Best movies like Layla M.
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like Layla M. (2016):
Similar in 82%
CQ2 (Seek You Too) (2004)
Plot Summary:
CQ2 (seek you too) is the story of an teenager, with an uncertain future, who canalises her lust for life in the study of contemporary dance.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 180
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Canola (2016)
Plot Summary:
A girl who went missing after an accident returns 10 years later and reunites with her grandmother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, sad
Similar in 85%
Te amo (made in Chile) (2001)
Plot Summary:
Sam returns to Chile from the USA after his parents divorce. Left with a sexually-abusive nanny, he makes friends with some other neglected kids: Isabel, whose mother suffers from depression after the disappearance of her father and brother, and Daniela whose mother is dead and whose father is an alcoholic. The teenagers get together to make a slasher film dealing with family issues, and finally confront their demons.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 218
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Anishoara (2016)
Plot Summary:
Anishoara is a 15 years old girl from a small village in Moldova. Her village is situated in a picturesque valley between rolling hills. Life seems calm but archaic alone with her old grandfather Petru and her little brother Andrei. In summer she and her friends make a trip to the melon harvest, where she feels for the first time the overwhelming sensation of first love. In autumn comes an old, strange German tourist to the village, who interferes with her life for a brief moment. In winter Anishoara travels for the first time in her life to the sea, with Dragosh, the young man she fell in love with. In spring she is longing for Dragosh, but he returns with a surprise. It is the last year of Anishoara’s childhood in this valley, before she takes off into her new adult life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Moldova
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 81%
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 80%
Hala (2019)
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
Similar in 89%
Piggies (2009)
Plot Summary:
Tomek is 14 and a good student. He's interested in astronomy and plays football to please his father. The only thing is, he lives in a poor little border town plagued by unemployment, whereas across the river lies Germany with all its relative affluence. Tomek meets Marta at a disco and falls in love with her. He starts to think up ways of earning money in order to keep her interested. He approaches a pimp who seeks out local boys for his German clients. Tomek has no idea of the brutal fate which awaits him.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 627
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, Germany
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 75%
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 83%
Beware of Children (2019)
Plot Summary:
During a break in school 13 year-old Lykke, the daughter of a prominent Labour Party member, seriously injures her classmate Jamie, the son of a high profile right-wing politician.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway, Sweden
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating
Similar in 82%
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 77%
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 82%
Hermafrodita (2009)
Plot Summary:
Based in the 1960's, in a small village of the Dominican Republic, Maria, a hermaphrodite, is born. She is brought up by her grandmother in a racial environment. She experiences her first love with La Melaza an assassin who seeks refuge in her town. Her childhood best friend Wanda tries to break up the two due to her jealousy and love for Maria. Maria's life takes a turn when La Melaza discovers her dual-sexuality.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 41
Genere: Drama
Country: Dominican Republic
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating
Similar in 77%
Good Luck (2014)
Plot Summary:
After several behavior problems, teenager John is admitted to a psychiatric clinic by his family. There he meets Judith, for who he soon falls in love. The problem is that she does not have long to live is and they know it. This shall not prevent the emergence of a great romance in the clinic.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 730
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, romantic drama, weird
Similar in 78%
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 90%
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 85%
Boy Crush (2007)
Plot Summary:
Seven short films in which gay youths and young men negotiate society, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. In several, teen boys come out, perhaps first to a close friend - how will the friends react? For some youths, coming out risks violence. In two films, love is thwarted - by mother, in one, and by immigration, in another.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 142
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, France, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 89%
We Are the Wave (2019)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious classmate leads four idealistic teens in a revolt against a rising tide of nationalistic fervor, but their movement takes a dark turn.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, intellectual
Similar in 82%
A Day for Women (2016)
Plot Summary:
A new swimming pool opens in a Cairo district, with the announcement that Sundays will be only for females. This causes ripples throughout the local community, while three women - Shamiya, Azza, and Lula - assess their varying lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Drama
Country: Egypt
Duration: 123 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 85%
Human, Space, Time and Human (2018)
Plot Summary:
A group of very different people set sail on an old warship. The passengers include a senator with his son, a newly-wed couple, a mysterious old man, a group of sex workers and a gang of violent criminals. At first the aggressive behaviour of the thugs and their leader is directed at the first class passengers, but then more and more indiscriminately against the rest of those on board. Rape is followed by murder and it’s not long before the first of numerous and increasingly brutal mutinies takes place.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 78%
The Inner Cage (2021)
Plot Summary:
A prison drama where an old mobster and a prison guard must find a way to coexist so that imprisonment can become less so, and perhaps reveal the paradox that is behind the very concept of captivity.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Switzerland, France
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 81%
Lost Love (2003)
Plot Summary:
Ettore, a young boy in Sicily in the 50's, is surrounded by women and is always surprised by what is happening around him. In Milan a few years later Ettore is once again the center of attention and the hip crowd.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 270
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 77%
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 75%
The War Within (2005)
Plot Summary:
A Pakistani involved in a planned attack in New York City experiences a crisis of conscience.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, tense, suspenseful, poignant, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Jin (2013)
Plot Summary:
A bitter conflict has raged between guerrillas and the army in Turkey's Kurdish regions for over 30 years. Large expanses have now become war zones. Countless young people have lost their lives to the conflict. This dangerous but incredibly beautiful mountainous country is home to 17-year-old Jîn. But she is no longer safe since she secretly stole away from a group of rebels with whom she was fighting. Now she wanders the picturesque landscape alone, caught between two fronts. All of a sudden, the sound of gunfire and explosions rend the air above the untouched natural scenery. Attack is threatened from all sides. Desperate to find peace, Jîn decides to escape to another part of the country – an impossible plan, since the military is omnipresent and there are road blocks everywhere. As a Kurd without identity papers she risks arrest at every turn. In addition, as a woman with no family to shield her, many men will see her as fair game. But her courage is unbroken.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Turkey, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 75%
Blackbird (2012)
Plot Summary:
This is a film about a troubled teen, Sean Randall, who is falsely accused of planning a Columbine shooting scenario. It all begins when an unlikely bond forms between Sean (Connor Jessup) and a preppy teenage girl named Deanna Roy (Alexia Fast). Deanna's boyfriend is deeply threatened by Sean and Deanna's friendship, resulting in a violent confrontation. Seeking to protect himself, Sean issues a death threat online - and is swiftly arrested. When the police raid Sean's home, they find rifles, shotguns, knives and ammunition - all property of Sean's father Ricky (Michael Buie), an avid hunter. They also find a supposed "hit list" with twenty names of people who have tormented Sean. The authorities and the media proclaim another Columbine has been narrowly averted, and soon Sean faces a terrifying imprisonment in a youth detention facility. Sean's only hope is to overcome his dark image, and prove his innocence to Deanna and to his community.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, realistic, thought provoking, serious, captivating, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Sebbe (2010)
Plot Summary:
Duct tape, electrical cables, trigger, explosives. Sebbe never planned to build a bomb. It just happened. Sebbe is 15 years old and lives with his mother in an apartment that is too narrow. He does his best. He never strikes back. Sebbe loves his mother because he knows nothing else. In the junkyard the dream is alive, and in the hands of Sebbe, dead objects come to life. Here he has the power to create. Here he is free - but alone. His isolation grows as his world shrinks, until one day he is completely isolated with no other than his mother. And when she falls, everything falls.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, tense, mind bending, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 90%
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 78%
The Saver (2015)
Plot Summary:
When teenaged Fern is orphaned in the middle of a harsh Montreal winter, she is determined to avoid her mother’s tragic fate, and take care of herself. With Youth Protection nipping at her heels, she lies about her name and age, to get a job as a janitor another as a cook. Juggling life and work and the discovery of the book, ‘50 Ways to become a Millionaire: All you need to do is save,’ Fern decides to do just that, replacing her grief with the quest to become a millionaire. Written, directed and edited by award-winning filmmaker Wiebke von Carolsfeld (Marion Bridge, Stay), The Saver stars the newly discovered Imajyn Cardinal and is based on the young adult novel by Edeet Ravel.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 106
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, unusual plot structure, captivating, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Heaven Will Wait (2016)
Plot Summary:
Mélanie, 16 years old, lives with her mother. She likes going to school, her friends, playing the cello, and she wants to change the world. But when she meets a boy on the Internet and falls in love with him, her world changes as she is gradually recruited by Daesh. Sonia is 17 years old, and she almost did something irrevocable to “guarantee” her family a place in paradise. These teenage girls might be called Anaïs, Manon or Leila, and one day they all might go some way down the recruitment process. But can they ever come back from it?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, disturbing