Best movies like Things That Hang from Trees
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
St. Augustine, Florida, 1969. An eight-year-old boy's wish to see the fireworks from atop the city's lighthouse is complicated by his odd neighbors, abusive peers, and hopeless parents. The young boy's seemingly simple goal develops into a struggle in which his life, both internal and corporeal, hangs in the balance.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 232
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, captivating, disturbing, southern gothic
Best tv shows and movies like Things That Hang from Trees (2006):
Similar in 82%
Luminous Motion (1998)
Plot Summary:
A mom and her 10 year son motor around the country as she makes ends meet by turning tricks until her car breaks down. She then temporarily takes up with a hardware store owner until she gets her own place. Then the kid's father shows up to try to take the two over.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 347
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, offbeat, serious, realistic, detective, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 89%
The Fabelmans (2022)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, India
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: semi autobiographical, dramatic, inspirational, uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, reflective, meta, informative
Similar in 75%
Diane (2018)
Plot Summary:
Diane is a devoted friend and caretaker, particularly to her drug-addicted son. But as those around her begin to drift away in the last quarter of her life, she is left to reckon with past choices and long-dormant memories.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, captivating, melancholic, existential, cult classic
Similar in 78%
River Made to Drown In (1997)
Plot Summary:
Allen, a struggling young artist who once survived by working in the streets, is now involved with Eva, a wealthy Los Angeles gallery owner. Quite by surprise Allen receives a visit from an old john, Thaddeus, who is dying from aids and has come to spend his last days somewhere humble ans spare. Allen reluctantly takes him in, straining his relationship with Eva, who slowly discovers the truth about their past. When Thaddeus implores Allen to find Jamie, a young hustler he had once tried to rescue, Allen returns to the streets where he must choose between what he left behind and the uncertainty that lies ahead. Written by Alie Heidema.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 383
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: crying, independent film, weeping, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Little Men (2016)
Plot Summary:
Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Greece, Brazil
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: social, sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, touching, captivating, melancholic, compassionate, dorama, powerful
Similar in 82%
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (2013)
Plot Summary:
When autistic teen Ricky is scolded for skipping class, he escapes into the subway for a days-long odyssey among the subway’s disparate denizens. Meanwhile, his mother wages an escalating search effort above ground. Based on a true story and set in Far Rockaway, Queens, in the days leading up to Hurricane Sandy, these parallel stories of mother and son take the viewer on a touching journey of community and connection in and below New York City.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 513
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, melancholic, disturbing, independent film, serious, realistic, detective
Similar in 79%
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 89%
Miss Juneteenth (2020)
Plot Summary:
Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, aesthetic, black cinema
Similar in 78%
The Chocolate War (1988)
Plot Summary:
A surreal portrait of a Catholic Private School and its hierarchy. A new student must submit to the bizarre rituals of his peers and the expectations of the school's administration by selling chocolates.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: psychotronic, psychological, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surreal, allegory, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 82%
Maladies (2012)
Plot Summary:
A talented and successful actor retires at a young age due to a perceived mental illness. Now living in a small town with his deranged sister and his best friend, we watch as their Maladies intertwine.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 787
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, emotional, realistic, captivating, tense, rough, serious, independent film
Similar in 90%
The Tender Bar (2021)
Plot Summary:
J.R. is a fatherless boy growing up in the glow of a bar where the bartender, his Uncle Charlie, is the sharpest and most colorful of an assortment of quirky and demonstrative father figures. As the boy’s determined mother struggles to provide her son with opportunities denied to her — and leave the dilapidated home of her outrageous if begrudgingly supportive father — J.R. begins to gamely, if not always gracefully, pursue his romantic and professional dreams, with one foot persistently placed in Uncle Charlie’s bar.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, feel good, entertaining, art house, cult classic
Similar in 85%
Certain Women (2016)
Plot Summary:
The lives of four women intersect in small-town America, where each is imperfectly blazing a trail.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, ironic, disturbing, poetic, indie film, heartfelt, profound, weird, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
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%
Goat (2016)
Plot Summary:
Reeling from a terrifying assault, a nineteen year old enrolls into college with his brother and pledges the same fraternity. What happens there, in the name of 'brotherhood,' tests him and his loyalty in brutal ways.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: disturbing, exciting, captivating, suspense, melancholic, suspenseful, social, controversial, hood, crime drama
Similar in 76%
The Safety of Objects (2001)
Plot Summary:
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA, Canada
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: philosophical, psychological, depressing, confusing, disturbing, compassionate, suspense, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 78%
Along the Way (2007)
Plot Summary:
A funny, gripping and powerful drama about the post graduation summer of four lifelong friends and one night that changed the course of their lives... forever. Like Crash , Saint Elmo s Fire and it s inspiration Stand By Me, Along the WAY is a haunting portrait of American Youth. A profound and poignant story about friendship, the moments that shape us and an unforgettable story that deserves it place among the best and brightest that the independent film world has to offer.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 298
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, offbeat, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 81%
Little Boy Blue (1997)
Plot Summary:
Living in rural Texas is a dysfunctional family: an abusive dad, a Vietnam vet with a war wound that's left him impotent; a compliant wife and a son of about 20, two small sons who look a lot like their brother. The dad harbors a secret, and he goes to murderous lengths to keep it hidden. The young man, Jimmy, who has suspicions, but little comes out until a Yankee woman comes to town.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, suspense, bleak, sexy, explicit, realistic, crying, independent film
Similar in 77%
Around the Bend (2004)
Plot Summary:
A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, road movie, emotional, semi serious, humorous, family saga, realistic, crying, funny
Similar in 82%
Jerome (1998)
Plot Summary:
Jerome is a day in the life of a dreamer. Wade Hampton has found himself trapped by responsibility and lack of understanding by those closest to him. As a result, Wade simply leaves his old life with the idea of fulfilling a repressed dream of becoming an artist in Jerome, Arizona, a town he knows only through a postcard given to him years earlier by a co-worker. Naturally, an action as extreme as this is not without consequences. On his way, Wade meets Jane, a road hard, enigmatic drifter who lives the life of total freedom he has longed for. As the two speed farther and farther across the scorching Arizona desert, events snowball into an unforeseen crisis forcing Wade to confront realities he never could have imagined only hours earlier.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965)
Plot Summary:
Henry Thomas is out on parole in a small Texan town and, in the evenings, he is the lead singer in a band. He is being pressured by his foster mother to give up his singing and go back to school. His wife, Georgette, and young daughter unexpectedly come to town to live with him. However Henry's hot temper leads him into knife fights, and jeopardizes his parole. Written by Will Gilbert.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: retro, black and white, esoteric, psychological, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, gloomy, neo noir
Similar in 79%
Leo (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young mother is plagued by a tragic mistake and alienates her little boy. A brilliant writer is released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence and begins working at Vic's Diner. Their stories converge when the man must overcome obstacles of the past to save the little boy and ultimately himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, suspense, sincere, crying
Similar in 80%
The Dynamiter (2011)
Plot Summary:
All fourteen-year-old Robbie Hendrick ever wanted was a family. Yet as another Mississippi summer begins, his wayward mother has run off again fearing a breakdown and he's left to burn the days caring for his half brother, Fess. As the deep days and nights pass without her return and with older brother Lucas dangerously in their lives again, Robbie must face the fact that his dream of a family may only be a dream and he might just lose the only family he's ever had: Fess.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 609
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, sentimental, sincere, feel good, gothic, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 89%
Winter Solstice (2004)
Plot Summary:
A widower confronts his older son's decision to leave home and his younger son's self-destructive behavior.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Eve's Bayou (1997)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1962 Louisiana. The big Batiste family is headed by charming doctor Louis. Though he is married to beautiful Roz, he has a weakness for attractive women patients. One day Louis is flirting with married and sexy Metty Mereaux, not knowing that he is observed by his youngest idealistic daughter Eve, who is there by accident. Eve can not forget the incident which is traumatic for her naiveté, and shares a secret with older sister Cisely. Lies start to roll.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: cult classic, independent film, southern gothic, gothic, mysterious, family saga, hood, visual, spooky, atmospheric
Similar in 90%
12 and Holding (2005)
Plot Summary:
Three pre-adolescents with virginal and eager-of-signals naivety, hit headlong against monstrous and inhospitable loneliness, in the incandescent fire among the ashes of their own inocence.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, heartbreaking, sad, sentimental, serious, depressing, harsh, art house
Similar in 89%
The Substance of Fire (1996)
Plot Summary:
Isaac Geldhart is a Holocaust survivor who, overcome by grief at the recent death of his wife, seems determined to run his publishing firm into the ground by printing books that have no hope of financial success. His son Aaron, who also works at the company, grows frustrated with Isaac's emotional decline and attempts to take over the firm. The resulting crisis involves Isaac's other two children, his daughter Sarah and his dying son Martin.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 667
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: melancholic, talky, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film, contemplative, gloomy, sexy
Similar in 90%
Sling Blade (1996)
Plot Summary:
Karl Childers is a mentally disabled man who has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, Karl is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: independent film, southern gothic, neo noir, serious, sincere, touching, bleak, depressing, emotional, sad
Similar in 86%
We the Animals (2018)
Plot Summary:
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, sentimental, touching, inspirational, social, sad, poignant, independent film, indie film
Similar in 77%
James White (2015)
Plot Summary:
James White is a troubled twentysomething trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. As he retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, his mother's battle with a serious illness faces a series of setbacks that force him to assume more responsibility. With the pressure on him mounting, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sad, psychological, sincere, captivating, disturbing, mumblecore, weird
Similar in 83%
White Oleander (2002)
Plot Summary:
A teenager journeys through a series of foster homes after her mother goes to prison for committing a crime of passion.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: emotional, intense, touching, disturbing, serious, realistic, erotic, sentimental, gothic, social