Best movies like The River
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Episodic study of feelings where six stories intertwine over one Saturday in a small town. Two boys save a young woman, Anni, and her baby from suicide by drowning. Esa, a down-on-his-luck musician in need of a loan, arrives to his father's 60th birthday party. Waitress Leena tries to stir up a romance between her co-workers at a pizza parlor. Middle-aged Ilpo comes home early from the paper mill and finds a strange man in their bedroom. Old Milja waits for her daughter Merja at the hospital where she is visiting her terminally ill husband Henri. Teenage Santeri tries to cope with his homosexuality.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 845
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Finland
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, captivating, suspense, anthology, crying, freeze frame
Best tv shows and movies like The River (2001):
Similar in 84%
Innocent (2005)
Plot Summary:
17-year-old Eric follows his parents to immigrate to Canada and is thus forced to confront different emotional and cultural problems. He must not only adjust to the new environment, but also come to terms with his homosexuality. Standing at the brink of adulthood, he encounters a series of potential romantic interests - his handsome cousin, a schoolmate, a middle aged lawyer and finally a kitchen helper. They represent different stages in Eric's development, from infatuation, sex, love to a sense of responsibility.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 356
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, Hong Kong
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, captivating, independent film, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Springtime in a Small Town (2002)
Plot Summary:
In a mansion decimated during World War II, a frustrated, bored housewife, Yuwen, is torn between caring for her ailing husband and her longing for a former sweetheart, a doctor who has come to treat her husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: China, Hong Kong, France, Netherlands
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sentimental, thought provoking, serious, emotional, realistic, stylized, touching, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 85%
A Song for Martin (2001)
Plot Summary:
Martin, conductor of a symphonic orchestra, meet Barbara, violine player and they start a relationship. Five years later Martin starts to develop loss of memory and becomes more and more confused. Finally he is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and Barbara tries to help as much as possible although Martin is often angry and violent towards her.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Sweden, Germany, Denmark
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sentimental, emotional, sincere, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 80%
A Brief Vacation (1973)
Plot Summary:
Vittorio De Sica's A Brief Vacation (Una Breva Vacanza) stars Florinda Bolkan as a downtrodden working woman. Forced to support herself, her children, her physically incapacitated husband and her obtrusive brother and mother, Bolkan contracts tuberculosis. She is granted a brief vacation at a health spa, where a whole new world--and potential new life--is opened up to her.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 964
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, Spain
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: neorealism, psychological, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, crying
Similar in 89%
Blackmail Boy (2003)
Plot Summary:
In the small, closed community of a provincial town, Magda tries to maintain a balance within a family facing many serious problems. The families apparently normal, bourgeois, every-day life will crack open, bringing to the surface hatred and passions of the kind that lie well-hidden in the mists of the nearby lake. An intense plot and a totally unexpected ending make up this film, which features characters who are vulnerable, innocent and ordinary, but who become ruthless and callous, worrying only about protecting their financial resources. The offences are disproportionately serious compared to the financial benefits they try to secure.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Greece
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, crying, humorous, sexual, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Saturn in Opposition (2007)
Plot Summary:
This film focuses on contemporary 30- and 40-somethings trying to make sense of their lives in an age in which the old certainties have disappeared. Lorenzo and Davide make their lives together within a circle that includes Antonio and Angelica, married with children; Nerval and her policeman husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France, Turkey
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, talky, serious, realistic, clever, contemplative, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
His Brother (2003)
Plot Summary:
Thomas has been estranged from his brother Luc for several years, due in part to his difficulties in dealing with Luc's homosexuality. But when Thomas is diagnosed with a rare blood disease, which is difficult to treat and impossible to cure, he decides he wants to bring Luc back into his life. The brothers soon become inseparable, with Luc constantly at Thomas' side as he vainly struggles against the disease and confronts the indignity of treatment. As Thomas and Luc become closer, their new relationship begins to alienate their significant others, and Thomas' father cannot understand why his son doesn't fight against his illness with great vehemence.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, serious, realistic, romantic, captivating, contemplative, gloomy, crying, entertaining
Similar in 88%
One More Kiss (1999)
Plot Summary:
When Sarah Hopson realizes her successful high-rise New York lifestyle is devoid of meaning, she packs her bags and heads for her home town in the Scottish Borders to look for Sam, her childhood sweetheart and the only man she ever loved. Sam Murray runs a restaurant. He and Sarah grew up together and Sam hoped they'd grow old together. His world fell apart the day Sarah left and now she's back, standing on his doorstep and telling his wife she'd like to spend some time with him. Written by NybergerMeister.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 750
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, crying
Similar in 79%
Charlotte Sometimes (2002)
Plot Summary:
Michael, a young mechanic, is forced to choose between a daring tryst with an alluring stranger and the habitual comfort of his bittersweet obsession: his beautiful young roommate.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sincere, sexy, light, captivating, romantic, romantic drama, erotic, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 87%
Julie Walking Home (2002)
Plot Summary:
Julie's son is dying of cancer and her marriage falling apart. She goes to Poland in search of a man who can heal using his hands. Julie finds not only a magical cure for her son, but also comes across a love so pure it begins to heal the aching in her heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany, Canada, Poland, USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, erotic, spiritual, crying, allegory
Similar in 76%
Free Radicals (2003)
Plot Summary:
Following the death of Manu (Resetarits) in a car accident, the film relates the interwoven stories of several people who become indirectly connected by the events and aftermath of the crash.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 553
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, touching, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 83%
After the Deluge (2003)
Plot Summary:
Follows the stories of the four men of the Kirby family. As Alex's marriage breaks apart, Toby tries desperately to start a family, and Marty tries to kick-start his faded music career as well as find a meaningful relationship with someone his own age, all three must come to terms with their father's mental state. Cliff, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, is reliving his disturbing memories of the war and his first love, as a part of his experiences of the present . Through all four stories, we uncover a families troubled past, and their struggle towards a reconciled future.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 289
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 84%
Four Sheets to the Wind (2007)
Plot Summary:
After his father's untimely suicide, Cufe leaves his home in a Native American reservation in search of a more fulfilling life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 633
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, romantic, romantic comedy, gloomy, crying
Similar in 77%
Late August, Early September (1998)
Plot Summary:
A story about the transition from late youth to early maturity, the film follows several friends and lovers as they come to make decisions on how to live their lives--getting a job more in harmony with ones ideals, committing to a lover, giving up a lover that no longer loves you: a film about grown-ups growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, melancholic, ironic, meditative, lyrical, psychological, serious, depressing, tense
Similar in 75%
Vernie (2004)
Plot Summary:
Drama - Sean, a young thirty-something coffee shop owner, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He desperately wants to have a baby before he dies, and asks his best friend Kristy to bear his child. - John Riedlinger, Amy Colon, Patrick Coyle.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 46
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, uplifting, emotional, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 80%
Five Times Two (2004)
Plot Summary:
As young French couple Gilles and Marion officially separate, we see, in reverse order, the milestone moments in their relationship: Gilles revealing his unfaithfulness at a tense dinner party; Marion giving birth to their premature son while Gilles is elsewhere; Gilles and Marion's joyous wedding; and, finally, the fateful moment when they meet as acquaintances at an Italian beach resort, and their love affair begins.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, enigmatic, non-linear, sensual, stylized, sincere, inspirational, disturbing, tense
Similar in 87%
Twice in a Lifetime (1985)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged steelworker is content with his job and his family, but feels that something is missing in his life. On his 50th birthday, he stops in at a local bar for a drink to celebrate. He finds himself attracted to the young, very sexy barmaid--and, to his surprise, he finds that she is also very attracted to him.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 76%
The Witnesses (2007)
Plot Summary:
Manu arrives in Paris, in the early days of AIDS, at the beginning of the 1980s. He strikes up a friendship with Adrien, a wealthy doctor in his early fifties, who introduces him to Sarah and Mehdi, a young couple.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, erotic, crying, clever, realistic, contemplative, detective
Similar in 87%
Personal Velocity (2002)
Plot Summary:
Three women's escapes from their afflicted lives. Each struggles to flee from the men who confine their personal freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: talky, stylized, intense, touching, psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, anthology, erotic
Similar in 77%
Heights (2005)
Plot Summary:
'Heights' follows five characters over 24 hours on a fall day in New York City. Isabel, a photographer, is having second thoughts about her upcoming marriage to Jonathan, a lawyer. On the same day, Isabel's mother Diana learns that her husband has a new lover and begins to re-think her life choices and her open marriage. Diana and Isabel's paths cross with Alec, a young actor, and with Peter, a journalist. As the interrelated stories proceed, the connections between the lives of the five characters begin to reveal themselves and their stories unravel. Isabel, Jonathan, Diana, Alec, and Peter must choose what kind of lives they will lead before the sun comes up on the next day.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, stylized, serious, clever, witty, talky, emotional, non-linear, controversial, gloomy
Similar in 82%
Little Lili (2003)
Plot Summary:
This film, loosely inspired by Anton Chekov's The Seagull, weaves a story about sex, family and the business of making films. When the young and overly sensitive filmmaker Julien screens his new DV art-film starring his girlfriend Lili (Swimming Pool's Ludivine Sagnier) --a sexy young local girl--to his famous actress mother Mado, and her lover Brice, an accomplished film director, an unraveling of the delicate peace in their house begins. The graceful beauty Lili, who dreams of becoming a famous actress like Mado, is immediately fascinated by Brice, who gladly falls prey to her charms.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, clever, touching, erotic, contemplative, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 87%
Intentions (2003)
Plot Summary:
Renee leads a fulfilling life as a professor of theater, mother of two girls, and wife to a kind and successful husband. Her life of contentment is changed forever when she discovers an undeniable attraction between herself and a female graduate student. Now every element of her life is called into question -- a question only she can answer about what she wants and needs.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
Full Speed (1996)
Plot Summary:
A brief extract of four kids' lives somewhere in France. Quentin, who won a writers contest and now pays more attention to his career as an author than to his friends, beautiful Julie, his girl-friend, much more mature than she looks, falling in love with Quentin's very best friend Jimmy, who is kind of stuck in his unability of self-expression and grown up under bad social circumstances. And there is the shy boy Samir, exiled from Algeria, who lost his "brother" and only friend some time ago. Samir heavily falls in love with Quentin, but he can't handle it.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 877
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: erotic, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, sexual, sexy, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Julie Johnson (2001)
Plot Summary:
A New Jersey housewife is dissatisfied with her everyday life because she is smarter than she or anyone else knows. While taking a computer class, Julie discovers her abilities and finds the courage to make dramatic life changes. This is a story of realizing one's potential and being willing to turn one's life upside down to take a chance on finding happiness. Claire, Julie's best friend, goes along with Julie's secret quest and eventually moves in with her. Both women are on a search to realize their dreams and come to terms with their love for each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 712
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, clever, touching, realistic, emotional, talky, semi serious, queer cinema
Similar in 88%
Three Dancing Slaves (2004)
Plot Summary:
Annecy is no tourist destination for three working-class Algerian brothers and their father, in the months after their mother has died. Marc is deeply troubled: he tries to stiff drug dealers and then plots revenge. Christophe is released from jail, lands a job, and must overcome various temptations in order to keep it. Olivier, nearing 18, may be falling in love with Hicham.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, lgbt cinema, realistic, gloomy, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Glue (2006)
Plot Summary:
A teenage summer in a small town in the desert, a dysfunctional family, a rock band, a can full of glue, two boys, one girl, loads of tongue kisses, dry heat, wind in Patagonia, existential angst... A teenage story in the middle of nowhere.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Argentina, UK
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, melancholic, teen, semi serious, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Close to Leo (2002)
Plot Summary:
When 21 year-old Leo, the oldest of four brothers, announces to his rural French family that he's HIV+, his family quickly rallys around him. Leo travels to Paris with his youngst brother Marcel for treatment. When Leo tries to push his brother away to protect him, the love and loyalty of the two brothers is tested.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, sincere, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)
Plot Summary:
A New York couple's relationship is tested after the loss of their child. This film is the wide-released combination of the original two :him and :her volumes that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, meditative, surreal, sincere, touching, crying, sad, eros, cute
Similar in 83%
His Secret Life (2001)
Plot Summary:
When Antonia's husband Massimo is killed in a car accident, she accidentally discovers that he has been having a same-sex affair with a produce wholesaler named Michele.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, sincere, serious, psychological, romantic, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 86%
Heavy (1995)
Plot Summary:
Victor is a cook who works in a greasy bar/restaurant owned by his mother, Dolly. It's just the two of them, a waitress named Delores, and a heavy drinking regular, Leo. But things change when Callie, a beautiful college drop-out, shows up as a new waitress and steals Victor's heart. But Victor is too shy to do anything about it, and too self-consciously overweight to dream of winning Callie away.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, realistic, slang, psychological, sincere, serious, contemplative, gloomy, crying