Best movies like The Reluctant Saint
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Directed by Edward Dmytryk, The Reluctant Saint is based on the life of Saint Joseph of Cupertino. When young Giuseppe Diesa (Maximilian Schell) is sent to work at a monastery circa 17th century Italy -- his parents believed he was mentally challenged -- he surprises a local bishop by his incredible relationship with the monastery's animals. Believing this merits a traditional religious education, he is taken in and taught to pray, with miraculous results. His spiritual energy apparently allows him to levitate, which impressed many, and terrified others. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 487
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: christian film, independent film, mystic, historical drama, period drama
Best tv shows and movies like The Reluctant Saint (1962):
Similar in 87%
Fray Martin de Porres (2007)
Plot Summary:
Based on the life of Saint Martin de Porres.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Mexico
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
La passion de Bernadette (1990)
Plot Summary:
French filmmaker Jean Delannoy directs this inspiring sequel to his biopic about Marie-Bernarde Soubirous (portrayed by Sydney Penny), a young shepherdess who claimed to have seen numerous apparitions of the Lady in White at Lourdes in 1858. Chronicling Bernadette's years with the Sisters of Charity of Nevers convent, the film traces her life from age 22 until her untimely death from tuberculosis at age 35.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 148
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Edith Stein: The Seventh Chamber (1995)
Plot Summary:
An expressionist biography of Edith Stein, who converted from the Jewish faith to the Catholic one and became a Carmelite sister. She would die in a German concentration camp.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 231
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: Italy, Hungary
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: christian film, intellectual
Similar in 90%
Karol: The Pope, The Man (2006)
Plot Summary:
This highly acclaimed feature film on Pope John Paul II was filmed on location in Italy and Poland. Focusing on the papacy of John Paul and the tremendous impact he had on the Church and the world, Karol: The Pope, The Man stars actor Piotr Adamczyk in a deeply moving portrayal of the beloved pontiff. It is the powerful true story of a charismatic spiritual leader who helped bring down Communism, renewed the life of the Church, greatly impacted youth worldwide with love for Christ, and a Pope who reached out to other religions and world leaders with a message of peace and love. Also stars Raoul Bova (Saint Francis), Michele Placido (Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth) and Adriana Asti as Mother Teresa. The beautiful film score is by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Italy, Poland, Canada
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
A Time for Miracles (1980)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Bayley Seton, America's first native-born saint and founder of the Sisters of Charity, is the subject of this inspiring biopic. After the tragic death of her husband, Seton converts to Catholicism. Once again, she suffers terrible loss when two of her children die, but goes on to found the American Sisters of Charity and the first American Catholic schools. Seton died in 1826 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1975.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 109
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Abraham (1993)
Plot Summary:
This engrossing dramatization of the life of Abraham, the most tested servant of God and the father of Judaism, spans from the patriarch's quest for the Promised Land to the sacrifice of his son, Isaac.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, Italy, USA, Czech Republic, France
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: biblical, christian film, epic, serious, psychological, captivating, disturbing, exciting
Similar in 86%
The Assisi Underground (1985)
Plot Summary:
This film sheds light on the role of the Catholic Church and the people of Assisi in rescuing Italian Jews from the Nazis in 1943.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 433
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film
Similar in 82%
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (2005)
Plot Summary:
The life of the pope John-Paul II, from his youth as a writer, actor, and athlete in war-torn occupied Poland to his election as Pope at the age of 58.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Poland, Italy
Duration: 186 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, factual, psychological, touching, crying, christian film
Similar in 76%
Father Damien (1999)
Plot Summary:
The true story of the 19th century Belgian priest, Father Damien, who volunteered to go to the island of Molokai, to console and care for the lepers.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Belgium, Netherlands, Australia
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: christian film, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 87%
Padre Pio: Miracle Man (2000)
Plot Summary:
The poor Italian peasant boy Francesco already has visions of Jesus and Mary as a child, but the Devil visits him too. He, Francesco, is quite certain that he will become a priest. After entering the Capuchin Order it becomes clear that Padre Pio (his new name) has powers which can not be explained rationally: he heals the sick, knows the names, problems and future of complete strangers.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 967
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 202 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspense, disturbing, spiritual, saga
Similar in 77%
Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire (2010)
Plot Summary:
Augustine is a two-part, Italian-made mini-series about the influential theologian and church father Augustine of Hippo. The piece tells the story of his life from a teenager to his death at the age of 69.Much of the content for the scenes of him as a young and middle-aged man come from his Confessions, which is probably the earliest extant autobiography.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 422
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Italy, Germany, Poland
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, biblical, christian film
Similar in 75%
Flame in the Wind (1971)
Plot Summary:
Set in the splendor and terror of the Spanish Inquisition, Flame in the Wind tells the story of Carlos, an earnest young nobleman who is faced with a choice: the church system offers safety, protection, and respectability; the Scriptures offer Christ and salvation from sin—and with these torture and death.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 37
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: christian film, independent film
Similar in 79%
Apostle Peter and the Last Supper (2012)
Plot Summary:
The film portrays Saint Peter reflecting on his time with Jesus and his fellow Apostles during his final imprisonment in Rome. In particular, Peter attempts to convert one of his jailers, Martinian, by relating the life, teachings, and sacrifice of Jesus.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, captivating, biblical, epic, realistic, christian film
Similar in 75%
Vision – From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Plot Summary:
Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, contemplative, spiritual, christian film, crying, mystic
Similar in 85%
John Hus (1977)
Plot Summary:
A faithful recounting of the ministry, trial and martyrdom of the fifteenth century Bohemian priest John Hus, who built on the reforms of John Wycliffe, taught the Bible in the vernacular and who influenced Martin Luther a century later.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 88
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, christian film, independent film
Similar in 82%
Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
Plot Summary:
This is a dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, Italy
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: scenic, philosophical, touching, biblical, thought provoking, psychedelic, epic, existential, esoteric, profound
Similar in 88%
Francesco (1989)
Plot Summary:
The life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as related by followers who gather after his death to tell stories so that Leone can record them: a privileged and virile youth, a prisoner of war, an heir who turns away from his father and gives all to the poor, a beggar for others, and an inspiration to friends who accept the Gospels' life of poverty. He seeks the Pope's blessing, and he endures persecution at the hands of the family of Chiara Offreduccio (1194-1253), who becomes St. Clare. Many join the order he has established and then rebel at his expectations. In near despair - and ill - he writes a Rule to take to the Pope; then, the Lord sends him a message. He dies smiling.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Italy, West Germany
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: emotional, bleak, serious, factual, cult classic, christian film, sincere, captivating, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Peter and Paul (1981)
Plot Summary:
Peter and Paul assume leadership of the Church as they struggle against violent opposition to the teachings of Christ and their own personal conflicts.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 198 min
Plot tags: biblical, christian film, atmospheric, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, spiritual, sexy
Similar in 84%
Francis of Assisi (1961)
Plot Summary:
The story of a lusty, fighting young adventurer who exchanged his sword for a cross.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: christian film, biblical, serious, captivating, realistic, crying, vintage
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Thérèse (2004)
Plot Summary:
The mesmerizing story of a young girl's romance with God. Her faith, trials, and sacrifices reveal a way of life based on love and simplicity. A contemplative film based on the true story of Saint Therese of Lisieux, the most popular saint of modern times.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Biography, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: uplifting, emotional, realistic, contemplative, spiritual, serious, captivating, stylized
Similar in 86%
John Wycliffe: The Morning Star (1984)
Plot Summary:
This affecting biography chronicles the life and times of prominent European philosopher John Wycliffe, who was the first to translate the Bible into English. The 14th century, Oxford University scholar often found himself caught between opposing theological, political and societal forces: He defended England's autonomy against the pontiff's authority and championed the indigent against the wealthy's abuses.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 160
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Mary Magdalene (2018)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Holy Land in the first century C.E., a young woman leaves her small fishing village and traditional family behind to join a radical new social movement. At its head is a charismatic leader, Jesus of Nazareth, who promises that the world is changing. Mary is searching for a new way of living, and an authenticity that is denied her by the rigid hierarchies of the day. As the notoriety of the group spread and more are drawn to follow Jesus’ inspirational message, Mary’s spiritual journey places her at the heart of a story that will lead to the capital city of Jerusalem, where she must confront the reality of Jesus’ destiny and her own place within it.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, Australia, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: biblical, captivating, disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, fairy tale, mystical, mysterious, artsy, art house
Similar in 75%
Theresa: The Body of Christ (2007)
Plot Summary:
In the 16th century, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman joins a convent and becomes a spiritual leader.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 477
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, Spain, UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: spiritual, hot
Similar in 81%
Martin Luther (2002)
Plot Summary:
Learn how one man reluctantly took on the most powerful institution of his day and won. Martin Luther is credited with expounding a new vision of man's relationship with God and, by extension, a redefinition of man's relationship with authority. Filmed across Europe -- from the rustic rural Germany to the opulence of the Vatican City -- you'll witness the collapse of the medieval world and the birth of the modern age.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: christian film, tense, thought provoking, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018)
Plot Summary:
Risking his life, Luke ventures to Rome to visit Paul -- the apostle who's bound in chains and held captive in Nero's darkest and bleakest prison cell. Haunted by the shadows of his past misdeeds, Paul wonders if he's been forgotten as he awaits his grisly execution. Before Paul's death, Luke resolves to write another book that details the birth of what will come to be known as the church.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: christian film, biblical, psychological, tense, sentimental, captivating, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
Plot Summary:
The life of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew. Pasolini shows Christ as a marxist avant-la-lettre and therefore uses half of the text of Matthew.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: biblical, christian film, spiritual, art house, bleak, stylized, black and white, fairy tale, philosophical, mysterious
Similar in 85%
Luther (2003)
Plot Summary:
During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Germany, USA, Czech Republic, Italy
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: uplifting, political, biblical, christian film, sincere, touching, intellectual, inspirational, costume drama, intense
Similar in 75%
Becket (1964)
Plot Summary:
King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: epic, period piece, tense, clever, realistic, talky, retro, breathtaking, spiritual, political
Similar in 89%
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
Plot Summary:
Charlton Heston stars as Renaissance artist Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), who begrudgingly paints the Sistine Chapel for imperious Pope Julius II in this epic adaptation of Irvine Stone's novel directed by Carol Reed. While the novel covers Michelangelo's life from birth to death, the film focuses on the battle of wills between the perfectionist artist and the impatient Pope who commissions (and eventually commands) him to paint the famed chapel.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: epic, inspirational, uplifting, serious, biblical, christian film, psychedelic, art film, technicolor, sincere
Similar in 81%
Palau the Movie (2019)
Plot Summary:
After his father passes away at age 10, the lives of Luis Palau and his family are changed forever. Within a few years of his father's death, Luis, his siblings, and his mother are left nearly destitute. Luis is forced to discontinue his education at an elite boarding school in Argentina and provide for his family as they slip into poverty.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 93
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, touching, captivating, suspense, christian film