Best movies like Joe the King
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A destitute 14 year old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother. Petty thefts for food grow into more major takes until he steals a cash box from the diner where he works. Although Joe uses the money to pay off some of his father's debts and to replace his mother's records that his father smashed in a fit of temper, Joe gets no thanks.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: emotional, harsh, tense, rough, grim, realistic, art house, semi autobiographical, serious, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Joe the King (1999):
Similar in 88%
CrissCross (1992)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1969, a twelve-year-old grows up in Key West with his mother, who is paying the bills by stripping at the local topless bar. The boy finds out about her activities and tries to convince her to stop, to no avail. A local restaurant owner hires him to collect fish from a boat out in the bay, and the boy discovers that the restaurant owner is using the fish to bring drugs in to shore. He steals one load and goes about selling it so his mother can afford to quit her job.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes (1998)
Plot Summary:
A couple of friends work for a taxi driver to rob his passengers, but they feel like they're getting ripped off. They decide to plan their own robberies, but they are amateurs and things don't go too well. One of the youths, Cordoba, whose girlfriend Sandra is pregnant, just wants to get enough cash so they can leave Argentina and get to Uruguay to start a new life. He and his friends plan one last robbery, but things don't go as planned.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: social, hispanic, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Skins (2002)
Plot Summary:
An inspirational tale about the relationship between two Sioux Indian brothers living on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, rough, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 81%
The Son of the Shark (1993)
Plot Summary:
Brothers Martin and Simon, not yet teens, are incorrigible vandals; Martin runs away from reform school, Simon from foster homes, and they always find each other in a seacoast town of Lignan, where their destructive behavior is infamous. (It may date to their mother's leaving the family.) Martin is philosophical, romantic, and poetic: he dreams of being the son of a shark; he holds tight to a book about goldfish his mother gave him. In both halting and wild ways, he tries to court Marie, a neighbor girl. Simon, with a pocketknife and an intractable will, seems more dangerous to others. What, on earth, is there for these children-becoming-men?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Luxembourg
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
Sister (2012)
Plot Summary:
A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Switzerland, France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, atmospheric, captivating, social, action thriller, sincere, gloomy, crying
Similar in 85%
First, Last and Deposit (2000)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Tessa (Jessica White) faces more than the usual tribulations of adolescence. When bad times hit, she and her mother find themselves living on the streets. The injustice of poverty is emphasized by the fact that Tessa's school chums are the children of very wealthy parents, and the only way to fit in is by lying. Add the gorgeous and expensive trappings of their Santa Barbara community, and you get a portrait of cruel contradictions seen through the eyes of a young girl.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, bleak, gloomy, crying
Similar in 85%
Hurricane Streets (1997)
Plot Summary:
Marcus is a kid on Manhattan's mean streets. He's turning 15, his father is dead, his mother is in prison for smuggling undocumented aliens. His grandmother is raising him. He has four close buddies who have a basement clubhouse; they shoplift and sell the wares to kids. One is moving toward selling drugs. Marcus wants to take a breather from the city and visit family in New Mexico. He also meets Melena, 14, a sweet kid who dreams of going to Alaska; her father is not just protective but angry and uncommunicative. The gang pressures Marcus to move up to burglary and car theft. He just wants to breathe open air. Can anything go right?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: independent film, realistic, rough, bleak, serious, disturbing, clever, bad ending, sad, harsh
Similar in 79%
Steel City (2006)
Plot Summary:
After a tragic accident caused by the truck of the middle-aged Carl Lee where a woman dies with a crushed stern, he is arrested and sent to the county jail. His son PJ, who works washing dishes and cleaning tables in a restaurant, feels lost, without financial support to keep his father's house, and is fired from his job and evicted from his house.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 622
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Plot Summary:
World-weary arthur Fernando has returned to his native Colombia to live out his days in peace. But Fernando's once-quiet hometown has become a hotbed of violence, drugs and corruption. On the brink of despair, Fernando meets Alexis, a beautiful but hardened street kid who lives by the rule of the gun. Together, they forge an unlikely relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Spain, France, Colombia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: disturbing, meditative, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, crying, sexy, enigmatic
Similar in 84%
Less Than Zero (1987)
Plot Summary:
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, inspirational, retro, sad, art house, cerebral, cult classic, visually stunning, erotic drama
Similar in 86%
Mean Creek (2004)
Plot Summary:
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, intense, independent film, captivating, emotional, sad, tense
Similar in 80%
The Thief (1997)
Plot Summary:
In 1946, a soldier fathers a child then dies before its birth. Jump to 1952: on a train, the child and his mother meet a handsome soldier who makes a play for her. She accepts. Posing as a married family, the soldier finds them a rooming house where he becomes everyone's favorite through his good looks and generosity. Meanwhile he gives the boy, Sanya, lessons in life: to fight back, to win at all costs. The child's mother, Katya, is head-over-heels in love with Tolyan, the soldier, but the relationship becomes rocky when Tolyan's true plans for the rooming house become clear. It starts them on a treadmill of flight that risks Katya's life, Tolyan's liberty, and Sanya's trust.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: bleak, realistic, sincere, gloomy, serious, crying, sentimental, atmospheric, thought provoking, touching
Similar in 89%
The Child I Never Was (2002)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer dispassionately discusses the nuts and bolts of his grisly avocation, as well as the youthful traumas which helped to mold him into a psychopath, in this disturbing independent drama from Germany, based on the true story of of Germany's most famous child murderer Juergen Bartsch who, between the ages of 15 and 19, abused, tortured and killed four schoolboys in the Ruhr region of Germany from 1962 to 1966.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 638
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, bleak, art house, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 90%
L.I.E. (2001)
Plot Summary:
In this biting and disturbing coming-of-age tale from writer-director Michael Cuesta, life is bittersweet along the L.I.E., also known as the Long Island Expressway, as suburban teen Howie Blitzer learns all too clearly. In the space of a week, he loses nearly everything and everyone he knows and is left to navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, controversial, brutal, enigmatic, touching, realistic, sexy, stylized, independent film
Similar in 83%
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Plot Summary:
Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Spain
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sentimental, bleak, realistic, depressing, heartbreaking, compassionate, touching, sincere, emotional
Similar in 77%
Little Odessa (1994)
Plot Summary:
The film follows the personal relationship between a father and his two sons, one of whom is a hit-man for the Russian mafia in Brooklyn.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, neo noir, erotic, cult classic, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Tsotsi (2005)
Plot Summary:
The South African multi-award winning film about a young South African boy from the ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster. Tsotsi, who left home as a child to get away from helpless parents, finds a baby in the back seat of a car that he has just stolen. He decides that it his responsibility to take care of the baby and in the process learns that maybe the gangster life isn’t the best way.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, emotional, harsh, rough, captivating, dramatic, art house, realistic, inspirational
Similar in 79%
Lilya 4-Ever (2002)
Plot Summary:
Lilya lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt, who neglects her. Lilya hangs out with her friends, Natasha and Volodya, who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei. He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilya arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: bleak, depressing, sad, harsh, brutal, serious, sincere, dramatic, disturbing, touching
Similar in 83%
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Plot Summary:
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: emotional, harsh, rough, thought provoking, intense, realistic, sentimental, epic, crying, hood
Similar in 75%
This Is England (2006)
Plot Summary:
A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 127000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, political, depressing, stylized, harsh, rough, cult classic, social, tense, sincere
Similar in 77%
LUV (2012)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of one day, a shy 13-year-old forms a bond with his troubled uncle.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, rough, realistic, hood, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 75%
Strays (1997)
Plot Summary:
Rick (Diesel) is frustrated by the repetitious grind of one-night stands and aimless hustling. Whilst looking for more to his life he meets Heather (Lanza), a neighbour. Rick takes the opportunity to escape his boring life style with her, but soon finds that his volatile behaviour threatens to finish their relationship before it even really begins.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: cult classic, tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
Squeeze (1997)
Plot Summary:
Ty, Hector, and Bao are close friends in a tough section of Boston, where they're called "the PG-13 crew." They're 14, decent kids with few skills who've bailed out of school. A small gang of older tough guys, led by Marcus and Tommy, menace them, and when the PG-13s fight back and rob one of the gang, Marcus and Tommy vow to kill them. They seek protection from Derick, a drug dealer, who agrees to help if they'll sell drugs. Meanwhile, Ty is recruited to work at a community center by J.J., its quiet leader. Ty and his friends are in a squeeze: surrounded by violence, drugs, and no opportunities, is there any way out?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 344
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: crime drama, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (2000)
Plot Summary:
Ali, Kwita, Omar and Boubker are street kids. The daily dose of glue sniffing represents their only escape from reality. Since they left Dib and his gang, they have been living on the portside of Casablanca. They live in constant fear of Dib's revenge. Ali wants to become a sailor - when he was living with his mother, a prostitute, he used to listen to a fairy tale about the sailor who discovered the miracle island with two suns. Instead of finding his island in the dream, Ali and his friends are confronted with Dib's gang. Matters are getting serious.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: Morocco, Tunisia, France, Belgium, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, bleak, social, disturbing, crying, islamic, realistic, masterpiece
Similar in 82%
Angela's Ashes (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the IRA, and when he does find money, he spends the money on drink.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK, Ireland
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, depressing, sad, compassionate, serious, melancholic, sincere, gothic, epic
Similar in 82%
12 and Holding (2005)
Plot Summary:
Three pre-adolescents with virginal and eager-of-signals naivety, hit headlong against monstrous and inhospitable loneliness, in the incandescent fire among the ashes of their own inocence.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, heartbreaking, sad, sentimental, serious, depressing, harsh, art house
Similar in 82%
The Slingshot (1993)
Plot Summary:
Stocholm in the 1920s. Young Roland lives with his socialist father, Jewish mother and a boxing brother. His mother sells condoms illegally, and from them, Roland makes slingshots which he sells. His rebellious ways has gotten him the special attention of his school teacher, who always makes sure that Roland is punished. Roland also tries to make extra money by repairing bicycles, a successful business that in the end lands him in hot water.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: bleak, serious, harsh, enigmatic, sexy, sadistic, offbeat, realistic, crying, erotic
Similar in 86%
Trust (2010)
Plot Summary:
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, teen, serious, sexy, psychological, disturbing, sincere, depressing, social
Similar in 76%
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Plot Summary:
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, hood, cult classic, brutal, bleak, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Thirteen (2003)
Plot Summary:
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: teen, sincere, realistic, tense, disturbing, emotional, intense, serious, depressing, bleak