Best movies like So Close to Paradise
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like So Close to Paradise? Provide your insights to steer others to movies and tv series you've watched already that may also enthral them. Help expand the group of people raising videos amongst one another. We welcome your participation!
Plot Summary:
Two young farm workers, who like millions of others, leave their village to seek their fortunes in the city. Each chose a vastly different path to make it and become embroiled in misunderstandings, gangster brawls and police raids.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 318
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: China
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crying
Best tv shows and movies like So Close to Paradise (1998):
Similar in 86%
Bird of Prey (1995)
Plot Summary:
As a boy, Dominik watched an American crime boss murder his father, a police officer fighting corruption in Sofia, Bulgaria. Years later, he attempts to avenge his father's death but is imprisoned for 15 years for attempted murder. In prison, he meets an American photo-journalist who shares his enemy and his thoughts of revenge. Released from prison, the two hatch a plot which involves the man's recently-arrived daughter.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Bulgaria
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Foreign Land (1995)
Plot Summary:
After the death of her mother, a young Brazilian decides to leave his country and travel to her native land. In a foreign land, he finds love and danger.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Brazil, Portugal
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: neo noir, road movie, sad, black and white, mesmerizing, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Godforsaken! (2003)
Plot Summary:
Two small town Dutch boys whose socially unnatural friendship is so close, they care nothing for human or divine rules and lose all grip on reality, sliding into violent crime.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: captivating, rough, suspenseful, confusing, serious, realistic, crying, psychological
Similar in 79%
Blind Shaft (2003)
Plot Summary:
Two Chinese miners, who make money by killing fellow miners and then extorting money from the mine owner to keep quiet about the "accident", happen upon their latest victim. But one of them begins to have second thoughts.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, neo noir, contemplative, crying, independent film
Similar in 77%
Ley Lines (1999)
Plot Summary:
The story follows a trio of Japanese youths of Chinese descent who escape their semi-rural upbringing and relocate to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where they befriend a troubled Shanghai prostitute and fall foul of a local crime syndicate. Like many of Miike's works, the film examines the underbelly of respectable Japanese society and the problems of assimilation faced by non-ethnically Japanese people in Japan.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir
Similar in 86%
Flick (2000)
Plot Summary:
Jack Flinter is skating on thin ice. Known to his friends as "Flick", he is drifting through life, dealing a bit of hash, drinking and screwing around. His girlfriend Alice has had enough. His friend and business partner Des is strung out, his behavior increasingly unpredictable. Their latest scam has them in over their heads. He meets Isabelle, a German woman visiting the city and the resulting story takes place over a few days and nights when all Jack's chickens come home to roost. His life spinning out of control, he has to make a decision - sink or swim.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 77
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Ireland
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 89%
The Nark (1982)
Plot Summary:
A Paris police detective (Richard Berry) plays rough with a prostitute (Nathalie Baye) and her pimp/lover (Philippe Léotard), whom he wants as an informant.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir, anthology, detective, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crying, eighties
Similar in 86%
As Tears Go By (1988)
Plot Summary:
Two parallel stories of Wah caught in the mist of a love affair with his beloved cousin, Ngor and his relationship with his triad brother, Fly, who seems to never fall out of trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo noir, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, crime drama, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, black comedy
Similar in 82%
Shanghai Triad (1995)
Plot Summary:
A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, China
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, clever, stylized, crime drama, mind blowing, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Captives (1994)
Plot Summary:
A beautiful young dentist working in a tough British prison starts to become attracted to a violent inmate after the break-up of her marriage, and embarks upon an illicit affair with him, with terrible consequences for all.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, erotic, tense, serious, realistic, sexual, independent film, tension, light, romantic
Similar in 78%
Insidious (2008)
Plot Summary:
Times are tough for talented, twenty-one year old filmmaker, Donny Rocconi. He grew up in New York City, a place where either you learn fast, or lose everything. Estranged from his mother, and never knowing his dead father, Donny sets out to collect on debts owed, and is dragged deep into a seductive ambush that turns his world upside down. Donny reaches out for help from a "connected" Mulberry Street café owner, Gigetto, who has more problems than just the Russian mob. Insidious is a compelling and riveting story of desperation and betrayal, as Donny faces a fight for truth, love, and life itself. Insidious has a strong ensemble of New York City acting talent, and their multiple adult story lines are centered in their emotional and financial relationships.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 167
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, suspense, tense, realistic
Similar in 77%
Blood Brothers (2007)
Plot Summary:
Fung (Daniel Wu) and his best friends, brothers Kang (Liu Ye) and Hu (Tony Yang), leave the countryside together to make it big in Shanghai. Things aren't so easy in the city, however, and the brothers stumble and toil until opportunity brings them to Club Paradise and ruthless mob boss Hong (Sun Honglei). While Kang embraces his newfound power in the Shanghai triad, Fung and Hu are less comfortable with the crime and violence, sending the brothers slowly but surely down opposite paths. Fung falls for Hong's woman, sassy nightclub singer Lulu (Shu Qi) who is also involved with Hong's top henchman Mark (Chang Chen). When Hong catches scent of the betrayal, he sends Kang to finish off business, leading the brothers to meet at gunpoint on a cold Shanghai night. Set in Shanghai during the 1930s, the story is inspired by John Woo's classic work Bullet in the Head, released in 1990.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, stylized, tense, serious, realistic, neo noir, heroic, crime drama
Similar in 80%
The Drummer (2007)
Plot Summary:
When Sid insults a powerful triad boss, his father sends him to Taiwan for safety. Bored and restless, he discovers a community of Zen drummers high in the hills, and joins up - a decision inspired by a pretty face that soon becomes a challenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 911
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, realistic, contemplative, atmospheric, captivating, sincere, uplifting, serious, stylized
Similar in 77%
Drifters (2003)
Plot Summary:
The young adult life of Hong Yunsheng, nicknamed Little Brother, is seen as somewhat of a failure by those that know him. A Chinese national, he stowed away on a boat to the United States, where he worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant of a family from his hometown back in Fujian province. After two years in the States and after fathering an illegitimate child there named Fusheng, the child's mother Xuhui who is the restaurateur's daughter, he was deported back to China. Since, he has been floundering in life, which has caused a rift between himself and his older brother, who, with his wife, operate a street front diner and can't have children of their own. Little Brother relies on his new girlfriend, a woman he barely knows named Wu Ruifang who is a performer in a touring opera troupe, for emotional support. Despite Little Brother being the local poster boy for not stowing away, his friend named Monkey tried to do the same, but died on the voyage over due to exposure to toxic.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, sincere, crying
Similar in 80%
Bad Turn Worse (2013)
Plot Summary:
Three teenage friends get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate. They hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: bleak, captivating, tense, serious, suspense, rough, neo noir, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 83%
Five Corners (1987)
Plot Summary:
A psychotic young man returns to his old neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks out the woman he previously tried to rape and the man who protected her, with twisted ideas of love for her and hate for him.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, talky, serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, grindhouse, independent film, clever, psychological thriller
Similar in 75%
The Wounded Man (1983)
Plot Summary:
Henri is a lonely, isolated young man who lets no one get close to him. He meets a street hustler and comes out of his shell, going 180 degrees into gay obsession. Though he has yet to physically approach the object of his affection, Henri builds up so much unrequited lust that it explodes with horrible results.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: erotic, psychological, serious, realistic, disturbing, gloomy, sexual, neorealism, homoerotic, sexy
Similar in 83%
The Air I Breathe (2007)
Plot Summary:
A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star (Gellar) falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, stylized, intense, non-linear, serious, captivating, realistic, cerebral, neo noir
Similar in 81%
The Tenants (2005)
Plot Summary:
The story of a Jewish novelist, Harry Lesser, struggling to complete his latest work, and his antagonistic relationship with a black writer who moves in down the hall.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic
Similar in 81%
Fifty-Fifty (2004)
Plot Summary:
A teen involved in the world of underground boxing vows to take care of a dead fighter's family.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Sport, Thriller
Country: Kazakhstan, Russia, France, Germany
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, rough, serious, bleak, emotional, realistic, touching
Similar in 77%
City of Ghosts (2002)
Plot Summary:
A con man travels to Cambodia (also on the run from law enforcement in the U.S.) to collect his share in an insurance scam, but discovers more than he bargained for.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: intense, stylized, serious, tense, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film, crying, light
Similar in 83%
Hit Me (1996)
Plot Summary:
Sonny lives with his retarded older brother, and works as a bellhop at a second-rate hotel. This changes when Monique a beautiful, suicidal nut-case checks in.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 515
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: erotic, neo noir, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sexual, crying, tension
Similar in 84%
B. Monkey (1998)
Plot Summary:
When wistful introvert Alan Furnace meets quick-witted bombshell Beatrice, he has no idea of her secret life as "B. Monkey" -- the top thief-for-hire in London's criminal underworld. Charmed by Furnace's innocent and chivalrous ways, Beatrice resolves to reform. But to cash in on her first chance at real love, she must escape her former partner in crime, the ruthless Paul Neville -- and a dark past that seems to haunt her every step.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: neo noir, black comedy, cult classic, serious, realistic, surprise ending, independent film, dark comedy, erotic, romantic
Similar in 90%
Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002)
Plot Summary:
After Kunisada's Yakuza leader and father figure is brutally murdered, he and his best friend go on a two-man mission to avenge his death, killing other Yakuza leaders leading to a final confrontation by the old man's killers.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, stylized, crime drama, realistic, fast
Similar in 81%
The Yards (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, neo noir, emotional, talky, intense, rough, realistic, atmospheric, psychological
Similar in 76%
City of Industry (1997)
Plot Summary:
A retired thief swears revenge on the lunatic who murdered his brother and partner, while going on the run with the loot they stole.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, hood, perverse, independent film, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Plot Summary:
In the year 1935, a teen named Billy Bathgate finds first love while becoming the protégé of fledgling gangster Dutch Schultz.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, light, romantic, sexy, unusual plot structure
Similar in 77%
Read My Lips (2001)
Plot Summary:
She is almost deaf and she lip-reads. He is an ex-convict. She wants to help him. He thinks no one can help except himself.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, suspenseful, touching, rough, serious, realistic, breathtaking, psychological, clever
Similar in 75%
Derailed (2005)
Plot Summary:
When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, surprise ending, serious, suspense, rough, twist ending, tense, neo noir, psychological, psychological thriller
Similar in 84%
State of Grace (1990)
Plot Summary:
Terry Noonan returns home to New York's Hells Kitchen after a ten year absence. He soon hooks up with childhood pal Jackie who is involved in the Irish mob run by his brother Frankie. Terry also rekindles an old flame with Jackie's sister Kathleen. Soon, however, Terry is torn between his loyalty to his friends and his loyalties to others.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, psychological, atmospheric, intense, serious, captivating, suspenseful, dark