Best movies like Paraiso Travel
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
PARAISO TRAVEL is the story of Marlon Cruz, a young Colombian man who, motivated by his girlfriend Reina leaves his comfortable life in Medellin and flees with her through Guatemala and Mexico, across the borders, illegally into the United States. Marlon's journey, which takes him through seedy strip clubs, dance halls, homeless hostels, ultimately takes him to a place he could have not predicted.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, atmospheric, contemplative, gloomy
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Chicago Boricua (2004)
Plot Summary:
A group of young Puerto Ricans in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood grapple with issues of identity: A beauty queen may need to mask her ethnicity; a college student falls for a bad boy; a real estate agent resists exploiting his roots.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 89%
Restless City (2011)
Plot Summary:
Tells the story of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle and falling in love is his greatest risk.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, captivating, psychological, intelligent, independent film, sincere, serious
Similar in 85%
Just Like a Woman (2012)
Plot Summary:
Two women get on the highway heading to Santa Fe. Marilyn dreams of winning a contest held by a famous belly dancing company, while her friend, Mona, has a secret: she's a fugitive from justice - accused of her mother-in-law's death.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, disturbing, sex comedy, touching, realistic, independent film, interesting
Similar in 76%
The Citizen (2012)
Plot Summary:
Yearning to leave behind his life of misfortune in the Middle East, Ibrahim Jarrah wins the U.S. Green Card Lottery for a chance to become an American citizen. Ibrahim lands in New York City the day before 9/11…and the events of the September terrorist attacks forever shape the struggles he faces on his journey to capture the American dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, uplifting, independent film
Similar in 76%
Generation Um... (2012)
Plot Summary:
A drama that follows three adults during a single day in Los Angeles, one filled with sex, drugs, and indecision.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, independent film, captivating, suspense, contemplative, talky, inspirational
Similar in 89%
Between Us (2009)
Plot Summary:
Abruptly abandoned by her husband in a country completely foreign to her, Colombian native Mariana (Paola Mendoza) struggles to take care of herself and her two young children on the unforgiving streets of New York City. Sebastian Villada, Laura Montana and Anthony Chisholm also star in this gritty independent drama jointly written and directed by Mendoza and her collaborator Gloria La Morte.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious
Similar in 77%
Dance Town (2010)
Plot Summary:
A North Korean refugee, Jung-Nim, is trying to find a new life in South Korea, with people suspecting that she is a spy.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 83
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, touching, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
Plot Summary:
A gritty Brooklyn story about union corruption, violence, taboos and social norms. The stories told are of the sailors, the prostitute, the union bosses, the hooligans and the gay community set in the early 50s.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, rough, intense, social, tense, period piece, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 88%
Choking Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
The social anxiety of a morbidly shy Ecuadorian dishwasher working in a Queens diner provides the psychological engine that powers this blend of drama and magical realism.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, touching, captivating, psychological, sentimental, serious, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Not Waving But Drowning (2012)
Plot Summary:
Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from two different stories. The two sets of friends represent the American dilemma between what you have known and what you hope to know; the tear between longing for the past and the desire to explore.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy, independent film
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Dreamland (2006)
Plot Summary:
A young woman who lives in a desert trailer park must choose between caring for her hapless father and sick friend or fulfilling her own destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 78%
The Pornographer (1999)
Plot Summary:
A socially inept man's amateur porn film wins him a contract with a small-time pornography distribution company, where he faces a series of moral crises and is forced to face his own porn addiction.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 845
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: erotic, sensual, psychological, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, sexual, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Imperialists Are Still Alive! (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young artist in Manhattan falls in love with a Mexican.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 316
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
Emoticon ;) (2014)
Plot Summary:
Elena Gallenti is an anthropology graduate student struggling to complete her thesis on 'modern means of communication.' All that changes when she meets her new boyfriend's teenage kids, who are going through their own journeys of self-discovery. All of them learn to navigate love and intimacy in the digital age.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, contemplative, independent film, serious
Similar in 78%
Little Jerusalem (2005)
Plot Summary:
An orthodox Jewish teen living with her family in France attempts to balance her religious upbringing with her increasingly complex view of the outside world.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 904
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 87%
Same Same But Different (2009)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Benjamin Prufer and Sreykeo Solvan. The unexpected and uncertain love story of Sreykeo, a 21 year old bar girl in Phnom Penh and Ben, a young German student traveling to Cambodia on a post graduation summer trip. When Ben returns home to Germany he discovers that Sreyko is sick and he takes on the responsibility to save her. On the way he discovers a world where not everyone is dealt the same cards and where motivations are not always pure.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, atmospheric, touching, realistic, sincere, offbeat, serious, captivating, gloomy
Similar in 88%
A Cool, Dry Place (1998)
Plot Summary:
A single father balances his work as an attorney with the care of his five year old son and his work as a high school basketball coach in rural Kansas, where he moved after his wife abandoned him in Chicago. Just as he starts to develop a new relationship with a veterinarian's assistant, his ex-wife suddenly reappears and wants to re-assert herself in her husband and son's life. On top of the romantic conflict, he is also suddenly presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to join a major firm in Dallas.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, realistic, tense, light, feel good, unusual plot structure, sweet, emotional
Similar in 87%
Little Birds (2011)
Plot Summary:
Lily and Alison face a life-changing event after they leave their Salton Sea home and follow the boys they meet back to Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, captivating, independent film, teen, depressing, artsy, indie film, aesthetic
Similar in 83%
The Dust of Time (2008)
Plot Summary:
A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and the USA. The main character is Eleni, who is claimed and claims the absoluteness of love. At the same time the film is a long journey into the vast history and the events of the last fifty years that left their mark on the 20th century. The characters in the film move as though in a dream. The dust of time confuses memories. A searches for them and experiences them in the present.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece, Italy, Germany, Russia, France
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, touching, serious, postmodern, slow cinema, aesthetic, epic, realistic
Similar in 81%
Personal Belongings (2006)
Plot Summary:
Young Doctor Ana lives alone because she couldn't bear to leave Cuba when her family sailed away on a raft to the US. Ernesto lives in his car with his belongings in a small case, traveling from embassy to embassy trying to fulfill his dream of leaving Cuba. These Star-crossed lovers long to be together, they are pulled apart by different dreams rooted in different countries. In his directorial debut, Alejandro Brugués offers his personal view on the insistently revisited theme in Cuban art and literature - emigration and the laceration that it implies.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 105
Genere: Drama
Country: Cuba
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic
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Automatic (2005)
Plot Summary:
Everyone falls into self destructive habits. Automatic lets us view a small cross-section of the lives of six characters as they struggle to break free from the automatic behavior that drives their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, independent film, crying
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Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
Plot Summary:
J.R. is a typical Italian-American on the streets of New York. When he gets involved with a local girl, he decides to get married and settle down, but when he learns that she was once raped, he cannot handle it. More explicitly linked with Catholic guilt that Scorsese's later work, we see what happens to J.R. when his religious guilt catches up with him.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: black and white, independent film, talky, offbeat, spiritual, mind blowing, sincere, clever, touching, serious
Similar in 90%
My Family (1995)
Plot Summary:
Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930's. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the 50's. As the second generation become adults in the 60's, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: touching, thought provoking, sad, independent film, serious, captivating, realistic, hispanic, hood, sentimental
Similar in 77%
Zooey (2006)
Plot Summary:
Angel and Zooey are not your typical newlyweds. Zooey is a professional prostitute and Angel is a drug dealer. Yet they are not without hopes and dreams, of escaping their life in the streets and starting a new in a fresh painted cottage with picked fence, kid and a dog, in Manitoba, Canada, Life gets in the way however when their best friend gets in trouble with her pimp. They sacrifice everything to save her, including their own dreams.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Full Body Massage (1995)
Plot Summary:
Nina, an art dealer, has her weekly massage appointment and is surprised to find out her usual masseur, Douglas, has sent a replacement named Fitch. The pair develop an easy rapport during the session, with talk about past relationships. As Nina lies topless on the massage table, Fitch also takes time to explain various massage techniques, including those used by Hopi medicine men.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, serious, realistic, talky, sincere, erotic, mystic, clever, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 83%
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)
Plot Summary:
The film follows Mr. Shi, a retired widower from Beijing. When his only daughter, Yilan, who lives in Spokane, Washington and works as a librarian, gets divorced, he decides to visit her to help her heal. However, Yilan is not interested. She tries keeping an emotional distance but when this finally fails she begins physically avoiding her father. He confronts her about an affair with a married Russian man and she, in turn, lets loose about all the gossip she'd heard as a young girl about his alleged affair with a female colleague back in China.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: serious, thought provoking, touching, realistic, emotional, contemplative
Similar in 88%
Rambling Rose (1991)
Plot Summary:
Rose, is taken in by the Hillyer family to serve as a 1930s housemaid so that she can avoid falling into a life of prostitution. Rose's appearence and personality is such that all men fall for her, and Rose knows it. She can't help herself from getting into trouble with men.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: erotic, touching, emotional, sexy, sentimental, serious, realistic, romantic, independent film, sexual
Similar in 77%
Slovenian Girl (2009)
Plot Summary:
Aleksandra is a student from Krško, a small town in Slovenia. She has a plan to conquer the world. Working as a prostitute, her life is heading to where she wants it, but an accidental death has her wrestling with new feelings of fear, loneliness, confusion and responsibility.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Slovenia, Germany, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, captivating, realistic, sentimental, sexual, transgressive, sincere, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 75%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 82%
Body Shots (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Los Angeles club scene is a place of booze-fueled decadence and debauchery. In a night full of possibilities, eight 20-somethings take to the clubs seeking good times, companionship and maybe a little sex. But in the harsh light of the morning after, their worlds are thrown into a spin of confusion when hungover Sara accuses hard-partying Mike of date rape. Loyalties are tested as each among them is forced to take sides.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sexy, suspense, entertaining, melancholic, intense, psychological, serious, realistic, erotic, sexual