Best movies like Sanctuary
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Summer 1968. 14-year-old Wolfgang is deported from his family in the secluded Church Welfare Institution sanctuary. One thing is clear for Wolfgang: His yearning for freedom, he will not soon buried in the bog.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad
Best tv shows and movies like Sanctuary (2015):
Similar in 84%
We (2003)
Plot Summary:
A summer trip to Berlin offers a fleeting glimpse into the lives of the country's youth in this vibrant, character-driven drama from director Martin Gypkens. When twentysomething Florian arrives in town to pay a visit to long-lost pal Pit, the duo quickly reminisce before heading out to a party. Soon meeting up with many of Pit's acquaintances, the film follows various intersecting lives as they are woven to create an intricate, microcosmic look at life's ups and downs as seen through the eyes of Germany's youth.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 284
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
A Little Bit of Freedom (2003)
Plot Summary:
In the metropolitan city of Hamburg, illegal immigrant Chernor (Leroy Delmar), an openly gay African youth with blond hair, makes his money by dealing drugs and dreams of one day living in Australia. Baran (Cagdas Bozkurt), meanwhile, is a Kurdish bicycle delivery boy living in constant fear of deportation, who keeps his past in a video camera. The two form a bond when they meet, and their shared struggles to survive soon develop into a relationship that is threatened when Baran loses his job.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 185
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Somewhere in Tonga (2017)
Plot Summary:
There is nothing that keeps passionate social worker Wolski in Germany. On an uninhabited island in the Kingdom of Tonga he wants to give criminal teenagers a second chance. His first candidate is Marcel, 16, and no stranger to drugs, violence and crime. So a visit to the main island ends in disaster. Wolski only narrowly manages to keep the boy from being send to prison. The deal: From now on, Marcel is not allowed to leave the remote island at all.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, tense, light, unusual plot structure, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Lessons at the End of Spring (1991)
Plot Summary:
A young boy loses his innocence in a pre-perestroika Russian prison during the chaotic last months of the Khrushchev regime.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 153
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
A Good Boy (2008)
Plot Summary:
After his mother's death, 17-year-old Sven moves in with his dad Achim, a taxi driver, who had divorced his mother several years earlier. It is not easy for Achim to get used to an adolescent around the house, especially since Sven hardly speaks to him. But Sven does well in school, and Achim hopes that time will bring them closer together. It is Achim's girlfriend Julia who first senses that something is wrong with Sven. Why, she wonders, does he always hang around with young boys? Why does not he have any friends his own age? She suspects that he is gay. The truth, however, is somewhat more nuanced - and chilling: Sven has pedophile tendencies. Proof is soon found on videos that shock and sicken Achim. Sven himself is shattered and regrets his actions. Julia suggests therapy, but Achim is convinced that he and Sven can handle this together. But he is wrong. Though Sven practically begs his father to lock him up in his room, Achim has confidence in his son.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 296
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
The Children's Rebellion (1992)
Plot Summary:
In the 19th century, children -- particularly the children of the poor -- were considered to be an exploitable resource of docile and cheap labor. Anyone who had the effrontery to steal so much as a portion of a loaf of bread for any reason would (at the very least) go to prison, regardless of their age. However, people of conscience were beginning to protest against this situation. The story takes place in a prison for children where conditions are particularly harsh. The warden is a thick-headed martinet who demands complete compliance with the rules, or the children will be brutally dealt with. The assistant warden is a more modern man, and is appalled by the whole institution, but seeks to begin by reforming it. To that end, he has invited a journalist to come and see the conditions that prevail there, in the hopes that she will rouse public opinion against at least this one form of injustice.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 76
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
The Demons (2015)
Plot Summary:
A ten year old boy, prone to excessive worry, begins to succumb to his anxiety as a string of child abductions plague his town.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: stylized, weird
Similar in 80%
Backdoor (2000)
Plot Summary:
Athens 1966. Dimitris, 13, unexpectedly loses his father. Seeing his pampered mother collapse, the boy gets carried away and decides to skip childhood in order to stand by her. When he feels ready, he has to claim his mother back from an up-and-coming star of the military regime. A brutal coming-of-age story, where Dimitris reacts in vengeance, changing thus the course of Greek history.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 534
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece, France, Romania
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: captivating, disturbing, suspense
Similar in 75%
Sparrows (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story follows a 16-year-old Icelandic boy, Ari, who lives with his mother in Reykjavík, She has to leave the country for a new job, sending him back to the small town of his youth. There he finds his old friend, suddenly a young woman with a tricky romantic relationship; and his father has become a victim of the financial crisis.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iceland, Denmark, Croatia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: captivating, sincere, suspenseful, melancholic
Similar in 84%
My Good Enemy (2010)
Plot Summary:
Sensitive 12-year-old Alf is the low man on his class' totem pole, and he's sick of it. Forming a secret, Machiavellian alliance with another student who also has grown weary of being bullied, he hatches a plan to throw a wrench into the well-oiled gears of the school social order. Everything seems to go according to plan, until Alf discovers that turning the tables on his tormentors has its own dire consequences.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 421
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 87%
The Fire That Burns (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two boys in their early teens in a strictly-run pre-WWII Catholic School form a firm friendship which is troubled by an abbot who is obsessed with the younger of the students.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Softie (2021)
Plot Summary:
Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: social
Similar in 81%
Ghosts (2005)
Plot Summary:
Nina, an end-of-teenage orphan with mental problems, starts a new job as a garden cleaner when she meets Toni. They fell in love with each other, but soon Toni starts betraying Nina. In the meantime, Francoise is picked up at a psychic department of a Berlin hospital by her husband, Pierre. After seeing Nina, Francoise believes that she has found her kidnapped daughter Marie, but neither Toni nor Pierre believe her. Nina is unsure about what to think.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Open Bodies (1998)
Plot Summary:
Born to a North African father and a French mother, 18-year-old Parisian high school senior Rémi works part-time in an Arab grocery store while studying management and commerce. He responds to a school ad seeking subjects for a film, and Marc, who placed the ad, auditions Rémi by filming an interview with him. Rémi and Marc wind up in bed, and Rémi soon has other sexual experiences – with a guy in a men's room and with a young woman who grabs him while she's dancing in the street.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Montreal Main (1974)
Plot Summary:
A photographer finds himself falling for a 14 year-old boy.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 83%
The Chosen Ones (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the late 70s, young Petra Grust begins teaching at the progressive Odenwald School. She is flattered by the trust placed in her by its widely respected headmaster Simon Pistorius. But gradually certain incidents at the boarding school begin to unsettle her. Petra then realizes that Pistorius is abusing Frank, a 13-year-old. When Frank is told that he has to spend school holidays with Pistorius, he tries to commit suicide. Petra tells Frank's father (the chairman of the school's governing body) but he believes Pistorius instead of his own son. Petra fails to convince people of the man's true nature. 30 years later, Frank goes to Petra, who has long since left the school and has stopped teaching altogether. He has never been able to speak about what happened but now, after the suicide of another pupil, he is no longer willing to remain silent. He wants Petra to bear witness at the school's forthcoming anniversary celebrations.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Seeds (2017)
Plot Summary:
The coming of age story of a boy that after a traumatic event is taken to beautiful Cuernavaca, where he has to find his father while trying to adapt to life with his grandmother, who has problems of her own.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 369
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Naked Childhood (1968)
Plot Summary:
Handed over to foster care by his mother—who's unwilling to give up permanent custody—the now-adolescent François understands that nothing in life is permanent, and his increasingly erratic actions reflect this knowledge.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: anthology, pretentious, cinema verite
Similar in 76%
Marilyn (2018)
Plot Summary:
Marcos and his family work as ranch hands. While his father and brother handle the heavier tasks, Marcos stays home, close to his mother. Each one has their future laid out before them, yet Marcos bides his time waiting for Carnival, the one moment where he can let his true self out to shine. The sudden death of his father leaves his family in a very vulnerable situation. The ranch owner hounds them to go away, while Marcos’s mother pressures him to take over the work in the fields. Nicknamed Marilyn by the other teenagers in town, Marcos is a target for desire and discrimination.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 450
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Chile
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, tense, sincere, unusual plot structure, disturbing, contemplative, crying, interesting, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
And Then Came Summer (2000)
Plot Summary:
A reunion of family and friends becomes an unforgettable vacation when two teenage boys discover their secret feelings toward one another. The relationship is eventually exposed to their families - leading to denial and a questioning of self-worth from each of the boys. The exposed relationship brings to light that one of the boys was previously institutionalized for his homosexuality by his older brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 482
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, sentimental, touching, melancholic, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
Young Torless (1966)
Plot Summary:
At a boarding school in the pre-war Austro-Hungarian Empire, a pair of students torture one of their fellow classmates, Basini, who has been caught stealing money from one of the two. The two decide that rather than turn Basini in to the school authorities, they will punish him themselves and proceed to torture, degrade, and humiliate the boy, with ever-increasing sadistic delight. As each day passes, the two boys are able to justify harsher treatment than previously given. Torless is a passive member of the group but observes rather than participates and frustrates the tormentors by dryly analyzing their behavior. Written by Dean Harris.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, controversial, black and white, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 85%
The Day Will Come (2016)
Plot Summary:
Set in the blooming 1960s, the film centres around two young brothers who are instantly robbed of their lives when they are placed in a boy's home forgotten by time. Armed only with a vivid imagination and a fickle hope, the boys engage in the frightening battle against Headmaster Heck and his lethal tyranny. The film is based on actual events.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, social
Similar in 84%
Beautiful Beings (2022)
Plot Summary:
A teenage boy, raised by a mother who considers herself psychic, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the group’s troubles escalate toward life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakens in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Czech Republic
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: crying, tripping
Similar in 86%
Harmony Lessons (2013)
Plot Summary:
During a medical examination, 13-year-old Aslan is humiliated in front of a load of his fellow pupils. The incident unleashes his latent personality disorder. Plagued by self-doubt, he strives for cleanliness and perfection and is obsessed with trying to control everything around him. His compulsion draws Aslan, who lives with his grandmother in a village in Kazakhstan, into increasingly difficult situations. He abhors the way most of his fellow pupils are held in the sway of a criminal scheme, in which Bolat, one of Aslan’s tormentors, is also involved. Bolat blackmails the younger children into paying him protection money; he has nothing but contempt for ostracised Aslan.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 994
Genere: Drama
Country: Kazakhstan, Germany, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, serious, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 83%
This Special Friendship (1964)
Plot Summary:
A tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the upperclassman who is the object of his desire. All set in the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Aclà's Decent Into Floristella (1992)
Plot Summary:
Set in Sicily in the 1930's, Aurelio Grimaldi's feature debut chronicles the harsh story of twelve-year-old boy, Aclà, sold into slavery by his destitute parents to work in the underground Floristella sulfur mines. Overworked and underfed, Aclà toils from Monday to Saturday in the steamy, candle-lit labyrinths. Repeatedly beaten and abused by his "owner" and with constant threats of being raped, Aclà plots his escape to the sea... but this leads to dire consequences for the boy and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 411
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: political, gay cinema
Similar in 86%
Jet Boy (2001)
Plot Summary:
Dave Schultz' feature debut Jet Boy is a drama about a boy attempting to figure out his future. Nathan (Branden Nadon) goes on a search to find his father after his mother dies of a drug overdose. Nathan has been prostituting himself in order to get by when he befriends Boon Palmer (Dylan Walsh). In Dylan, Nathan sees his possible future. In Nathan, Dylan sees a chance to rectify his past.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, emotional, erotic, sexy, independent film, bleak, gloomy, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Darker Than Midnight (2014)
Plot Summary:
Davide is different from the other teenagers. Something makes him look like a girl. Davide is fourteen when he runs away from home. His intuition leads him to choose Villa Bellini, a park in Catania, as a refuge. The park is a world in itself, a world of the marginalized, to which the rest of the city turns a blind eye. But one day the past catches up and Davide has to face the most difficult choice, this time alone.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 355
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
We the Animals (2018)
Plot Summary:
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, sentimental, touching, inspirational, social, sad, poignant, independent film, indie film
Similar in 85%
Jack (2014)
Plot Summary:
Although he is only ten years old, Jack is responsible for himself and his little brother Manuel and this fills him with pride. Their single mother works during the day and often goes out at night. There’s no father in sight. One day, Manuel burns himself with boiling hot water while bathing and Jack is blamed for the incident. It's reason enough for social services to put him in a home where he is dreadfully homesick. He soon gets into trouble and bolts, heading for home. He arrives back, only to find his mother is once again absent. Jack and Manuel roam the city in search of her. They sleep in parks and in an underground car park, run away from the police and encounter adults, some of whom help and others who are indifferent.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, touching, captivating, serious, social, gloomy