Best movies like The Necessities of Life
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In 1952, an Inuit hunter named Tivii with tuberculosis leaves his northern home and family to go recuperate at a sanatorium in Quebec City. Uprooted, far from his loved ones, unable to speak French and faced with a completely alien world, he becomes despondent. When he refuses to eat and expresses a wish to die, his nurse, Carole, comes to the realization that Tivii's illness is not the most serious threat to his well-being. She arranges to have a young orphan, Kaki, transferred to the institution. The boy is also sick, but has experience with both worlds and speaks both languages. By sharing his culture with Kaki and opening it up to others, Tivii rediscovers his pride and energy. Ultimately he also rediscovers hope through a plan to adopt Kaki, bring him home and make him part of his family.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, intercultural, feel good, inter cultural
Best tv shows and movies like The Necessities of Life (2008):
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The High Cost of Living (2010)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young, pregnant woman whose world falls apart when she loses her child in a hit and run accident. As her life unravels, Nathalie finds an unlikely protector in Henry, a down and out guardian angel who has followed her thread. But Henry is not quite the angel he seems.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, serious, dark, independent film, gloomy, psychological thriller, tragic
Similar in 84%
Stay (2013)
Plot Summary:
A woman finds out she's pregnant and returns home when the expected father wants nothing to do with her.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 819
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Ireland
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, psychological, captivating, teen, sincere
Similar in 82%
To Life (2014)
Plot Summary:
Helen, Rose and Lili have survived the Holocaust and have never seen each other since the war has ended. In 1960, they meet again in Berck, France. They learn to enjoy together simple pleasures in life: nice meals, ballads on the beach, playing in the waves.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sincere, uplifting, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Blind Flight (2003)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Irishman Brian Keenan and Englishman John McCarthy's extraordinary relationship as hostages of militias in Lebanon during the 1979-91 Civil War.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 682
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, political, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
The Wool Cap (2004)
Plot Summary:
This film, originally made for tv, stars William H. Macy as a mute superintendent of a apartment building that is falling apart who becomes the unwilling guardian to a young girl with a bit of an attitude. The film is an updated and Americanized version of the 1962 feature film Gigot starring Jackie Gleason, who also wrote the original story.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, serious, realistic, feel good, spiritual
Similar in 85%
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2007)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, captivating, independent film, realistic
Similar in 80%
Firelight (2012)
Plot Summary:
Incarcerated women join a band of volunteers who battle forest fires and assist during natural disasters.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 631
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, psychological, captivating
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The Way I Spent the End of the World (2006)
Plot Summary:
Bucharest 1989 - the last year of Ceausecu's dictatorship. Eva lives with her parents and her 7 year old brother, Lalalilu. One day at school, Eva and her boyfriend accidentally break a bust of Ceausescu. They are forced to confess their crime before a disciplinary committee and Eva is expelled from school and transferred to a reformatory establishment. There she meets Andrei, and decides to escape Romania with him. Lalalilu becomes convinced that Ceausescu is the main reason for Eva's decision to leave. So with his friends from school he devises a plan to kill the dictator.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, captivating, serious, realistic, atmospheric
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Ocean of Pearls (2008)
Plot Summary:
As a Sikh man with a full beard and turban, AMRIT SINGH is often the target of racial profiling. But when he sees his dreams of becoming Chief of Surgery at a state-of-the-art transplant center dwindle because of his appearance, Amrit goes against a tradition he's maintained his whole life and cuts his hair. Hiding this decision from his girlfriend and family in Toronto is only the start of a series of compromises Amrit finds himself making as he deals with hospital politics and health care injustices. When his compromises result in the death of a patient, Amrit begins to reexamine the value of the religious traditions he'd turned his back on.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 313
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, spiritual, independent film, sentimental, sincere, uplifting
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The Moon Child (2011)
Plot Summary:
David, a professor of dermatology, has been treating 13-year-old Romain since he was a baby. Afflicted with a rare skin condition, Romain must avoid sunlight and is condemned to live in the shade. David and Romain have become the closest of friends and nothing can separate them. But then David learns that he is about to be transferred to another clinic in another town. How will he be able to break the news to Romain? And how will Romain cope with this new crisis in his life?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
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Empire of Dirt (2013)
Plot Summary:
Like many Native families, Lena Mahikan grew up in the cycle of abuse. Her father, a residential school survivor, was an alcoholic until he killed himself when Lena was 10. Her mother, only 14 years her senior, turned to the slots. By the time Lena was 15, she was pregnant and, before giving birth, was kicked to the curb by her mom. The cycle continues and Lena is now watching helplessly as her own daughter, Peeka, spirals out of control, landing herself in the hospital following a drug overdose. As a final attempt at survival, Lena decides to return home and face her own mother and a past she’s desperate to escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 259
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Time Of My Life (2012)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, 'Tot altijd' introduces us to a band of friends in the eighties, who spend their days enjoying their youth and turbulent (love) life. Years later, Thomas, a recent medicine graduate and Mario's closest friend, gets stuck between a rock and a hard place when he diagnoses Mario with MS (Multiple Sclerosis). Though not a fatal disease, it slowly consumes the patient's bodily functions and - in some cases - their minds. Mario becomes the leading spokesman for the action group "Waardig Sterven" ("Dignified Death") in support of the Belgian legalisation of euthanasia. Thomas does everything in his power to avoid losing his best friend, but also can't stand the sight of his continued degeneration.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 84%
Profoundly Normal (2003)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story. Donna Lee Shelby (Kirstie Alley), a mentally retarded girl who lives in Forest Haven, an institution for the developmentally disabled, meets Ricardo Thornton (Delroy Lindo), a fellow resident. When Forest Haven is closed by a court order, Donna and Ricardo venture into the real world on their own. Their friendship and dependency on each other blossoms into love. They marry and have a child together, who does not suffer from mental retardation.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 360
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, realistic
Similar in 88%
A Dad for Christmas (2006)
Plot Summary:
Matt, a 19-year-old student, goes to the hospital to see his newborn son. He learns his girlfriend plans to put the baby up for adoption without his consent, so he takes his son to his grandmother's house to fight for custody.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 485
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, captivating, emotional, psychological, sincere, serious
Similar in 79%
Rust (2010)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of a midlife crisis of faith, a man finds hope where he least expects it – his hometown. James Moore (Golden Globe nominee Corbin Bernsen) is a former pastor who returns home to discover a family new to the area has been killed in a mysterious fire, and his childhood friend is implicated in the murder. Convinced of his friend’s innocence, James sets out on a mission to find the truth… and in the process, rediscovers his own lost faith. An uplifting drama about faith, family, and the powerful ties that bind a community together.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sentimental, serious
Similar in 79%
Shouting Secrets (2011)
Plot Summary:
Shouting Secrets is a hopeful and heartwarming, universal story taking place in a present day Native American family. It's a story that is at once about the constancy and the fragility of love, as well as the importance of family.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Switzerland
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film, interesting
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The Legacy (2009)
Plot Summary:
When considering taking a few weeks off, Dr. Rainville places an ad to find a replacement who would agree to take his place in Normétal, in Abitibi. Jeanne Dion from Montreal accepts the offer and goes to the site, where it comes into contact with old customers and the lonely doctor. The problems of the inhabitants of the small community are varied, but Jeanne adapts well to her new environment. When Dr. Rainville was struck by a heart attack, he must still be replaced some time. She could even take his place permanently.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 241
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Matching Jack (2010)
Plot Summary:
A woman struggles with her son's illness and her husband's infidelity, but, after a chance encounter with an Irish sailor and his son, her life is turned upside down in a love story that defies explanation and breaks all the rules.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 79%
The Flight of the Swan (2010)
Plot Summary:
Alexis is an explosive personality, passionate about life, humanity, nature, love and beauty. That is until the breakneck rhythm, intensity, stress and convolutions of career and economic success shatter him, alienating him from everyone and everything he loves: even his children and his soul mate Maria. Alexis is jolted back to reality when the unbridled greed of the multinational conglomerate his company is involved in causes an unprecedented ecological catastrophe costing many human lives. The multinational's Golden Boy suddenly realizes that he is nothing more than a cog in the machine he had fought so passionately against in his youth. He is determined to rediscover himself, to reclaim his soul, to rebuild the dream with Maria - but he is completely trapped. He is caught in a web of intrigue that tightens like a vice driving him to an inevitably lethal conflict with the conglomerate.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, captivating, bleak
Similar in 78%
Under the Starry Sky (2013)
Plot Summary:
The debut feature from Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye charts the interconnected destinies of three far-flung sojourners across three continents. A quiet drama, about the anxieties of negotiating journeying to foreign countries and making a place for oneself in the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 92
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium, Senegal
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Booky & the Secret Santa (2007)
Plot Summary:
Booky does everything she can to make an enjoyable Christmas, for her family, during the depression as her father is out of work.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 311
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, sincere, captivating, feel good, serious
Similar in 83%
The Locket (2002)
Plot Summary:
A bereaved man takes a job at a health care center, where he befriends an elderly and embittered woman - and as time passes, he becomes obsessed with reuniting her with her long-lost true love.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 671
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 83%
Stopped on Track (2011)
Plot Summary:
Frank and Simone have fulfilled a dream and live with their two children in a row house in the suburbs. They are a happy couple, until the day Frank is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The family is suddenly confronted with death.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, contemplative, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 89%
...First Do No Harm (1997)
Plot Summary:
When Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff in how best to bring it under control. As Robbie's health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and desperate, and so does her own research into the existing literature on treatments. When she decides to try an alternative treatment called the Ketogenic Diet, devised long ago by a doctor from Johns Hopkins, she is met with narrow-minded resistance from Robbie's doctor, who is prepared to take legal action to prevent Lori from removing him from the hospital.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: edutainment, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, controversial
Similar in 88%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 77%
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (2006)
Plot Summary:
Based on the journal of Knud Rasmussen's "Great Sled Journey" of 1922 across arctic Canada. The film is shot from the perspective of the Inuit, showing their traditional beliefs and lifestyle. It tells the story of the last great Inuit shaman and his beautiful and headstrong daughter; the shaman must decide whether to accept the Christian religion that is converting the Inuit across Greenland.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 382
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, Denmark, Greenland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, atmospheric, psychological, philosophical, touching, serious, intercultural, inter cultural
Similar in 79%
Before Tomorrow (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two isolated families meet for a summertime celebration. Food is abundant and the future seems bright, but Ningiuq, a wise old woman, sees her world as fragile and moves through it with a pervasive sense of dread. Ningiuq and her grandson Maniq are dropped off on a remote island, where, every year, the family dries the catch and stores it for winter. The task is soon finished. As summer turns to fall, they wait in vain for the others to pick them up. Written by Anonymous (IMDb.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 200
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 90%
Courage (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jason Priestley (TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210") and Andrea Roth star in this inspirational adventure story about courage, love and the power of family. Aspiring author Robert (Priestly) organizes a quick getaway with his wife and daughter designed to rebuild their estranged relationship with his daughter, but when a powerful storm hits they are forced to make a crash landing on the ominously named Bear Island. With Robert seriously injured and no way to reach the mainland, the three castaways find that they must rely on their faith -- and each other -- to survive the ordeal.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 284
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, psychological, realistic, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Plot Summary:
Based on a local legend and set in an unknown era, it deals with universal themes of love, possessiveness, family, jealousy and power. Beautifully shot, and acted by Inuit people, it portrays a time when people fought duels by taking turns to punch each other until one was unconscious, made love on the way to the caribou hunt, ate walrus meat and lit their igloos with seal-oil lamps.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 172 min
Plot tags: bleak, tense, harsh, sentimental, atmospheric, stylized, experimental, poignant, epic, serious
Similar in 75%
The Snow Walker (2003)
Plot Summary:
A bush pilot in nothern Canada who with the aid of modernity thinks he can handle it all & knows it all. After reluctantly agreeing to transport a local indian girl to a medical facility his light plane crashes & they have to survive whilst finding their way back to civilization. Along the journey the man finds a new respect for the native ways as they battle to survive the elements.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, sentimental, breathtaking, realistic, compassionate, touching, heartbreaking, sad, scenic