Best movies like My Son the Fanatic
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Pakistani taxi-driver Parvez and prostitute Bettina find themselves trapped in the middle when Islamic fundamentalists decide to clean up their local town.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: talky, multicultural, independent film, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, light, thought provoking, enigmatic
Best tv shows and movies like My Son the Fanatic (1997):
Similar in 89%
Alila (2003)
Plot Summary:
Life in a flimsy Tel Aviv apartment complex is a sour urban mosaic whose seedy characters, try as they might, can't get out of one another's faces. The character's lives overlap and collide. Gabi, a bobbed haired sexpot, and her lover Hezi—who's older, balding and married—rent a room to have an affair, while Ezra, a pot bellied divorcee, supervises an illegal construction site next door. All this racket drives Schwartz, a Holocaust survivor, to a mental breakdown. Other characters include illegal immigrants, a teenage boy who's afraid to serve in the army, and a corrupt police officer. In each scene the camera moves through walls, over desks, and around rooms in order to keep focused on the character it's following, in moments of drama as well as in moments of mudane daily activity.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 634
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Israel, France
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, avant garde
Similar in 90%
Sex, Lies and Renaissance (1983)
Plot Summary:
Happily engaged to her handsome fiance, Charles, Fanny is soon hit with one misfortune after another until she is forced to become a prostitute to survive. This is the story, with many erotic asides, of her struggle to regain her pride in herself and find happiness in life once again.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, West Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, manga, touching, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film, erotic, sexy, hot
Similar in 77%
Monarch of the Glen (2000)
Plot Summary:
Archie MacDonald, a young restaurateur is called back to his childhood home of Glenbogle where he is told he is the new Laird of Glenbogle.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, witty, semi serious, satirical, humorous, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Among Giants (1998)
Plot Summary:
A manager hires Ray, off the books, to paint all the power towers in a 15-mile stretch of high-tension wires outside Sheffield. Ray's crew of men are friends, especially Ray with Steve, a young Romeo. Into the mix comes Gerry, an Australian with a spirit of adventure and mountain climbing skills. She wants a job, and against the others' advice, who don't want a woman on the job, Ray hires her. Then she and Ray fall in love. He asks her to marry him, gives her a ring. Steve's jealous; Ray's ex-wife complains that he spends on Gerry, not his own kids, and she predicts that Gerry won't stay around. Plus, there's pressure to finish the job fast. Economics, romance, and wanderlust spark the end.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 969
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: melancholic, intense, sincere, emotional, social, bleak, humorous, realistic, semi serious, erotic
Similar in 76%
Marius and Jeannette (1997)
Plot Summary:
Marius is the keeper of an abandoned cement works staying high above the quarter of l'Estaque in Marseilles. Jeannette is bringing up her two children alone with her poor checkout operator salary. Their meeting won't be without trouble, since besides material difficulties, both of them are wounded by life. They have to learn how to be happy again.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 87%
Blow Dry (2001)
Plot Summary:
The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop and Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lover Sandra run a beauty salon.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: witty, touching, feel good, humorous, offbeat, realistic, semi serious, crying, independent film, slapstick comedy
Similar in 80%
Bhaji on the Beach (1993)
Plot Summary:
A group of women of Indian descent take a trip together from their home in Birmingham, England to the beach resort of Blackpool.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: light, melancholic, talky, satirical, independent film, humorous, realistic, semi serious, clever, enigmatic
Similar in 85%
Suzie Gold (2004)
Plot Summary:
Suzie Gold is a twentysomething torn between the nice Jewish boy her family is keen on and the non-Jewish boy she loves.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 651
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, not serious, touching
Similar in 79%
Venus (2006)
Plot Summary:
Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes absolutely taken with Jessie - the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, touching, realistic, romantic comedy, twisted, humorous, semi serious, psychological, sexy
Similar in 86%
A Merry War (1997)
Plot Summary:
Gordon Comstock is a copywriter at an ad agency, and his girlfriend Rosemary is a designer. Gordon believes he is a genius, a marvelous poet and quits the ad agency, trying to live on his poems, but poverty soon comes to him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: cult classic, clever, humorous, witty, realistic, semi serious, independent film, sexy, thought provoking, intellectual
Similar in 89%
Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)
Plot Summary:
A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 826
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987)
Plot Summary:
Sammy and Rosie are an unconventional middle-class London married couple. They live in the midst of inner-city chaos, surround themselves with intellectual street people, and sleep with everybody - except each other! Things become interesting when Sammy's father, Raffi, who is a former Indian government minister, comes to London for a visit. Sammy, Rosie, and Raffi try to find meaning through their lives and loves.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: talky, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious, biting, independent film, tense
Similar in 86%
Letter to Brezhnev (1985)
Plot Summary:
The factories, pubs, clubs, hotels and streets of 1980s Liverpool form the backdrop for this tale of love, friendship, sex and a letter to the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Two Liverpool lasses, Teresa and Elaine meet two Russian sailors, Sergei and Peter and hook up for a night of fun and frolics. Teresa is looking for sex and a smile, Elaine wants love, romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of the Liverpool docklands. A classic British romantic comedy filled with new wave tunes, 80s fashion, a little politics and a lot of heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: retro, comedy drama, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, eighties
Similar in 84%
In Custody (1994)
Plot Summary:
Ismail Merchant's feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant 's treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters - an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer - clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words. Anita Desai adapted her novel with Shahrukh Husain, incorporating poems by Urdu author Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The movie won the President of India Gold Medal for Best Picture in 1994.(http://www.merchantivory.com/custody.html).
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 391
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, India
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: insightful, parallel cinema, clever, humorous, realistic, contemplative, semi serious, biting, surprise ending, suspense
Similar in 84%
The Housekeeper (2002)
Plot Summary:
After his wife leaves him for another man, Jacques hires a housekeeper, Laura, to keep his Paris apartment in order. As he starts increasing her hours and spending more time with her on her days off, Jacques is torn between the pleasure of Laura's company, and the headache that such an intrusion brings to his new domain of singlehood.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sentimental, harsh, semi serious, touching, realistic, talky, sensitive, humorous, sexual, road movie
Similar in 87%
Bacon on the Side (2010)
Plot Summary:
Djalil Boudaoud and Justine Lacroix are a surgeon and a television reporter who enter a romantic relationship despite the objections of their families to the cultural gap.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 557
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, feel good, semi serious, captivating, entertaining, sentimental, touching, realistic
Similar in 83%
Night Bus (2014)
Plot Summary:
The passengers on the Night Bus have many different stories -- some are lovers, some have dark secrets, some are looking for a fight, others are just trying to get through the night.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 384
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic, contemplative, talky
Similar in 83%
Career Girls (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two young women reunite and rekindle their friendship after having said goodbye at their college graduation, six years earlier.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: cult classic, realistic, witty, talky, independent film, art house, sincere, touching, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Two Family House (2000)
Plot Summary:
Buddy Visalo (Michael Rispoli) is a factory worker, a frustrated crooner who once had a shot at the big time. Buddy's dreams of greatness have been reduced to an endless series of failed moneymaking schemes. His latest is buying a two-family house for him and his wife, Estelle (Katherine Narducci) and converting the ground floor into a neighborhood bar where he can perform. The wrench in the works is that he also inherits the upstairs tenants, Mary,a pregnant Irish girl fresh off the boat (Kelly Macdonald) and her abusive, alcoholic husband, Jim (Kevin Conway). As Buddy's gang of Italians tries to handle the situation, the girl goes into labor, and a baby is born, forcing them all to confront the limits of their tolerance and compassion.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, feel good, humorous, semi serious, realistic, independent film, scary, fairy tale, sentimental
Similar in 78%
A Silent Love (2004)
Plot Summary:
Through an Internet service, a Montreal professor arranges for himself a Mexican bride. But both husband and wife, even with their good intentions, are in for a bumpy ride toward marital harmony.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 167
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, Mexico
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, captivating, romantic, romantic drama, realistic, crying
Similar in 85%
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
Plot Summary:
Dek, a decent but somewhat dull man, enjoys a happy existence with beloved girlfriend Shirley. They live together with her 12-year-old, Marlene: her daughter by the delinquent Jimmy, who flew the coop years ago and hasn't been heard from since. Dek loves Shirley so much that he proposes to her on national television.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: humorous, sweet, entertaining, melancholic, intense, atmospheric, witty, touching, feel good, semi serious
Similar in 90%
The Infidel (2010)
Plot Summary:
Based in a London suburb Mahmud Nasir lives with his wife, Saamiya, and two children, Rashid and Nabi. His son plans to marry Uzma, the step-daughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric' from Waziristan, Pakistan. Mahmud, who is not exactly a devout Muslim, he drinks alcohol, and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place. Shortly thereafter Mahmud, while going over his recently deceased mother's documents, will find out that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, light, captivating, surreal, realistic, witty, talky, biting, suspense
Similar in 75%
White Teeth (2002)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of Zadie Smith's bestseller concerning the lives of two families from as far back as the 1800s and India to late 1990s Willesden.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 770
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, multicultural
Similar in 76%
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Plot Summary:
A British-Pakistani man renovates a rundown laundrette with his male lover while dealing with drama within his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, sexy, romantic, cult classic, lgbt cinema, art house, eros, sincere, clever, touching
Similar in 90%
West Is West (2010)
Plot Summary:
Comedy sequel to "East is East". Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, the runt of the litter, is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier. It is not long before Ella Khan (Mrs Khan No2) with a small entourage from Salford, England, swiftly follows to sort out the mess, past and present.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, witty, sentimental, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
Anita & Me (2002)
Plot Summary:
Meena, a 12-year-old living in a mining village in the English Midlands in 1972, is the daughter of Indian parents who've come to England to give her a better life. This idyllic existence is upset by the arrival in the village of Anita Rutter and her dysfunctional family.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Born Romantic (2000)
Plot Summary:
In modern-day London, three men (Craig Ferguson, Jimi Mistry and David Morrissey) and three women (Olivia Williams, Jane Horrocks and Catherine McCormack) fall in and out of love and back again, to the Greek-chorus accompaniment of two cab drivers, who engage in an ongoing conversation about sex. A winning romantic comedy, Born Romantic is the second feature by British writer-director David Kane of This Year's Love fame.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: humorous, romantic, sentimental, touching, feel good, romantic comedy, realistic, talky, sex comedy, semi serious
Similar in 90%
This Year's Love (1999)
Plot Summary:
The big-screen debut from Scottish stage director David Kane, This Year's Love is a comedy about the romantic misadventures of six young people in Camden, North London. The marriage of tattoo artist Danny (Douglas Hanshall) and dressmaker Hannah (Catherine McCormack) gets off to a less-than-inspiring start when Danny finds out Hannah has already been fooling around with a friend's husband, so Danny takes a walk and Hannah splits with a friend to get drunk. At the airport, where the newly-weds were supposed to leave for a honeymoon, Danny meets a cleaning woman named Mary (Kathy Burke) and is immediately infatuated, while Hannah is picked up by a scruffy artist named Cameron (Dougray Scott). Elsewhere, Liam (Ian Hart), a geeky comic-art enthusiast who shares an apartment with Cameron, finds romance with Sophie (Jennifer Ehle), a single mother and full-time neurotic.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, semi serious, sexual
Similar in 89%
Samba (2014)
Plot Summary:
Samba migrated to France 10 years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burnout. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives. Samba's willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track until fate draws them together.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, romantic, captivating, sincere, semi serious, realistic, sexy, humorous, funny
Similar in 89%
East Is East (1999)
Plot Summary:
In 1971 Salford fish-and-chip shop owner George Khan expects his family to follow his strict Pakistani Muslim ways. But his children, with an English mother and having been born and brought up in Britain, increasingly see themselves as British and start to reject their father's rules on dress, food, religion, and living in general.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: hilarious, humorous, witty, realistic, sentimental, touching, feel good, semi serious, independent film, funny