Best movies like The Ornithologist
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Stranded along a sublime river fjord in northern Portugal, a hunky ornithologist is subjected to a series of brutal and erotic Stations-of-the-Cross-style tests.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Country: Portugal, France, Brazil
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: suspense, avant garde, psychological, captivating, unusual plot structure, contemplative, visually appealing, sexy, experimental, homoerotic
Best tv shows and movies like The Ornithologist (2016):
Similar in 81%
The Wild Boys (2017)
Plot Summary:
At the beginning of the 20th century, on the island of La Réunion, five adolescents of good families enamoured with the occult, commit a savage crime. A Dutch Captain takes them in charge for a repressive cruise on a haunted, dilapidated sailboat. Exhausted by the Captain’s methods, the five boys prepare to mutiny. Their port of call is a supernatural island with luxuriant vegetation and bewitching powers that holds a disturbing secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, erotic, psychological thriller, funny, dark, experimental, underground film, art house, dark drama, queer horror
Similar in 80%
Dancing (2003)
Plot Summary:
As co-directed by Xavier Brillat, Pierre Trividic and Patrick Mario Bernard, the offbeat drama Dancing concerns a hermitic gay artist named Rene Bernard (played by director Patrick Bernard) who spends all of his time living and creating new artwork in an ornate ballroom by the French seaside. His only companion is his lover Patric (Trividic) - a belletrist suffering from extreme writer's block. Rene's days progress satisfactorily until Patric leaves for a lengthy vacation; left to fend for himself, Rene falls increasingly out of touch with reality - he initially fixates over a creepy photograph of two clowns that hangs in the facility, then becomes convinced that a spirit is haunting him.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 163
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: experimental, avant garde, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Light Gradient (2009)
Plot Summary:
Johann and Robin, a young gay couple, travel to the countryside to get to know each other better. After several days of hiking, they arrive at an old farmhouse inhabited by a woman and her adolescent son. They take refuge with the welcoming family until one day they get too close for comfort and are flung out of their paradise, forcing them back into the real world.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 616
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: lgbt cinema, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Steel (2015)
Plot Summary:
Daniel, a successful TV journalist living life in the fast lane, has fallen into a deep depression. His seemingly perfect life suddenly collapses under him when panic attacks force him to deal with himself and his past.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 966
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: Canada, Germany
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: lgbt cinema, homoerotic, romantic, thought provoking, erotic, crying, independent film, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
Radiant Sea (2015)
Plot Summary:
Marek starts as a trainee on a container ship. It's 197 meters long, 30 meters wide, and bound for Martinique. Full of anticipation, he leaves his parents' farm in Western Pomerania and goes on board at Saint-Nazaire. Marek wants to find freedom and falls in love with the enigmatic sailor Jean. Will it just be a fling or will it last forever? Does Jean actually have a lover in every port? On his trip across the Atlantic, Marek may not actually become a sailor, but he does grow up. A romantic coming-of-age trip over the Atlantic and a maritime boy's dream about love under the conditions of modern cargo shipping.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 367
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, touching, contemplative, meditative, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Two Drifters (2005)
Plot Summary:
After breaking up with her boyfriend, a woman named Odete (Ana Cristina De Oliveira) descends into madness and claims to be pregnant with the child of Rui's (Nuno Gil) late lover, Pedro (João Carreira). As grief-stricken Rui mourns Pedro's death, Odete tries to transform herself into Pedro.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Portugal
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, serious, stylized, sexual, lgbt cinema, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Speechless (2012)
Plot Summary:
A guy is found by the police swimming naked. He can't, or refuses to, speak and is sent to a hospital. Since no diagnosis can be made, he will be transferred to a mental hospital, when his male nurse decides to take another route. Slowly the reason for his speechlessness becomes clear. Together with the nurse's girlfriend and a female friend of the silent stranger, their history is explained.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 452
Genere: Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, realistic, unusual plot structure, contemplative, homoerotic, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
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 87%
You & I (2014)
Plot Summary:
Summer in Berlin. Jonas is planning a trip through the little known area of the Uckermark in preparation for a photography project. He invites his best friend, Phillip, to come along. When they pick up a hitchhiker named Boris, the friendship of the two starts to fray. Maybe three’s a crowd after all? By the end of the summer, things between Jonas and Phillip won’t ever be the same again.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, emotional, realistic, lgbt cinema, cute, crying, homoerotic, freeze frame, minimal cast
Similar in 89%
Like Cattle Towards Glow (2015)
Plot Summary:
Several short films about troubled gay youngsters who attempt to resolve their psychological issues through bizarre fetish play or sinister self expression.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 382
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Germany, France, Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, light, touching, unusual plot structure, lgbt cinema, erotic, experimental, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Bacurau (2019)
Plot Summary:
Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: Brazil, France
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: suspense, sincere, serious, captivating, disturbing, stylized, scary, political, dark, art house
Similar in 84%
Jesus (2016)
Plot Summary:
18-year-old Jesús lives with his stern, somewhat unaffectionate father in Santiago, Chile. When not doing drugs, having casual sex or simply slouching in front of the TV, Jesús and his friends perform in a K-pop boyband. But his routine is thrown into chaos one evening when he and his drunken posse viciously assault a young gay man and leave him for dead. It’s an act that propels Jesús into a profound moral crisis which have severe consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 462
Genere: Drama
Country: Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Colombia
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sexy, homoerotic, psychological, unusual plot structure, contemplative, lgbt cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 87%
Wild Awakening (2016)
Plot Summary:
Toni and Emma are brother and sister who owns a stable farm. Ramon and his son, Aaron works for them. Toni is openly gay and loves to party, Emma has a crush on Aaron who is a closeted gay who is afraid that his father might find out, but his father also has a secret.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 274
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, disturbing, homoerotic, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 76%
Dry Wind (2020)
Plot Summary:
The area around Catalan in Brazil’s state of Goiás is dry, very dry. Sandro’s life here is somewhat monotonous. He works in a fertiliser factory, goes swimming and spends his evenings doing jigsaw puzzles of landscapes. When Maicon, a man straight out of a Tom of Finland illustration, shows up in their small town and flirts with Ricardo, Sandro’s burgeoning feelings of jealousy set a change in motion.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sexy, psychological, unusual plot structure, lgbt cinema, erotic, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Gone, But Not Forgotten (2003)
Plot Summary:
Melodrama concerning a 40-year-old man coming out.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, suspense, sensual, cute, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Stranger by the Lake (2013)
Plot Summary:
Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel, an attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy, unusual plot structure, detective, suspense, talky, lyrical, lgbt cinema, queer horror, tense
Similar in 81%
Tumbledown (2013)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by true events, Todd Verow’s Tumbledown is an explosive cocktail- an emotional rollercoaster ride through the dark sides of sexuality. A complicated love triangle develops after hunky Jay meets bartender Nick and invites him to spend the weekend with him and his partner in their country cabin. Soon, copious amounts of sex, drugs and alcohol lead to a dark obsession and even darker complications. Always bold and never less than riveting, Tumbledown is sure to leave you breathless.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 264
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 77%
Longhorns (2011)
Plot Summary:
A sexually active Texas college guy begins to reevaluate his practice of mutual masturbation with straight buddies after he meets an unapologetically gay fellow student.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, homoerotic, captivating, sex comedy, realistic, sexual, erotic, independent film, adult comedy
Similar in 77%
M/M (2018)
Plot Summary:
Wayward Canadian, Matthew, crushed by the isolation of being new to Berlin, turns his sexual desires toward Matthias that spiral into a dark fixation of assumed identity. Soon, this obsessive power struggle between the two, careens toward brutal passion and violence in a bid for dominance.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 311
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, Canada
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, lgbt cinema, sexy, psychological, sincere, touching, melancholic, contemplative, experimental, gay cinema
Similar in 80%
Sequin in a Blue Room (2019)
Plot Summary:
Favouring the instant gratification of anonymous, no-strings sexual encounters over meaningful relationships, high schooler Sequin is part of the always logged-on, but never-engaged, hook-up generation. He ghosts ex-partners and remains emotionally unavailable. That’s until he finds his way to an anonymous sex party, where a whole new dizzyingly alluring world unfolds before him. In one scene, Sequin connects with a mysterious stranger, but they are separated suddenly. Utterly fixated on this man, Sequin sets off on an exhilarating and perilous mission to track him down.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 878
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Beneath the Skin (2015)
Plot Summary:
After his family falls apart Joshua is forced to move to Canada to live with his estranged father. It is there he meets Jay, a local tattoo artist. The two becomes closer despite the negativity that surrounds them.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 351
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, psychological, sexy, touching, contemplative, unusual plot structure, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 79%
Tomcat (2016)
Plot Summary:
Andreas and Stefan lead a happy and passionate life: Together with their beloved tomcat Moses, they live in a beautiful old house in Vienna's vineyards. They work as a musician and as a scheduler in the same orchestra and they love their large circle of friends. An unexpected and inexplicable outburst of violence suddenly shakes up the relationship and calls everything into question - the blind spot that resides in all of us.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: homoerotic, psychological, light, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, contemplative, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 86%
Equus (1977)
Plot Summary:
A psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was committed by an unassuming seventeen-year-old stable boy named Alan Strang, the only son of an opinionated but inwardly-timid father and a genteel, religious mother. As Dysart exposes the truths behind the boy's demons, he finds himself face-to-face with his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, enigmatic, serious, suspenseful, surreal, sexual, talky, controversial, tricky
Similar in 90%
The Phantom (2000)
Plot Summary:
Sergio is a brooding, alienated man who works as a trash collector in Lisbon by day and roams the city streets by night seeking rough, anonymous sex with men. One night he meets an man who seems to be the embodiment of his tormented fantasies, and he becomes obsessed with the stranger until loneliness and unfulfilled desire propel him finally into a dark and dangerous animalistic state.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Portugal
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: disturbing, suspenseful, art house, erotic, gloomy, sexy, homoerotic, atmospheric, rough, serious
Similar in 79%
Spa Night (2016)
Plot Summary:
A young Korean-American man works to reconcile his obligations to his struggling immigrant family with his burgeoning sexual desires in the underground world of gay hookups at Korean spas in Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, captivating, suspenseful, sexy, sensual, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Plot Summary:
The story of Captain Richard Francis Burton's and Lt. John Hanning Speke's expedition to find the source of the Nile river in the name of Queen Victoria's British Empire. The film tells the story of their meeting, their friendship emerging amidst hardship, and then dissolving after their journey.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: captivating, atmospheric, serious, realistic, period piece, costume drama, brutal, independent film, epic, exciting
Similar in 90%
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
Plot Summary:
The theatrical movie spin-off of the ABC’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries will follow Essie Davis’ private detective as she embarks on a global adventure to find missing treasure, solve murders and break aviation records... After freeing a young Bedouin girl from her unjust imprisonment in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher begins to unravel a decade-old mystery concerning priceless emeralds, ancient curses and the truth behind the suspicious disappearance of Shirin's forgotten tribe.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Country: Australia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: captivating, intellectual, detective, psychological, disturbing, sincere
Similar in 85%
Gerry (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA, Argentina
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: surreal, minimal cast, art house, enigmatic, melancholic, disturbing, captivating, visual, mindfuck, independent film
Similar in 79%
End of the Century (2019)
Plot Summary:
Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: unusual plot structure, sexy, psychological, sentimental, romantic, captivating, melancholic, lgbt cinema, queer cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 76%
Tom at the Farm (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young man travels to an isolated farm for his lover's funeral where he's quickly drawn into a twisted, sexually charged game by his lover's aggressive brother.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, serious, gloomy, sexy, sexual, suspenseful, atmospheric, suspense, realistic