Best movies like In the Time of the Butterflies
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, political, suspense
Best tv shows and movies like In the Time of the Butterflies (2001):
Similar in 75%
Heaven (2002)
Plot Summary:
A woman takes the law into her own hands after police ignore her pleas to arrest the man responsible for her husband's death, and finds herself not only under arrest for murder but falling in love with an officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Italy, Germany, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: emotional, meditative, atmospheric, sentimental, sincere, romantic, cerebral, stylized, lyrical, philosophical
Similar in 77%
Heli (2013)
Plot Summary:
Heli must try and protect his young family when his 12-year-old sister inadvertently involves them in the brutal drug world. He must battle against the drug cartel that have been angered as well as the corrupt police force.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Mexico, Netherlands, Germany, France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, atmospheric, captivating, tense, suspenseful, disturbing, controversial, neo western, slow cinema
Similar in 87%
Deep Crimson (1996)
Plot Summary:
The life of a man who preys on unsuspecting women for a living is changed when he finds an accomplice in the woman who loves and controls him.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Mexico, France, Spain
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, erotic, tense, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Last Rites (1988)
Plot Summary:
After witnessing her lover being murdered by his jealous wife, Angela seeks refuge in a church where she encounters a young priest named Michael, who gives her sanctuary. But the killing was not a simple act of passion, as the victim had ties to organized crime, and, surprisingly, so does Michael, whose father is a powerful don. When the priest finds himself falling in love with Angela, his religious vows and family ties are both severely tested.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, twist ending, crying, weeping
Similar in 90%
Priceless (2016)
Plot Summary:
James, down on his luck and desperate for some quick cash, agrees to drive a small truck across country. He soon realizes that he's made a huge mistake and has inadvertently become involved in a dangerous human trafficking ring. The unlikely hero risks it all to shut down the trafficking ring and save the woman he is falling in love with.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, touching, satanic, crime thriller, christian film, suspense, surprise ending, tension
Similar in 83%
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995)
Plot Summary:
Carl Panzram is sent to Leavenworth Prison for burglary. While there, he is brutally beaten by a guard. Neophyte guard Henry Lesser feels sympathy for Panzram, befriends him, and gets him to write his life story. Lesser learns that Panzram's past is much more violent than he thought, but also that he's capable of being a much better person than the rest of the prison staff believes - or so Lesser thinks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, psychological, unusual plot structure, bloody
Similar in 83%
The House of the Spirits (1993)
Plot Summary:
A rancher, his clairvoyant wife and their family face turbulent years in South America.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany, Denmark, Portugal
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, family saga, melancholic, realistic, costume drama, sexy, mystical, erotic
Similar in 80%
Land of the Blind (2006)
Plot Summary:
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, bleak, disturbing, political, captivating, apocalyptic, inspirational, philosophical, black comedy
Similar in 83%
The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
Plot Summary:
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, tense, political, psychological, suspense, disturbing, captivating, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
The Best of Youth (2003)
Plot Summary:
Spanning four decades, from the chaotic 1960s to the present, director Marco Tullio Giordana's passionate epic 'La Meglio Gioventu' follows two Italian brothers through some of the most tumultuous events of recent Italian history.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy
Duration: 366 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sincere, emotional, realistic, political, sad, talky, captivating, family saga
Similar in 77%
F.I.S.T. (1978)
Plot Summary:
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: realistic, disturbing, rough, serious, cult classic, psychological, thought provoking, bleak
Similar in 90%
What the Eye Doesn't See (2003)
Plot Summary:
Through out six different and yet parallel stories that take place during the corrupted goverment during the 90s in Peru, Lombardi tells the moral decomposition that ran through all classes and generations of the peruvian society.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 287
Genere: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Country: Peru
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, mind bending, independent film
Similar in 82%
Romero (1989)
Plot Summary:
Romero is a compelling and deeply moving look at the life of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, who made the ultimate sacrifice in a passionate stand against social injustice and oppression in his county. This fil chronicles the transformation of Romero from an apolitical, complacent priest to a committed leader of the Salvadoran people.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: inspirational, christian film, realistic, tense, serious, suspense, political thriller, crying, tragic ending, independent film
Similar in 75%
This Revolution (2005)
Plot Summary:
Jake Cassevetes is a world renowned shooter just back from being embedded during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. As a well-paid stringer for the networks, Jake does not buy into the currently vogue, left-wing conspiracy theory of a corporate-controlled press. But, after discovering much of his best footage in Iraq was censored by the network, Jake is growing disillusioned with his corporate masters. When he gets an assignment to shoot on the streets of the Republican National Convention protests, he meets Seven, one of the young leaders of the masked anarchist Black Bloc. Jake quickly wins the trust of the group and is allowed to shadow them as they move through the demo. Later that night, after shooting Seven with her mask down describing the Bloc's militant objectives, the videotape is mistakenly returned to the network with the rest of his footage. When he goes to retrieve the tape, he is.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 554
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, realistic, disturbing, political, cynical, cinema verite, fake documentary
Similar in 77%
Of Love and Shadows (1994)
Plot Summary:
Irene is a magazine editor living under the shadow of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. Francisco is a handsome photographer and he comes to Irene for a job. As a sympathizer with the underground resistance movement, Francisco opens her eyes and her heart to the atrocities being committed by the state.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Argentina
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: erotic, political, scenic, eros, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, sexy, enigmatic
Similar in 81%
Beyond the Limit (1983)
Plot Summary:
Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, Mexico
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, political thriller, biting, neo noir, suspense, tragic
Similar in 88%
A Dry White Season (1989)
Plot Summary:
Taking place during the 1976 Soweto uprising, the story follows a white school teacher whose life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: talky, emotional, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, political, retro, thinking
Similar in 86%
The Yards (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, neo noir, emotional, talky, intense, rough, realistic, atmospheric, psychological
Similar in 81%
The Black Pimpernel (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story about Swedish ambassador in Chile - Harald Edelstam - and his heroic actions to protect the innocent people from the execution during and after the military coup on September 11th 1973.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 826
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: Sweden, Mexico, Denmark
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, suspenseful, emotional, realistic
Similar in 82%
Z (1969)
Plot Summary:
Repression is the rule of the day in this film that skewers Greek governance of the 1960s. Z, a leftist rabble rouser, is killed in what appears to be a traffic accident. But given the political climate, the death of such a prominent activist raises troubling questions. Though it's too late to save Z's life, a postmortem examination suggests that the ruling party was behind his death. As the facts leak out, those who tell the truth pay the price for their honesty.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Algeria
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, political thriller, tense, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, intellectual, neo noir, dark
Similar in 83%
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Plot Summary:
In the year 1935, a teen named Billy Bathgate finds first love while becoming the protégé of fledgling gangster Dutch Schultz.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, light, romantic, sexy, unusual plot structure
Similar in 89%
Imagining Argentina (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set during the unsettling disappearances in Buenos Aires during the dictatorship of the 1970s, the film involves theater director Carlos Rueda and his wife Cecilia. Shortly after Cecilia writes an editorial commentary questioning the mysterious abductions, she is herself abducted and taken into police custody.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Spain, UK, USA, Argentina
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, serious, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, inspirational, romantic, political, romantic drama
Similar in 78%
Ophelia (2018)
Plot Summary:
Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet's affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: scenic, stylized, exciting, inspirational, colorful, period piece, costume drama, sincere, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 75%
The Human Stain (2003)
Plot Summary:
Coleman Silk is a worldly and admired professor who loses his job after unwittingly making a racial slur. To clear his name, Silk writes a book about the events with his friend and colleague Nathan Zuckerman, who in the process discovers a dark secret Silk has hidden his whole life. All the while, Silk engages in an affair with Faunia Farley, a younger woman whose tormented past threatens to unravel the layers of deception Silk has constructed.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, erotic, sexy, melancholic, talky, intellectual, sincere, serious, clever
Similar in 84%
Sleepers (1996)
Plot Summary:
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 234000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sadistic, harsh, suspenseful, suspense, serious, psychological, brutal, intense, emotional
Similar in 88%
Runaway Jury (2003)
Plot Summary:
A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 103000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: clever, suspense, tense, surprise ending, captivating, stylized, political, cynical, detective, twisted
Similar in 80%
Veronica Guerin (2003)
Plot Summary:
In this true story, Veronica Guerin is an investigative reporter for an Irish newspaper. As the drug trade begins to bleed into the mainstream, Guerin decides to take on and expose those responsible. Beginning at the bottom with addicts, Guerin then gets in touch with John Traynor, a paranoid informant. Not without some prodding, Traynor leads her to John Gilligan, the ruthless head of the operation, who does not take kindly to Guerin's nosing.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, tense, rough, thought provoking, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, serious, political
Similar in 80%
All Good Things (2010)
Plot Summary:
Newly-discovered facts, court records and speculation are used to elaborate the true love story and murder mystery of the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 59000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, enigmatic, suspense, suspenseful, intense, serious, realistic, psychological, psychological thriller
Similar in 81%
Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
Plot Summary:
Tita is passionately in love with Pedro, but her controlling mother forbids her from marrying him. When Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares, infecting all who eat it with her intense heartbreak.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, compassionate, romantic, sweet, emotional, melancholic, intense, atmospheric, sensual
Similar in 87%
The Quiet American (2002)
Plot Summary:
A stylish political thriller where love and war collide in Southeast Asia. Set in early 1950s Vietnam, a young American becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle when he falls for the beautiful mistress of a British journalist. As war is waged around them, these three only sink deeper into a world of drugs, passion, and betrayal where nothing is as it seems.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Germany, USA, Vietnam, Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: realistic, political, atmospheric, talky, intense, thought provoking, serious, period piece, political thriller, sincere