Best movies like The City and the Dogs
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Four angry cadets have formed an inner circle in an attempt to beat the system and ward off the boredom and stifling confinement of the military academy, set off a chain of events that starts with a theft and leads to murder.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 695
Genere: Drama
Country: Peru
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, crying
Best tv shows and movies like The City and the Dogs (1985):
Similar in 87%
Peppermint Candy (1999)
Plot Summary:
In the spring of 1999, a group of old friends gather to celebrate their 20 year reunion. Among the group is Yeong-ho, a cold, unhappy man, whose demeanor puts a damper on the festivities. The seriousness of Yeong-ho"s depression becomes apparent, however, when he climbs a railroad bridge and looks like he might jump. At this crucial moment, memories of seven crucial episodes from Yeong-ho"s past flood his mind.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea, Japan
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, serious, existential, realistic, suspense, philosophical, mind bending, psychedelic, depressing
Similar in 75%
A Better Place (1997)
Plot Summary:
A high school outcast new to town becomes friends with a violent loner still haunted by the death of his parents.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: art house, cerebral, independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, emotional
Similar in 79%
The Men's Club (1986)
Plot Summary:
Seven men have a group session and share their feelings on women, love, life and work.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, independent film, touching, realistic, talky, semi serious, crying
Similar in 89%
Seventeen Years (1999)
Plot Summary:
Is a simple family drama that evolves into a moving study of immutable family ties and is also a scathing indictment of the political and penal system in China.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 626
Genere: Drama
Country: Switzerland, China, Italy, Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 87%
Ladybird Ladybird (1994)
Plot Summary:
Maggie has had four children, by four different fathers, removed by social services because of a previous violent relationship. When she meets Jorge, a gentle Latin American refugee, she gradually sees her chance for happiness, but her history still haunts her.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sad, disturbing, realistic, biting, independent film, social, detective, sincere, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 79%
Chasing Freedom (2004)
Plot Summary:
New York attorney Libby (Juliette Lewis) is a go-getter who won't let anyone stand in the way of her success. But when she accepts a pro bono case involving young Afghan dissident Meena (Layla Alizada), Libby finds her corporate dreams replaced by a growing sense of idealism. Seeking asylum in the United States after years of oppression under the Taliban, Meena desperately wants freedom, and Libby is her only hope. But can Libby deliver?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 415
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, emotional, disturbing, inspirational, informative, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating
Similar in 88%
New Port South (2001)
Plot Summary:
A group of teenagers wish to rebel against the administrators and teachers (the system) in their suburban Chicago high school called New Port South.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 572
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, epic, bleak, gloomy, parody
Similar in 86%
The Chocolate War (1988)
Plot Summary:
A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy. A new student must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, psychological, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surreal, allegory, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 80%
The Gospel of the Flesh (2013)
Plot Summary:
Three lives in search of redemption intersect in the streets of Lima: undercover cop Gamarra’s desperate attempts to save his wife from a terminal illness gets him into trouble; bus driver Felix wants to be accepted into a religious sect after his involvement in a tragic traffic accident; and imperiled soccer club leader Narciso tries to secure his younger brother’s release from prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: Drama
Country: Peru
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, rough, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Mrs. Harris (2005)
Plot Summary:
Based on the sensational 1980s media event, famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower meets a particularly brutal end at the hands of his jilted lover, Jean Harris.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, realistic, witty, biting, crying, detective, suspense
Similar in 78%
Twist (2003)
Plot Summary:
In a gritty retelling of the Dickens's classic, Twist takes Oliver and the Artful Dodger out of the poorhouse and onto the streets, where junk is the currency and hustling is the game.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 83%
First, Last and Deposit (2000)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Tessa (Jessica White) faces more than the usual tribulations of adolescence. When bad times hit, she and her mother find themselves living on the streets. The injustice of poverty is emphasized by the fact that Tessa's school chums are the children of very wealthy parents, and the only way to fit in is by lying. Add the gorgeous and expensive trappings of their Santa Barbara community, and you get a portrait of cruel contradictions seen through the eyes of a young girl.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, bleak, gloomy, crying
Similar in 78%
Word of Honor (2003)
Plot Summary:
Prompted by a just-published book that holds ex-lieutenant Ben Tyson accountable for a hushed-up massacre committed by his platoon in a Hue hospital 18 years before, the army recalls Tyson to stand trial for murder. Tyson, confronted by an army authority anxious to save its own face, an embarrassed federal government, and a threatened marriage, and entangled, furthermore, in his own past lives and present sense of guilt, must call on all his cleverness and his own inner toughness to fight his case.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 584
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic
Similar in 88%
Young Torless (1966)
Plot Summary:
At a boarding school in the pre-war Austro-Hungarian Empire, a pair of students torture one of their fellow classmates, Basini, who has been caught stealing money from one of the two. The two decide that rather than turn Basini in to the school authorities, they will punish him themselves and proceed to torture, degrade, and humiliate the boy, with ever-increasing sadistic delight. As each day passes, the two boys are able to justify harsher treatment than previously given. Torless is a passive member of the group but observes rather than participates and frustrates the tormentors by dryly analyzing their behavior. Written by Dean Harris.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, controversial, black and white, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 79%
White Rabbit (2013)
Plot Summary:
A bullied student sees visions of a rabbit he was forced to kill as a child, and those visions propel him into a state where his imagination causes him to carry out violent acts.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, disturbing, dark, grindhouse, action thriller, poetic, realistic, comic
Similar in 89%
Heart of America (2002)
Plot Summary:
Starring Jurgen Prochnow ('The Replacement Killers' 'Air Force One' and Patrick Muldoon 'Stigmata' 'Starship Troopers'), 'Heart of America' is a powerhouse of a contemporary drama and essential viewing for anyone who was captivated by Michael Moore's 'Bowling For Columbine'. It is the last day of high school and the unthinkable is about to happen. Distraught at the constant abuse and bullying they have been subjected to, two students have made a suicide pact. But before they take their own lives, they are determined to cause chaos and murder amongst their fellow students.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Germany
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, serious, realistic, tense, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
George Washington (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in the landscape of a rural southern town, "George Washington" is a stunning portrait of how a group of young kids come to grips with a hard world of choices and consequences. During an innocent game in an abandoned amusement park, a member of the group dies. Narrated by one of the children, the film follows the kids as they struggle to balance their own ambitions and relationships against a tragic lie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, independent film, meditative, lyrical, touching, realistic, stylized, southern gothic, thought provoking
Similar in 79%
Mirage (2004)
Plot Summary:
As Macedonia faces its difficult transition, a boy escapes into a world of his own creation.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country:
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, art house, bleak
Similar in 90%
Boy A (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young ex-con Jack, newly released from serving a prison sentence for a murder he committed as a child.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, heartbreaking, disturbing, emotional, touching, suspense, compassionate, tense, brutal, melancholic
Similar in 75%
Steal Me (2005)
Plot Summary:
Chasing his wayward mother to Montana, fifteen year old Jake finds the picture perfect Tucker family instead who photoshop him into their lives, despite his questionable past. Too bad Jake can not stop himself from stealing, being seduced by the sexy next door neighbor, courting the mother of the house, encouraging the son in his first love affair, and leading the neighborhood boys in an ever escalating series of pranks. A drama about stealing radios, cars, and hearts.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 294
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, independent film, crying
Similar in 82%
Life Hits (2006)
Plot Summary:
Christina is living in a suburb to Copenhagen. With her class mates Cecilie, Trine and Pernille she slacks her school work, living mostly for the weekends of gate crashing, getting drunk, experimenting with drugs and scoring guys. But her world is turned upside down when Cecilie's boyfriend Shaid starts hitting on her, and Cecilie mistakenly believes the two of them are making out.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, captivating, independent film, sincere, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Zero Day (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two troubled adolescents chronicle the events that ultimately lead up to a terrifying assault on their school.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, mockumentary, rough, suspenseful, controversial, intense, teen, scary, sad
Similar in 77%
Borstal Boy (2000)
Plot Summary:
Based on Irish poet Brendan Behan's experiences in a reform school in 1942. A 16 year-old Irish republican terrorist arrives on the ferry at Liverpool and is arrested for possession of explosives. He is imprisoned in a Borstal in East Anglia, where he is forced to live with his would-be enemies, an experience that profoundly changes his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, disturbing, political, gloomy, independent film, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 87%
She Fought Alone (1995)
Plot Summary:
All, including school administration and a friend, turn their backs on a girl who accused a classmate of rape.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, rough, serious, emotional, contemplative
Similar in 90%
The Class (2007)
Plot Summary:
An average guy of an Estonian high-school decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: Estonia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, tense, emotional, realistic, sad, crying, thought provoking, touching, brutal
Similar in 81%
Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005)
Plot Summary:
The determined new headmaster of an English prep school attempts to reform the frequently unruly students, who are tormented by a ruthless bully.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, serious, exciting, tense, suspenseful, crying, period drama
Similar in 86%
The Deputy and the Congressman (1978)
Plot Summary:
Madrid, Roberto Orbea is a member of the Spanish communist party. He is married to Carmen, and he has been elected as Deputy in the first democratic elections in Spain. But his enemies, the fascist, know his double life. Roberto likes boys, and they hire Juanito to seduce the politician. They fall in love.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 720
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: political, social, sensual, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, crying, independent film
Similar in 85%
Evil (2003)
Plot Summary:
Stockholm, the fifties. Though academically bright, violent pupil Erik Ponti is expelled from his state school with the headmaster’s words “there’s only one word for people like you – evil… what you need is a good thrashing, and more”. In fact already Erik frequently receives a ‘good’ thrashing at the hands of his sadistic stepfather – so he is packed off by his mother to boardingschool.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, touching, rough, emotional, bleak, harsh, teen, realistic, serious
Similar in 89%
Our Father (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two boys (Tamir & Amine) awake one morning to find that their father has abandoned their family. Shocked, they begin to misbehave. While surreptitiously watching a movie, they think they see their father speaking to them and steal the film to examine the frames. Their mother (Achta) eventually despairs and sends them to Koranic school. Unhappy, they plan their escape until the eldest boy falls in love with a deaf girl (Khalil).
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 734
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Chad, Netherlands
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, captivating, contemplative, crying, entertaining
Similar in 84%
The United States of Leland (2003)
Plot Summary:
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: depressing, meditative, psychological, bleak, emotional, rough, serious, realistic, touching, melancholic