Best movies like Mallboy
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A boy climbs an unsteady path to adulthood under difficult circumstances in this drama from Australia. Shaun (Kane McNay) is a teenager growing up in a run-down suburb of Melbourne. His father Sam (Brett Swain) is in prison, while his mother Jenny (Nell Feeney) is too lost in her problems with alcohol to provide much guidance for her children. Left to his own devices, Shaun commits petty theft, smokes pot, and deals drugs to his friends as they hang out at the nearby shopping mall. Shaun seems unable to reach out to anyone, not even his girlfriend (Lauren Hawker) or Darren (Brett Tucker), a social worker eager to help him. When his father is released from prison and brings his mistress to the "Welcome Home" party Jenny throws for him, Shaun comes to realize that if he is ever to resolve his problems, he will have to do it without the help of his family. Mallboy marked the feature film debut for writer/director Vincent Giarrusso.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: cult film
Best tv shows and movies like Mallboy (2000):
Similar in 89%
The Chimp (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Chimp is the nickname of a teenage boy (with large ears) who lives in the small town of Balyktchy, Kirghizstan, a former part of the USSR in central Asia. His family is being torn apart by his dad's alcoholism, his emotions are being torn as he sees his friends pair off into couples, and his job working on the railtracks is uninspiring.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Kyrgyzstan, Japan
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Goodbye Trainmen (1992)
Plot Summary:
Veturimiehet heiluttaa on 4. syyskuuta 1992 ensi-iltansa saanut suomalainen elokuva. Elokuva on kuvattu suurimmaksi osaksi Porissa. Veturimiehet heiluttaa sai ensi-iltansa Ruotsissa 26. maaliskuuta 1993.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 540
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Toughlove (1985)
Plot Summary:
The Charters family falls into despair over their drug-addicted son Gary. They discuss his problems through the "Toughlove" program in searching for answers.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
A Long Goodbye (1971)
Plot Summary:
A single woman has put all her efforts into raising her only son, Sasha. When Sasha grows up to become a teenager, she thinks that she can have some time for herself, so she responds to the courtship of Nikolai Sergeyevich. One summer, Sasha goes to visit his real father in Novosibirsk, on the other side of the country. When he returns, his mother notices that Sasha has changed. She secretly reads a letter sent to Sasha from his father and finds out that Sasha doesn’t want to live with her any longer. She doesn’t have enough wisdom to understand this desire on someone else’s part. Sasha is shown to have a more delicate and understanding nature than his mother, for when he realizes that she is suffering because of his wish to leave, even though he is tired of her nagging, he decides to stay.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 948
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Shooting the Moon (1998)
Plot Summary:
Francesca Archibugi directed this Italian drama set in Rome where 14-year-old Siddhartha (Niccolo Senni) is forced to deal with his heroin-addicted mother Silvia (Valeria Golina). He occasionally gets a visit from his filmmaker father Massimo (Sergio Rubini), who left them years earlier. Silvia is involved with lawyer Roberto (Stefano Dionisi), and they have a child, four-year-old Domitilla (Francesca di Giovanni). She lives with her father but sometimes stays with Silvia and Siddhartha. One day Domitilla pricks her finger on a used needle belonging to her mother. Using the Internet to seek advice, Siddhartha is told to have Domitella tested for hepatitis and AIDS. Desperate, he sets forth but is soon stymied and frustrated by a medical bureaucracy. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Beauty and the Beast (1983)
Plot Summary:
When Mette and her father are left alone over the Christmas holidays to paint the new nursery the father ends up alone most of the time. The 16-year-old Mette is always off with her friends at the disco or skating, and the father does not mind until he discovers that young Jønne has taken some semi-nude photos of Mette and clearly is intending to go further in their relationship. Suddenly the father starts hanging out with Mette and her friends as they practice winter sports together - and there is hardly anything stranger, or more embarrassing, as far as Mette is concerned. It is clear that father and daughter are heading toward a change in their relationship as both have to adjust to her "growing up.".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 614
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
Left Out (2008)
Plot Summary:
Giulio, a young man from Sicily, arrives in Rome to trace back Aurora, his ex-girlfriend whom he cannot forget. He stays with a couple of family friends, Rosalia and Eugenio, who have lost their only son, Nello, of the same age as Giulio. The presence of Giulio in their house forces Rosalia and Eugenio to come out of their long period of mourning, but at the same time Giulio, realizing that he will probably never find Aurora, starts sinking into a depressive state fueled by drinks and drugs. Rosalia and Eugenio's efforts to get Giulio out of it are in vain and when Giulio finally meets Aurora by accident, things can only get worse.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 15
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Erskineville Kings (1999)
Plot Summary:
Barky, 25, lost soul, left home two years ago to escape his abusive father leaving behind everything in the world that was important to him; now that his father's dead, he thinks it's safe to come home.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 660
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: cult classic, independent film
Similar in 88%
Mad Bastards (2010)
Plot Summary:
TJ is a mad bastard, and his estranged 13‐year‐old son Bullet is on the fast track to becoming one, too. After being turned away from his mother’s house, TJ sets off across the country to the Kimberly region of northwestern Australia to make things right with his son. Grandpa Tex has lived a tough life, and now, as a local cop in the outback town of Five Rivers, he wants to change things for the men in his community. Cutting between three generations, Mad Bastards is a raw look at the journey to becoming a man and the personal transformation one must make. Developed with local Aboriginal communities and fueled by a local cast, Mad Bastards draws from the rich tradition of storytelling inherent in Indigenous life. Using music from legendary Broome musicians the Pigram Brothers, writer/director Brendan Fletcher poetically fuses the harsh realities of violence, healing, and family.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 550
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, touching, captivating, serious, realistic, road movie, crying
Similar in 75%
The Fabelmans (2022)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, India
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: semi autobiographical, dramatic, inspirational, uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, reflective, meta, informative
Similar in 78%
Rosie (1998)
Plot Summary:
In a juvenile lockup, a new ward answers questions: she's Rosie, 13, no parents, a sister Irene, a brother Michel. In flashbacks we find out what happened. She lives with Irene, who's 27, whom Rosie knows is in fact her mother, but that's their secret. Irene's brother Michel, unemployed, a compulsive gambler, comes to stay with them. Around then, Irene meets Bernard; they come to care for each other. This leaves Rosie without attention, so she puts all her adolescent hopes and romantic fantasies into a relationship with Jimi, a good looking kid she sees on a bus. Is it adventures with Jimi that land her in juvie? Once she's there, why doesn't he answer her letters?.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 570
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: depressing, serious, realistic, sexual, crying, psychological, light, sexy, thought provoking, clever
Similar in 81%
Dogs in Space (1986)
Plot Summary:
The place is Melbourne, Australia 1978. The punk phenomenon is sweeping the country and Dogs In Space, a punk group, are part of it. In a squat, in a dodgy suburb, live a ragtag collection of outcasts and don't-wanna-be's who survive on a diet of old TV space films, drugs and good music. And the satellite SKYLAB could crash through their roof at any moment.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: independent film, dark, art house, psychotronic, serious, realistic, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 76%
Love+Sling (2018)
Plot Summary:
A former wrestler bonds with his son over the sport. But then the son's girlfriend falls in love with the father.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 233
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: light, captivating
Similar in 77%
Midnight Bus (2017)
Plot Summary:
Middle-aged Riichi Takamiya drives the midnight bus between Tokyo and snow-swept Niigata, where he lives. Just as the relationship with his younger girlfriend is about to bloom, his emotionally desperate ex-wife suddenly reappears.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 61
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, manga
Similar in 76%
Amy George (2011)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Jesse wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle-class Toronto life has left him unprepared. After reading a book on what it takes to be a "true-artist", he sets out looking for risk, ecstasy, wildness and women. Amy George is a microbudget independent drama about the time in a boy's life when he's at his least likeable.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 188
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, unusual plot structure, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 76%
Youth on the March (2017)
Plot Summary:
A teenage boy stoner lives with his single mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 9
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: avant garde, psychological, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, suspenseful, contemplative, experimental
Similar in 80%
Moving Out (1983)
Plot Summary:
Coming-of-age story about an Italian-Australian teenager making his way in the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 105
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 84%
Standing Tall (2015)
Plot Summary:
The film tells the story of Malony and his education as he grows from a six-year-old into an 18-year-old. A minors’ judge and a caseworker work tirelessly to try to save the young offender.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: disturbing, touching, serious, suspense, suspenseful, crying
Similar in 90%
Little Men (2016)
Plot Summary:
Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Greece, Brazil
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: social, sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, touching, captivating, melancholic, compassionate, dorama, powerful
Similar in 90%
The Secret Life of Happy People (2006)
Plot Summary:
Élevé par des parents parfaits dans une banlieue proprette, frère cadet d'une fille à qui tout réussit et flanqué d'un ami tombeur, le pauvre Thomas se sent bien ordinaire. Alors qu'il tente désespérément de terminer ses études en architecture avec succès, le jeune homme rencontrera Audrey, une belle ténébreuse qui lui donnera des ailes. Évidemment, le bonheur n'est jamais simple et la vie peut être parfois cruelle.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 293
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: captivating
Similar in 77%
The Space Between (2016)
Plot Summary:
Marco is a 35 year-old ex-chef who has given up his career and any sense of hope to return to Udine in Northern Italy to nurse his ailing father. Even when offered a job at a restaurant in Melbourne, he declines using his father as the excuse. When tragedy strikes, the only glimmer of joy arrives in the form of Olivia, a spirited Australian chasing her dream of working in design while on a family mission in Udine. Against the stunning vineyards, rugged mountains and blue Adriatic of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, these two very different people find themselves at a crossroads that will change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 188
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Australia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating
Similar in 87%
Admissions (2004)
Plot Summary:
A gifted high-school student flubs her college admissions interviews for the most unexpected reasons in this independent coming-of-age drama. Cynical, world-weary Evie is more interested in taking care of her family than getting into the Ivy League institutions for which she seems destined. Dad Harry spends all his time building model trains in the basement, while workaholic mom Martha depends on Evie to take care of her other daughter, developmentally challenged Emily. When she's not busy reading poetry to her sister Emily, Evie hangs out with James (Fran Kranz), the sensitive boy next door, whose romantic overtures prove too confusing to acknowledge. College also seems too daunting, so Evie deliberately blows one university interview after another in the hopes of staying at home as her sister's keeper. Meanwhile, Evie begins passing off her own poems as Emily's, fuelling the belief that her brain-damaged sister is actually a literary savant.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, independent film, crying
Similar in 83%
52 Tuesdays (2013)
Plot Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition, and their time together becomes limited to Tuesdays. This emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility, and transformation was filmed over the course of a year—once a week, every week, only on Tuesdays.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, rough, lgbt cinema, social, emotional, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Desolation Angels (1995)
Plot Summary:
Returning home from a trip to visit his mother, Nick discovers that a good friend of his, Sid, has apparently raped his girlfriend, Mary. More concerned with his own wounded pride than with Mary's lingering feelings of guilt, pain and betrayal, Nick vows revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Imaginary Heroes (2004)
Plot Summary:
Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best competitive swimmer, so everyone is shocked when he inexplicably commits suicide. As the following year unfolds, each member of his family struggles to recover from the tragedy with mixed results.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, emotional, stylized, sentimental, humorous, witty, black comedy, art house, aesthetic, clever
Similar in 87%
Love Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
Twenty-year-old Maria is a troubled and lonely girl who falls in love with the grounded and patient Adam. He is the first boyfriend to treat her nicely, but Maria struggles with her past and the relationship with her dad, who left her when she was very young. When her dad reappears it makes Maria vulnerable to the fear of being rejected once again.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 37
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: romantic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 86%
Nie mehr wie es war (2016)
Plot Summary:
Tomas is happy as family father, raising teen son Milan (as his knavish buddy) and running-especially gastronomically- a club with his mother Nike, whose absences to take course aiming for career progress causes tension. Covering for Milan's systematic class dodging to pursue a musical ambition, Tomas discovers going trough Nike's stuff the knave isn't biologically his son, feels utterly cheated by wife Nike, and feels like wrecking their relationship, family and livelihood musical bar. Former common study friend Clemens, a divorced MD, confides he wasn't interested in Nike, being gay, and advises 'getting laid' without commitment, but finding that out hurts utterly confused Milan even more. The spouses must pull together when son Milan (16) decides to seek his genetic father, a former GDR literature professor Dr. Karoly Gaál, who is now in a home for demented seniors.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 35
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: captivating
Similar in 84%
Neighborhood (1998)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story in the vein of CITY OF GOD and KIDS - available for the first time in the U.S.!.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: social, hispanic, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Secrets of the Heart (1997)
Plot Summary:
Javi and his friend Carlos visit an old house on the outskirts of a small Spanish village. According to his brother Juan this is a haunted house and one can hear the voices of the dead. Later he is intrigued with a room which is always closed (the room where his father was found dead). He is so interested in these mysteries that he starts to investigate all the secrets of these dead people and their stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, France, Portugal
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 82%
Echo Park LA (2006)
Plot Summary:
As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, sentimental, realistic, emotional, humorous, semi serious, crying, hispanic, novela