Best movies like Prince of Tears
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A shameful period in Taiwanese history provides the backdrop for this emotional drama from writer and director Yonfan (aka Yang Fan). In 1949, in the wake of the 228 Incident (in which anti-government protesters launched a rebellion that was violently put down by authorities), Taiwan came under martial law, and through much of the 1950s brutal reprisals against suspected communists were commonplace. During the years of the "White Terror," thousand of supposed dissidents were killed, imprisoned or simply disappeared at the hands of the military police.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 254
Genere: Drama
Country: Taiwan, Hong Kong
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, emotional, stylized, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Prince of Tears (2009):
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The Prize (2011)
Plot Summary:
Ceci, a seven year old girl, has to keep a huge secret, but she doesn't completely understand what is the secret about. The life of her family depends on her silence. But what exactly must she keep silent about? Ceci and her mom live hidden from military repression in Argentina. Ceci asks herself: what must she say? What should she really believe and do in order to deserve the love of her mother and others?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 429
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico, France, Poland, Germany
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, captivating, realistic, contemplative
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Torn (2013)
Plot Summary:
Two families bond when their teenage sons are killed in an explosion at a suburban mall only to discover one of their children is the prime suspect.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 590
Genere: Drama
Country: Pakistan, USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day (2012)
Plot Summary:
The Ames' seem to have built the perfect life until their six year old daughter is kidnapped; over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 664
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, suspense, christian film, suspenseful, independent film
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Suspect (2005)
Plot Summary:
Teacher Rob Dekoster is a good man, albeit a bit too frivolous and liberal with funds the local arts center's interim director. His wife Nelle, who sometimes abuses drugs, spoils his ingrate teenage stepdaughter Sandy, who is kind only to her sweet, mentally handicapped brother, Jimmy Vandevyver. After a class on sexual abuse from feminist teacher Lydia De Beule, Sandy pretends Rob abused her. Lydia, Rob's ex, eagerly helps her fabricate 'proof', which a female police commissioner eagerly believes. A frustrated judge (and father) shamelessly ignores the legal benefit of the doubt, even tricks Rob while in jail. Nelle discovers more then one sick truth.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 197
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, thought provoking
Similar in 88%
Just Ask My Children (2001)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of a modern-day witch hunt, in which a couple is falsely accused and imprisoned for molesting their own children.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 807
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, thought provoking, serious, emotional, sad, captivating, realistic
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Orange Honey (2012)
Plot Summary:
Andalusia in the fifties. Enrique and Carmen just meet and fall deeply in love. Carmen gets him to stay in military service in a court of the city. Enrique, in view of the injustices he witnesses every day, realizes that to change the course of things he has to act. Soon he will be involved in risky actions that endanger their lives and those of their peers.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, Portugal
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
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Ramchand: The Untouchable Pakistani (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on a actual events, the story is about a Pakistani Hindu boy and his father who accidentally cross the border into India from their village in Pakistan at a time of extreme war like tension between the 2 countries and end up spending 5 years in an Indian prison while the mother left behind wonders what has happened to them.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Pakistan
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, emotional, realistic, inspirational, islamic, informative, bleak
Similar in 76%
Almayer's Folly (2011)
Plot Summary:
A tale of an occidental merchant, Kaspar Almayer, whose dreams of riches for his beloved daughter, Nina, collapse under the weight of his own greed and prejudice.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 808
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, bleak, serious, emotional
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Kamchatka (2002)
Plot Summary:
The movie show us how life was in Argentina for dissident people, in the seventies, under the military government.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Spain, Italy
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, realistic, political, touching
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Dad (2010)
Plot Summary:
After a long separation, a father and his son spend the day fishing on the river bank. On a beautiful autumn Sunday, surrounded by the majestic countryside, they seem to be alone in the world. They must start all over again.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 89
Genere: Drama
Country: Slovenia
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, realistic, touching, serious, stylized, captivating, crying
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Me and You (2012)
Plot Summary:
An introverted teenager tells his parents he is going on a ski trip, but instead spends his time alone in a basement.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, stylized, psychological, existential, freeze frame, realistic, extraordinary
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For the Love of a Child (2006)
Plot Summary:
1959, support from US troops based in Asia and later from the Sates enables two actresses to start a charity for mixed-race 'orphans' who are locally neglected as outcasts. Thus originates Childhelp, which later runs multi-disciplinary centers for abused and/or neglected children in the States. Among them is bright Jacob Fletcher, whose stepfather, a lawyer, terrorized him into utter trauma and reclaims him shortly after 10 months in jail. Jacob's peers have distressing stories of their own, but competent, devoted staff helps most of them decisively on the former farm, using animal therapy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, disturbing, rough, thought provoking, tense, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
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The Cruel Embrace (1987)
Plot Summary:
Nicole (Marianne Basler) gives birth to a mentally challenged boy after she is gang-raped by American soldiers at the close of World War II in this grim dramatic tragedy. Young Ludo is hidden in the attic of the family home and continues to yearn for his mother's affection. Nicole enters into a loveless marriage with an older man who agrees to adopt Ludo, but her deteriorating mental health leads her to sloth and alcoholism. Ludo is sent off to an asylum, but escapes and takes up residence on a deserted beach in an old tanker that has run aground. This feature won the grand prize at the 1987 Barcelona Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
The Orheim Company (2012)
Plot Summary:
A strong, human tale about a boy growing up with an alcoholic father, but also an energetic story about teenage lust, pain and passion – about liberation and redemption.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, emotional, captivating, sincere, stylized
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Brother (2014)
Plot Summary:
Giorgi is 16 years old when he discovers another world through American films forbidden in all Soviet Union until then. Since the post-revolutionary chaos in his home town, Tbilisi, Giorgi has wanted to have succeeded by following the path of his idols: Tony Montana and Vito Corleone. He has almost reached his goal when he is confronted with a dilemma; how can he stop his little brother who is 12 years old to follow his path when he could become a famous pianist? All this in a world that only knows chaos.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 265
Genere: Drama
Country: Georgia, France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, touching, serious, captivating, stylized, gloomy, entertaining
Similar in 87%
Lou (2010)
Plot Summary:
Living in rural New South Wales, working-class single mother Rhia is struggling to evade debt collectors and raise three young daughters. The eldest, and hardened beyond her years, Lou blames Rhia for the departure of her father, who walked out 10 months ago and hasn't been seen since. Mother-daughter relations hit bottom when Rhia takes in Doyle, her father in-law, who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Doyle turns Lou's initial hostility around with exciting tales of his South Seas adventures. But coursing deepest in his mind are fractured memories of Annie, his late wife. Before long, Doyle "sees" Annie in Lou and imagines he is courting her all over again.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 386
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, psychological, captivating, serious, gloomy
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Nobody Owns Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
The story of a lone father's relationship with his daughter, of the destructive power of alcohol, of a child's vulnerability, but also of love, betrayal and socialist politics in 1970s Sweden. A unique and moving story freely based on Åsa Linderborg's best-selling novel.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, social
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When Andrew Came Home (2000)
Plot Summary:
A mother searches for five years to find her kidnapped son in this fact-based drama. Unexpectedly the boy is found, but the reunion is not as she hoped. She now has to deal with five years of abuse that the boy suffered at the hands of his kidnappers.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 657
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sad
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Angel at Sea (2009)
Plot Summary:
Louis is a twelve year old boy who lives with his parents and older brother in southern Morocco. Louis is very happy until the day his father shares a secret with him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Canada
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, psychological, emotional, disturbing, atmospheric, serious, realistic, stylized, gloomy
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Son of Babylon (2009)
Plot Summary:
A willful young boy follows his just as obstinate grandmother in a journey across Iraq, determined to discover the fate of her missing son, Ahmed's father, who never returned from war.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iraq, UK, France, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Egypt
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, captivating, emotional, independent film, islamic, tense, serious, realistic, contemplative
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Rebounce (2011)
Plot Summary:
REBOUNCE is a colorful, tough and powerful film featuring Frederikke Dahl Hansen in the leading role. She plays opposite Anne Sofie Espersen and Dar Salim, and despite being only 16 years old she portrays toughness, charm, and vulnerability admirably. REBOUNCE is an intense drama. Louise's mother is just out of prison and in the eyes of a teenager she's cool, tough and enchanting. To win her love, Louise follows her lead and enters a world of partying, drugs, fast cash and men. Meanwhile, everyone seems to forget that she is just a teenager.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 330
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, captivating, emotional, psychological, tense, serious
Similar in 83%
A Brand New Life (2009)
Plot Summary:
Young Jinhee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jinhee desperately believes her father will come back for her and take her on a trip. The film is based on the experiences of the director, an ethnic Korean who was adopted by a French couple in the 1970s.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, South Korea
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, captivating, emotional, inspirational, sad, poignant
Similar in 79%
Kabei: Our Mother (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, disturbing
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A City of Sadness (1989)
Plot Summary:
Soon after Japan relinquishes control of Taiwan in 1945, the Lin brothers face hardships from the changing culture. Bar owner Wen-heung (Chen Sown-yung), the eldest brother, falls foul of local gangsters, Wen-sun disappears, and Wen-leung, scarred by his experiences in the war, ends up in an insane asylum. Deaf-mute photographer Wen-ching (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), the youngest brother, decides to make a stand and fight the Kuomintang government from China that is assuming power.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: realistic, sad, saga, black and white, slow cinema, aesthetic, tense, rough, serious, captivating
Similar in 82%
I Travel Alone (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jarle Klepp is a 25-year-old student of literature with a passion for Adorno, Proust and grown-up women - and definitely not Tamagochi's, Lady Di and small kids. The news that he is the father of a seven year old girl - and that she will come visiting next week - enters his life like a nuclear bomb. Jarle Klepp has to become an adult.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, contemplative, captivating, psychological, sincere, touching, serious
Similar in 81%
Back to 1942 (2012)
Plot Summary:
In 1942, Henan Province was devastated by the most tragic famine in modern Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least three million men, women and children. Although the primary cause of the famine was a severe drought, it was exacerbated by locusts, windstorms, earthquakes, epidemic disease and the corruption of the ruling Kuomintang government.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, bleak, realistic, intense
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House with a Turret (2012)
Plot Summary:
During the final winter of WWII, as displaced persons return to their former homes in the Soviet Union, an 8-year-old boy is left alone when his mother dies en route.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 166
Genere: Drama
Country: Ukraine
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, stylized, road movie, bleak, gloomy
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A Time in Quchi (2013)
Plot Summary:
Bao stays with his grandfather for the summer and is shocked to see there are no modern appliances.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 130
Genere: Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, atmospheric, captivating, serious
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Pandora's Box (2008)
Plot Summary:
When an aging matriarch starts showing signs of dementia, her dysfunctional family in Istanbul must navigate a minefield of unresolved issues to care for her.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Turkey, France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, psychological, sincere, atmospheric, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
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Blessed (2009)
Plot Summary:
Seven lost children wander the night streets while their mothers await their return home.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 777
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, touching, captivating, serious, emotional, realistic