Best movies like The Calm
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young man in his twenties leaves prison after a three-year sentence. He wants to start a new life in a place where he is not known and dreams only of a job, a wife and a family. He succeeds partially in fulfilling these dreams, but then runs into a conflict on a construction job between the corrupt boss and fellow workers secretly planning a strike. He becomes a pawn in one camp while remaining true to his ideals in the other. Filmed in 1976 and shelved for five years.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 669
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Calm (1980):
Similar in 84%
Two Moons (1993)
Plot Summary:
Panoramic view of a resort town in the summer of 1930. In seventeen episodes we get a glimpse at the microcosm of its colourful inhabitants and visitors, Poles and Jews, the high society and the desperately poor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 79
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Kung-Fu (1979)
Plot Summary:
A well-regarded engineer in a big enterprise is hounded by trumped up attacks on his integrity when he delves too deeply into how bonuses are handled by the management. He gets into an argument with the guard, is arrested and subsequently fired. An old friend, a journalist, tries to sort things out but the victim's stubbornness and past problems with his wife lead to lossess by both.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 91
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Personnel (1975)
Plot Summary:
Romek, an idealistc 19-year-old boy, takes a job as a tailor in the costume department of a Warsaw theater company where his new colleague, Sowa, is pressured to make a costume for an overbearing soloist.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 556
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Time to Die (2007)
Plot Summary:
An impressionistic, black-and-white portrait of the day-to-day of a nonagenarian woman as she experiences the final act of her life. Danuta Szaflarska stars as Aniela, who lives in a massive yet rapidly-deteriorating wooden house, filled with souvenirs and treasures of eras gone by. Aniela runs into conflict in her dealings with others, particularly a nasty neighbor who sees her property as an eyesore and wants to do everything in his reach to buy it up and tear it down, and her married adult son, who - though kindly - triggers paranoia within Aniela (she cannot help but believe that he is scheming and planning to wheedle the property away from her). Driven aback by these individuals, Aniela finds one of her only sources of comfort and reassurance in her daily talks with her dog, Fila - and develops a great affinity for spying on the neighbors' doings whenever boredom creeps in.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
The Magician of Lublin (1979)
Plot Summary:
Yasha is a Jewish stage magician who tours through eastern Europe while destroying his career through personal problems. He has one more chance at theatrical success, but he needs to do a brand new trick in a Warsaw theater.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 174
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel, West Germany
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 89%
Short Working Day (1995)
Plot Summary:
Kieślowski’s study of a political strike, controversially told from the viewpoint of a Communist functionary trying to keep order.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 402
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: political drama
Similar in 76%
The Constant Factor (1980)
Plot Summary:
The main character in this effective, convincing drama is Witold (Tadeusz Bradecki) who is high in what later would be termed the "emotional quotient" or the ability to bounce back from adverse, tragic circumstances. Witold has been nursing both his sick mother and a deeply rooted desire to climb the Himalayas. His father had died climbing in those mountains, and they have an allure for Witold as well. But his dreams begin to crumble when his mother succumbs to her illness and trouble brews at work. The situation becomes bad enough to scramble Witold's life with no indication of future improvement.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: intellectual
Similar in 90%
Die Chance (1979)
Plot Summary:
Jerzy Stuhr plays a high school teacher with a sensitive outlook on life and a soft spot for students who like art and literature as passionately as he does. His adversary is a possessed sports instructor, gaining growing control over the students and authorities. His methods are questionable and his influence dangerous, but the handball team's prospects look good and the school needs success.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 63
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
The Wedding (1973)
Plot Summary:
Set at the turn of the century, the story concerns a Polish poet living in Cracow who has decided to marry a peasant girl. The wedding is attended by a heterogenous group of people from all strata of Polish society, who dance, get drunk and lament Poland's 100-year-long division under Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The bridegroom, a painter friend, and a journalist each in turn is confronted with spectres of Polish past. In the end a call to arms is called but turns out to be a hoax.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, stylized, semi serious, sexual, intellectual, sexy
Similar in 82%
Rokonok (2006)
Plot Summary:
Young honest public official is sworn in after his predecessor had to leave due to a corruption scandal. Soon, the young idealist discovers just how far-reaching the corruption is in his town and how easy it is to become corrupt yourself.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 681
Genere: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
We, the Undersigned (1981)
Plot Summary:
While a newly-built industrial bakery can produce bread, a three-person committee refused to sign acceptance documents citing numerous deficiencies. Lyonya Shindin, who works for a construction company, which built the bakery, follows the committee members traveling by train. His goal is to convince them to sign the documents before they arrive home. Ready to do it at any cost Lyonya starts scheming, and puts on acts to bond with committee members. Yet Yuri Devyatov, the chairman, is unmoved. Eventually Lyonya comes clean, and explains Devyatov that everything goes way beyond the unfinished bakery: the whole incident will be used to sack an honest and talented manager, who was forced to work on the bakery amid a lack of resources facing an impossible deadline. Devyatov learns that he was used as a pawn making a perfect way to deal with someone's enemies using an impartial man of stellar reputation.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
The Traitors (1973)
Plot Summary:
Raymundo Gleyzer s only fictional film, THE TRAITORS is a compelling political thriller about a trade unionist corrupted by his rise to power. Skillfully weaving documentary and fictional sequences, THE TRAITORS covers the Peronistas movement Argentina in most explosive political era. Gleyzer founded Cine de la Base, a group dedicated to bringing revolutionary films to the people. In 1976, he was abducted and thrown into a concentration camp by Argentina s military dictatorship, then tortured and murdered. THE TRAITORS reveals his commitment to using film to prompt social change.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Signorina Effe (2007)
Plot Summary:
Emma was born and raised in a working-class family, but she's long had bourgeois ambitions and has risen through the ranks to become a white-collar employee with the Fiat automobile company.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 169
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Childish Questions (1981)
Plot Summary:
A story of an architectural student asking questions on problems during a housing project development. Arrested for parading with a sign asking for a difficult and responsible job, he tells his story to a cellmate.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 39
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Poland
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
The Law and the Fist (1964)
Plot Summary:
At the end of World War Two, Polish people move to the western lands vacated by Germans. But some ruthless profiteers pose as government representatives and intend to make off with loot from a deserted town they took over. One honest man stands up against them because he believes these goods belong to the people.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 412
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Weekend Stories: A Woman's Business (1996)
Plot Summary:
A woman whose passport was denied under the previous Communist regime by a vindictive party secretary is given a chance to confront the woman and take revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 53
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 56 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 75%
The Migrants (1974)
Plot Summary:
A look at the lives of migratory farm workers, focusing on one family.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 112
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Hands Up! (1981)
Plot Summary:
Beginning with a sci-fi prologue before finding itself with several doctors attending a medical school reunion in a sealed-up railway carriage. Between drinks, the disenchanted medicos ruminate over the effect that communism (particularly the Stalinist brand) has had on their profession. Originally banned in 1967 and finally released in 1981 after Skolimowski shot new sequences, the 76 minute 1981 version was the only one ever officially released.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: philosophical, experimental, avant garde, dark comedy, political
Similar in 75%
Inspection of the Crime Scene 1901 (1980)
Plot Summary:
More documentary in its approach than dramatized history, this is a compelling story about a 1901 children's strike in Wrzesnia near the Polish border with Prussia. Poland was partitioned at this time, and a rigidly patriotic Prussian teacher in Wrzesnia follows the dictates of the Germans in parliament and insists that the children be taught their religion classes in German. When the children refuse to take part in the classes, they are supported by the local priest, but that does not save them from being beaten. They are also kept after school and tormented in other ways as well. Newspapers, parents, and the nation as a whole get involved, transforming a simple children's strike into a national incident.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 56
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Wielki bieg (1981)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1952, the story follows events around the "Peace Run", a propaganda 3-day marathon for peace. The winner is to be presented with a new motorcycle by the country's president. Chief organizer is a ruthless manipulator who will stop at nothing to make sure that the right man wins. There are two runners, Budny and Stolar, who are participating in the race for different reasons.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 95
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Fever (1981)
Plot Summary:
The film is set in 1905, in a time of feverish revolutionary underground activity in Poland partitioned between three neighbours. All the characters are committed anarchists. The bomb maker puts an invention together to place it at the disposal of young inexperienced terrorists fighting against Tsarist oppression. The story follows the passing of this bomb from anarchist to anarchist as several attempts are made on the life of Tsarist governor general, until, at the end, it is effectively and harmlessly defused by a bomb expert. The presence of the bomb has a destroying effect on all of the Polish revolutionaries, they either die or breakdown.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 279
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Sunday Pranks (1983)
Plot Summary:
Made in 1983, shelved for four years. A chilling tale about kids playing in a bombed-out Warsaw courtyard on the day of Stalin's death, while their parents are away at the church or a memorial procession.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 92
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
Nightmares (1979)
Plot Summary:
Set before the first Wold War in part of Poland under Austrain occupation, the story of a young boy in primary school who later grows up to become a rebellious, poetic-minded teen in the same school when the national movement toward liberation is under way. The story of a country where church amd state work together to suppress the human spirit.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: intellectual, political
Similar in 89%
The Scar (1976)
Plot Summary:
After discussions and dishonest negotiations, a decision is taken as to where a large new chemical factory is to be built and Bednarz, an honest Party man, is put in charge of the construction. He used to live in the small town where the factory is to be built, his wife used to be a Party activist there, and he has unpleasant memories of it. But he sets to the task in the belief that he will build a place where people will live and work well. His intentions and convictions, however, conflict with those of the townspeople who are primarily concerned with their short-term needs. Disillusioned, Bednarz gives up his post.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Camera Buff (1979)
Plot Summary:
Filip buys an 8mm movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town, he's named official photographer by the local Party boss. His horizons widen when he is sent to regional film festivals with his first works but his focus on movie making also leads to domestic strife and philosophical dilemmas.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Poland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: biting, existential, art house, poetic, clever, humorous, realistic, semi serious, parody, meta
Similar in 88%
Death as a Slice of Bread (1994)
Plot Summary:
The violence and high drama of this film is taken directly from recent Polish history. On December 13, 1981 national security forces swoop down on unsuspecting workers of the Wujek mine and arrest a Solidarity leader. Pushed to the limits, the miners call a massive strike, which is specifically forbidden under the martial law. A battle between the heavily armed police and the outnumbered miners ensues, and nine miners are killed.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 249
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Man of Marble (1977)
Plot Summary:
Man of Marble is a Polish film about a student making a film about a bricklayer who was once idolized. She interviews people who knew him and finds old footage that lead to an unfolding mystery that causes her producer to cancel the project.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: emotional, meditative, compassionate, disturbing, talky, realistic, serious, political, sincere, thought provoking
Similar in 79%
Politics (2019)
Plot Summary:
Portraying the events that have taken place in Polish politics in recent years.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: tense, sexy, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Forgive Us Our Debts (2018)
Plot Summary:
Threatened by creditors, a newly unemployed man agrees to work for a debt collector, but soon discovers his deal with the devil has unexpected costs.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Switzerland, Albania, Poland
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Strike (2006)
Plot Summary:
In poverty, she found strength. In oppression, she found courage. In solidarity, she found a reason to believe again. Acclaimed German actress Katharina Thalbach (THE TIN DRUM, SOPHIES CHOICE) stars in this hard-hitting historical drama set during the rise of Polands Solidarity movement. An illiterate single mother, Agnieszka Kowalska is a Socialist "heroine of labor" for working long hours as a shipyard welder until her superiors deny compensation to the widows of 21 workers killed in an industrial disaster. Risking her job, her life, and the love of her son to defy the bureacracy, Agnieszka inspires the largest labor strike in world history and becomes a national hero. Volker Schlöndorff adapted this "ballad based on historical events" from the biography of Anna Walentynowicz, the free trade activist who mobilized a million Poles for Solidarity and helped hasten the fall of Communism. Filmed entirely on location at Polands Lenin Shipyard, where history was made.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 490
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Poland
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sincere, captivating