Best movies like The Fire That Burns
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Two boys in their early teens in a strictly-run pre-WWII Catholic School form a firm friendship which is troubled by an abbot who is obsessed with the younger of the students.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 469
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Fire That Burns (1997):
Similar in 78%
Eden (2020)
Plot Summary:
Eden is a coming-of-age film about a Protestant Confirmation camp on a summer’s week, set in the archipelago of Helsinki. Aliisa is the intellectually confident non-believer, Jenna is the queen bee and Panu is the scared bird. The experience of these teenagers is affected by Tiina, a young and eager priest.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 400
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
The Harvesters (2018)
Plot Summary:
South Africa, Free State region, isolated stronghold to the Afrikaans white ethnic minority culture. In this conservative farming territory obsessed with strength and masculinity, Janno is different, secretive, emotionally frail. One day his mother, fiercely religious, brings home Pieter, a hardened street orphan she wants to save, and asks Janno to make this stranger into his brother. The two boys start a fight for power, heritage and parental love.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 944
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa, France, Greece, Poland
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, independent film, ambiguous ending, crying
Similar in 79%
Winter Boy (2022)
Plot Summary:
Lucas is a 17-year-old gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide. He views his life as a wild animal in need of taming. Between a brother settled in Paris and a mother with whom he now lives alone, Lucas will have to fight to rediscover hope and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: homoerotic
Similar in 82%
Crossing the Lighthouse (1999)
Plot Summary:
Two kids about ten years old meet within a very peculiar framework: both come from broken families and are in care of foster homes.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 109
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
New Wave (2008)
Plot Summary:
Une petite ville de province, au milieu des années 80. La vie d'Éric, collégien rêveur et solitaire, est chamboulée par l'arrivée d'un nouveau dans la classe : Romain, adolescent dissipé au style new wave très affirmé, qui va lui ouvrir les portes de son univers. Une amitié s'engage, jusqu'au jour où l'un reste pour que l'autre parte.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 173
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
The Flavor of Corn (1986)
Plot Summary:
Lorenzo, a handsome first-year professor in an isolated Italian village, falls under the spell of his most beguiling pupil, a dark-haired, starry-eyed 12-year-old named Duilio. As Lorenzo's relationship with his heartless girlfriend deteriorates, he finds himself walking the fields with his loving student. When their idyllic friendship is questioned by Duilio's suspicious stepmother, Lorenzo is brought to a crisis of conscience. Written by.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 476
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: erotic, homoerotic, crying, independent film, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
Confused Feelings (1981)
Plot Summary:
It is the story of a middle age professor who falls deaply in love with a young student in his English literature class. The student is a boarder in the teacher's house. The teacher is married and his wife knows he is mostly attracted to young men. She loves him nevertheless. The whole story revolves around a book the professor will write, dictating to his young pupil... he will only declare his love at the end of the writing ...and, it is too late.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 115
Genere: Drama
Country: France, West Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Softie (2021)
Plot Summary:
Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: social
Similar in 79%
Sublime (2022)
Plot Summary:
When 16-year-old Manu realises that he has fallen in love with his bandmate Felipe, turbulent emotions start brewing beneath the surface. How do you avoid losing a friendship once its very foundation has shifted?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 908
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: art house
Similar in 80%
Open Bodies (1998)
Plot Summary:
Born to a North African father and a French mother, 18-year-old Parisian high school senior Rémi works part-time in an Arab grocery store while studying management and commerce. He responds to a school ad seeking subjects for a film, and Marc, who placed the ad, auditions Rémi by filming an interview with him. Rémi and Marc wind up in bed, and Rémi soon has other sexual experiences – with a guy in a men's room and with a young woman who grabs him while she's dancing in the street.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Atomic Age (2012)
Plot Summary:
Two young boys, Victor and Rainer, take the commuter train to spend the evening in Paris. In a nightclub on the banks of the Seine they go from one disappointment to another, from failed chat ups to street brawls. But as they get carried away by the night, they leave the city for the forest. In the silence of the moonlight nature, the desire between the two friends becomes increasingly vibrant. A new day is born from their friendship.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 484
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, exciting, melancholic, touching, captivating, suspense, teen, independent film
Similar in 83%
Perfect Obedience (2014)
Plot Summary:
The fictional Father Ángel de la Cruz is based on Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel, whose long history of child abuse was not addressed until 2006 and only publicly acknowledged in 2009. But director Luis Urquiza chooses to structure his film through the largely uncomprehending, wondering eyes of 13-year-old Julián, who travels from the arms of his loving pastoral family into the austere, hallowed halls of the seminary. Singling out the boy as his intimate disciple, installing him in his palatial private quarters and redubbing him “Sacramento Santos,” Father Ángel begins Julian’s instruction into the mysteries of “perfect obedience,” whose cardinal rule is: Never question a superior’s actions.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Judgment (1990)
Plot Summary:
Fact-based story of a Louisiana priest accused of molesting young parishioners, and of the family of one of his victims, caught between their loyalty to their son and to their Church.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 417
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 83%
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 81%
Schoolboy Crush (2007)
Plot Summary:
Aoi, a young teacher with striking good looks, has just learned that his newest student Sora is the alluring teen prostitute he once hired. Here the nightmare begins. As the walls of the prestigious academy become a percolating hotbed of sexual intrigue, prostitution and blackmail, other students, including Sora's nerdy roommate and the sinister campus bully, are pulled down the same torrid path of unquenchable desire toward the inevitable moment when obsession turns deadly.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, sexy, semi serious, sexual, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Marilyn (2018)
Plot Summary:
Marcos and his family work as ranch hands. While his father and brother handle the heavier tasks, Marcos stays home, close to his mother. Each one has their future laid out before them, yet Marcos bides his time waiting for Carnival, the one moment where he can let his true self out to shine. The sudden death of his father leaves his family in a very vulnerable situation. The ranch owner hounds them to go away, while Marcos’s mother pressures him to take over the work in the fields. Nicknamed Marilyn by the other teenagers in town, Marcos is a target for desire and discrimination.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 450
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina, Chile
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, tense, sincere, unusual plot structure, disturbing, contemplative, crying, interesting, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
And Then Came Summer (2000)
Plot Summary:
A reunion of family and friends becomes an unforgettable vacation when two teenage boys discover their secret feelings toward one another. The relationship is eventually exposed to their families - leading to denial and a questioning of self-worth from each of the boys. The exposed relationship brings to light that one of the boys was previously institutionalized for his homosexuality by his older brother.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 482
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, sentimental, touching, melancholic, queer cinema
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 89%
Sebastian (1995)
Plot Summary:
In this thoughtful Scandinavian drama, a teenage boy wrestles with his sexuality and learns that most of his deepest fears were unfounded. Sebastian is almost 17 when he figures out that he is a homosexual. Though he lives with wonderful, stable parents and has a good-hearted sister, he finds himself wracked with turmoil and suddenly withdraws from them all. The more they try to understand why, the more distant Sebastian becomes. Things get worse when he falls in love with the handsome Ulf, who comes from an unstable, tempestuous home. Sebastian realizes he is lucky, but still can't help but become irritated when he brings Ulf home for dinner. His parents are too nice and this quietly infuriates their son. Eventually they leave the two boys alone in the house. Sebastian have great fun doing teenage guy stuff, but then they take a bath together and it is then that Sebastian tries to kiss Ulf.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 595
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway, Sweden
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
This Special Friendship (1964)
Plot Summary:
A tale of the tender relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and the upperclassman who is the object of his desire. All set in the rigid atmosphere of a Jesuit-run school.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Aclà's Decent Into Floristella (1992)
Plot Summary:
Set in Sicily in the 1930's, Aurelio Grimaldi's feature debut chronicles the harsh story of twelve-year-old boy, Aclà, sold into slavery by his destitute parents to work in the underground Floristella sulfur mines. Overworked and underfed, Aclà toils from Monday to Saturday in the steamy, candle-lit labyrinths. Repeatedly beaten and abused by his "owner" and with constant threats of being raped, Aclà plots his escape to the sea... but this leads to dire consequences for the boy and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 411
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: political, gay cinema
Similar in 75%
Love Like Poison (2010)
Plot Summary:
Anna, a young teenager, comes home from her Catholic boarding school for the holidays and discovers her father has left. Her mother is devastated and confined in the company of the local priest, who is also a childhood friend. Anna clings to her beloved grandfather. She also grows close to Pierre, a free-spirited teenager who cares little about God. Anna is preparing for her confirmation, but her budding desire for Pierre shakes her faith. She longs to give herself over, body and soul... but doesn't know if it is to God, or something else?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 812
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, psychological, sentimental, captivating, anthology, sincere, touching, serious
Similar in 88%
The Devil's Playground (1976)
Plot Summary:
A powerful drama relating the intimate aspect of teenage boys and their priest/educators behind the walls of a religious institution where rigid discipline backfires natural feelings are deemed unnatural acts and human lives are controlled in the names of good intentions.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, crying, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
My Life in Pink (1997)
Plot Summary:
Ludovic is a small boy who cross-dresses and generally acts like a girl, talks of marrying his neighbor's son and can not understand why everyone is so surprised about it. His actions lead to problems for him and his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: controversial, touching, psychological, depressing, lgbt cinema, social, sentimental, offbeat, humorous, realistic
Similar in 83%
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)
Plot Summary:
A lyrical telling of the coming of age of a 13-year-old boy who learns to cope with his new found sexuality and his unrequited love for the cool kid in school.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: surreal, serious, sentimental, sincere, touching, realistic, erotic, art house, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 87%
Close (2022)
Plot Summary:
Two thirteen year-olds have always been incredibly close but they drift apart after the intimacy of their relationship is questioned by schoolmates. An emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Netherlands, France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad, teen, crying, iconic
Similar in 88%
Secrets of the Heart (1997)
Plot Summary:
Javi and his friend Carlos visit an old house on the outskirts of a small Spanish village. According to his brother Juan this is a haunted house and one can hear the voices of the dead. Later he is intrigued with a room which is always closed (the room where his father was found dead). He is so interested in these mysteries that he starts to investigate all the secrets of these dead people and their stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain, France, Portugal
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: emotional, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 78%
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 75%
You Are Not Alone (1978)
Plot Summary:
Young teenager Bo (Anders Agensø) is too sensitive for the hothouse atmosphere of a boarding school run by a cold, unfeeling would-be man of the cloth (an uncharacteristically grim Ove Sprogøe). Lonely and scared, he finds a soul mate in the headmaster's son (Peter Bjerg) and the two boys form a bond that slowly grows into a sexual relationship. Frank and unadorned, this Danish film concluded director Lasse Nielsen's youth-oriented trilogy that began with La' Os Være (1975) and continued with Måske Ku' Vi (1976). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Denmark
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, erotic, serious, realistic, sexy, art house, grindhouse, romantic drama, sexual
Similar in 88%
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 539000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, teen, melancholic, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, heartbreaking, independent film