Best movies like School Ties
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like School Ties? Provide your knowledge to steer others to tv series and films you've viewed before that might similarly immerse them. Aid in expanding the group of people raising videos between one another. We encourage your participation!
Plot Summary:
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, intense, thought provoking, serious, sincere, realistic, scary, retro, feel good
Best tv shows and movies like School Ties (1992):
Similar in 86%
Stolen Summer (2002)
Plot Summary:
Pete, an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1970s, attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of the Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson, who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny, who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, cult classic, feel good, serious, realistic, inspirational, dramatic
Similar in 79%
The Last Year (2002)
Plot Summary:
Paul's homosexual affair at Bible College with a new student named Alex sets tongues wagging, mostly with un-Christian reactions. The dean, himself a closet case, threatens to expel Paul, and the football jocks have their eye on Alex. The church confessional is sure to be busy as spirituality and sexuality clash in this movie based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 399
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Our Song (2000)
Plot Summary:
Focusing on the bonding between three female (an African American female, a half African American half Latino American female, and a Latino American female) high school members of Brooklyn's "Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band" and the choices the girls face once their school closes down because of the need for asbestos removal. This film is about a host of topics, not least of which is the hard-work involved in maintaining.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 848
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, touching, independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, neorealism, erotic
Similar in 77%
The Class (2007)
Plot Summary:
An average guy of an Estonian high-school decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: Estonia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, tense, emotional, realistic, sad, crying, thought provoking, touching, brutal
Similar in 86%
Fifteen and Pregnant (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, psychological, sincere, talky, ridiculous
Similar in 88%
This Boy's Life (1993)
Plot Summary:
In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries the mechanic, but they soon find out that he's an abusive and unreasoning alcoholic, and they struggle to maintain hope in an impossible situation as the boy grows up with plans to escape the small town by any means possible. Based on a true story by Tobias Wolff.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: depressing, touching, emotional, realistic, epic, retro, uplifting, sad, period piece, thinking
Similar in 81%
The Chosen (1981)
Plot Summary:
The Chosen follows the story of two teenage boys determined to remain friends despite the deep differences between their two families. Set in New York during the 1940s, this provocative film follows the son of an orthodox rabbi and the son of a secular father, raised to question everything around him, including his religion. A moving coming of age story.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, motivational, thinking, serious, contemplative, independent film, thought provoking, clever, feel good
Similar in 85%
The Class (2008)
Plot Summary:
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: sincere, melancholic, psychological, realistic, talky, independent film, political, art house, mesmerizing, intellectual
Similar in 86%
Cheaters (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sincere, clever, serious, realistic, offbeat
Similar in 88%
Odd Girl Out (2005)
Plot Summary:
A mother and her daughter confront the intimidation of teen peer pressure and the emotionally brutalizing social rituals of high school.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, exciting, captivating, touching, suspenseful, sad, teen
Similar in 76%
Half Nelson (2006)
Plot Summary:
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: depressing, independent film, talky, emotional, serious, inspirational, feel good, melancholic, intense, indie film
Similar in 87%
Lean on Me (1989)
Plot Summary:
When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the lin.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: inspirational, feel good, hood, realistic, motivational, political, non fiction, sincere, atmospheric, rough
Similar in 85%
Margaret (2011)
Plot Summary:
A young woman witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, enigmatic, melancholic, intellectual, bleak, stylized, cult classic, realistic, depressing
Similar in 83%
To Save a Life (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jake Taylor has everything. He has a beautiful girl, he's the champion in basketball and beer pong, and everyone loves him. Then, an old childhood friend, whom Jake used to be friends with, commits suicide. Jake begins to think. He wonders what he could've done to save his friend's life. A youth minister tells him that Jake needs God. So Jake becomes a Christian. However, things begin to spin out of control. His dad is cheating on his mom, his girlfriend is pregnant, and his former friends ridicule and mock him. During all this, Jake is going to realize just what it means to be a Christian and how, to save a life.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: christian film, sincere, serious, captivating, contemplative, realistic, inspirational, spiritual, exciting, uplifting
Similar in 82%
Evil (2003)
Plot Summary:
Stockholm, the fifties. Though academically bright, violent pupil Erik Ponti is expelled from his state school with the headmaster’s words “there’s only one word for people like you – evil… what you need is a good thrashing, and more”. In fact already Erik frequently receives a ‘good’ thrashing at the hands of his sadistic stepfather – so he is packed off by his mother to boardingschool.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, touching, rough, emotional, bleak, harsh, teen, realistic, serious
Similar in 83%
Toe to Toe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, sentimental, sexy, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 77%
Everybody Dies But Me (2008)
Plot Summary:
One Monday morning Katya, Vika and Zhanna learn that there will be a school disco, their first disco, on the coming Saturday night. The girls feverishly start preparing for the event, which rapidly becomes the most important moment ever in their universe, and looks like the ideal way to escape their daily lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, touching, realistic, suspense, psychological, rough, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Whatever (1998)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1980s, Anna, a New Jersey teenager faces her impending adulthood, dreaming of a life as a successful New York artist. When she gets caught up in the carefree sport of pre-AIDS sex and drugs, Anna's future becomes less certain.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: realistic, independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, gloomy, semi serious, erotic, sexy, feel good
Similar in 80%
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 539000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, teen, melancholic, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, heartbreaking, independent film
Similar in 88%
With Honors (1994)
Plot Summary:
Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who might be the guy to school the young man in life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, inspirational, road movie, humorous, semi serious, realistic, light, sincere
Similar in 83%
Philadelphia (1993)
Plot Summary:
No one would take his case until one man was willing to take on the system. Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 254000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: touching, sad, tear jerker, sincere, emotional, thought provoking, compassionate, inspirational, lgbt cinema, crying
Similar in 83%
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Plot Summary:
Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 321000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 156 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sentimental, dramatic, realistic, touching, feel good, talky, motivational, clever, emotional
Similar in 88%
American History X (1998)
Plot Summary:
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two thugs who tried to break into/steal his truck. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 12000000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: emotional, dramatic, serious, rough, cerebral, psychological, tense, disturbing, black and white, political
Similar in 75%
The Man Without a Face (1993)
Plot Summary:
The story of a relationship between a teacher and his troubled pupil. Justin McLeod is a former teacher who lives as a recluse on the edge of town. His face is disfigured from an automobile accident and fire ten years before in which a boy was incinerated and for which he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He is also suspected of being a pedophile. He is befriended by Chuck, causing the town's suspicion and hostility to be ignited. McLeod inculcates in his protege a love of justice and freedom from prejudice which sustains him beyond the end of the film.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, sincere, realistic, melancholic, serious, sentimental, scary, psychological, philosophical
Similar in 90%
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Plot Summary:
Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 10000000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, philosophical, sentimental, intellectual, uplifting, dramatic, motivational, realistic, inspirational
Similar in 89%
Finding Forrester (2000)
Plot Summary:
Gus van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, uplifting, sincere, inspirational, psychological, philosophical, intense, motivational
Similar in 83%
Detachment (2011)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: depressing, psychological, bleak, thought provoking, touching, sad, independent film, serious, inspirational, emotional
Similar in 88%
The Emperor's Club (2002)
Plot Summary:
William Hundert is a passionate and principled Classics professor who finds his tightly-controlled world shaken and inexorably altered when a new student, Sedgewick Bell, walks into his classroom. What begins as a fierce battle of wills gives way to a close student-teacher relationship, but results in a life lesson for Hundert that will still haunt him a quarter of a century later.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, inspirational, emotional, contemplative, sincere, serious, educational, philosophical, feel good
Similar in 90%
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Plot Summary:
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 530000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: philosophical, inspirational, sentimental, emotional, uplifting, intellectual, touching, motivational, sad, tear jerker
Similar in 78%
Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Plot Summary:
The story of Katherine Ann Watson, a feminist teacher who studied at UCLA graduate school and in 1953 left her boyfriend behind in Los Angeles, California to teach at Wellesley College, a conservative women's private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, United States.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, romantic, sentimental, period piece, sweet, educational, thought provoking, independent film, deep