Best movies like The Balloon Vendor
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young boy tries to make living out of a puppet show when his mother abandons him and his father.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tear jerker, tearjerker
Best tv shows and movies like The Balloon Vendor (1974):
Similar in 81%
Suspended (1987)
Plot Summary:
Anna, a nurse, meets her wartime lover Marcel in 1951. Learning that he has been sentenced to death for his role in the Home Army, she hides him in her cellar for five years. She gets pregnant with his child and has the baby out of the wedlock. Despite the hardships and gossip she holds much better than he. In 1956 when the political climate changes, he resurfaces and is arrested, but then acquitted by the court.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 68
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: period piece
Similar in 76%
Die Anruferin (2007)
Plot Summary:
A lonely woman's prank phone call leads to an unexpected friendship with a grieving widow.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
The Best of Me (2007)
Plot Summary:
Raquel, a young radio broadcaster, is deeply in love with Tomas, an Olympic runner. On the day she finds a house for them to share, he collapses during training and is rushed to the hospital. His life is in danger; his liver crashed and he is in need of an urgent transplant. Without any warning, Tomas turns from a fine athlete to an exhausted, dysfunctional, sick person. Raquel devotes herself to helping him. How far will she go for love? And what will she find out about intimacy and about herself in the process? The Best of Me is an intriguing film about the tension between love and sacrifice and about the unbearable fine line between them.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Little Flames (1985)
Plot Summary:
Tommaso, a quiet, thoughtful child of five, lives in a world of his own, conversing daily with three imaginary friends. Seemingly loved by his parents, Tommaso senses that their affections are superficial and he yearns for something more. Golino won a Globo d'oro for Best Breakthrough Actress for her performance in the film.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 347
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Deceitful Storm (2008)
Plot Summary:
When businessman David Morgan (Stefan Sims) embarks on an adulterous affair, his wife, Rena (Karyn Lewis), must decide whether his infidelity is the last straw in a relationship marred by years of neglect and emotional abuse. If she tries to mend the marriage, can her husband take responsibility for his actions and change his ways? Eric Harvey and Felicia Kerney also star in this potent urban drama directed by Shanda Davis.
IMDB Rating: 2.4
IMDB Votes: 44
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
The Silly Age (2006)
Plot Summary:
The "edad de la peseta" or silly age is the term used in Cuba for the pre-adolescent period from the age of seven to the age of eleven. Set in 1958 in Havana, the year that culminates the Revolution, ten-year-old Samuel has just arrived in town with his recently divorced mother. They take up residence in the house of his eccentric grandmother Violeta, and Samuel is introduced to a new, mysterious world where Samuel finds himself an adult in comparison to his child-like mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 221
Genere: Drama
Country: Cuba, Spain, Venezuela
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological
Similar in 82%
Wherever You Are (2004)
Plot Summary:
A doctor's (Stefano Accorsi) life takes a mysterious turn when his ambulance plunges into a river.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 330
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
The Stonebreaker (2020)
Plot Summary:
After a serious accident Giuseppe is out of work. His son Antò dreams of being an archaeologist and thinks his father's glass eye is a sign he has superpowers. It's just the two of them now, since their beloved wife and mother Angela collapsed and died while working in the fields. Now they've lost their home, too, and have taken shelter in a tent city with other seasonal workers. Through all this, Giuseppe still summons up the strength to hug his son every night and tell him a story. He's promised Antò he will have his mother back, one day, and will do anything to keep his promise.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 247
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France, Belgium
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Those She Left Behind (1989)
Plot Summary:
Scott and Sue Grimes are a happily married and affluent young couple who are about to start a family together. Unfortunately, that plan gets turned completely upside-down when Sue dies suddenly and unexpectedly while giving birth to their daughter. Now in the aftermath, Scott not only has to deal with the loss of his wife, he also has the daunting task of raising his daughter all alone.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 88%
Father (1966)
Plot Summary:
The beginning shows Hungary devastated by the war and the postwar reconstruction with its communist government. Our hero (played first by Dániel Erdély and later, as a young man, by András Bálint) is clearly determined to find out what he can about his father who died young. All he knows is that he was a doctor and perhaps he was an honored victim of fascism. He never really finds out but his relationship with his mother, his friends and his Jewish girlfriend will make him totally independent of this need to find all about Apa or Father.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Until a Man Lives (1963)
Plot Summary:
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IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
A Thousand Months (2003)
Plot Summary:
1981, Morocco. A village in the Atlas mountains. A city in the distance. A child. A family facing its destiny.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 254
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium, Morocco, Germany
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
See You Tomorrow (1992)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 52
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Infinity (1992)
Plot Summary:
To dispel his obsession with death, Prokhorov decides to travel, with no luggage and no destination. He finds himself in the little town where he grew up, but finds no solace there because he has to face death.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 154
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 206 min
Plot tags: existential
Similar in 84%
Mum's List (2016)
Plot Summary:
A dying mother's life lessons to the husband and sons she left behind. Based on the best-selling novel by St John (Singe) Greene, the film is the story of Singe and Kate, a couple from North Somerset, whose lives were turned upside down when Kate was diagnosed with an incurable breast cancer. Over her last few days, she created her list: writing her thoughts and memories down, to help the man she loved create the best life possible for their two sons, after she was gone.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 909
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sincere, sentimental, thought provoking, tear jerker, visually appealing, tearjerker
Similar in 84%
The Last Snows of Spring (1973)
Plot Summary:
A 10-year-old boy starts to die of neglect when his widowed father spends too much time forsaking his parental duties in favour of playboy activities and a jet-set life-style.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 250
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Sanctuary (2015)
Plot Summary:
Summer 1968. 14-year-old Wolfgang is deported from his family in the secluded Church Welfare Institution sanctuary. One thing is clear for Wolfgang: His yearning for freedom, he will not soon buried in the bog.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad
Similar in 80%
Child Murders (1993)
Plot Summary:
A melodrama about children, the child murders that the film’s title refers to are the million and one ways that children’s souls are ravaged by neglect, unkindness and cruelty, even though several physical deaths take place in the story.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 140
Genere: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: thought provoking
Similar in 83%
Swimming Upstream (2002)
Plot Summary:
This is a heart-wrenching story about a happy-go-lucky 17 year-old boy with a passion for life and love. Under his free spirit are problems that he must deal with. His mother died, his alcoholic father is unapproachable, and ...the biggest problem of all... he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The only support he receives is from a sister who also lives a fractured life, his immature best friend, and his girlfriend. "Swimming Upstream" is a moving and honest look at life's painful realities and how this teen deals with them.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 206
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tear jerker, tearjerker
Similar in 87%
The Tree with Pink Leaves (1974)
Plot Summary:
Little Marco suffers from his parents' divorce. He runs away from home and is hit by a car. He drags on but eventually dies under a tree with pink leaves, remembering a story his grandmother told him.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 31
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Agostino (1962)
Plot Summary:
Agostino is a 1962 Italian drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini. It was filmed in Rome and Venice. The film is based on a successful short novel of the same name by Alberto Moravia, who had collaborated with Bolognini on his previous film, From a Roman Balcony.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psycho sexual
Similar in 85%
Day and Night (1997)
Plot Summary:
Ten years ago, distinguished French author Alexandre (Alain Delon) exchanged his stressful, hectic life in Paris for a more peaceful existence upon a Mexican hacienda with his wife Ariane (Marianne Denicourt). Lucien (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) also accompanies them. There, Alexandre meets the strange lady-oracle Sonia (Lauren Bacall). As the film opens, the melancholy Alexandre is visited by the sensuous actress Laure (Arielle Dombasle) and her producer Raoul Fillipi (Karl Zero) who is going to make a movie of one of Alexandre's best-loved books. Laure is determined to play the part of the heroine and is willing to resort to seduction to get it. At the same time, Ariane is involved in a passionate affair with French-Mexican seismologist Carlo (Xavier Beauvois). While all of these characters wrangle and tangle with their different agendas, the local residents prepare for a violent revolution. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 1.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Mexico
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Oscar and the Lady in Pink (2009)
Plot Summary:
Listening in to a conversation between his doctor and parents, 10-year-old Oscar learns what nobody has the courage to tell him. He only has a few weeks to live. Furious, he refuses to speak to anyone except straight-talking Rose, the lady in pink he meets on the hospital stairs. As Christmas approaches, Rose uses her fantastical experiences as a professional wrestler, her imagination, wit and charm to allow Oscar to live life and love to the full, in the company of his friends Pop Corn, Einstein, Bacon and childhood sweetheart Peggy Blue. Written by American Film Market.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium, Canada
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Touched by Love (1980)
Plot Summary:
A teenager with cerebral palsy attempts to become pen pals with her idol, Elvis Presley.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 509
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, tear jerker, tearjerker
Similar in 86%
You and Me (1971)
Plot Summary:
A neurosurgeon returns back to the USSR from Sweden and has to deal with rejection - both at work and at home.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
A Family Upside Down (1978)
Plot Summary:
An elderly married couple find that as their physical and mental health deteriorates, they find themselves dependent more and more upon their grown children.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
18 Presents (2020)
Plot Summary:
Elisa is only forty when an incurable disease takes her from her husband and their daughter. Before her heart stops, Elisa finds a way to stay close to her: a gift for every birthday up to her adult age, 18 gifts to try to accompany her child's growth year after year.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, rough, touching, sad, compassionate, sincere, heartbreaking, emotional, deep
Similar in 76%
Top Hearts! (1999)
Plot Summary:
A woman (Karin Viard) in the fourth month of her first pregnancy fights to save the baby while being treated for breast cancer.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 448
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Bury Me Behind the Baseboard (2009)
Plot Summary:
A small child is trapped in a tug-of-war battle between his frivolous, but loving mother and an emotionally abusive neurotic grandmother, who wants to "shelter" her beloved grandson at all cost.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: rough, heartbreaking, depressing, emotional, serious, crying, campy
Similar in 90%
Aclà's Decent Into Floristella (1992)
Plot Summary:
Set in Sicily in the 1930's, Aurelio Grimaldi's feature debut chronicles the harsh story of twelve-year-old boy, Aclà, sold into slavery by his destitute parents to work in the underground Floristella sulfur mines. Overworked and underfed, Aclà toils from Monday to Saturday in the steamy, candle-lit labyrinths. Repeatedly beaten and abused by his "owner" and with constant threats of being raped, Aclà plots his escape to the sea... but this leads to dire consequences for the boy and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 411
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: political, gay cinema