and clear relationship starts to get complicated.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 173
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Foxhole (2021)
Plot Summary:
Unfolding over the span of 36 hours in three separate wars – The American Civil War, World War I, and Iraq – FOXHOLE follows five soldiers confined in a foxhole as they grapple with morality, futility, and an increasingly volatile combat situation. Casting the same five actors in each episode, the film depicts the shifting roles of race and gender over time against the backdrop of the seemingly endless human struggle for power and domination. (Olivia Belluck).
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 81%
The Guard of Auschwitz (2018)
Plot Summary:
Nazi occupied Poland, during the World War II. Hans, a former brilliant student, has become an SS officer stationed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. When he is commissioned by his superior officer to build an efficient gas chamber, Hans, facing the harsh reality, begins to realize the magnitude of the atrocious acts of which he is being accomplice.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 80%
Return to the Hiding Place (2013)
Plot Summary:
When a young resistance fighter witnesses atrocities towards the Jews, he's drawn into a web of espionage and clandestine activities. When he meets a young physics students and resistance journalist - Hans Poley - they embark on a hunt through underground tunnels, Gestapo hijacks and daring rescues.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 779
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Calm at Sea (2011)
Plot Summary:
A teenager joins the resistance in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 803
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, bleak, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, complex
Similar in 81%
Strange Gardens (2003)
Plot Summary:
Lucien, 14, can’t understand why his father, a serious and respected teacher, makes a fool of himself by dressing up as a clown and giving a show. André, Lucien’s father’s best friend, feels for the teenager and decides to reveal something from their mutual past that will explain the reason for Lucien’s father’s strange behavior.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Virgin 2: Not a Porn Movie (2009)
Plot Summary:
A friendship of two young girls, Tina and Nadya, who have fallen into dark professions. Friendships often come at a heavy price and end in tragic death, just when they want to change the course of their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 77
Genere: Drama
Country: Indonesia
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Wife of a Spy (2020)
Plot Summary:
It’s 1940, and the population of Japan is divided over its entry into World War II. Satoko, the wife of a fabric merchant, is devoted to her husband but is beginning to suspect he’s up to something. Soon she allows herself to be drawn into a game in which she enigmatically conceals her intentions.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Life and Fate (2012)
Plot Summary:
This Russian series is based on the book of the same name, once considered a serious danger to the future of the Soviet Union. "Life and Fate" is an epic tale of World War II and a reckoning with dark forces emerging. It juxtaposes bedrooms and sniper's nests, science labs and the Gulag, taking us deep into the hearts and minds of citizens and soldiers struggling to cope with the ravages of war.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 81%
Resistance (2014)
Plot Summary:
Paris. 1940. Lili is 17 years old. In occupied France, she encounters war before love, and joins the Resistance. Through the interconnecting destinies of its teenage heroes, Resistance tells the story of young people going to any lengths to defend their country.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: France
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Oba: The Last Samurai (2011)
Plot Summary:
In 1944, the American military lands on the shores of Saipan. Refusing to commit suicide with his superiors or be forced into camps for prisoners of war, Captain Oba Sakae leads a group of his men and other similarly minded local residents into the mountains. Even after hearing reports of the Japanese military's surrender, Oba dismisses the reports as propaganda and continues to launch guerilla attacks against the American soldiers, earning him the nickname "The Fox". Soon, even the American commander who's charged with the task of capturing Oba comes to admire his persistent enemy.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 81%
Stones for the Rampart (2014)
Plot Summary:
To be defeated and not be - a victory. This is the motto that life is guided by three young friends: Alek, Sophy and Rudy. Scouts, high school graduates high school in Warsaw drifting ambitious plans for the future broken through September 1939. Entering adulthood in a very dramatic times, which puts them a choice - to survive at any cost, or to join the fighting for a free homeland, risking everything. The boys brought up in patriotic homes, shaped by the ideals of scouting, they decide to fight. They become soldiers, and although every scrape with death, they can live a full life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Fires on the Plain (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the final days of World War II, occupying Japanese forces in the Philippines face resistance from the local population and the American offensive. The dwindling Japanese soldiers attempt to survive through the horrors of war.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 831
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, atmospheric, realistic, captivating, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy, cult film