Best movies like The Given Word
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Zé is a very poor man from the Brazilian countryside. His most prized possession is his donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé makes a promise to Saint Bárbara: If his donkey recovers, he will carry a cross - like Jesus - all the way from his city to Saint Bárbara's church in the state capital. Upon the recover of his donkey, Zé leaves on his journey. He makes it to the church, but the priest refuses to accept the cross once he came to know the context of Zé's promise.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: spiritual, anthropological, sincere, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like The Given Word (1962):
Similar in 89%
Bernadette (1988)
Plot Summary:
Evocation of the life of Bernadette Soubirous, the eldest of four children, who, at the age of fifteen, experiences the Virgin Mary appearing to her at the Massabielle grotto near Lourdes. Or in her own words, "a lady dressed in white, more than beautiful. "This "lady in white" appears again for seventeen times before the dazzled eyes of the girl and cause many polemics. It turned Lourdes into a religious capital. "More humanity ahead of the paths of science, the more it is struggling with major mysteries that surround it since the dawn of time." Should be noted there were two versions of the film made by the same director.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 249
Genere: Drama
Country: Switzerland, France, Luxembourg
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 90%
Blue Eyes (2009)
Plot Summary:
Before his compulsory retirement, on his last day of work, Marshall, JFK airport's chief Immigration officer, detains a group of Latin Americans and expose them to a series of humiliating situations. Blinded by prejudice, Marshall ends up by causing the death of a young Brazilian. After a period in prison, Marshall goes to Brazil, deadly ill and in a desperate search in order to purge his guilt. In his quest, he is guided by Bia, a young prostitute.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 551
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: realistic, thought provoking, touching, serious, psychological, sincere, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 75%
They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981)
Plot Summary:
Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his job by striking. This clash of perspectives puts the father and son at odds. Fortunately, Tião's mother, Romana, is on hand to act as a moderator between the two opinionated men.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: political, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Stations of the Cross (2014)
Plot Summary:
Maria finds herself caught between two worlds. At school this 14-year-old girl has all the typical teenage interests, but when she’s at home with her family she follows the teachings of the Society of St. Pius XII and their traditionalist interpretation of Catholicism. Everything that Maria thinks and does must be examined before God. And since the Lord is a strict shepherd, she lives in constant fear of committing some misconduct.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, suspense, melancholic, art house, spiritual, surreal, disturbing, crying, sincere
Similar in 85%
King Lear (1970)
Plot Summary:
King Lear, old and tired, divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia, youngest and most honest, refuses to idly flatter the old man in return for favor, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters. But Goneril and Regan have no love for him and instead plot to take all his power from him. In a parallel, Lear's loyal courtier Gloucester favors his illegitimate son Edmund after being told lies about his faithful son Edgar. Madness and tragedy befall both ill-starred fathers.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: spiritual, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Sheep's Clothing (2013)
Plot Summary:
A group of literature-loving friends bury letters to be opened 10 years later when they will confront the dreams of their youth with what the future has held in store for them.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, sincere, tense, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Mamma Roma (1962)
Plot Summary:
After many years working in the streets of Roma, the middle-age whore Mamma Roma (Anna Magnani) saves money to buy an upper class apartment, a fruit stand and retires from the prostitution. She brings her teenage son Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), who was raised alone in the country, to live with her, and Ettore becomes her pride and joy. However, the boy that does not want to study or work, joins to idle friends, has a crush on a bitch, and Mamma Roma uses her best but limited efforts to straight Ettore and make him an honest man. However, her past haunts her with tragic consequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: neorealism, serious, realistic, art house, sad, emotional, social, gloomy, independent film, road movie
Similar in 75%
The Third Miracle (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Vatican sends a priest to verify some miracles, performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: biblical, controversial, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film, psychological, sentimental
Similar in 81%
Sinner (2007)
Plot Summary:
A Catholic priest, Father Anthony Romano (Nick Chinlund), intervenes with the police when his colleague attacks a drifter named Lil (Georgina Cates). When Anthony reluctantly provides her asylum in his rectory, the brash hustler soon discovers a secret he has hidden from his diocese and parish. Through this unlikely muse, Anthony finds a path to regain his honor and calling in a post-scandal world where priests are guilty until proven innocent.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 122
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, tense, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 80%
The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
Plot Summary:
Metropolitan Archbishop Lakota of L'viv, freed after twenty years in the Soviet Gulag, travels to Rome where circumstances conspire to see him elevated to the Papacy. Inspired by the life story of Ukrainian Catholic Cardinal Josyf Slipyj,.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: tense, epic, serious, realistic, christian film, retro, spiritual
Similar in 78%
Mass Appeal (1984)
Plot Summary:
A young seminarian rattles the established order at a Catholic parish run by an older pastor. (TCM.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: talky, psychological, captivating, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, light, inspirational, sexy, touching
Similar in 78%
If Nothing Else Works Out (2008)
Plot Summary:
In 2006, a journalist in financial problems, a woman who dresses as a man and a troubled taxi driver become friends, and gradually, an awkward, strong emotional bond emerges among them, especially when they decide to play a confidence game.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 281
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, touching, serious, clever, offbeat, bleak, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Joseph and Mary (2016)
Plot Summary:
When loved ones are murdered, Elijah’s beliefs are compromised as he considers revenge. But a visit with Joseph and Mary may offer a new perspective.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: biblical, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Corpo celeste (2011)
Plot Summary:
After growing up in Switzerland, 13-year-old Marta returns to a city in southern Italy with her mother and older sister. Independent and inquisitive, she joins a catechism class at a local church. However, the games and religious pop songs she encounters there do not nearly satisfy her interest in faith. Struggling to find her place, Marta pushes the boundaries of the class, the priest, and the church.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Switzerland, France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, sentimental, atmospheric, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 77%
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006)
Plot Summary:
A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in the year of 1970, where both world cup and dictatorship happen in Brazil.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, emotional, touching, realistic, sincere, spectacular, period piece, masterpiece
Similar in 85%
Barren Lives (1963)
Plot Summary:
'Vidas secas' tells in vivid images the almost documentary like story of a drover and his family in the northern interior states of Brazil during the drought. A family in the search of a new hope and destiny.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Therese (1986)
Plot Summary:
The life of little St. Therese of Lisieux, depicted in minimalist vignettes. Therese and her sisters are all nuns in a Carmelite convent. Her devotion to Jesus and her concept of "the little way" to God are shown clearly, using plain modern language. A sense of angelic simplicity comes across without fancy lights, choirs, or showy miracles.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 978
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: spiritual, slow cinema, aesthetic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 82%
Here Below (2012)
Plot Summary:
The true story of a nun who betrayed a network of Resistance fighters after having a passionate but doomed love affair with a priest during the Second World War.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 118
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 75%
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 84%
Streeters (2001)
Plot Summary:
Authentic and committed, moving and stormy drama of street kids from Mexico City. Wonderful adaptation of successful play about street kids who have more trouble with corrupt cops, than with dirty and heavy work.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 547
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, bleak, realistic, independent film
Similar in 80%
Stella Days (2011)
Plot Summary:
A priest stationed in Tipperary, Ireland, is eager to return to Rome. Told he cannot do so until he has raised enough money for the building of a new church, he decides to open a cinema in the local town.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, Norway, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, sincere, serious, intellectual
Similar in 75%
Almayer's Folly (2011)
Plot Summary:
A tale of an occidental merchant, Kaspar Almayer, whose dreams of riches for his beloved daughter, Nina, collapse under the weight of his own greed and prejudice.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 808
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, bleak, serious, emotional
Similar in 89%
White Irish Drinkers (2010)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, in which two teenage brothers living with their abusive father and their well-meaning but ineffective mother are caught up in a life of petty crime. Older brother Danny concocts a daring scheme to steal enough money for the two to escape, timed around the chaos of an upcoming Rolling Stones concert. The sensitive younger brother, Brian, ultimately has a choice: remain loyal to the brother with whom he shares a powerful love-hate bond, or use his hidden talent as an artist as his own ticket out of their dead-end existence.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, sentimental, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
Mississippi Damned (2009)
Plot Summary:
Three poor Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction, and violence.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 988
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, touching, emotional, informative, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 81%
The Battle of Canudos (1997)
Plot Summary:
The film adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author, Mario Vargas Llosa's epic, The War At The End Of the World (La guerra del fin del mundo).
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 786
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Brazil
Duration: 170 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 87%
Winter Light (1963)
Plot Summary:
A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: philosophical, psychological, depressing, art house, emotional, black and white, cerebral, christian film, spiritual, existential
Similar in 81%
Journey from the Fall (2006)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen years after the end of the Vietnam War, a family who was tragically affected by the war are forced to emigrate to America.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 937
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, bleak, inspirational, political, informative, realistic
Similar in 88%
Takva: A Man's Fear of God (2006)
Plot Summary:
Humble and introvert Muharrem lives in a solitary and meager existence of a prayer and sexual abstinence adhering strictly to the most severe Islamic doctrines.His extraordinary devotion attracts the attention of the leader of a rich and powerful Istanbul religious group and he offers him an administrative post as a rent collector for their numerous properties. Muharrem's new job throws him into the modern outside world he has successfully avoided for so long. He soon witnesses conflict attitude toward alcohol consumption and goodwill.He notices that he himself has become proud, domineering and even dishonest.To make matters worse, Muharrem's inner peace is unnerved by the tormenting image of seductive woman who tempts him in his dreams,both night and day.With the balance of his devotion now upset,his fear of God begins to eat away at his senses.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Turkey
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, emotional, psychological, spiritual, art house, thinking, gloomy
Similar in 90%
At Five in the Afternoon (2003)
Plot Summary:
Nogreh is a young Afghani woman living with her father and her sister-in-law, Leylomah, whose husband, Akhtar, is missing. Beyond the issue of Akhtar, Leylomah is most concerned with how to feed her baby. She cannot provide milk for her baby as her own hunger is preventing her from lactating. Nogreh, however, aspires toward a life in a western styled democracy. Although the Taliban are no longer in power in Afghanistan, traditional forces are still active in the country. Nogreh often displays signs of rebellion, such as wearing a pair of white pumps instead of the traditional slipper beneath her burqa. But mostly, Nogreh wants to be educated. Without her father's knowledge, Nogreh is attending a secular girls school. Ultimately, she wants to become President of Afghanistan. With the help of a Pakistani refugee who likes her as a woman, Nogreh tries to understand exactly what forces led to current world leaders being elected, those forces which she wants to emulate.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, sincere, touching, realistic, art house, emotional, masterpiece
Similar in 82%
Colossal Youth (2006)
Plot Summary:
After the Portuguese government demolishes his slum and relocates him to a housing project on the outskirts of Lisbon, 75-year-old Cape Verde immigrant Ventura wanders between his new and old homes, reconnecting with people from his past.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Portugal, France, Switzerland
Duration: 156 min
Plot tags: contemplative, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, slow cinema, bleak