Best movies like The Starling Girl
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: crying
Best tv shows and movies like The Starling Girl (2023):
Similar in 81%
Grown Up Movie Star (2009)
Plot Summary:
The story of Ruby, 13, determined to grow up fast after her mother runs away to become a movie star, leaving Ruby with her hopelessly rural father.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 429
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, serious, emotional, teen, gloomy, independent film, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 86%
Palm Trees and Power Lines (2022)
Plot Summary:
A disconnected teenage girl enters a relationship with a man twice her age. She sees him as the solution to all her problems, but his intentions are not what they seem.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, interesting, beautiful
Similar in 90%
Paradise: Hope (2013)
Plot Summary:
Hope, the third film in the PARADISE TRILOGY, tells the story of the 13-year-old Melanie. While her mother (Teresa) travels to Kenya, Melanie spends her holiday in the Austrian countryside at a strict diet camp for overweight teenagers. Under the supervision of a tattooed trainer and a creepy doctor, the teenagers attempt to do sports during the day and secretly get drunk in the evening. Between physical education and nutrition counseling, pillow fights and her first cigarette, Melanie falls in love with the doctor who is 40 years her senior.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria, France, Germany
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, cynical, art house, offbeat, crying, transgressive
Similar in 85%
True Things (2021)
Plot Summary:
A young woman living on the fringes of society becomes intoxicated by a stranger who overwhelms her quiet life.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, erotic, crying
Similar in 83%
Hala (2019)
Plot Summary:
Meet 17-year-old Hala, who struggles to balance being a suburban teenager with her traditional Muslim upbringing. As she comes into her own, Hala finds herself grappling with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, inspirational
Similar in 76%
Tremors (2019)
Plot Summary:
A family man torn between the love for his family, the boundaries of religion and the freedom to choose whom to love.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Guatemala, France, Luxembourg
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Paradise (2004)
Plot Summary:
Televangelist Bobby Paradise "saw God" in some space debris when he was returning to Earth as an astronaut. Or at least he was convinced he did by his wife, a Cape Canaveral groupie at the time Bobby was with NASA. Now they have built up an extensive TV empire. When their proposal to merge with a somewhat tarnished mogul is investigated by the government, skeletons in the Paradise closet come to light and the family either rallies behind or disparages the enterprise.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 131
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, crying, soap opera
Similar in 88%
Higher Ground (2011)
Plot Summary:
Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND, depicts the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, serious, realistic, aesthetic, independent film
Similar in 87%
Forbidden Fruit (2009)
Plot Summary:
Two 18-year old girls from a christian fundamentalist community flee to a city for a summer job.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, sincere, captivating, realistic
Similar in 87%
Nobody Walks (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young woman's arrival sparks a surge of energy into a laid-back, artistic Los Angeles household, forcing the residents to confront their own fears and desires in an intricate dance of lust, denial and deception.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, psychological, tense, realistic, serious, captivating, sexy, exciting, artsy, cute
Similar in 81%
Judgment (1990)
Plot Summary:
Fact-based story of a Louisiana priest accused of molesting young parishioners, and of the family of one of his victims, caught between their loyalty to their son and to their Church.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 417
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 77%
The Whale (2022)
Plot Summary:
A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 192000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: spiritual, heartbreaking, serious, sad, minimal cast, non fiction, mindfuck, powerful, medical drama, crying
Similar in 78%
The Men's Club (1986)
Plot Summary:
Seven men have a group session and share their feelings on women, love, life and work.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, independent film, touching, realistic, talky, semi serious, crying
Similar in 81%
It Felt Like Love (2013)
Plot Summary:
Fourteen-year-old Lila is experiencing an ennui-filled Brooklyn summer. She awkwardly wears a Kabuki-esque mask of sunscreen at the beach and plays third wheel to Chiara, her more experienced friend, and Chiara’s boyfriend, Patrick. Determined to have a love interest of her own, a bravado-filled Lila pursues Sammy, a tough but handsome older boy.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, realistic, erotic, sexy, captivating, underground film, psychological, social, sincere
Similar in 81%
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015)
Plot Summary:
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party takes place over 24 hours at the birthday pool party of 17-year-old preacher's kid Henry Gamble. The party guests include adults and teenagers from his church, as well as Henry's "secular" friends, including the closeted young Logan, who has eyes for Henry.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, lgbt cinema, suspenseful, contemplative, mumblecore, dark comedy, teen
Similar in 90%
Little Accidents (2014)
Plot Summary:
In a small American coal town living in the shadow of a recent mining accident, the disappearance of a teenage boy draws three people together—a surviving miner, the lonely wife of a mine executive, and a local boy—in a web of secrets.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, enigmatic, sad, disturbing, crying, independent film, psychological thriller, interesting, psycho film
Similar in 90%
Them That Follow (2019)
Plot Summary:
A Pentecostal pastor, Lemuel Childs, and his believers handle venomous snakes to prove themselves before God. Lemuel’s daughter, Mara holds a secret that threatens to tear the church apart: her romantic past with a nonbeliever, Augie. As Mara’s wedding to a devoted follower looms, she must decide whether or not to trust the steely matriarch of their community, Hope, with her heart and life at stake.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, dark, independent film
Similar in 88%
A Map of the World (1999)
Plot Summary:
School nurse Alice Goodwin lives with her husband and two daughters on a dairy farm in a small Wisconsin community. After an accident on her property involving a friend's child, the town turns against her and Alice finds herself fighting charges of child abuse.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: black comedy, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, gloomy, crying
Similar in 79%
Consent (2010)
Plot Summary:
A wealthy Manhattan family's inability to cope with the suicide of their eldest daughter sends them into a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and sexual taboos that threatens to destroy them.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 640
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, erotic, poignant, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 89%
Honey Boy (2019)
Plot Summary:
The story of a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade, loosely based on Shia LaBeouf’s life.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, inspirational, sincere, touching, captivating, independent film, sentimental, thought provoking, indie film, crying
Similar in 80%
Novitiate (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing, social, sad, controversial, costume drama, queer cinema
Similar in 76%
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
Plot Summary:
Jack Slavin is an environmentalist with a heart condition who lives with his daughter, Rose, on an isolated island. While Jack fights against developers who wish to build in the area, he also craves more contact with other people. When he invites his girlfriend, Kathleen, and her sons, Rodney and Thaddius, to move in, Rose is upset. The complicated family dynamics makes things difficult for everyone in the house.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: melancholic, disturbing, sentimental, touching, emotional, inspirational, mumblecore, mind blowing, sincere, serious
Similar in 84%
Yes, God, Yes (2019)
Plot Summary:
Alice, a young innocent Catholic girl, is tempted into masturbating after an AOL chat suddenly turns sexual, however is conflicted as the act would be considered a sin.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, teen sex comedy, thought provoking, light, feel good, unusual plot structure, humorous, funny, intellectual, social
Similar in 86%
The Wise Kids (2011)
Plot Summary:
A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters - Brea, an introspective pastor's daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea's best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time. Tensions and buried feelings abound, as colleges are chosen and adults behave badly, as Brea, Laura and Tim attempt to hang onto what they have, all the while yearning to break free.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, sexual, christian film, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Worlds Apart (2008)
Plot Summary:
The daughter of a Jehovah's Witness is forced to choose between religion and love when she falls for someone outside her faith.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, psychological, contemplative, crying
Similar in 87%
War Room (2015)
Plot Summary:
The family-friendly movie explores the transformational role prayer plays in the lives of the Jordan family. Tony and Elizabeth Jordan, a middle-class couple who seemingly have it all – great jobs, a beautiful daughter, their dream home. But appearances can be deceiving. In reality, the Jordan’s marriage has become a war zone and their daughter is collateral damage. With the help of Miss Clara, an older, wiser woman, Elizabeth discovers she can start fighting for her family instead of against them. Through a newly energized faith, Elizabeth and Tony’s real enemy doesn’t have a prayer.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: christian film, inspirational, biblical, sentimental, captivating, exciting, uplifting, spiritual, entertaining, light
Similar in 78%
To the Stars (2019)
Plot Summary:
Under small-town scrutiny, a withdrawn farmer’s daughter forges an intimate friendship with a worldly but reckless new girl in 1960s Oklahoma.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, melancholic, independent film, teen, tragic ending
Similar in 85%
Echo Park LA (2006)
Plot Summary:
As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, sentimental, realistic, emotional, humorous, semi serious, crying, hispanic, novela
Similar in 86%
The Ice Storm (1997)
Plot Summary:
In the weekend after thanksgiving 1973 the Hoods are skidding out of control. Benjamin Hood reels from drink to drink, trying not to think about his trouble at the office. His wife, Elena, is reading self help books and losing patience with her husband's lies. Their son, Paul, home for the holidays, escapes to the city to pursue an alluring rich girl from his prep school. Young, budding nymphomaniac, Wendy Hood roams the neighborhood, innocently exploring liquor cabinets and lingerie drawers of her friends' parents, looking for something new. Then an ice storm hits, the worst in a century.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 59000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: depressing, realistic, intense, visually appealing, existential, cerebral, visual, bleak, emotional, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Lady Bird (2017)
Plot Summary:
A California high school student plans to escape from her family and small town by going to college in New York.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 318000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, art house, realistic, gothic, semi serious, cute, teen, comedy drama, indie film, aesthetic