Best movies like Orphans
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The star of Ken Loach's MY NAME IS JOE, Mullan proves that his talent isn't relegated to acting. As a writer/director, he has crafted a supremely entertaining motion picture. ORPHANS tells the grittily realistic, hysterical, and deeply moving tale of a group of siblings who reunite in Glasgow on the eve of their mother's funeral. The four children mourn their mother's passing in a variety of ways, some of which are heartfelt and some of which are bizarre. As a potential thunderstorm threatens to damage the city, the situation compounds itself even further.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, intense, surreal, dark comedy, touching, humorous, depressing, witty, rough, offbeat
Best tv shows and movies like Orphans (1998):
Similar in 77%
A Christmas Tale (2008)
Plot Summary:
When their regal matriarch falls ill, the troubled Vuillard family come together for a hesitant Christmastime reunion. Among them is rebellious ne'er-do-well Henri and the uptight Elizabeth. Together under the same roof for the first time in many years, their intricate, long denied resentments and yearnings emerge again.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, tragicomedy, realistic, semi serious, clever, witty
Similar in 87%
Dim Sum Funeral (2008)
Plot Summary:
An Irish funeral has a wake. A Jewish funeral has sitting shiva. A traditional Chinese funeral is something else entirely. Thats what the estranged siblings of the Chinese-American Xiao family must undergo upon news of their mothers death. The one brother and three sisters dont get along, however they share one thing: hatred for their domineering and manipulative mother, the Dragon Lady.".
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 734
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, touching, emotional, semi serious, independent film, intercultural, inter cultural
Similar in 90%
Lonesome Jim (2005)
Plot Summary:
Failing to make it on his own, 27-year-old Jim moves back in with his parents and deals with crippling family obligations.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, stylized, sincere, humorous, mumblecore, cult classic, aesthetic, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 84%
All or Nothing (2002)
Plot Summary:
Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy, and she works on the checkout at a supermarket.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, meditative, sentimental, sincere, talky, offbeat
Similar in 78%
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)
Plot Summary:
The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Denmark, UK, Sweden, France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, black comedy, dark comedy, independent film, offbeat, clever, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 80%
1, 2, 3, Freeze (1993)
Plot Summary:
A provocative, seemingly absurd patchwork movie which sends a worthwhile message about hope against all odds, love, children and human understanding. Schoolgirl Victorine has an insane mother and an alcoholic father who can never find his way home in their maze of slum apartment blocks. Aggressive, sexually threatening boys of all ages are everywhere, and while the teacher eventually relents to a gang of adolescent rapists, Victorine gives herself to a rowdy gang of older layabouts, eventually winning the heart of burglar Paul.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sexy, bleak, humorous, serious, realistic, experimental, surreal, disturbing, controversial, stylized
Similar in 81%
What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
Plot Summary:
Doug and Abi and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's birthday party. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: feel good, funny, realistic, semi serious, humorous, tense, absurd, scenic, existential, heartfelt
Similar in 80%
Just Before I Go (2014)
Plot Summary:
Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, dark comedy, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, independent film, sentimental, funny, feel good, freeze frame
Similar in 90%
The Upside of Anger (2005)
Plot Summary:
After her husband runs off with his secretary, Terry Wolfmeyer is left to fend for herself -- and her four daughters. As she hits rock bottom, Terry finds a friend and drinking buddy in next-door neighbor Denny, a former baseball player. As the two grow closer, and her daughters increasingly rely on Denny, Terry starts to have reservations about where their relationship is headed.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sexy, melancholic, witty, emotional, intense, sincere, realistic, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 85%
Driving Lessons (2006)
Plot Summary:
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sentimental, witty, feel good, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, uplifting, spiritual
Similar in 81%
Agnes Browne (1999)
Plot Summary:
When Agnes Browne's husband died, she discovered something amazing... Herself.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Ireland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, humorous, uplifting, touching, melancholic, sweet, sincere, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Lawless Heart (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a British seaside resort, several lives intertwine following the funeral of a gay restaurant owner.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: melancholic, sentimental, touching, semi serious, talky, romantic, captivating, entertaining, humorous, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Acid House (1998)
Plot Summary:
THE ACID HOUSE is a surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche. Directed by Paul McGuigan, the film dramatises three stories from the book: 1- The Granton Star Cause, 2- A Soft Touch & 3- The Acid House.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychedelic, mind bending, dark comedy, disturbing, humorous, absurd, independent film, clever, controversial
Similar in 83%
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 82%
Somers Town (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek (Piotr Jagiello) lives in the district of Somers Town, between King's Cross and Euston stations, where his dad is working on a new rail link.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, black and white, social, humorous, witty
Similar in 85%
Diggers (2006)
Plot Summary:
Diggers is a coming-of-age story directed by Katherine Dieckmann. It portrays four working-class friends who grow up in The Hamptons, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, as clam diggers in 1976. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them. They must cope with and learn to face the changing times in both their personal lives and their neighborhood.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: humorous, touching, realistic, witty, semi serious, period piece, independent film, biting, suspense
Similar in 86%
Introducing the Dwights (2007)
Plot Summary:
The shy son of an aging comedienne tries to find a balance between his demanding home life, his new girlfriend, and his mother's second chance at fame.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sentimental, feel good, realistic, entertaining, biting, crying, suspense
Similar in 80%
Daddy and Them (2001)
Plot Summary:
When an uncle is charged with murder, the event reverberates throughout a poor Arkansas family, including a struggling musician and his wife, her mother, her sister, and his father.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, realistic, independent film, psychological, humorous
Similar in 76%
Birds of America (2008)
Plot Summary:
A regular guy struggles with a repressive home and professional life, as well as making amends for the trouble his free-spirited brother and sister cause about town.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, humorous, realistic, funny, family saga, offbeat, crying, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 78%
Family Resemblances (1996)
Plot Summary:
An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: witty, talky, humorous, realistic, dark comedy, sincere, culinary, clever, offbeat, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Duane Hopwood (2005)
Plot Summary:
A down-on-his-luck divorced father struggles to get his life and family back together before it's too late.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: emotional, humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, clever, touching, gloomy, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 76%
Soft Fruit (1999)
Plot Summary:
For the first time in 15 years, all four siblings in a family show up to care for their dying mother, who is only given a couple of weeks to live. One comes from America with her two children. A divorced sister also comes with her child and sneaks off regularly to meet a mystery man who may be her ex-husband. The third & youngest daughter is an unmarried nurse aware of her ticking biological clock. The only son chases after his grumpy father who seems to not care a whit about his wife's circumstances. The four are also faced my their mother's dreams to accomplish a few things before she dies - to visit a beach she had visited in the past, to see her youngest married, and to visit Paris. She also wants to be embalmed and be honored with a 21 gun salute. Thus the whole group has to set off in the quest to fulfill their mother's wishes.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 566
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, independent film, black comedy, sentimental, touching, offbeat, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy, erotic
Similar in 88%
Strange Relations (2001)
Plot Summary:
Drama - A NYC psychiatrist is diagnosed with leukemia - and when he finds out he was adopted, he travels to England in search of his birth mother and some answers. - Paul Reiser, Amber Sealey, Lachele Carl.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 807
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, emotional, semi serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 88%
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 80%
The Savages (2007)
Plot Summary:
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, independent film, emotional, compassionate, touching, depressing, melancholic, sincere, humorous
Similar in 89%
The Myth of Fingerprints (1997)
Plot Summary:
When a New England dysfunctional family gathers for Thanksgiving, past demons reveal themselves as one son returns for the first time in three years.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sentimental, melancholic, talky, intense, sincere, independent film, compassionate, comedy drama
Similar in 82%
The Last of the High Kings (1996)
Plot Summary:
It is 1977, Dublin rocks to the music of Thin Lizzy and the world is stunned by the death of Elvis Presley. Frankie, caught between acne and adulthood, has just completed his final exams in school. Convinced he will fail, he survives the summer organising a beach party, having lustful thoughts about two girls he believes are unobtainable and fending off the advances from a visiting American family friend, all whilst coping with his oddball family.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Ireland, Denmark, UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: humorous, light, talky, sentimental, touching, feel good, semi serious, sincere, independent film, realistic
Similar in 86%
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young man's peculiar upbringing renders him unable to competently cope with the struggle of growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, depressing, cynical, humorous, clever, realistic, witty, talky, suspense, black comedy
Similar in 84%
Inside I'm Dancing (2004)
Plot Summary:
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Ireland, France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, dramatic, uplifting, sad, compassionate, heartbreaking, independent film, psychological, philosophical
Similar in 84%
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Plot Summary:
Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: tear jerker, touching, emotional, sad, heartbreaking, sentimental, compassionate, romantic, crying, realistic