Best movies like The Bench
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Kaj is a stubborn man with a great deal of pride. The former chef lives in a council flat. He has wasted his life and is now on a council job training scheme for the long-term unemployed, where he refuses to let the foreman of the activation project boss him about. When Kaj's daughter, with whom he has not been in touch for nineteen years, moves into the same council estate on the run from her violent husband, a change comes over Kaj. His initial instinct is to avoid her, but by chance he ends up helping to look after Jonas, her six-year-old son. For the first time for years Kaj need not survive on his own devices. Now he has responsibilities and a family of his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, inspirational, bleak, gloomy
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Best tv shows and movies like The Bench (2000):
Similar in 90%
Nil by Mouth (1997)
Plot Summary:
The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, bleak, realistic, rough, controversial, thought provoking, sad, cult classic, powerful
Similar in 88%
The Inheritance (2003)
Plot Summary:
A young Danish man, Christoffer, lives a life of joy and happiness with his wife Maria in Stockholm. When his father dies his mother insists that Christoffer take over management of the family industry which is in danger of bankruptcy. He is torn between his chosen life and his sense of duty to his family and its past. When he chooses to step in as manager his family life and self-respect languish.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, meditative, sincere, serious, stylized, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, biting, crying
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Similar in 86%
A Cross to Bear (2012)
Plot Summary:
Mother of a 15-month old daughter and would-be dancer, fighting alcoholism and the hardships of living on the streets gets help from a home for women and tries to find the will to live and get her life back on track.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, touching, humorous
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Similar in 89%
Time Out of Mind (2014)
Plot Summary:
Evicted from his squat and suddenly alone on the streets, George is a man without a home. Struggling with his demons and desperately trying to connect with the daughter he abandoned, he navigates the system, hustling for change and somewhere safe and quiet to gather his thoughts. But the streets are relentless and soon, George finds himself teetering on the edge, alone and abandoned.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, realistic, serious, atmospheric, independent film
Similar in 76%
All Is Forgiven (2007)
Plot Summary:
Victor lives in Vienna with Annette, his beautiful Austrian wife and their daughter Pamela. It’s spring. Fleeing his work, Victor spends his days outside: he plays with Pamela, pays a visit to Annette’s parents, loiters in the park with the drug dealers. Very much in love, Annette is confident that he’ll get a hold of himself as soon as they return to Paris. But back in France, Victor relapses into his bad habits. After a violent dispute, Victor moves into the room of a junkie he has fallen in love with. Annette leaves Victor and disappears with Pamela. 11 years later: Pamela is 17. She lives in Paris with her mother. One day, she learns that her father lives in the same city. She decides to see him again. –Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 956
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, sentimental, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Curse of the Starving Class (1994)
Plot Summary:
Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm family. Dad's a foul talking drunk and Mom is desperately trying to save what's left of their family life.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: gloomy, independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Raven's End (1963)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of this film, about the working class in pre-world war II Sweden, is Anders who wishes to become an author. His father who is a notorious dreamer and liar, and his mother, who struggles to keep their family alive.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
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Similar in 80%
Choco (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young woman raising alone her children while her husband gets drunk but when she breaks free nothing will be the same.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 292
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, touching, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Hidden in America (1996)
Plot Summary:
Story of a man Bill Januson whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will survive. After hitting brick wall after brick wall comes a glimmer of hope.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 538
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: crying, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Applause (2009)
Plot Summary:
When the critically acclaimed, tough and coming of age actress Thea Barfoed ends her rehab, she confronts a hard choice. During her heavy drinking period she divorced and lost custody of her two boys. Now she wants them to be a part of her life again.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sexy, gloomy
Similar in 76%
A Family (2010)
Plot Summary:
Ditte owns a gallery, has a loving boyfriend and her dream job in New York is within reach. But Ditte is also the youngest generation of the famous bakery dynasty, Rheinwald, and when her beloved, but dominating father comes down with a serious illness, Ditte is faced with the grueling decision: To pursue her own dreams, or to continue the legacy of her family.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, sincere, realistic, sexy
Similar in 83%
Liverpool (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sailor takes a short leave to visit his hometown and see if his mother is still alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, contemplative, psychological, captivating, road movie, dread, slow cinema, aesthetic, sincere
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Similar in 75%
The Angel (2009)
Plot Summary:
A drug addict becomes a mother and has to deal with responsibility and self-respect.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 867
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway, Sweden, Finland
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, serious, realistic, independent film, bleak, contemplative, non-linear
Similar in 77%
Aftermath (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young married couple has to deal with their emotional breakdowns after the death of their only daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 840
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
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Similar in 87%
We're All Christs (2006)
Plot Summary:
Adaś Miauczyński, a Polish intelectual, has severe alcohol problems which affect his relationship with his son Sylwek.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, surreal, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Offline (2012)
Plot Summary:
A man attempts to reclaim the life that prison took from him but his dark past threatens to ruin everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 876
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
She Is Not Crying, She Is Singing (2011)
Plot Summary:
A tale of deliverance. Laura, 27 years old, lives alone in the outskirts of a large town. She learns that her father is in a coma, after a serious car accident. She decides to visit him at the hospital as a last opportunity to settle old scores, perhaps even to get revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 130
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, France
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Frozen Land (2005)
Plot Summary:
When a schoolteacher is sacked, he projects his bad mood at his troubled teenage son. The son, in turn, buys a CD player from a pawnshop with counterfeit money. This starts a chain reaction of misery as every victim projects his problems on to another person.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: bleak, emotional, realistic, intense, sincere, captivating, touching, harsh, atmospheric, serious
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Similar in 85%
Submarino (2010)
Plot Summary:
As children, Nick and his little brother take care of their baby brother while their mother drinks herself senseless. But the baby dies, and both brothers blame themselves. Many years later, Nick is out of prison after serving time for an assault. He drinks, lives in a shelter and tries to help an old friend. When their mother dies, Nick meets his brother at the funeral. The brother, who remains nameless, is a single father to a young boy, but also supports a drug habit that is spiraling out of control. When an opportunity presents itself, he becomes a drug dealer to secure his son's future. Eventually, the two brothers meet again.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: bleak, gloomy, thought provoking, disturbing, melancholic, rough, sincere, realistic, non-linear, surreal
Similar in 85%
Nobody Owns Me (2013)
Plot Summary:
The story of a lone father's relationship with his daughter, of the destructive power of alcohol, of a child's vulnerability, but also of love, betrayal and socialist politics in 1970s Sweden. A unique and moving story freely based on Åsa Linderborg's best-selling novel.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, social
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Similar in 88%
Bluebird (2013)
Plot Summary:
On a freezing January evening, school bus driver Lesley completes her route, but her final inspection abruptly ends when a bluebird comes into view. What happens next shakes her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 976
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film, atmospheric, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Rosetta (1999)
Plot Summary:
Young and impulsive Rosetta lives with her alcoholic mother and, moved by despair, she will do anything to maintain a job.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, bleak, art house, realistic, contemplative, emotional, spiritual, suspense, social, sad
Similar in 86%
All or Nothing (2002)
Plot Summary:
Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy, and she works on the checkout at a supermarket.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, meditative, sentimental, sincere, talky, offbeat
Similar in 85%
Our Life (2010)
Plot Summary:
Claudio works on a site in the suburbs of Rome. He is madly in love with his wife who is pregnant with their third child. However, a dramatic event comes to upset this simple and happy life. In a rage for life, Claudio energetically fights against the injustice that fell upon him. Love and support from his friends and family as well as the laughter of his children will help him to triumph against the odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, serious, realistic, captivating, touching, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Smashed (2012)
Plot Summary:
Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter… and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the nature of her bond with Charlie.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, depressing, touching, realistic, indie film, sentimental, spiritual, mumblecore, cute, informative
Similar in 84%
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)
Plot Summary:
The film follows one day in the lives of the Tyrone family, each member is troubled and has been damaged by alcohol and/or drugs. In addition, they have issues with each other that lead to fights and an inability to reconcile completely with one another.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 174 min
Plot tags: tense, depressing, talky, psychological, serious, realistic, grim, clever, retro, spiritual
Similar in 80%
Drunks (1995)
Plot Summary:
At the beginning of a nightly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Jim seems particularly troubled. His sponsor encourages him to talk that night, the first time in seven months, so he does - and leaves the meeting right after. As Jim wanders the night, searching for some solace in his old stomping grounds, bars and parks where he bought drugs, the meeting goes on, and we hear the stories of survivors and addicts - some, like Louis, who claim to have wandered in looking for choir practice, who don't call themselves alcoholic, and others, like Joseph, whose drinking almost caused the death of his child - as they talk about their lives at the meeting.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, realistic, talky, spiritual, sincere, serious, emotional, thought provoking, clever, depressing
Similar in 85%
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Plot Summary:
An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sexy, poignant, realistic, depressing, black and white, bleak, emotional, social, offbeat, spiritual
Similar in 80%
Ironweed (1987)
Plot Summary:
Albany, New York, Halloween, 1938. Francis Phelan and Helen Archer are bums, back in their birth city. She was a singer on the radio, he a major league pitcher. Death surrounds them: she's sick, a pal has cancer, he digs graves at the cemetery and visits the grave of his infant son whom he dropped; visions of his past haunt him, including ghosts of two men he killed. That night, out drinking, Helen tries to sing at a bar. Next day, Fran visits his wife and children and meets a grandson. He could stay, but decides it's not for him. Helen gets their things out of storage and finds a hotel. Amidst their mistakes and dereliction, the film explores their code of fairness and loyalty.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, intense, sincere, serious, realistic, depressing, compassionate, cult classic, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Beyond (2010)
Plot Summary:
A poignant story, told with sincerity and humor, about a young woman´s dramatic childhood and about her grief and the struggle to move on. Noomi Rapace plays the main character in her first feature after the success with the Millennium trilogy and she plays opposite her husband, actor Ola Rapace.Award winning actress Pernilla August makes her directorial debut with her take on the bestselling novel Svinalängorna by Susanna Alakoski.In other main roles we see rising star Tehilla Blad and the Finnish acclaimed actors, Ville Virtanen and Outi Mäenpää.A morning just before Christmas, Leena, 34, receives a phone call from a hospital in her childhood hometown telling her that her mother is dying. This news takes her on a journey to face her mother for the first time in her adult life. Leena has fought all her life to let go of her grief over her lost and dark childhood. She is now forced to deal with her past to be able to move on.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, Finland, Denmark
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, depressing, bleak, emotional, tense, gloomy