Best movies like The Book Thief
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refuge is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 141000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, serious, captivating, sad, stylized, tear jerker, period piece, motivational
Best tv shows and movies like The Book Thief (2013):
Similar in 82%
Secrets of War (2014)
Plot Summary:
Tuur and Lambert are best friends. But the war is closing in and is about to change their lives forever. Tuurs dad joined the resistance and even his big brother seems so be part of it. Lamberts family on the other hand choose to obey the Germans. Then a new girls from the city shows up, befriending the boys but telling her secret to only one of them. A choice that separates the boys and ultimately gets her in trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, touching, serious, realistic, social, period drama
Similar in 89%
Goodnight, Mister Tom (1998)
Plot Summary:
We're in an English village shortly before Dunkirk. "Mr. Tom" Oakley still broods over the death of his wife and small son while he was away in the navy during WWI, and grief has made him a surly hermit. Now children evacuated from London are overwhelming volunteers to house them. Practically under protest, Mr. Tom takes in a painfully quiet 10-year-old, who gradually reveals big problems.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Family, War
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, sexy, sad, sincere, uplifting, serious, realistic, warmhearted
Similar in 81%
Edges of the Lord (2001)
Plot Summary:
A 12-year-old Jewish boy hides with a family of Catholic peasant farmers to escape the Nazis.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA, Poland
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, tense, serious, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Little Boy (2015)
Plot Summary:
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Mexico, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, touching, sweet, sad, semi serious, fairy tale, christian film, spiritual, scenic
Similar in 87%
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Plot Summary:
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 301000
Genere: Animation, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: depressing, anime, touching, heartbreaking, sad, emotional, harsh, dramatic, sentimental, tear jerker
Similar in 88%
Hidden Children (2004)
Plot Summary:
This is a true story about forty Jewish children on their way to Palestine, who were blocked by the German and Italian occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941. Before finding a haven at Villa Emma in Nonantola in northern Italy, where they arrived on June 17, 1942, the children spent several adventurous months in Slovenia, caught up in the ongoing fight between the partisans and the Italian army. In April 1943, another 33 children, some from the Balkans, others from France, joined the original group. All were orphans who had lost their parents in concentration camps and had subsequently been smuggled out of Germany by Recha Freier, a well-known Zionist. The group ranged in age from six to twenty one and settled in at Villa Emma with their chaperones and teachers, Josef Indig, Marco Schoky and the pianist Boris Jochverdson.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 112
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, sentimental, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, road movie
Similar in 82%
Run Boy Run (2013)
Plot Summary:
Run Boy Run is the true story of Jurek, an eight-year-old boy, who escapes from the Warsaw ghetto, then manages to survive in the woods and working as a farmhand, disguising himself as a Polish orphan. He encounters people who will betray him for a reward, who will beat him up or try to kill him, and he meets those, who will do and risk almost everything to help him. Jurek’s resilience is put to the ultimate test, when an accident cripples him, making it harder to find work. But he struggles on against all odds. Eventually the Russians reach his area and Jurek even finds a family where he could stay. Yet he is betrayed again, and a young man from a Jewish orphanage forcefully tries to bring Jurek back to his people and his faith.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, captivating, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 84%
Bomb Girls (2012)
Plot Summary:
Focusing on a group of women working in a munitions plant during World War II, this ensemble drama depicts the dangers and new experiences they face.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, serious, stylized, historical drama, tense, period piece, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 75%
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Plot Summary:
A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 428000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: New Zealand, USA, Czech Republic
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sad, dark comedy, black comedy, funny, psychological, tense, touching, political, disturbing, controversial
Similar in 80%
The Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
Plot Summary:
Hannah Stern, an American-born Jewish adolescent, is uninterested in the culture, faith and customs of her relatives; however, Hannah begins to revaluate her heritage when she has a supernatural experience that transports her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941. There, she meets a young girl named Rivkah, a fellow captive in the camp. As Rivkah and Hannah struggle to survive in the face of daily atrocities, they form an unbreakable bond.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, uplifting, serious, realistic, sentimental, touching, period piece, teen, surprise ending
Similar in 81%
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Plot Summary:
In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 179 min
Plot tags: political, black and white, emotional, suspenseful, disturbing, sincere, tense, realistic, talky, philosophical
Similar in 87%
Mother of Mine (2005)
Plot Summary:
1943: Nine-year-old Eero whose father is killed during the war is brought to Sweden to foster parents to his protection like thousands of other Finnish children. Eero feels lost, particularly as his foster mother Signe behaves very unfriendly. She was expecting a little girl and still mourns for her daughter who drowned in the sea.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, melancholic, bleak, realistic, sincere, captivating, serious, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 83%
Before the Fall (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh column,Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Sport, Thriller, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: melancholic, harsh, disturbing, sentimental, touching, emotional, serious, suspenseful, sincere, captivating
Similar in 85%
Turtles Can Fly (2004)
Plot Summary:
Turtles can fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iran border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Iran, France, Iraq
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, emotional, atmospheric, stylized, rough, heartbreaking, political, dramatic, realistic
Similar in 84%
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor named Basie, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirits, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 133000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: sad, emotional, heartbreaking, period piece, touching, realistic, inspirational, historical drama, sincere, philosophical
Similar in 86%
Goodbye, Children (1987)
Plot Summary:
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. He becomes the roommate of top student in his class. Rivals at first, the roommates form a bond and share a secret.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, West Germany, Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad, heartbreaking, christian film, depressing, art house, sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, sincere
Similar in 81%
The Last Train (2006)
Plot Summary:
A group of people are imprisoned in a rail car bound from Berlin to a concentration camp in 1945.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, Czech Republic
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, serious, realistic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 85%
Come and See (1985)
Plot Summary:
The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, thought provoking, rough, political, psychological, atmospheric, depressing, controversial, serious
Similar in 75%
Uprising (2001)
Plot Summary:
Jews rise up in the Warsaw Ghetto against the Nazis in 1943.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 177 min
Plot tags: uplifting, captivating, rough, serious, political, tense, bleak, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 81%
Lore (2012)
Plot Summary:
After her Nazi parents are imprisoned, Lore leads her younger siblings across a war-torn Germany in 1945. Amidst the chaos, she encounters mysterious Jewish refugee Thomas, who shatters her fragile reality with hatred and desire. To live, she must trust someone she was taught to hate and face the darkness within herself.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Australia, Germany, UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, disturbing, bleak, suspense, psychological, harsh, sincere, realistic, art house, road movie
Similar in 79%
Black Book (2006)
Plot Summary:
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Netherlands, Germany, UK, Belgium
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: tense, erotic, psychological, realistic, dramatic, political, suspense, breathtaking, emotional, intense
Similar in 85%
Europa Europa (1990)
Plot Summary:
A Jewish boy separated from his family in the early days of WWII poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth. Although improbabilities and happenstance are cornerstones of the film, it is based upon a true story.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: political, realistic, retro, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, epic, tense, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 89%
Jakob the Liar (1999)
Plot Summary:
In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out after curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, France, Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sad, cult classic, sincere, uplifting, humorous, emotional, realistic, gloomy, semi serious, sentimental
Similar in 80%
The Zookeeper's Wife (2017)
Plot Summary:
The account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Czech Republic, UK, USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: factual, rough, tense, suspense, sad, suspenseful, disturbing, costume drama, thought provoking, touching
Similar in 76%
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Plot Summary:
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, sad, heartbreaking, sentimental, tear jerker, serious, crying, thought provoking, gloomy
Similar in 90%
The Pianist (2002)
Plot Summary:
The true story of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 890000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music, War
Country: France, Poland, Germany, UK, USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: emotional, heartbreaking, harsh, bleak, suspense, poignant, reflective, touching, dramatic, motivational
Similar in 76%
War Horse (2011)
Plot Summary:
Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 164000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, India
Duration: 146 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, epic, uplifting, captivating, sentimental, melancholic, serious, crying, sad
Similar in 84%
Stalingrad (1993)
Plot Summary:
"Stalingrad" follows the progress of a German Platoon through the brutal fighting of the Battle of Stalingrad. After having half their number wiped out and after being placed under the command of a sadistic Captain, the Lieutenant of the platoon leads his men to desert. The men of the platoon attempt to escape from the city which is now surrounded by the Soviet Army.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, gloomy, rough, epic, captivating, factual, talky, political
Similar in 83%
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Plot Summary:
A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 730000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, emotional, sentimental, tragicomedy, poignant, heartbreaking, sad, realistic, feel good
Similar in 79%
Schindler's List (1993)
Plot Summary:
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 14000000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 195 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, heartbreaking, realistic, thought provoking, poignant, black and white, dramatic, serious, sad