Best movies like The Kindergarten Teacher
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A teacher discovers in a five year-old child a prodigious gift for poetry. Amazed and inspired by this young boy, she decides to protect his talent in spite of everyone.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: realistic, clever, serious, contemplative, exciting, captivating, offbeat, biting, suspense, weird
Best tv shows and movies like The Kindergarten Teacher (2014):
Similar in 87%
Partisan (2015)
Plot Summary:
On the edge of a crumbling city, 11-year-old Alexander lives in a sequestered commune alongside other children, their mothers, and charismatic leader, Gregori. Gregori teaches the children how to raise livestock, grow vegetables, work as a community - and how to kill. With the birth of a new baby brother weighing on his mind, Alexander begins to question Gregori’s overpowering influence on the children and their training to become assassins. Threatened by his increasing unwillingness to fall in line, Gregori’s behavior turns erratic and adversarial toward the child he once considered a son. With the two set dangerously at odds and the commune’s way of life disintegrating, the residents fear a violent resolution is at hand.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, realistic, tense, captivating, suspense, sincere, gloomy, independent film, crying
Similar in 90%
Joe's Palace (2007)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered on the relationship between Elliot, a strange and wealthy Londoner, and Joe, a teenager who takes care of an empty house Elliot owns.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, enigmatic, sexy, contemplative, gloomy, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
Synonyms (2019)
Plot Summary:
A young Israeli man absconds to Paris to flee his nationality, aided by his trusty Franco-Israeli dictionary.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Israel, Germany
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, humorous, captivating, disturbing, independent film, weird
Similar in 85%
The Exchange (2011)
Plot Summary:
A family man becomes obsessed with looking at his own life out of context.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel, Germany
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, realistic, weird
Similar in 76%
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 78%
Or (My Treasure) (2004)
Plot Summary:
Or shoulders a lot: she's 17 or 18, a student, works evenings at a restaurant, recycles cans and bottles for cash, and tries to keep her mother Ruthie from returning to streetwalking in Tel Aviv. Ruthie calls Or "my treasure," but Ruthie is a burden. She's just out of hospital, weak, and Or has found her a job as a house cleaner. The call of the quick money on the street is tough for Ruthie to ignore. Or's emotions roil further when the mother of the youth she's in love with comes to the flat to warn her off. With love fading and Ruthie perhaps beyond help, Or's choices narrow.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Israel
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, psychological, sincere, bleak, realistic, erotic, depressing, gloomy, crying
Similar in 77%
Campfire (2004)
Plot Summary:
The story of one woman's personal battle for acceptance, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever affected millions of lives in the Middle East.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 684
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 81%
Drifters (2003)
Plot Summary:
The young adult life of Hong Yunsheng, nicknamed Little Brother, is seen as somewhat of a failure by those that know him. A Chinese national, he stowed away on a boat to the United States, where he worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant of a family from his hometown back in Fujian province. After two years in the States and after fathering an illegitimate child there named Fusheng, the child's mother Xuhui who is the restaurateur's daughter, he was deported back to China. Since, he has been floundering in life, which has caused a rift between himself and his older brother, who, with his wife, operate a street front diner and can't have children of their own. Little Brother relies on his new girlfriend, a woman he barely knows named Wu Ruifang who is a performer in a touring opera troupe, for emotional support. Despite Little Brother being the local poster boy for not stowing away, his friend named Monkey tried to do the same, but died on the voyage over due to exposure to toxic.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, sincere, crying
Similar in 82%
The Intruder (2004)
Plot Summary:
Louis Trebor, a man nearing 70, lives alone with dogs in the forest near the French-Swiss border. He has heart problems, seeks a transplant, and then goes in search of a son sired years before in Tahiti. Told elliptically, with few words, we see Louis as possibly heartless, ignoring a son who lives nearby who is himself an attentive father to two young children, one named for Louis. He leaves his bed one night - and his lover - to kill an intruder; he dreams, usually of violence. Will his body accept his heart? Will his son accept his offer?.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, surreal, contemplative, mind bending, psychedelic, controversial, art house
Similar in 75%
52 Tuesdays (2013)
Plot Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Billie’s reluctant path to independence is accelerated when her mother reveals plans for gender transition, and their time together becomes limited to Tuesdays. This emotionally charged story of desire, responsibility, and transformation was filmed over the course of a year—once a week, every week, only on Tuesdays.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, rough, lgbt cinema, social, emotional, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
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 87%
The Wife (2017)
Plot Summary:
A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Sweden, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, lyrical, intellectual, serious, emotional, sad, art house, novela, independent film
Similar in 84%
35 Shots of Rum (2008)
Plot Summary:
A widowed metro conductor, approaching retirement, lives with his beautiful grown daughter – the object of a neighbor’s romantic interest. The man’s former girlfriend also lives in their building and plays a role in their closely-knit lives. 35 Shots of Rum considers the mysterious complexities that surround evolving relationships, whether romantic or parental.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, brutal, sexual, slow cinema, aesthetic, contemplative
Similar in 79%
A Burning Hot Summer (2011)
Plot Summary:
Paul reflects on the summer he met Angèle and Frédéric as he watches his friend being laid to rest.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Italy, Switzerland
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, tense, gloomy, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 85%
Pieces of a Woman (2020)
Plot Summary:
A grieving woman embarks on an emotional journey after the Ioss of her baby.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Hungary, USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspense, suspenseful, rough, disturbing, deep, existential, weird, beautiful
Similar in 76%
The Browning Version (1994)
Plot Summary:
Andrew Crocker-Harris is an embittered and disliked teacher of Greek and Latin at a British prep school. After nearly 20 years of service, he is being forced to retire on the pretext of his health, and perhaps may not even be given a pension. The boys regard him as a Hitler, with some justification. His wife Laura is unfaithful, and lives to wound him any way she can. Andrew must come to terms with his failed life and regain at least his own self-respect.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, talky, grim, anamorphic, colorful, psychological, tense, sentimental, clever, serious
Similar in 77%
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 86%
Princess (2014)
Plot Summary:
While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar's role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 716
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, rough, erotic, disturbing, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)
Plot Summary:
An aging Hollywood star, Joe Scott, lives a life of narcissistic hedonism, observed by his laconic personal assistant, Ophelia. The death of his childhood best friend, Boots, takes our protagonist, and the movie, into an extended flashback to a sea-side town in 1970's Britain.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: melancholic, psychological, sentimental, serious, erotic, dark, powerful, profound, realistic, tense
Similar in 83%
Policeman (2011)
Plot Summary:
A member of an Israeli anti-terrorist unit clashes with a group of young radicals.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel, France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, bleak, biting, suspense
Similar in 89%
Leo (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young mother is plagued by a tragic mistake and alienates her little boy. A brilliant writer is released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence and begins working at Vic's Diner. Their stories converge when the man must overcome obstacles of the past to save the little boy and ultimately himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, suspense, sincere, crying
Similar in 77%
The Dynamiter (2011)
Plot Summary:
All fourteen-year-old Robbie Hendrick ever wanted was a family. Yet as another Mississippi summer begins, his wayward mother has run off again fearing a breakdown and he's left to burn the days caring for his half brother, Fess. As the deep days and nights pass without her return and with older brother Lucas dangerously in their lives again, Robbie must face the fact that his dream of a family may only be a dream and he might just lose the only family he's ever had: Fess.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 609
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, sentimental, sincere, feel good, gothic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Walkout (2006)
Plot Summary:
Walkout is the true story of a young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro. He mentors a group of students in East Los Angeles, when the students decide to stage a peaceful walkout to protest the injustices of the public school system. Set against the background of the civil rights movement of 1968, it is a story of courage and the fight for justice and empowerment.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating, political, informative, thought provoking, freeze frame
Similar in 78%
Liam (2000)
Plot Summary:
A morality tale of xenophobia, religious prejudice, mob violence, poverty, and their effect on two children in Liverpool during the Depression. When a shipyard closes, Liam and Teresa's dad loses his job. Liam, who's about 8, making his first Holy Communion, gets a regular dose of fire and brimstone at church. Teresa, about 13, has a job as a maid to the Jewish family that owns the closed shipyard. The lady of that house is having an affair, and Teresa becomes an accomplice. Liam stutters terribly, especially when troubled. Dad comes under the sway of the Fascists, who blame cheap Irish labor and Jewish owners. A Molotov cocktail brings things to a head.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Germany, France, Italy
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, emotional, sincere, depressing, intense, tense, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Half Nelson (2006)
Plot Summary:
Despite his dedication to the junior-high students who fill his classroom, idealistic teacher Dan Dunne leads a secret life of addiction that the majority of his students will never know. But things change when a troubled student Drey makes a startling discovery of his secret life, causing a tenuous bond between the two that could either end disastrously or provide a catalyst of hope.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: depressing, independent film, talky, emotional, serious, inspirational, feel good, melancholic, intense, indie film
Similar in 88%
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 88%
The Great Beauty (2013)
Plot Summary:
Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: philosophical, art house, visually stunning, stylized, breathtaking, visually appealing, visual, absurd, cerebral, talky
Similar in 80%
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 77%
The Keys to the House (2004)
Plot Summary:
Meeting his handicapped son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, Germany, France, USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, touching, emotional, sincere, bleak, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 81%
Savage Grace (2007)
Plot Summary:
This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Spain, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sexy, erotic, emotional, controversial, talky, psychological, intense, sincere, serious