Best movies like Novitiate
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, social, sad, controversial, costume drama, queer cinema
Best tv shows and movies like Novitiate (2017):
Similar in 75%
The Abduction of Saint Anne (1975)
Plot Summary:
A cynical detective and a Roman Catholic bishop team up to investigate the reported miraculous powers of a 17-year-old girl being held captive in the home of her father, an ailing syndicate kingpin.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 75
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: detective
Similar in 82%
Summer (2014)
Plot Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Anne grows up in the isolated Biesbosch area, where spacious fields and power pylons define the landscape. With a group of friends, she spends a sultry summer holiday there trying to make the leap to maturity. But this shared experience turns into a conflict situation when Anna develops feelings for the tough girl Lena. Coming-of-age drama about growing pains, the inevitable end of childhood and choosing your own life - no matter how confusing your environment may find it.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
Similar in 81%
The Nun and the Devil (1973)
Plot Summary:
It's 1577. The Mother Superior at the convent of Archangel is seriously ill. The determined and calculating Mother Giulia plots to become the next Mother Superior. She receives tough competition from tormented lesbian Sister Chiara and the lusty Sister Carmela.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 519
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: grindhouse
Similar in 87%
Story of a Cloistered Nun (1973)
Plot Summary:
A woman who was promised to a powerful family's son at birth falls in love with another man, refuses to renounce him, and is sent to a nunnery by her shocked parents. Once there, she first undergoes degradation to acclimatize her to convent life; then she experiences rampant lesbianism by the repressed nuns, and becomes pregnant by her lover. Finally, her refusal to accede to one nun's lascivious lesbian advances leads to plotting and treachery, and her lover being murdered out of jealousy. Her life now ruined, she further scandalises her family by refusing to take her vows, and leaves the convent, devoting her existence to those in need. Claims to be based on a true story!.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 454
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: naughty
Similar in 83%
The Third Miracle (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Vatican sends a priest to verify some miracles, performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: biblical, controversial, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film, psychological, sentimental
Similar in 85%
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Plot Summary:
Metropolitan Archbishop Lakota of L'viv, freed after twenty years in the Soviet Gulag, travels to Rome where circumstances conspire to see him elevated to the Papacy. Inspired by the life story of Ukrainian Catholic Cardinal Josyf Slipyj,.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: tense, epic, serious, realistic, christian film, retro, spiritual
Similar in 78%
In This House of Brede (1975)
Plot Summary:
A well-to-do London businesswoman gives up her comfortable life, including the man who loves her, to become a cloistered Benedictine nun.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 301
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
The Runner Stumbles (1979)
Plot Summary:
Dick Van Dyke stars as a priest accused of murdering a nun. Directed by Stanley Kramer, this 1979 drama also features Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Stapleton, Ray Bolger, Beau Bridges and Tammy Grimes.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 348
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Mariette in Ecstasy (1996)
Plot Summary:
In this forceful study of religious passion an extraordinary spiritual experience is placed in the center of a deftly evoked natural world, namely, rural upstate New York just after the turn of the century. At summer's end, when she is 17, Mariette Baptiste, educated daughter of the local doctor, enters the cloistered convent of Our Lady of the Afflictions as a postulant. Her religious fervor, understated but determined, makes an impact on the small community of nuns whose days and nights are measured in a round of prayer and farm work changing only with the seasons. Their ordered life is disrupted, however, as Mariette begins to fall into a series of trances from which she awakens with stigmata, which heal as spontaneously as they appear. The feelings of skepticism, jealousy and adoration evoked in the nuns, Mariette's own response and that of the Mother Superior are delicately, indelibly presented.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 72
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 76%
The True Story of the Nun of Monza (1980)
Plot Summary:
Sister Virginia de Leyva becomes the new Mother Superior at the convent of Monza. Said convent turns out to be a veritable hotbed of sinful carnality and depravity. Debauched priest Don Arrigone and lecherous womanizer Giampaolo Osio plot to seduce sister Virginia. But will their wicked and lustful actions continue to go unnoticed?.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 346
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexploitation film
Similar in 77%
Three Veils (2011)
Plot Summary:
The lives of three young Middle Eastern women intertwine as they struggle to defy tradition and create their own realities. From an arranged marriage and a lesbian love affair to an abusive family situation, the film delicately tackles some of the issues Middle Eastern women are confronted with today.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 233
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Plot Summary:
An unemployed construction worker (Homer Smith) heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior (Mother Maria), who believes that Homer has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: black and white, christian film, touching, inspirational, retro, social, atmospheric, uplifting, serious, captivating
Similar in 85%
Beyond the Hills (2012)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered on the friendship between two young women who grew up in the same orphanage; one has found refuge at a convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who now lives in Germany.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania, France, Belgium
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: sincere, disturbing, realistic, bleak, depressing, slow cinema, touching, spiritual, lgbt cinema, social
Similar in 83%
The Nun (2013)
Plot Summary:
Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de).
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, atmospheric, serious, psychological, erotic, sincere, independent film, period drama
Similar in 82%
The Nun (1966)
Plot Summary:
In eighteenth-century France, a girl is forced against her will to take vows as a nun. Three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways, ranging from maternal concern, to sadistic persecution, to lesbian desire.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: art house, sensual, historical drama, atmospheric, thought provoking, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, controversial
Similar in 75%
Ashley (2013)
Plot Summary:
A teenage girl, distraught from her vain attempt to connect with her estranged mother, resorts to cutting herself. When she develops an online relationship with an older woman, she learns to accept her sexuality and the endless solitude of sprawling suburbia.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, psychological, erotic, sad, crying, bleak, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Ida (2013)
Plot Summary:
Anna, a young novitiate in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a family secret dating back to the years of the German occupation.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, Denmark, France, UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: black and white, art house, emotional, melancholic, visually stunning, bleak, depressing, serious, independent film, cerebral
Similar in 85%
The Two Popes (2019)
Plot Summary:
Explores the relationship and opposing visions between two of the most powerful leaders in the Catholic Church, both of whom must address their own pasts and the demands of the modern world in order to move the church forward.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 131000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Italy, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, psychological, humorous, motivational, funny, philosophical, political, saga, witty, controversial
Similar in 85%
To the Stars (2019)
Plot Summary:
Under small-town scrutiny, a withdrawn farmer’s daughter forges an intimate friendship with a worldly but reckless new girl in 1960s Oklahoma.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, melancholic, independent film, teen, tragic ending
Similar in 77%
Circumstance (2011)
Plot Summary:
A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, USA, Iran
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, atmospheric, emotional, lgbt cinema, erotic, inspirational, sexy, islamic, serious
Similar in 80%
Raven's Touch (2015)
Plot Summary:
Blaming herself for a tragic accident, Raven Michaels secludes herself at a remote family cabin. She wanders the woods on the verge of a breakdown, seeking peace in isolation. In a last ditch attempt to save her family, Kate Royce takes her two teenagers camping far from the distractions of technology and young romance. When Raven and Kate's worlds collide they offer each other unexpected opportunities for intimacy and healing.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 873
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, deep, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Plot Summary:
1993: after being caught having sex with the prom queen, a girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, touching, disturbing, teen, captivating, sexy, intellectual, social, stylized
Similar in 89%
Snapshots (2018)
Plot Summary:
Rose spends her days fishing near the beautiful lake house she’s called home for 50 years. She’s not getting any younger and her daughter Patti worries about Rose being all alone, but the stubborn matriarch will not sell. There are memories here that she doesn’t want to leave. These come flooding back one weekend during a visit from Patti and granddaughter Allison, when a long-forgotten roll of film reminds Rose of the summer she met and fell in love with the bold and beautiful Louise.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, tense, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Pariah (2011)
Plot Summary:
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, realistic, sincere, serious, emotional, spiritual, lgbt cinema, sexual, powerful
Similar in 75%
Benedetta (2021)
Plot Summary:
The story of Sister Benedetta Carlini, a 15th century nun who was hailed as a visionary but later accused of fabricated miracles, homosexuality and other charges, and imprisoned for 35 years.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium, Netherlands
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sexy, sentimental, lgbt cinema, erotic, psychological, tense, suspenseful, stylized, period piece, costume drama
Similar in 85%
Beach Rats (2017)
Plot Summary:
An aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn struggles to escape his bleak home life and navigate questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends, a potential new girlfriend, and older men he meets online.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, captivating, disturbing, erotic, exciting, sexy, lgbt cinema, social, controversial
Similar in 76%
The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
Plot Summary:
Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, brutal, controversial, harsh, depressing, suspense, factual, compassionate, rough
Similar in 77%
Princess Cyd (2017)
Plot Summary:
High school athlete Cyd Loughlin lives alone with her depressive father in South Carolina, perpetually longing to get away from it all. When her aunt, famous novelist Miranda Ruth, agrees to host her for a few weeks during the summer, Cyd jumps at the opportunity. While there, she falls for a girl in the neighborhood, even as she and her aunt gently challenge each other in the realms of sex and spirit.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, disturbing, erotic, social, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Disobedience (2017)
Plot Summary:
A woman learns about the death of her father. She returns to her Orthodox Jewish home and falls in love with her best childhood friend who is now married to her cousin.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: melancholic, depressing, sexy, sincere, ambiguous ending, romantic, touching, heartbreaking, social, sad
Similar in 83%
Tell It to the Bees (2018)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Jean Markham returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father's medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the bee keeper brings his mother Lydia into Jean's world.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Sweden
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: psychological, sad, thought provoking, touching, romantic drama, captivating, period piece, romantic, queer cinema, beautiful