Best movies like Smoke Signals
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Young Indian man Thomas is a nerd in his reservation, wearing oversize glasses and telling everyone stories no-one wants to hear. His parents died in a fire in 1976, and Thomas was saved by Arnold. Arnold soon left his family, and Victor hasn't seen his father for 10 years. When Victor hears Arnold has died, Thomas offers him funding for the trip to get Arnold's remains.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: road movie, touching, feel good, sincere, offbeat, independent film, funny, sentimental, realistic, witty
Best tv shows and movies like Smoke Signals (1998):
Similar in 82%
Powwow Highway (1988)
Plot Summary:
Buddy Red Bow is struggling, in the face of persecution, by greedy developers and political in-fighting, to keep his nation on a Montana Cheyenne Reservation financially solvent and independent. Philbert, a simple-minded friend of Buddy's, ardently pursues Native American/First Nation wisdom and lore wherever he can find it--even on Bonanza--in order to earn his warrior name. He's even got his war pony, Protector: a beat-up old wreck of a car. Buddy's sister has been arrested in Santa Fe, and together Buddy and Philbert set off on a road trip to look after her kids and go bail her out. However, Bonnie's arrest has something strange about it as her friend Rabbit points out. As the miles roll by, Philbert's faith challenges Buddy's hard-edged view of the world (and occasional bout of reckless violence), and together they face the realities and dreams of being Cheyenne in the modern-day US as they fight to free Bonnie and her children and elude the Feds.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: road movie, independent film, psychedelic, sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, fairy tale, inspirational
Similar in 84%
Naturally Native (1998)
Plot Summary:
Naturally Native follows the lives, loves, pain, joy and relationships of three sisters as they attempt to start their own business. Of American Indian ancestry, but adopted by white foster parents as young children, each sister has her own identity issues and each has chosen a very different career path. Now dedicated to starting a Native cosmetic business, they attempt to overcome obstacles both in the business world and in the home. A touching love story of family and culture, Naturally Native also interweaves a subtle, but strong wake-up call regarding the treatment of Native people in corporate America. Naturally Native also provides some insight into tribal infrastructure and gaming issues.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 166
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 79%
The Human Resources Manager (2010)
Plot Summary:
A tragic comedy centered on the HR manager of Israel's largest industrial bakery, who sets out to save the reputation of his business and prevent the publication of a defamatory article.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Israel, Germany, France, Romania
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tragicomedy, sincere, road movie, humorous, captivating, touching, serious, realistic, grotesque
Similar in 81%
Winter in the Blood (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young, self-destructive Montana Blackfoot Indian, his mind groggy with alcohol and tormented by childhood memories, discovers that his wife has left him, taking with her his prize rifle. He sets out to find her, but what he's really searching for is his own uncertain identity and a glimpse of salvation.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 270
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, contemplative, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, realistic, offbeat, gloomy, independent film, neo western
Similar in 75%
Dance Me Outside (1994)
Plot Summary:
Explores the sensitive, and tense, relationship between life on an First Nations reservation and life in the outside world. When Native Canadian Silas Crow is forced to write a personal essay in order to get a much-desired job, he tells the story of the rape and murder of an Indian girl by a drunken thug. When the killer received a lenient two-year sentence for manslaughter, the First Nations community felt shock and anger -- and tried desperately to deal with the after-effects of this lack of justice.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, atmospheric, clever, serious, realistic, contemplative, stylized, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 83%
DreamKeeper (2003)
Plot Summary:
In South Dakota, in an Indian reservation, an old storyteller Indian asks his grandson Shane, who is in trouble owing money to some bad guys, to take his old pony and him to Albuquerque to the great powwow, an Indian meeting. While traveling, Grandpa tells mysterious Indian tales of love, friendship and magic.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, Canada, Germany
Duration: 174 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, sentimental, feel good, philosophical, spiritual, epic, independent film, esoteric, semi serious
Similar in 85%
The Business of Fancydancing (2002)
Plot Summary:
Seymour Polatkin is a successful, gay Indian poet from Spokane who confronts his past when he returns to his childhood home on the reservation to attend the funeral of a dear friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 546
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, clever, crying
Similar in 75%
Black Cloud (2004)
Plot Summary:
Black Cloud, is an inspirational story about a young Navajo, Native American boxer, who overcomes personal challenges as he comes to terms with his heritage, while fighting his way for a spot on the US Olympic boxing team.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 545
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: uplifting, sincere, touching, serious, colorful, emotional, realistic
Similar in 75%
A Family Thing (1996)
Plot Summary:
Earl Pilcher Jr., runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife and kids and parents, and rarely takes off his gimme cap. His mother dies, leaving a letter explaining he's not her natural son, but the son of a Black woman who died in childbirth; plus, he has a half brother Ray, in Chicago, she wants him to visit. Earl makes the trip, initially receiving a cold welcome from Ray and Ray's son, Virgil. His birth mother's sister, Aunt T., an aged and blind matriarch, takes Earl in tow and insists that the family open up to him.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, realistic, emotional, melancholic, sentimental, sincere, semi serious, uplifting, humorous
Similar in 80%
Kikujiro (1999)
Plot Summary:
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: road movie, sad, uplifting, touching, surreal, stylized, emotional, social, contemplative, art house
Similar in 82%
The Thing About My Folks (2005)
Plot Summary:
Ben's dad Sam shows up one night with a note from Ben's mother (Sam's wife of 46 years), that she has left. While Ben's wife and his three sisters try to find her, Ben takes Sam on a day trip to see a farmhouse that's for sale. The day trip turns into a road trip while dad and son explore their past, their relationship, and why Sam's wife might have left him. The road trip includes fishing, drinking, playing pool, sleeping under the stars, and frank discussion. Anger simmers close at hand, as do love and hope. Where Sam's wife is - and why she left - leads to the movie's resolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: talky, sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Come as You Are (2011)
Plot Summary:
Three young guys like wine and women. They tested wine with pleasure, but the second they have never been able to taste. Under the guise of a wine tour, the three plans a trip to Spain to finally have sex. Nothing will stop them. Certainly not the fact that the first guy is blind, the second is in a wheelchair and the third is completely paralyzed.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, sincere, semi serious, realistic, dark comedy, iconic, tragic
Similar in 85%
Leaving Normal (1992)
Plot Summary:
A female buddy story in which Meg Tilly plays a child-like 20-something who has just walked out on her abusive husband. Darly (Christine Lahti) is fleeing a life as a waitress and stripper and is on her way to Alaska to claim a home and family she abandoned eighteen years earlier after giving birth. The two run into each other on the road and Darly welcomes the company as they head north from Wyoming.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: road movie, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 80%
A Birder's Guide to Everything (2013)
Plot Summary:
David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 81%
Come As You Are (2019)
Plot Summary:
Three young men with disabilities embark on a road trip to a brothel in Montreal catering to people with special needs to lose their virginity and embrace their independence. Inspired by a true story and remake of the Belgian film Hasta La Vista.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sincere, road movie, humorous, semi serious, cute
Similar in 76%
The Open Road (2009)
Plot Summary:
Minor leaguer Carlton Garret takes an unexpected road trip to track down his estranged father, legendary baseball player Kyle Garret when Carlton’s mother becomes sick. Once reunited, Carlton struggles to deal with the series of misadventures caused by his father’s antics. Attempts at bonding come to a head as the mismatched duo make their way from Ohio back home to Houston to reunite the family.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: road movie, feel good, semi serious, humorous, realistic, touching, independent film
Similar in 76%
Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
Plot Summary:
A film based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by American writer Jonathan Safran Foer, in which a young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II, in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, road movie, tragicomedy, clever, scenic, sentimental, melancholic, humorous, feel good, sad
Similar in 87%
The Go-Getter (2007)
Plot Summary:
When his mother dies, a teenager takes a road-trip in a stolen car to find his long-lost brother. Along the way he discovers a profound connection with the car-owner and with himself as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: road movie, enigmatic, melancholic, ironic, semi serious, realistic, inspirational, cult classic, comedy drama, sentimental
Similar in 83%
Rubin and Ed (1991)
Plot Summary:
Reclusive Rubin Farr teams up with vocal but unsuccessful multi-level salesman Ed Tuttle on a quest to bury Rubin's dead cat in the "perfect spot." Their trip takes them across Utah's desert where they have run-ins with Ed'd ex-wife Rula and an elusive Andy Warhol critic.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: road movie, dark comedy, cult classic, surreal, psychotronic, indie film, buddy comedy, offbeat, feel good, humorous
Similar in 76%
Tour de Force (2014)
Plot Summary:
Belgium, of all places. What's Belgium got besides chocolates and fries? No matter, this year it was Hannes' and Kiki's turn to choose the destination of their annual bike tour with their closest friends. They all looks forward to the adventure, after all they know that what counts the most is the time they spend together. It's only after the tour has begun that Hannes tells his friends that he's suffering from an incurable disease. The trip is to be his last. At first, the group is shocked and helpless, but after they hit the road again, they embark on a wild and one-of-a-kind adventure. Through Hannes, they realize how precious life is. Equipped with a list of things that still remain to do, and aware that nothing will be the same after this trip, they celebrate life as they never did before.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: road movie, touching, humorous, semi serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
Similar in 83%
Heartlands (2002)
Plot Summary:
Gentle Colin 'Col' Lawes happily lead a quiet life, running a news agency with his soiled-rotten wife Sandra and playing competition darts in the Atletic Arms team. Colin catches her committing adultery with team captain Geoff, a cop, who pretends Colin abused her. Col is thrown off the team just after it qualified for the league finals in Blackpool. He decides to travel there alone, hoping to win her back. The adventurous journey feels like the start of a more playful life.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, funny, light, captivating, entertaining, road movie, feel good
Similar in 85%
Intimate Stories (2002)
Plot Summary:
Three people and a baby set off on separate journeys, along the same road; their disparate dreams and stories intertwine amidst the breathtaking deserted Patagonic route.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Spain
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: road movie, sentimental, humorous, realistic, sincere, touching, semi serious, anthology
Similar in 78%
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, she runs away to find the truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 632
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, psychological, sincere, captivating
Similar in 78%
Gueros (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set amidst the 1999 student strikes in Mexico City, this coming-of-age tale finds two brothers venturing through the city in a sentimental search for an aging legendary musician. Shot in black-and-white, Güeros brims with youthful exuberance.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, light, captivating, thought provoking, hispanic, art film, black and white, existential, realistic
Similar in 87%
Tumbleweeds (1999)
Plot Summary:
A woman constantly runs from town to town with her 12 year old daughter to escape failed relationships. The film opens with one escape and the shift into a new start in San Diego. There Mom takes up with a controlling trucker and fights with her weirdo boss. Meanwhile, the daughter, used to making the constant shifts, finds a fit at school including getting chosen for a play lead.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, road movie, feel good, realistic, sentimental, talky, entertaining, sincere, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 89%
The Way (2010)
Plot Summary:
When his son dies while hiking the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, Tom flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child’s life, he decides to complete the 500-mile mountain trek to Spain. Tom soon joins up with other travelers and realizes they’re all searching for something.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain, USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: emotional, inspirational, thought provoking, uplifting, touching, scenic, poignant, realistic, road movie, sentimental
Similar in 77%
Full Grown Men (2006)
Plot Summary:
A man stuck in the reveries of his youth tracks down the boyhood friend he once tormented, only to find that simpler times were more complicated than he thought.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: road movie, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, whimsical
Similar in 90%
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 80%
Fandango (1985)
Plot Summary:
Five college buddies from the University of Texas circa 1971 embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: road movie, sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, light, inspirational, melancholic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 87%
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Plot Summary:
A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 508000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: road movie, feel good, funny, melancholic, independent film, emotional, black comedy, dark comedy, sweet, humorous