Best movies like Laugh or Die
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Parikka, the actor once called the Funniest Man in Finland, and his troupe are about to be executed for the atrocities committed during the Civil War in Finland. Jaeger Lieutenant Nyborg, an admirer of Parikka, suspects a definite miscarriage of justice. He wants to save the actors. The forthcoming visit of the German General von der Goltz to the prison island provides him with a suitable opportunity. Nyborg suggests that the actors prepare a comical performance for the visitor and not be shot. Instead, they will be given a new trial. Preparing a comedy in the horrible circumstances, in the midst of hunger and death, seems quite an overwhelming task. Only a handful of real actors are still alive, the rest of the troupe consists of stagehands. Parikka has to use all his inventive skills to be able to produce something funny.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: exciting, thought provoking, suspenseful, scary, tense, captivating, suspense, dark comedy
Best tv shows and movies like Laugh or Die (2018):
Similar in 83%
The Border (2007)
Plot Summary:
The young man must set up a clear border between Finland and Russia, white and red, enemy and friend, us and them. While the task seems clear he finds out the execution of his command in concrete situations is very difficult. Right choices turn out to be wrong ones and correcting them make things worse.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 981
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Finland, Russia
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: touching, captivating, suspense, sad, exciting, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Where Once We Walked (2011)
Plot Summary:
Otso "The Main Man" Hultkrantz is playing the leading role of the young Allu Kajander in Where We Once Walked, based on a novel about a civil war raging between the Red and the White in Finland.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 321
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, tense, factual, family saga
Similar in 79%
Here, Beneath the North Star (1968)
Plot Summary:
Täällä Pohjantähden alla is based on the book with the same title. It is a story of the little village. The movie starts in the 1890's and it ends to the Finnish civil war in 1918. Story concentrates around a tenant farmer family, although it gives us a good look at the society at whole. While the class struggle depends, people of the village are driven to bloody civil war.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 186 min
Plot tags: epic
Similar in 81%
Under the North Star (2009)
Plot Summary:
Perustuu Väinö Linnan samannimiseen romaanitrilogiaan, joka on yksi suomalaisen kirjallisuuden tärkeimmistä teoksista.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 783
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 193 min
Plot tags: family saga, epic, serious, captivating
Similar in 78%
Sarajevo (2014)
Plot Summary:
The events in Sarajevo in June 1914 are the backdrop for a thriller directed by Andreas Prochaska and written by Martin Ambrosch, focusing on the examining magistrate Dr. Leo Pfeffer (Florian Teichtmeister) investigating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Trying to do his job in a time of lawlessness and violence, intrigues and betrayal, Leo struggles to maintain his integrity and save his love, Marija, and her father, prominent Serbian merchant. But the events of Sarajevo have set into motion an inescapable course of events that will escalate to become … the Great War.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Austria, Czech Republic
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, serious, factual, historical drama
Similar in 78%
Our Patriots (2017)
Plot Summary:
After the French defeat of summer 1940, Addi Ba, a young Senegalese rifleman escapes and hides in the Vosges. Aided by some villagers, he gets false documents that allow him to live openly.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 299
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, suspenseful, tense, touching, captivating
Similar in 76%
Hella W (2011)
Plot Summary:
The life of a heroine. The life and work of Hella Wuolijoki. A poet, spy and millionaire, she turned into an internationally acclaimed businesswoman, politician and playwright, who collaborated with Europe's leading writers such as Bertolt Brecht and Maxim Gorky, but faced the harshness of a changing world as the Finnish, Soviet and British secret services focus on her life, family and work.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 379
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Finland, Estonia
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, tense, factual
Similar in 78%
The Mine (2016)
Plot Summary:
A young and ambitious civil servant Jussi finds himself being in charge of the environmental permit of a huge nickel and uranium mine in Northern Finland. The Talvivaara mine, led by a charismatic globe trotting visioner Pekka Perä is introducing an entirely new method of collecting minerals whilst creating jobs in one of the poorest areas in Scandinavia. Jussi slowly discovers that he has been led astray by several people and that the new method has serious downsides he did not forsee. The mine is causing environmental hazards that are being hushed down. A new application for another permit is brough to his table by the same mine. Along with the application comes an interesting job offer and a chance of a new beginning. Jussi has to decide whether he will play along and if so, with whom.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, exciting, touching, suspense
Similar in 84%
Where are you going, Aida? (2020)
Plot Summary:
Bosnia, July 1995. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people - rescue or death? Which move should she take?.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Turkey, Norway
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: political, psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, social, sad, independent film
Similar in 85%
Lenin: The Train (1988)
Plot Summary:
March/April 1917. The first world war is already a couple year to pace. A sealed train with Russian emigrants keeps on driving from Zürich Germany and Sweden to Sint-Petersburg. The outlaws stand under the guidance of Vladimir J. Lenin. Two senior officers support the revolutionary bomb "to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Yet there are some unpleasant clashes between Socialists and enthusiastic workers who are worried about the war. During train travel there comes an end to Lenin's affair with the gracious Inessa, and his wife Nadja is prepared take back him. The triumphant entrance in St. Petersburg will exceed all expectations.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 352
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, France, Spain, Austria, West Germany
Duration: 198 min
Plot tags: philosophical, political, vintage
Similar in 82%
Turkish Ice Cream (2019)
Plot Summary:
In 1915, two Turks in Australia make a living by selling ice cream. When they hear war has broken out, they decide to go to Çanakkale. Authorities don't let them leave the island, so the two decide to put up a fight in Australia.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Turkey
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense
Similar in 89%
The War Below (2021)
Plot Summary:
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, powerful
Similar in 81%
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 75%
Natural Light (2021)
Plot Summary:
World War II, occupied Soviet Union. István Semetka is a simple Hungarian farmer who serves as a Sub-Lieutenant in a special unit scouting for partisan groups. On their way to a remote village, his company falls under enemy fire. As the commander is killed, Semetka has to overcome his fears and take command of the unit as he is dragged into a chaos that he cannot control.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Hungary, Latvia, France, Germany
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
The Auschwitz Report (2021)
Plot Summary:
This is the true story of Freddy and Walter – two young Slovak Jews, who were deported to Auschwitz in 1942. On 10 April 1944, after meticulous planning and with the help and the resilience of their inmates, they manage to escape. While the inmates they had left behind courageously stand their ground against the Nazi officers, the two men are driven on by the hope that their evidence could save lives. Emaciated and hurt, they make their way through the mountains back to Slovakia. With the help of chance encounters, they finally manage to cross the border and meet the resistance and The Red Cross. They compile a detailed report about the systematic genocide at the camp. However, with Nazi propaganda and international liaisons still in place, their account seems to be too harrowing to believe.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, disturbing, social
Similar in 77%
Line of Control: Kargil (2003)
Plot Summary:
This film dramatizes events that occurred as the hostility between India and Pakistan over Kashmir came to a head in 1999, when more than 1,000 men crossed the "Line of Control" that separates the two locations. Taliban and Pakistani soldiers took over the area, blocking the main road that linked the regions. Standing their ground, Indian soldier drove them away, but not without losing more than 400 of their own men first.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: India
Duration: 255 min
Plot tags: patriotic, thought provoking, suspenseful, exciting, tense, suspense, disturbing, realistic, crying, cult classic
Similar in 88%
Breaker Morant (1980)
Plot Summary:
During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hopes to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war. The trial does not progress as smoothly as expected by the General Staff, as the defence puts up a strong fight in the courtroom.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: political, tense, witty, factual, atmospheric, intense, rough, suspenseful, disturbing, thought provoking
Similar in 77%
Naked Among Wolves (2015)
Plot Summary:
Naked Among Wolves (German: Nackt unter Wölfen) is a German drama film directed by Philipp Kadelbach in 2015. It is based on the novel of the same name by Bruno Apitz, which was published in 1958 by the East German Publishing house. It was created for television, it is the third film version of the literary text. The film takes place in the years 1944 and 1945 towards the end of World War II in the Buchenwald concentration camp.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, realistic, independent film, ambiguous ending
Similar in 85%
The Captain (2017)
Plot Summary:
The Captain captures the final act of the Third Reich as Hitler's dream falls completely into ruins. The downfall is the seen through the eyes of a young German soldier who, amidst the chaos, decides to desert.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, black and white, psychological, suspense, suspenseful, sad, art house, cult film
Similar in 84%
The Conference (2022)
Plot Summary:
On January 20, 1942, the Wannsee Conference takes place in Berlin, a meeting that had only one item on the agenda: The Final Solution, the organization of the systematic mass murder of eleven million European Jews.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, disturbing, tense, captivating
Similar in 88%
Winter in Wartime (2008)
Plot Summary:
During World War II in the freezing Netherlands winter of 1944/1945 the western Netherlands are in the grip of a famine. Many people move east to provide for their families. Fourteen year old Michiel can't wait to join the Dutch resistance, to the dismay of his father, who, as mayor, works to prevent escalations in the village.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, serious, realistic, captivating, sexy, sad, stylized, gloomy, tear jerker
Similar in 76%
21 Brothers (2011)
Plot Summary:
21 Brothers tells the story of the Canadian 21st Battalion as they prepare for the battle of Courcellette in WWI. Taking place in real time, the film follows Sgt. Reid as he must get his men ready for the impending battle. Not only must he prep his battalion Sgt. Reid must also deal with the day to day difficulties of Life in the trenches, including injuries to his men, supply issues, and an underage recruit who has recently been sent into the front lines.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 127
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, captivating, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 84%
Blizzard of Souls (2019)
Plot Summary:
The love story of sixteen-year-old Arturs is interrupted by the First World War. After losing his mother and his home, he finds some consolation in joining the army, because this is the first time national battalions are allowed in the Russian Empire. But war is nothing like Arturs imagined – no glory, no fairness. It is brutal and painful. Arturs is now completely alone as war takes the lives of his father and brother. Also, no progress is made in the promised quick resolution of the war and timely return home. Within the notion that only he alone cares about returning home and that his homeland is just a playground for other nations, Arturs finds strength for the final battle and eventually returns home to start everything from scratch, just like his newly born country.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Latvia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Defenders of Riga (2007)
Plot Summary:
The film dramatizes November 11, 1919- a crucial date in the battle for Latvian independence. A year after the end of the official hostilities of WWI, a renegade German general and troops remain outside the Latvian capital. Latvian riflemen, most of them inexperienced volunteers, somehow managed to defeat a larger, better-armed force of German and Russian mercenaries.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Latvia
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
On Wings of Eagles (2016)
Plot Summary:
Eric Liddell - China's first gold medalist and one of Scotland's greatest athletes - returns to war-torn China.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Sport, War
Country: China, Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, christian film
Similar in 85%
April 9th (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the early morning of April 9th 1940 the Danish army is alerted. The Germans have crossed the border; Denmark is at war against Europe's strongest army. In Southern Jutland Danish bicycle- and motorcycle companies are ordered out, to against all odds, hold back the forces until the Danish reinforcements can be mobilized. In the fatal hours, we follow second lieutenant Sand and his bicycle company - they will as the first Danish soldiers meet the enemy in combat on April 9th 1940.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Denmark
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, tense, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
The Unknown Soldier (1985)
Plot Summary:
Second silver screen adaption of the Finnish war book by Väinö Linna. The story is based on Linna's experiences as an infantry man in the Finnish army during the so called "Continuation War" (1941-1944).
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 197 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, sentimental, sexy, bleak, breathtaking, bloody
Similar in 87%
National Theatre Live: Coriolanus (2014)
Plot Summary:
National Theatre Live will broadcast the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus, Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge, with Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, War Horse (film), BBC's The Hollow Crown) in the title role and Mark Gatiss (Season's Greetings at the National Theatre, BBC's Sherlock) as Menenius, directed by the Donmar's Artistic Director Josie Rourke. When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. Famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 192 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, tense, epic, suspense, intense
Similar in 82%
Escape from Sobibor (1987)
Plot Summary:
During WWII, the death camp at Treblinka had an escape, causing the Commandant at a similar camp in Sobibor to vow (actually threaten) that his camp would never experience the same thing. But those who were its captives, the Jewish laborers that had been spared from the ovens, knew that they were on borrowed time and that their only hope was to escape... the only question was how to do it. On October 14, 1943, members of the camp's underground resistance succeeded in covertly killing eleven German officers and a number of Ukrainian guards. Of the 600 inmates in the camp, roughly 300 escaped, although most were later re-captured and killed. The escape forced the Nazis to close the death camp, dismantling it and planting a forest.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful, psychological, exciting, thought provoking, suspense, philosophical
Similar in 85%
Unknown Soldier (2017)
Plot Summary:
The film follows Finnish army machine gun company in Continuation War against Soviet Union, 1941–1944. Based on Väinö Linna's best selling novel Tuntematon Sotilas (The Unknown Soldier) and the novel's uncensored version, Sotaromaani (A War Novel).
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland, Belgium, Iceland
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, thought provoking, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, novela, historical drama