Best movies like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating, disturbing, stylized
Best tv shows and movies like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011):
Similar in 86%
Autobiography of a Princess (1975)
Plot Summary:
No Overview.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 368
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, talky, stylized, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Maias: Story of a Portuguese Family (2014)
Plot Summary:
The tragedy and comedy in Carlos' life begins, grows and ends like the tragedy and comedy of Portugal. In the company of his close friend, João da Ega, allegedly a brilliant writer, Carlos, with his idle existence as an aristocratic doctor, spends his time to enjoying friends and lovers. Until he falls in love. She is a new character in this revolutionary novel. It's a vertiginous passion that goes beyond that past gloominess to reach a new and darker abyss, incest.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 885
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Portugal, Brazil
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: stylized, atmospheric, serious, emotional, realistic, romantic, saga, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Eternal Salvation (2016)
Plot Summary:
Jonathan Wright has it all, a prestigious job, incredibly beautiful wife Amy, gorgeous 7-year-old daughter Megan and countless friends. In the prime of his life, Jonathan suffers a life threatening brain aneurysm that leaves him comatose. After regaining consciousness, he begins the grueling task of rebuilding his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 108
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: christian film, touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 80%
Amazing Women by the Sea (1998)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1960s, Bella, her husband Kajus and their young son, Thomas, spend seemingly endless holidays together. Next year the arrival of new neighbors, Rosa and Gabe and their two daughters, start changing their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 276
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
X/Y (2014)
Plot Summary:
As Mark, Jen, Sylvia, and Jake navigate through their emotionally-arrested states, X/Y reveals the honest and wanton desire we all have to connect with someone and what is at stake when that connection fades.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, sexy, sincere, touching, serious, independent film, erotic
Similar in 90%
Going Home (1993)
Plot Summary:
Johan Ten Berghe joins the Dutch army when the Dutch East Indies unilaterally declare independence as Indonesia. He initiates his naive driver Twan in life in the East, having grown up there as son of colonial official Hendrik, now missing. Their adventures intertwine with Johan's childhood memories, especially concerning his native best friend, Oeroeg, who joined the rebellion, as well as their nanny and later de facto stepmother. Conflicting loyalties become tangible in extreme situations.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 418
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, non-linear
Similar in 87%
Domestic Life (2013)
Plot Summary:
Juliette was simply not sure about coming to live in this residential suburb of the greater Paris metropolitan area. All the women here are in their forties, have children to raise, houses to keep and husbands who return home late at night.Today she has an appointment in Paris that is important for her career, but she also has to run errands and pick up the kids from school. During the course of her day, monopolized by petty, everyday tasks, Juliette can feel the noose of domestic obligations and household chores slowly tightening around her neck.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 424
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspense, suspenseful, psychological, captivating, contemplative, biting
Similar in 79%
The Blind Sunflowers (2008)
Plot Summary:
Ourense, Spain, 1940. Every time that Elena locks the door, she locks her secrets. Her husband Ricardo spend years hidden in his house with his children (Elenita and Lorenzo), trying to dodge persecution. Salvador, a priest confused after battling in the front, returns to seminary in Ourense.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, disturbing, sincere, bleak, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 88%
Memories of Tomorrow (2006)
Plot Summary:
After being stricken with Alzheimer's disease in the prime of his life, a successful young businessman slips slowly away from his loving family.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 912
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, emotional, captivating, independent film, serious
Similar in 77%
Not Waving But Drowning (2012)
Plot Summary:
Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from two different stories. The two sets of friends represent the American dilemma between what you have known and what you hope to know; the tear between longing for the past and the desire to explore.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 77%
To Life (2014)
Plot Summary:
Helen, Rose and Lili have survived the Holocaust and have never seen each other since the war has ended. In 1960, they meet again in Berck, France. They learn to enjoy together simple pleasures in life: nice meals, ballads on the beach, playing in the waves.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sincere, uplifting, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 89%
When the Last Sword is Drawn (2002)
Plot Summary:
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, captivating, realistic, serious, spiritual, jidai geki, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 82%
A Simple Heart (2008)
Plot Summary:
Unable to forget her first love, Félicité, a simple and kind maid, devotes herself completely to her new master, Mathilde Aubain. As the passing of time doesn't heal her wounds, she gives love to all those who surround her: Mathilde's children, her nephew Victor. But fate seems to always deny her from any love in return. Still she tries to find someone who'll accept her unconditional love.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 342
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, touching, emotional, realistic
Similar in 89%
Tiny Times 2.0 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set four years after the first movie, Lin Xiao, Lily, Nan Xiang, and Ruby, confront opportunities and challenges as their school days come to an end.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sexy, captivating, realistic, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Steam (2007)
Plot Summary:
Three women — a young coed, a forty-something single mother, and one a senior-aged widow — meet in the sauna of the local gym, where they gradually get to know one another and bond over their respective trials and tribulations.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 213
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, talky, erotic, realistic, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 89%
Tiny Times (2013)
Plot Summary:
When four best friends try and move forward in their work and personal life, they realize that trying to live their life's dream is more difficult than they imagine -- especially in the high fashion world of Shanghai.
IMDB Rating: 3.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, humorous, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 77%
A Place On Earth (2013)
Plot Summary:
Antoine is a joyful but disenchanted photographer. His only true friend, Mateo, is 7 years old and the son of his neighbor, who is often absent. One day, he hears a piano sonata coming from the building across the courtyard. Mesmerized by the music, he becomes obsessed by Elena, the beautiful but mysterious pianist, and starts to photograph her at every opportunity. An intense relationship develops between fragile and idealistic Elena and Antoine, who is transformed by this encounter.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 596
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, captivating, psychological, serious
Similar in 75%
Breakfast with Curtis (2012)
Plot Summary:
Syd is an eccentric bookseller with delusions of grandeur fueled by red wine. He caused a rift 5 years ago between his bohemian housemates and the family next door, but now tries to recruit his 14-year-old neighbor as a collaborator.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 257
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, touching, suspenseful, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 80%
Sacrifice (2010)
Plot Summary:
For generations the Zhao family has wielded power, until their mortal enemy TU’AN GU slaughters the entire clan, determined to wipe out their influence forever. But one Zhao baby survives hidden by CHENG YING the doctor who delivered him. When Tu’an Gu learns of the baby’s escape he seizes every infant in the city, vowing to kill them all unless the Zhao baby is surrendered. As the tyrant’s soldiers arrive at Cheng Ying’s home the frantic doctor hides his wife with their own baby whilst surrendering the Zhao child as his own. But his family is discovered; his baby is presumed to be the Zhao heir and murdered along with his wife for harboring the infant. Now set on revenge Cheng Ying enrolls the Zhao orphan into the service of the Tu’an Gu household, plotting to use him as an instrument of vengeance when he comes of age.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: exciting, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, captivating, stylized, epic, realistic, costume drama
Similar in 87%
The Soong Sisters (1997)
Plot Summary:
The Soong family was a political dynasty in China that reached the highest levels of power. This film follows the lives of the three Soong daughters, who were educated in America and returned to China. Ai-ling (the oldest) married a wealthy and powerful businessman. Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary founder of modern China. Mei-ling (the youngest) married Chiang Kai-shek, China's l.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, Japan, China
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
Similar in 83%
A Cooler Climate (1999)
Plot Summary:
Iris is broke after her divorce and takes a job working as a housekeeper for a wealthy woman named Paula. When Paula and her husband separate, an unlikely friendship blossoms between the women.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 702
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky
Similar in 88%
Frailer (2014)
Plot Summary:
A woman diagnosed with terminal lung cancer gathers her three dearest friends together to make the most of the time she has left.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands, Norway
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Snow Pirates (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the shadow of the military coup in 1980, these children aged 12-13, playing their childish games soon arrive at an understanding of life's responsibilities and are hastily introduced into the world of the grownups.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Turkey
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, captivating, bleak
Similar in 79%
Buddenbrooks (2008)
Plot Summary:
Mid-19th-century, Baltic Sea port city of Lubeck, Germany. Follows the fourth generation of the Buddenbrook mercantile family as Tony and Thomas reach the age of marriage. Fatefully impeded every step of the way, the Buddenbrooks struggle as economic hardship and personal defeats weigh down family relations.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: saga, realistic, emotional, psychological, captivating, political, family saga, sad, costume drama, sentimental
Similar in 89%
The Viceroys (2007)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 386
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy, Spain, Germany, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, atmospheric, epic, serious, emotional, realistic, saga
Similar in 86%
The Assassins (2012)
Plot Summary:
In the year 198 BC, Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat), Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, ventured to the east and defeated China's greatest warrior Lu Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, after taking the Han Emperor under his wing, Cao crowns himself King of Wei. He built a magnificent Bronze Sparrow Island to symbolize his power and rumors spread that he would replace the Emperor. Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Hiroshi Tamaki) and Ling Ju (Liu Yi-Fei) are taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb, where they spend five cruel years together, training as assassins for a secret mission. In the year 220 BC astronomical signs predict dramatic change. As a result, Cao's son Cao Pi (Yau Sam-Chi) and Cao's followers urge Cao to become the new Emperor - but unknown opposing forces plot against him.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, epic, realistic, captivating, stylized
Similar in 82%
The Astronaut Wives Club (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on the book by Lily Koppel, this 10 episode limited series tells the story of the women who were key players behind some of the biggest events in American history. As America’s astronauts were launched on death-defying missions, Life Magazine documented the astronauts’ families, capturing the behind-the-scenes lives of their young wives. Overnight, these women were transformed from military spouses into American royalty. As their celebrity rose and tragedy began to touch their lives, they rallied together.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, psychological, period drama
Similar in 82%
Clara's Heart (1988)
Plot Summary:
David is a teenager whose parents are in a deteriorating marriage after their infant daughter dies. Clara is a chambermaid at a Jamaican resort who's hired to be a housekeeper. She and David develop a close bond, opening his eyes and heart to new experiences, and eventually leading to a disturbing secret in Clara's past.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, serious, realistic, romantic, sexy, feel good, unusual plot structure, melancholic
Similar in 81%
Take Care of My Cat (2001)
Plot Summary:
The fashionable Hye-joo is focused on her career at a brokerage house. She's making a decent living, but her co-workers look down on her. Tae-hee is sick of living under the thumb of her domineering father. She spends her time doing volunteer work for a poet with cerebral palsy. Sullen Ji-young lives in poverty with her grandparents and struggles to find work. The girls, close friends in high school, find themselves drifting apart as their adult lives begin to take shape.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: lyrical, psychological, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, erotic, atmospheric
Similar in 79%
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Plot Summary:
Through a series of flashbacks, four young chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sincere, captivating, thought provoking, emotional, sad, retro, depressing, spiritual