Best movies like Penitent
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies related to Penitent? Contribute your expertise to navigate others toward tv series and movies you've already seen that might similarly enthrall them. Aid in enlarging the circle of people referring videos amongst each other. We encourage your engagement!
Plot Summary:
After being imprisoned for dangerous driving, causing the death of a child and possession of illegal substances, Jason Buckley is finding it difficult to adjust to life outside prison.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 14
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Penitent (2017):
Similar in 81%
The Penal Colony (1970)
Plot Summary:
A foreign journalist arrives on a small Pacific island 200 miles off the coast of South America. Once a leper colony, the island was later transformed into a prison and then, under U.N. mandate, made into an independent republic. Yet despite democratic structures, the inhabitants--who speak a strange dialect composed of Spanish and English--still obey the old prison rules. After sending back detailed accounts of the torture and repression seen everywhere, the journalist realizes that she"s fallen into the trap created for her by the islanders: lacking natural resources, the island"s main export is news. The clearest anticipation of Ruiz"s later European work, The Penal Colony is a powerful document of the tensions and contradictions in Chile in the months before Allende"s electoral victory.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Krapp's Last Tape (2000)
Plot Summary:
In Krapp's Last Tape, which was written in English in 1958, an old man reviews his life and assesses his predicament. We learn about him not from the 69-year-old man on stage, but from his 39-year-old self on the tape he chooses to listen to. On the 'awful occasion' of his birthday, Krapp was then and is now in the habit of reviewing the past year and 'separating the grain from the husks'. He isolates memories of value, fertility and nourishment to set against creeping death 'when all my dust has settled'.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 421
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: crying, minimal cast
Similar in 75%
A Family On Edge (2013)
Plot Summary:
"A Family On Edge" is about two brothers, Michael and Gabriel Bonds, who were thick as thieves growing up in Atlanta who protected each other by any means necessary.When a fatal mistake separates the siblings, their rock-solid relationship is forever changed. Shocking secrets from past and present create intensifying tension between the brothers who find themselves faced with a perilous choice, resulting in A Family On Edge. This highly realistic urban drama is layered with unpredictable twists and turns that appeal to an intergenerational audience. This is a must see for those love suspense, drama and action.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Underdogs (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Brunnenberg prison for men, the new warden introduces a revolutionary convict re-socializing project: training guide dogs for the blind. The perks make all convicts volunteer for only seven slots. Except burly macho Moskowitch 'Mosk', who cares only for the manly work out contest. The warden blackmails him, he can only do the contest if his assigned pup passes the first test. All dogs must pass or the project is halted. Unlike the others, Mosk only starts caring for his canine when it gets sick.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 155
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Eric LaRue (2023)
Plot Summary:
Janice is struggling; she moves through life as if in a haze, unable to let go of her anger and frustration. While her husband has found refuge at a new church, Janice finds it hard to seek solace in her faith despite her pastor’s pleas to heal her wounds by meeting with the mothers of her son’s victims.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 36
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Golden Horseshoes (1989)
Plot Summary:
Youssef Soltane, a 45-year-old Tunisian intellectual, is the product of a generation that lived the era of euphoria and great ideologies in the sixties, and their subsequent failure. He was incarcerated and tortured for his political opinions. Furthermore, his relationship with Zineb, a young, beautiful bourgeois, only brings him more trouble. During one long winter night, Youssef wanders in search of an emotional haven, prey to all the questions that flood his memory.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 46
Genere: Drama
Country: Tunisia, France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Lines (2016)
Plot Summary:
Greece nowadays. Seven different stories about seven persons who have already reached their limits and finally fall apart. Despite their seemingly obvious connection they are simultaneously connected through a common desperate action: the last phone call to the psychological support center called "life line". It's their last hope. As no one can really help them, even then, they all remain another part of the contemporary Greek tragedy. Written by Horme Pictures.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 177
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: avant garde
Similar in 78%
From Now On (2007)
Plot Summary:
Dora divides her time between her work as a beautician, her policeman husband António, and her involvement in left-wing politics. A tale of love and how we must learn to cherish it against all odds in the pursuit of happiness.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 82
Genere: Drama
Country: Portugal
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
Locked Up (2006)
Plot Summary:
In a German town, teacher Irene leads an inconspicuous, boring, lonely life. One day, a man rings at her door and slips in. It's an armed convict from the prison next door, escaped with a leg wound. He now makes her a prisoner in her own home. Almost without a word, as if she secretly enjoys the excitement or just mesmerized, she obeys Vassily, every single command, even sexual services, submissively or after a symbolic struggle. Somehow that seems to change, but can force initiate love?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Manners of Dying (2004)
Plot Summary:
Kevin Barlow (Roy Dupuis) will die on schedule and according to regulations. Harry Parlington (Serge Houde), director of the Cantos execution facility, intends to make sure of it. However Barlow chooses to go, be it calmly or fighting to the end, Parlington feels confident that he and his team can deal with the situation. When Barlow makes an unusual final request, a strange duel ensues between the condemned man and the prison director. In this struggle there can be no winner or loser, only two men faced with doubts and difficult choices to make.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Parque Via (2008)
Plot Summary:
Beto is the keeper of a house in Mexico City - empty for several years already - in which he used to work as a domestic help. The solitude of the last ten years, as well the monotony and routine of his job have made him lead a secluded life, which could seem suffocating for most people, whereas for him it provides a safe and stable environment, in contrast to the threatening outside world. He has develop a pathological fear for this world, to the point of limiting his contacts to only two persons: the lady of the house, for whom he has a feeling of deep gratitude and respect that is translated into obedience; and Lupe, a friend, a confident and a lover. Once he learns that the house has been sold, Beto is confronted to the dilemma of gathering the courage to get out and get a life or find a way of remaining in his confinement.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 377
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
Five Years (2013)
Plot Summary:
How Murat Kurnaz ended up in Guantanamo Bay is a mysterious story. 5 YEARS investigates the psychological aspect of this endless and unjustified "imprisonment" where Kurnaz had to endure never ending physical and psychological torture.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 720
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Only God Can Judge Me (2005)
Plot Summary:
Film from Tody Walker.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 36
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 83%
The Party (1990)
Plot Summary:
At a maximum security prison, there is preparation for the annual party where entertainers and strippers are scheduled to perform. But not everyone is having fun. A man is sent to solitary, his wife has a nervous breakdown, and a convict prepares to make a daring escape.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 581
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir
Similar in 88%
Never Down (2007)
Plot Summary:
Rico reunites with his ex-wife after serving a five year prison term for armed robbery. Upon Rico's release he encounters old and new forces conspiring to bring him down and tear him between what he holds dear and what he most fears.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: crime drama
Similar in 83%
Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991)
Plot Summary:
Three novels - three dramatic stories in the walls of the women's prison. The first story - a brand new, first went to prison inmates. The second - about a mother whose son has ceased to go to prison for visits. The third - about the experiences of women on the eve of its release.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 145
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, cult film
Similar in 78%
Silent Grace (2001)
Plot Summary:
In 1976 the British Government put an end to the special category status of prisoners from the Provisional Irish Republican Army, no longer treating them as prisoners of war, but as common criminals. Mairéad Farrell - on whose life much of the film seems to be loosely based - was the first woman Republican to be refused political status in 1976. By 1980, when the film is set, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and doggedly resolute: “There can be no question of political status for someone who is serving a sentence for crime. Crime is crime is crime.” Silent Grace seeks to capture the struggle for the restoration of political status that was at the heart of prison protests in Northern Ireland - not just by the more celebrated male prisoners - but by a smaller number of women prisoners, led by Farrell, at the Armagh Women’s Prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 73
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
A Hero (2021)
Plot Summary:
Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don't go as planned. Is he truly a hero?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: suspense, thrilling, beautiful, cult film
Similar in 85%
Stuck! (2009)
Plot Summary:
Beautiful young Daisy feels stuck working as a shopgirl by day and caring for her ailing mother by night. A suicide gone wrong leaves Daisy wrongly imprisoned, while the neighbor whose testimony put her away struggles with guilt. A tongue-in-cheek homage to 1950s women-in-prison films.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, neo noir
Similar in 86%
The Heist (1976)
Plot Summary:
In Mexico City's infamous Lecumberri prison, three drug-addicted convicts celebrate getting drugs from one of their the mothers. They are found out and locked up in the "apando," the dreaded punishment cell. Protests over the treatment of those held in the cell lead to a bloody confrontation.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Stromboli (2022)
Plot Summary:
Haunted by memories of her broken marriage and a fight with her daughter, a woman joins an intense self-help retreat when her vacation goes awry.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Getting Out (1994)
Plot Summary:
Breaking out of prison with a child in her womb and a dream of a normal existence, Arlene Holsclaw (Rebecca De Mornay) resolves to get a job and lead a good, Christian life. But the ghosts from her past -- including an ex-boyfriend (Rob Knepper) who wants to pimp her out and a sadistic mother (Ellen Burstyn) who plots to take away Arlene's baby -- have other plans. This made-for-TV drama is based on Marsha Norman's off-Broadway play.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Women in Chains (1972)
Plot Summary:
1972 ABC Movie of the Week. Lady parole officer goes undercover to investigate prison brutality, but is trapped when the only person on the outside who knows why she's there is killed.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 180
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: psychotronic
Similar in 90%
Causeway (2022)
Plot Summary:
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: aesthetic, beautiful
Similar in 85%
The Conviction of Kitty Dodds (1993)
Plot Summary:
An abused woman escapes from prison, is recaptured, and sent back then tries to get her sentence reduced. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 71
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Where Are My Children? (1994)
Plot Summary:
Based upon a true story, Marg Helgenberger stars as a single mother mysteriously arrested by the FBI and separated from her children, thus beginning a 25-year struggle to be reunited with them.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
The Hammer (2017)
Plot Summary:
When prison boxer George "The Hammer" Martin is offered freedom for fighting in the 1984 Olympics, he says no in order to protect the woman he loves, forcing his best friend to learn the true meaning of loyalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 191
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
It’s Only Make Believe (2013)
Plot Summary:
After serving 10 years in prison for murder, Jenny returns to society. She wants to live a quiet life and resume her responsibilities as a mother, but soon shadows from the past start to appear.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 627
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, suspense
Similar in 87%
Women of San Quentin (1983)
Plot Summary:
A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 110
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
Attica (1980)
Plot Summary:
A behind the scenes look of the 1971 prisoners revolt at the Attica prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 526
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: political, rough, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, tension, suspense