Best movies like State Affairs
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A plane explodes above the Gulf of Guinea. An escort girl is murdered in a Parisian park. Thousands of miles separate these two events, and yet Nora Chahyd, believes there's a connection between them, much to his superiors chagrin. As Nora investigates, getting dangerously close to the powers that be, the murders and betrayals accumulate, and signs point to a state affair at the heart of it all.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 656
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: political thriller, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, clever, cynical
Best tv shows and movies like State Affairs (2009):
Similar in 87%
The Candidate (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jonas Bechmann, a defense attorney, is a man of the system. Until the day he himself is accused of murder. Taking matters into his own hands, he throws himself into the hunt for a group of blackmailers who threaten to expose him as the killer. But nothing is what it appears to be, and the blackmail links back to his father's death under mysterious circumstances a year and a half earlier.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Thriller
Country: Denmark
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 78%
Secret (2009)
Plot Summary:
A detective suspects that his wife murdered a gangster's brother. As he tries to misdirect the police and the bloodthirsty gangster while independently investigating his wife, terrible secrets slowly begin to surface.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 671
Genere: Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic, detective, mind twisting, twisted, mind bending
Similar in 79%
Four Jacks (2001)
Plot Summary:
Four guys plot revenge on the businessman who ripped them off.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 127
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, independent film, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 80%
Crimes of Passion (2005)
Plot Summary:
While in competition for a job promotion, the female competitor sues her male counterpart for sexual harassment. Blackmail and murder follow closely behind.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 532
Genere: Thriller, Mystery
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, touching, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
Cortex (2008)
Plot Summary:
Trapped in an old folks home where people keep going missing, an ex-cop must overcome his Alzheimers to find out who is killing people in this jigsaw thriller.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 861
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, mind bending
Similar in 79%
The President's Mistress (1978)
Plot Summary:
When Ben investigates the mysterious death of his sister, he is unaware that he is opening up a web of political intrigue. Ed Murphy, the White House Chief of Staff, becomes embroiled in a struggle to save the President from a humiliating scandal.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
The Scarlet Letter (2004)
Plot Summary:
Policeman Ki-Hoon's life is duplicitous, oscillating between the amenable, newly pregnant wife and a very appealing mistress- the singer Ga-yee. His world gets shaken up when he gets news during a murder investigation that Ga-yee is pregnant and her obsession with him rules out abortion as an option. In a very twisted chance of fate, Ki-hoon and Ga-yee end up locked in the trunk of his car on the side of the road as raw despair brings to light the shocking truth about his wife and his mistress.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, erotic, sexy, twisted, detective, realistic
Similar in 89%
The Salamander (1981)
Plot Summary:
An Italian policeman investigates a series of murders involving people in prominent positions. Left behind at each murder scene is a drawing of a salamander. The policeman begins to suspect these murders are linked to a plot to seize control of the government.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Thriller
Country: UK, Italy
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspense, enigmatic, captivating, poliziottesco, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
The Inside Man (1984)
Plot Summary:
In 1981, after the successful test of a submarine tracker device developed by the Swedish scientist Paul Mandell and sponsored by the US government through his representative Miller, his industry is totally burned and the laser device is stolen. Stig Larsson from the Swedish Secret Agency suspects of an inside job and brings the Swedish Marine Thomas Kallin to investigate Paul undercover as his driver. The naive Kallin is double-crossed but continues his investigation while Larsson finds the truth about the heist.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 466
Genere: Mystery, Action, Thriller
Country: Sweden, UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: political thriller, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Murder in the Central Committee (1982)
Plot Summary:
The plot follows a private detective, an ex communist and former CIA agent, who travels from Barcelona to Madrid to discover the identity of the assassin of the leader of the Spanish Communist party who was stabbed during a blackout while presiding over a meeting of the party's central committee. The film is a thriller with ironic political overtones.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 120
Genere: Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, biting, suspense
Similar in 87%
Hidden Agenda (1999)
Plot Summary:
A young medical student travels to Berlin to investigate the apparent death of his brother and discovers a secret life of espionage, betrayal and murder at the highest levels.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 421
Genere: Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, exciting, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 84%
Cover Story (2002)
Plot Summary:
An ambitious magazine editor gets too caught up in a high-stakes sex scandal and is framed for murder.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious
Similar in 83%
The Clearstream Affair (2014)
Plot Summary:
Journalist Denis Robert sparked a storm in the world of European finance by denouncing the murky operations of banking firm Clearstream. His quest to reveal the truth behind a secret world of shadowy multinational banking puts him in contact with an ever-expanding anti-corruption investigation carried out by Judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke. Their paths will lead them to the heart of a political/financial intrigue named the which will rock the foundations of the Europe and the French government itself.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 989
Genere: Thriller
Country: France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic
Similar in 89%
Arrest Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
One evening, a woman enters a police station and confesses to having killed her violent husband several years ago. As she listens to her fantastic story, the policewoman is increasingly less inclined to arrest her. Just why is the woman so eager to confess her crime, and why is the policewoman so reluctant to take her into custody?.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 560
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, suspense, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Six-Pack (2000)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer is on the loose in Paris and he seems to be an american citizen working in the US embassy and being in the middle of a french-american economical affair.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 856
Genere: Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, rough, serious, suspenseful, perverse, scary, mind bending, bleak, neo noir, realistic
Similar in 80%
A Killer Upstairs (2005)
Plot Summary:
A woman investigates when her teenage son is arrested for his married lover's murder.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 578
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, mind bending, bleak, serious
Similar in 76%
Dangerous Love (1988)
Plot Summary:
A psychopath kills members of a video dating club and records their deaths.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
The Second Wind (2007)
Plot Summary:
Gu, a famous gangster, has just escaped from jail. All french police is after him. Before leaving the country with Manouche, the woman he loves, Gu needs a final job to get some money. The job works, but a police's scheming makes Gu appear as a traitor to his own accomplices. Gu will do whatever it takes to clean his honor.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, sexy, neo noir, crime drama
Similar in 84%
The Only Witness (2002)
Plot Summary:
After witnessing a brutal murder, a little girl is quickly surrounded by a group of law-enforcement professionals and a psychologist.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 283
Genere: Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, bleak
Similar in 89%
Executive Power (1997)
Plot Summary:
While protecting the U.S. President, Secret Service agent Nick Sager helps him to dispose of the body of a young girl, who accidentally died during an adulterous encounter. Some time later, a few weeks before the elections, the disillusioned ex-agent is approached by his former partner. The President's former aide, and one of few people who knew about the cover-up, is found dead in mysterious circumstances.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 393
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful, political thriller
Similar in 77%
Murder on Pleasant Drive (2006)
Plot Summary:
After Fran Smith disappears one day in mysterious circumstances, Fran's daughter Deanna and Fran's sister, Sherrie endlessly search for her with enduring hope. The most likely suspect in Fran's disappearance is her husband John, but without a body, neither Deanna or Sherrie can prove that murder, much less a crime, has even been committed. With the support of Sherrie, Deanna embarks on an eleven-year search to trace John's past, eventually uncovering a 25 year-old case of a missing person that involved John's first wife, who too, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Using this lead, Deanna and Sherrie must use all their evidence to bring John to justice.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 352
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Swallow, Cat, Rose, Death (2006)
Plot Summary:
What's in a name but murder? Münster comes across the strangled body of a young woman in her home and surprises the murderer who is still on the premises. Though the murderer escapes, a rare book is found at the scene with a dedication by the killer. When another victim is uncovered, Van Veeteren's literary expertise is put to the test as it becomes clear they are dealing with a serial murderer who kills using names taken from 19th century crime novels. Which name will he use for his next victim?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 428
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, psychological, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
A Private Affair (2002)
Plot Summary:
Divorced private detective Francois Maneri is assigned by his agency to investigate the disappearance of Rachel, a young student who has been missing for six months. After interviewing Rachel's family, friends and classmates, Francois is attacked and injured by an anonymous assailant and becomes reluctant to continue his search. But when Rachel's body is found, Francois is drawn deeper into the investigation as he discovers the dead girl's secret life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 957
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, suspenseful, neo noir, suspense, detective, deep, realistic, cynical
Similar in 83%
Magic Man (2010)
Plot Summary:
In order to see magic idol Krell Darius perform his world-famous magic act, a beautiful aspiring young-magician, Tatiana, travels from New York to Las Vegas with her closest friends, BFFs, Elena and Vera. As the layers of illusion unfold, so too do the dark windows into Tatiana's past.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 84%
He Died with His Eyes Open (1985)
Plot Summary:
On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois, a French murder mystery based upon a novel of the same name, is an unusual, involving film with excellent performances by its entire cast. Police Inspector Staniland (Michel Serrault) is investigating the death of a pianist. While conducting his investigation and looking through the victim's apartment, he meets Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), the mistress of the murder victim. Barbara confesses to the crime, but Staniland, based on his observations and experience, does not believe her. He then sets out to find the truth, with surprising results. Both Serrault and Rampling are outstanding in this well-directed, well-paced film. On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois was also released as He Died With His Eyes Open and won the Jury Prize at the 1985 Montreal World Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 730
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic, detective, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 89%
A Murder of Quality (1991)
Plot Summary:
At the request of his old war time colleague Ailsa Brimley, George Smiley agrees to look into the murder of Stella Rode. Brimley had only just received a letter from her saying she feared for her life at her husband's hand. The husband, Stanley Rode teaches at Carne School, but Smiley is doubtful that he had anything to do with his wife's death. As Smiley investigates, he learns that Stella was a nosy busybody who loved to learn other's little secrets and then gossip about them - or possibly blackmail them. When a student is killed and Smiley unearths a secret, he has the evidence to name the killer.Based on John Le Carré's 1962 thriller (his first) in which George Smiley is brought out of spy retirement to solve a murder in a British public school. The setting is based on Le Carre"s own schooldays in Sherborne and his brief experience teaching at Eton.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 946
Genere: Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: political thriller, crime thriller, rough, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Who's Got the Black Box? (1967)
Plot Summary:
The widow of a murdered undercover NATO officer in Greece is the prime suspect in his killing. She finds herself embroiled in a bigger conspiracy about the sabotage of U.S. radar installations while trying to prove her innocence.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 582
Genere: Thriller
Country: France, Italy, Greece
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, eurospy
Similar in 89%
The Jigsaw Man (1983)
Plot Summary:
Philip Kimberly, the former head of the British Secret Service who defected to Russia, is given plastic surgery and sent back to Britain by the KGB to retrieve some vital documents. With the documents in hand, he instead plays off MI6 and the KGB against each other.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: political thriller, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 80%
Thorne: Scaredycat (2010)
Plot Summary:
D.I. Tom Thorne's latest case puts him on the hunt for not one, but two serial killers, who seem to be working together, yet killing separately.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, crime drama, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Ricochet (2011)
Plot Summary:
Two homicide detectives find their careers - and lives - on the line when they get caught up in a case of murder and betrayal in high-society Savannah.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 442
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, detective, tense, suspense, captivating, serious, realistic, suspenseful