Best movies like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The true story of Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 110000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, emotional, depressing, psychological, sincere, breathtaking, visual, motivational, sentimental
Best tv shows and movies like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007):
Similar in 88%
The Soloist (2009)
Plot Summary:
A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sincere, touching, emotional, sad, heartbreaking, melancholic, intense, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Mirror (1975)
Plot Summary:
A dying man in his forties remembers his past. His childhood, his mother, the war, personal moments and things that tell of the recent history of all the Russian nation.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: surreal, cerebral, atmospheric, avant garde, art house, enigmatic, serious, philosophical, psychological, thought provoking
Similar in 81%
The Straight Story (1999)
Plot Summary:
A retired farmer and widower in his 70s, Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. Then he hits on the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: road movie, feel good, touching, emotional, motivational, uplifting, visual, cult classic, sincere, independent film
Similar in 78%
Breakthrough (2019)
Plot Summary:
When he was 14, Smith drowned in Lake St. Louis and was dead for nearly an hour. According to reports at the time, CPR was performed 27 minutes to no avail. Then the youth's mother, Joyce Smith, entered the room, praying loudly. Suddenly, there was a pulse, and Smith came around.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, christian film, sincere, biblical, sentimental, thought provoking, captivating, inspirational, sad, independent film
Similar in 86%
Cavalcade (2005)
Plot Summary:
An accomplished playboy Leo neglects his girlfriend and enjoys parties. His girlfriend parts from him and then, when he wants to see her once more, he has an accident. He survives, but his whole life is now to be changed. This film is about fetching through the problems of having reduced abilities. Fortunately, he's not alone and his friends are staunch. In the end, he becomes content wheelchair bound. He is grateful for what he has...and God has given to him.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 209
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Sessions (2012)
Plot Summary:
Though a childhood bout with polio left him dependent on an iron lung, Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) maintains a career as a journalist and poet. A writing assignment dealing with sex and the disabled piques Mark's curiosity, and he decides to investigate the possibility of experiencing sex himself. When his overtures toward a caregiver scare her away, he books an appointment with sex surrogate Cheryl Green (Helen Hunt) to lose his virginity.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, sexy, compassionate, erotic, humorous, sentimental, feel good, sincere, inspirational, realistic
Similar in 90%
Jimmy P. (2013)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from the 1951 non-fiction account by psychoanalyst Georges Devereux, “Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian,” the film follows the true story of Picard (Del Toro), a Plains Indian of the Blackfeet nation, as he returns from WWII and begins experiencing unexplainable symptoms shortly thereafter. He travels to the famous Winter Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, where he meets Devereux (Amalric), thus beginning a professional and personal friendship guided by compassion and understanding of Native American culture.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, realistic, suspenseful, intellectual, atmospheric, serious, independent film, crying
Similar in 79%
Bright Star (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: Australia, UK, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, period piece, romantic, touching, sad, costume drama, emotional, colorful, sentimental, witty
Similar in 76%
Saint-Ex (1996)
Plot Summary:
Poetic biography of author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 221
Genere: Biography, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Same Kind of Different as Me (2017)
Plot Summary:
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: touching, christian film, inspirational, sincere, captivating, motivational, philosophical, depressing, spiritual, sad
Similar in 88%
My Left Foot (1989)
Plot Summary:
In this true story told through flashbacks, Christy Brown is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be retarded for the first ten years of his life.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, inspirational, sincere, unusual plot structure, dramatic, sentimental, motivational, sad, captivating, biting
Similar in 79%
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Plot Summary:
The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, period piece, black and white, sentimental, touching, retro, thought provoking, social, sad
Similar in 90%
The Sea Inside (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Sea Inside is about Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. It is the story of Ramón’s relationships with two women: Julia a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Spain, France, Italy
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: sad, thought provoking, emotional, philosophical, touching, sentimental, breathtaking, serious, depressing, heartbreaking
Similar in 80%
Antwone Fisher (2002)
Plot Summary:
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: inspirational, psychological, sincere, touching, emotional, thought provoking, uplifting, sentimental, intense, compassionate
Similar in 79%
The Elephant Man (1980)
Plot Summary:
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 254000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, touching, surreal, poignant, black and white, sad, heartbreaking, cult classic, harsh
Similar in 79%
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 86%
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
Plot Summary:
Lorenzo Odone was a normal child until the age of 7. After then, strange things began to happen to him: he would have blackouts, memory lapses, and other strange mental phemonenons. He is eventually diagnosed as suffering from ALD: an extremely rare incurable degenerative brain disorder. Frustrated at the failings of doctors and medicine in this area, the Odones begin to educate themselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, emotional, inspirational, melancholic, serious, heartbreaking, sad, depressing, crying
Similar in 75%
Warm Springs (2005)
Plot Summary:
Franklin Roosevelt, left a paraplegic from polio at 39 years of age, seeks out a miracle cure in the backwoods of Georgia.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, uplifting, realistic, political, captivating, historical drama, historically accurate, touching, serious
Similar in 89%
Men of Honor (2000)
Plot Summary:
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's first African-American master diver in this uplifting true story. Their relationship starts out on the rocks, but fate ultimately conspires to bring the men together into a setting of mutual respect, triumph and honor.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: inspirational, motivational, touching, emotional, sincere, tear jerker, factual, sentimental, rough, realistic
Similar in 81%
The End of the Tour (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's groundbreaking epic novel, 'Infinite Jest.'.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: philosophical, meditative, psychological, sincere, serious, talky, depressing, novela, aesthetic, twisted
Similar in 76%
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Plot Summary:
Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 511000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, heartbreaking, compassionate, depressing, motivational, inspirational, clever, emotional, dramatic, cerebral
Similar in 78%
Awakenings (1990)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 155000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: inspirational, motivational, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, psychological, touching, serious, cerebral, emotional
Similar in 80%
The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)
Plot Summary:
Growing up poor in Madras, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar earns admittance to Cambridge University during WWI, where he becomes a pioneer in mathematical theories with the guidance of his professor, G.H. Hardy.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, India
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: philosophical, intellectual, inspirational, motivational, clever, touching, educational, unusual plot structure, thought provoking, sexy
Similar in 77%
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Plot Summary:
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 549000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, sentimental, uplifting, motivational, dramatic, heartbreaking, tear jerker, touching, sincere
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The Theory of Everything (2014)
Plot Summary:
The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 474000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Japan
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, emotional, inspirational, compassionate, thought provoking, heartbreaking, dramatic, factual, sentimental
Similar in 88%
I Am Sam (2001)
Plot Summary:
Sam has the mental capacity of a 7-year-old. He has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam shames high-priced lawyer Rita into taking his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, touching, tear jerker, sad, sentimental, sincere, serious, heartbreaking, sweet
Similar in 83%
Patch Adams (1998)
Plot Summary:
Meet Patch Adams, a doctor who doesn't look, act or think like any doctor you've met before. For Patch, humor is the best medicine, and he's willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh - even if it means risking his own career.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, emotional, uplifting, compassionate, sad, feel good, tragicomedy, dramatic, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Intouchables (2011)
Plot Summary:
A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 909000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: inspirational, feel good, touching, emotional, motivational, uplifting, sincere, realistic, dramatic, thought provoking
Similar in 85%
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
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A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Plot Summary:
At Princeton University, John Nash struggles to make a worthwhile contribution to serve as his legacy to the world of mathematics. He finally makes a revolutionary breakthrough that will eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. After graduate school he turns to teaching, becoming romantically involved with his student Alicia. Meanwhile the government asks his help with breaking Soviet codes, which soon gets him involved in a terrifying conspiracy plot. Nash grows more and more paranoid until a discovery that turns his entire world upside down. Now it is only with Alicia's help that he will be able to recover his mental strength and regain his status as the great mathematician we know him as today.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 972000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, cerebral, emotional, motivational, dramatic, intellectual, thought provoking, captivating, factual