Best movies like Nomadland
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to Nomadland? Provide your insights to guide others towards tv series and movies you've seen before that they may enjoy also. Assist in enlarging the group of people proposing videos to each other. We appreciate your input!
Plot Summary:
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 177000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: road movie, serious, sincere, captivating, social, sad, realistic, funny, inspirational, philosophical
Best tv shows and movies like Nomadland (2020):
Similar in 85%
Sue (1997)
Plot Summary:
An unemployed ex-office worker (Anna Thomson) searching for work floats a fragile line of sanity as she struggles to find friendship and companionship. Her tenuous grasp on reality further fluctuates when a man (Matthew Powers) whom she met in a restaurant and started an affair is called to go to India for an assignment. The final straw occurs when she is evicted and moves into a sleazy hotel. She then starts seeking casual sex in unorthodox locations just to have human contact.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, independent film, psychological, sincere, atmospheric, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 76%
Paradise (2004)
Plot Summary:
Televangelist Bobby Paradise "saw God" in some space debris when he was returning to Earth as an astronaut. Or at least he was convinced he did by his wife, a Cape Canaveral groupie at the time Bobby was with NASA. Now they have built up an extensive TV empire. When their proposal to merge with a somewhat tarnished mogul is investigated by the government, skeletons in the Paradise closet come to light and the family either rallies behind or disparages the enterprise.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 131
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, crying, soap opera
Similar in 85%
Wakefield (2016)
Plot Summary:
A man's nervous breakdown causes him to leave his wife and live in his attic for several months.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, sad, depressing, suspense, crying, spy comedy, weird, interesting
Similar in 81%
Vagabond (1985)
Plot Summary:
Mona Bergeron is dead, her frozen body found in a ditch in the French countryside. From this, the film flashes back to the weeks leading up to her death. Through these flashbacks, Mona gradually declines as she travels from place to place, taking odd jobs and staying with whomever will offer her a place to sleep. Mona is fiercely independent, craving freedom over comfort, but it is this desire to be free that will eventually lead to her demise.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: road movie, disturbing, art house, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, realistic, contemplative, social, retro
Similar in 90%
Minari (2020)
Plot Summary:
A Korean-American family moves to Arkansas in search of their own American Dream. With the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother, the stability of their relationships is challenged even more in this new life in the rugged Ozarks, testing the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 93000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sad, independent film, sincere, captivating, thought provoking, offbeat, breathtaking, social, period piece, deep
Similar in 84%
Certain Women (2016)
Plot Summary:
The lives of four women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, ironic, disturbing, poetic, indie film, heartfelt, profound, weird, queer cinema
Similar in 76%
The Wife (2017)
Plot Summary:
A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Sweden, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, lyrical, intellectual, serious, emotional, sad, art house, novela, independent film
Similar in 81%
Two Days, One Night (2014)
Plot Summary:
Sandra is a young woman who has only one weekend to convince her colleagues they must give up their bonuses in order for her to keep her job — not an easy task in this economy.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: depressing, independent film, sincere, serious, compassionate, atmospheric, emotional, thought provoking, bleak, cerebral
Similar in 82%
Another Round (2020)
Plot Summary:
Four high school teachers launch a drinking experiment: upholding a constant low level of intoxication.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 186000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, psychological, thought provoking, social, unusual plot structure, funny, ironic, art house, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 82%
Sorry We Missed You (2019)
Plot Summary:
A story exploring the issue of hardship in modern-day Britain through a young couple scraping to get by in a casual jobs market. A hard-up delivery driver and his carer wife are pushed to breaking point as they struggle to keep their family afloat in a world of zero-hour contracts and gig work.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France, Belgium
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: political, social, psychological, sincere, realistic, disturbing, inspirational, road movie, educational, independent film
Similar in 80%
Camilla (1994)
Plot Summary:
Freda Lopez, an aspiring musician, travels with her husband to the beautiful beaches of Georgia where she befriends Camilla, an odd and exotic elderly woman who plays the violin. When the two embark on a journey together, Camilla reclaims a lost love and makes peace with herself and her son, while Freda discovers inner resources she never knew she had.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, sincere, touching, light, road movie, thought provoking, captivating, entertaining, independent film
Similar in 76%
About Schmidt (2002)
Plot Summary:
66-year-old Warren Schmidt is a retired insurance salesman and has no particular plans other than to drive around in the motor home his wife insisted they buy. He's not altogether bitter, but not happy either, as everything his wife does annoys him, and he disapproves of the man his daughter is about to marry. When his wife suddenly dies, he sets out to postpone the imminent marriage of his daughter to a man he doesn't like, while coping with discoveries about his late wife and himself in the process.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: road movie, depressing, dark comedy, sad, melancholic, meditative, contemplative, existential, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Plot Summary:
A driver and a mechanic travel around the United States hopping from drag strip to drag strip in a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air coupe. They race for money, betting with their competitors. The pair gain a young and talkative female stowaway. Along the way they unintentionally attract a well-to-do drifter driving a new Pontiac GTO. This older man, looking for attention, antagonizes their efforts.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: road movie, meditative, atmospheric, grindhouse, disturbing, serious, realistic, cult classic, existential, independent film
Similar in 87%
Poetry (2010)
Plot Summary:
Grandmother Mi Ja works part-time as a caretaker, and struggles to raise a teen grandson by herself. Despite her tough situation, she speaks softly, dresses fashionably, and approaches the world with child-like curiosity. Enrolling in a poetry class, she endeavors to capture life in verse form, but her simple dream of completing a poem is stalled by the early signs of Alzheimer's disease and the heavy financial and emotional burden of her grandson's shocking wrongdoing.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea, France
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, realistic, lyrical, sentimental, captivating, sad, art house, existential
Similar in 83%
The Florida Project (2017)
Plot Summary:
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, captivating, social, aesthetic, inspirational, anamorphic, visually stunning, funny, political
Similar in 84%
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Plot Summary:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: road movie, serious, realistic, thought provoking, captivating, cynical, cerebral, cult classic, philosophical, existential
Similar in 89%
Last Orders (2001)
Plot Summary:
Jack Dodd was a London butcher who enjoyed a pint with his mates for over 50 years. When he died, he died as he lived, with a smile on his face watching a horse race on which he had bet, with borrowed money. But before he died he had a final request, 'Last Orders', that his ashes be scattered in the sea at Margate. The movie follows his mates, Ray, Lenny and Vic and his foster son Vince as they journey to the sea with the ashes. Along the way, the threads of their lives, their loves and their disappointments are woven together in their memories of Jack and his wife Amy.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, talky, atmospheric, sincere, serious, emotional, contemplative, road movie
Similar in 78%
Land (2021)
Plot Summary:
Edee, in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, finds herself unable to stay connected to the world she once knew and in the face of that uncertainty, retreats to the magnificent, but unforgiving, wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, serious
Similar in 85%
Promised Land (2012)
Plot Summary:
A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, United Arab Emirates
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: inspirational, melancholic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, realistic, serious, captivating, feel good, tricky
Similar in 86%
Paris, Texas (1984)
Plot Summary:
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Drama
Country: West Germany, France, UK, USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: road movie, surreal, touching, atmospheric, emotional, bleak, lyrical, visual, philosophical, art house
Similar in 85%
Leave No Trace (2018)
Plot Summary:
A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. But when a small mistake tips them off to authorities, they are sent on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, motivational, road movie, philosophical, captivating, thought provoking, intellectual, depressing
Similar in 76%
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)
Plot Summary:
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, emotional, thought provoking, social, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Losing Isaiah (1995)
Plot Summary:
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, touching, emotional, melancholic, serious, thought provoking, sexy, sad, hood, cult classic
Similar in 80%
The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
Plot Summary:
Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940's Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish -- just once before she dies -- is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home.".
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, independent film, road movie, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, sincere
Similar in 87%
Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Plot Summary:
Wendy, a near-penniless drifter, is traveling to Alaska in search of work, and her only companion is her dog, Lucy. Already perilously close to losing everything, Wendy hits a bigger bump in the road when her old car breaks down and she is arrested for shoplifting dog food. When she posts bail and returns to retrieve Lucy, she finds that the dog is gone, prompting a frantic search for her pet.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, sad, road movie, psychological, realistic, emotional, meditative, talky, stylized, sincere
Similar in 85%
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Plot Summary:
A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 118000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, depressing, controversial, cult classic, psychological, rough, serious, bleak, grim
Similar in 88%
Scarecrow (1973)
Plot Summary:
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: road movie, atmospheric, emotional, sincere, touching, depressing, anamorphic, cult classic, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Plot Summary:
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 305000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: sad, depressing, heartbreaking, psychological, emotional, touching, independent film, compassionate, realistic, cerebral
Similar in 85%
Nebraska (2013)
Plot Summary:
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 122000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: road movie, black and white, depressing, humorous, touching, realistic, meditative, emotional, melancholic, witty
Similar in 87%
Rain Man (1988)
Plot Summary:
Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 538000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: road movie, sincere, uplifting, touching, inspirational, emotional, psychological, captivating, clever, social