Best movies like The Garden Left Behind
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Traces the relationship between Tina, a young Mexican trans woman, and Eliana, her grandmother, as they navigate Tina's transition and struggle to build a life for themselves as undocumented immigrants in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 616
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Brazil
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Garden Left Behind (2019):
Similar in 89%
Facing Mirrors (2011)
Plot Summary:
Rana has chosen a path in order to support her family, while Adineh (Eddie) has fled his home and city to escape his complicated situation as a transsexual man prevented from living as his true self by his family. They find themselves on the same journey and caused to know each other in a better way.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 79%
Port Authority (2019)
Plot Summary:
Paul, a 20 year old midwesterner, arrives at the central bus station and quickly catches eyes with Wye, a 22 year old girl voguing on the sidewalk. After Paul seeks her out in secret, an intense love between them blossoms. But when Paul discovers Wye is trans, he is forced to confront his own identity and what it means to belong.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, France
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
Similar in 88%
God Made Man (2020)
Plot Summary:
Leading double lives and seeking redemption, a transgender man, a drag queen and a corrupt lawyer collide in this urban purgatory.
IMDB Rating:
IMDB Votes:
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: neo noir, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
First Day (2020)
Plot Summary:
It's Hannah Bradford's first year of high school. As a transgender girl, Hannah not only has to navigate the challenges that come with starting a new school, but find the courage to live as her most authentic self.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 277
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Tucked (2018)
Plot Summary:
TUCKED is a raw and tender drama about an aging 80 year old drag queen who forms an unlikely friendship with a younger queen, both struggling with their own issues of gender identity and mortality. As they discover more about each other, they realize how to truly be themselves. It's a 'slice of life' drama about love, loss and friendship; a feel good film with a great charm and sense of humour. Tucked was screened at Outfest Los Angeles in July 2018 and won two awards - AUDIENCE AWARD - BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE GRAND JURY PRIZE - INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 842
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: feel good, queer cinema
Similar in 83%
The Heiresses (2018)
Plot Summary:
After her girlfriend is imprisoned on fraud charges, Chela is forced to face a new reality. Driving for the first time in years, she begins to provide a local taxi service to a group of elderly wealthy ladies. As Chela settles into her new life, she encounters the much younger Angy, forging a fresh and invigorating new connection.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Paraguay, France, Germany, Norway, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: social, art house, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
I Want to Be a Woman (1977)
Plot Summary:
José Maria is a seventeen year old boy; his father is a successful restaurant owner in a town some distance from Barcelona, in Spain. The boy is intelligent and sensitive, but his mannerisms and habits, and lack of masculine drive, lead him to get bullied at school. The school principal decides that José is the disruptive influence, and asks for him to be removed from the school. The father berates the boy, and his mother, for his failure to be a red-blooded young man, and sends him away for a while to live with a friend in the country. Father visits the boy, and takes him to a strip club in Barcelona, run by a lady friend of his, intending that this will "cure" him of his sexual reserve. However one of the acts is a pre-operative transsexual, and there is a full frontal exposure at the end. Father has arranged that after the show.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 326
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: erotic, social, entertaining, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
My Emptiness and I (2022)
Plot Summary:
Raphi, from France, fantasises about romances with princes, and about starting a traditional family. But in reality, things aren’t like that. She works in a call centre in Barcelona, struggles with at times embarrassing dates, and is diagnosed by her therapist as having gender dysphoria. During this confusing, yet valuable period, we follow this trans woman as she makes her transition, as well as in her everyday life. She talks candidly with colleagues, queer friends, and the men she meets through apps. In spite of all the advice she receives, it turns out that it is mostly time and experience that will help her embrace her place in this world.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 194
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Girl (2018)
Plot Summary:
A 15-year-old girl, born in a boy's body, dreams of becoming a ballerina and will push her body to its limits in order for her dream to succeed.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands, Belgium
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: social, sentimental, thought provoking, rough, uplifting, disturbing, intellectual, sad, art house, lgbt cinema
Similar in 82%
Body Electric (2017)
Plot Summary:
Elias is a handsome young deputy manager in a garment factory in São Paulo. When he’s not working, he enjoys casual encounters in the big city. The arrival of a young African, Fernando, on the production line piques his interest and Elias finds himself increasingly drawn into socialising with his work colleagues.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 896
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Joyland (2022)
Plot Summary:
As a patriarchal family yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue their family line, their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a transgender starlet.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Pakistan, USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: iconic
Similar in 81%
A Fantastic Woman (2017)
Plot Summary:
Marina's life is thrown into turmoil following the death of her partner. Mourning the loss of the man she loved, she finds herself under intense scrutiny from those with no regard for her privacy.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile, Spain, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: lyrical, art house, indie film, sentimental, captivating, melancholic, suspenseful, suspense, social, surreal
Similar in 80%
Transfixed (2001)
Plot Summary:
Bo is a transexual prostitute in Brussels who left home after being abused by her father. She's infuatuated with a neighbor and suspected by the police in a series of transexual murders. In order to clear herself she must turn detective.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 390
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, suspenseful, atmospheric, mind bending, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Of Girls and Horses (2014)
Plot Summary:
Alex is 16, a misfit, a drop-out, a failure. She uses drugs; she cuts herself. She has been sent by her despairing adoptive mother to a farm in northern Germany. At first, Alex hates this remote place and the demanding job of looking after the horses. But under the tutelage of Nina, a 30-something taking a break from city life and her partner, Christine, Alex gradually comes to form a bond with the animals in her charge. Then Kathy arrives at the farm to take a holiday, bringing her own, beautiful horse with her. Alex takes an instant dislike to this privileged newcomer. Slowly, though, the barriers between the two are broken down and Kathy finds herself smitten by the streetwise and energetic Alex. The pair starts horsing around, larking about on the mudflats, until one weekend, when they’re alone at the farm, things spiral out of control.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 282
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Pretty/Handsome (2008)
Plot Summary:
A married father of two tells his wife and teenage sons that he is transsexual.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 444
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags: cult classic, queer cinema, tv series pilot
Similar in 75%
Kamikaze Hearts (1986)
Plot Summary:
Alternately distressing, instructive, contestable, and fascinating, Juliet Bashore's 1986 documentary about a lesbian couple working in the porn industry—a cynical older woman (Sharon “Mitch” Mitchell), who is a seasoned porn star, and her lover (known as Tigr), who is an uneasy newcomer to this world, where drugs play a significant role—offers a disturbing glimpse of the modification of bodies, feelings, and lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 299
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: retro, sensual, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 86%
September Mornings (2021)
Plot Summary:
The journey of Cassandra, who starts to see things get on track in her life with a place of her own for the first time, a boyfriend who she loves, Ivaldo, a job as a courier in downtown São Paulo, and fulfilling her dream of being a cover artist of Vanusa, a famous Brazilian singer from the 70s. Her life takes an unexpected turn, however, when her ex, Leide, shows up with Gersinho and claims he is Cassandra’s son.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 857
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 35 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
(S)He (2020)
Plot Summary:
(S)HE is the story of a transgender child named Juju, a girl born into a boy’s body. With the onset of puberty, JuJu’s discomfort explodes. Our film follows a child’s struggle to get her parents and friends to accept her true gender, as she transitions from boy to girl. But in this tiny rural town, where everyone knows everyone else, it’s an impossible challenge. Juju will have to move in with her mother while her parents break up. Juju becomes Emma, and sings in a rock band at her new high school. With everyone seeing her as a girl, she’ starts to blossom. But as her popularity grows, social networking sit’s rekindle the nightmare she thought she’d left behind.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 48
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 87%
So Pretty (2019)
Plot Summary:
Four young queers in New York City struggle to maintain their proto-utopian community against the outside world as their lives curiously merge with the 1980s German novel "So schön" by Ronald M. Schernikau.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 376
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sexy, unusual plot structure, captivating, disturbing, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Just Charlie (2017)
Plot Summary:
Football star Charlie has the world at her feet. With a top club desperate to sign her, her future is seemingly mapped out. But the teenager sees only a nightmare. Raised as a boy, Charlie is torn between wanting to live up to her father's expectations and shedding this ill fitting skin.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 925
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, emotional, disturbing, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 76%
I Carry You with Me (2020)
Plot Summary:
An epic love story spanning decades is sparked by a chance encounter between two men in provincial Mexico. Based on a true story, ambition and societal pressure propel an aspiring chef to leave his soulmate and make the treacherous journey to New York, where life will never be the same.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, melancholic, contemplative, lgbt cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Fireflies (2018)
Plot Summary:
Ramin flees from persecution in Iran and ends up living in the limbo of exile, far from everything he knows, in the tropical port town of Veracruz, Mexico. There his nostalgia and melancholy are confronted with new friendships, while he starts to rediscover his own desires.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 804
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico, USA, Greece, Dominican Republic
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, lgbt cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Like You Mean It (2015)
Plot Summary:
When Mark commits to falling back in love with Jonah, he is forced to look at himself with unprecedented courage and honesty.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 732
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, tense, sentimental, unusual plot structure, contemplative, lgbt cinema, cute, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
3 Generations (2015)
Plot Summary:
A teenager transitions from female to male, and his family must come to terms with that fact.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, emotional, disturbing, sexy, teen, lgbt cinema, neurotic, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Close-Knit (2017)
Plot Summary:
After being neglected by her mother, a little girl is taken in by her uncle and his transgender girlfriend, who create a loving home for her.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, educational, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Gun Hill Road (2011)
Plot Summary:
An ex-con returns home to the Bronx after three year in prison to discover his wife estranged and his teenage son exploring a sexual transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film, queer cinema, bilingual
Similar in 84%
Trade (2019)
Plot Summary:
Trade tells the story of two men, one a streetwise hustler, the other a straight-laced lawyer, who meet and form a relationship that brings to light who they really are. Inspired by the book "Boulevard Girls" by David Kaye.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 93
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, sexy, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Cowboys (2020)
Plot Summary:
Troy and his young transgender son Joe are on the run from his conservative mother in the Montana wilderness, with a detective in hot pursuit.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, social, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
See You Then (2021)
Plot Summary:
A decade after abruptly breaking up with Naomi, Kris invites her to a dinner to catch-up on their complicated lives, relationships, and Kris' transition.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 263
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, emotional, talky, queer cinema
Similar in 86%
Normal (2003)
Plot Summary:
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, emotional, serious, sexy, sincere, sentimental, thought provoking, touching, contemplative