Best movies like Valley of the Bees
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Ondrej, a young boy who loves bees and bats, is introduced to his new mother, a woman much younger than his father. Her brings her a bowl of flower petals which she starts to throw in the air and then gives out a shriek, as she discovers several bats in the bottom of the bowl. In a rage, Ondrej's father picks the boy up and hurls him against a wall. Then as the boy lays in a stupor the father promises the Holy Virgin to dedicate the boy to her if she will spare his life. The boy lives and Ondrej is raised in a strict monastic order, where he is mentored by a very pious warrior monk, Armin. One day after being chastised for no good reason, he escapes and returns home. Armin heads out to bring him back. With his father dead, Ondrej becomes lord of the castle and becomes engaged to his father's widow. Near the end, Armin shows up and attempts to get Ondrej to come back to the order.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: philosophical, spiritual, black and white, cerebral, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, thought provoking
Best tv shows and movies like Valley of the Bees (1968):
Similar in 87%
Marketa Lazarov? (1967)
Plot Summary:
Mikolás and his brother Adam rob travelers for their tyrannical father Kozlík. During one of their "jobs" they end up with a young German hostage whose father escapes to return news of the kidnapping and robbery to the King. Kozlik prepares for the wrath of the King, and sends Mikolás to pressure his neighbor Lazar to join him in war. Persuasion fails, and in vengeance Mikolás abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa, just as she was about to join a convent. The King, meantime, dispatches an army and the religious Lazar will be called upon to join hands against Kozlik. Stripped-down, surreal, and relentlessly grimy account of the shift from Paganism to Christianity.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: art house, surreal, romantic, philosophical, mind bending, psychedelic, gothic, spiritual, experimental, gothic horror
Similar in 86%
Quo Vadis (2001)
Plot Summary:
Ancient Rome, during the time of Emperor Nero. Vinicius, a young patrician, falls in love with the beautiful Lygia, the daughter of a Barbarian commander who was killed in battle, and wants her for his concubine. For Lygia, a Christian, being a pagan's concubine is a severe sin and disgrace. However, when Vinicius is wounded, Lygia cares for him, and starts to reciprocate his feelings. Vinicius, in return, becomes interested in Christian learning and asks Apostle Peter to teach him. In the meantime, Emperor Nero accuses Christians of having started a great fire in Rome. He encourages the imprisonment, torture and murder of his Christian subjects.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Poland, USA
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, epic, tragic
Similar in 82%
Kristin Lavransdotter (1995)
Plot Summary:
Kristin Lavransdatter is a 1995 Norwegian film directed by Liv Ullman, featuring Elisabeth Matheson, Bjørn Skagestad, Jørgen Langhelle, Lena Endre and Sverre Anker Ousdal, based on Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. It was the Norwegian entry to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Norway, Germany, Sweden
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Anchoress (1993)
Plot Summary:
Enter the medieval world of Christine Carpenter, a visionary girl who is to become an Anchoress (walled-in recluse) so that she can "live in the Virgin's house forever." Based on actual letters that were written about such an Anchoress in 1325, the film follows Christine as she awakens to her own sensuality and explores her own female, earth-based spirituality.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: black and white, psychological, sexy, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the 16th century in the Cévennes, a horse dealer by the name of Michael Kohlhaas leads a happy and prosperous family life. When a lord treats him unjustly, this pious, upstanding man raises an army and puts the country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, action adventure, period drama
Similar in 88%
Stealing Heaven (1988)
Plot Summary:
Abelard, a famous teacher of philosophy at the cathedral school of Notre Dame, falls in love with one of his students, Héloïse d'Argenteuil. A sixteen-year old girl raised in a convent, Héloïse has an intellectual curiosity and rebels against the status of women in 12th century Europe. When others begin to suspect their relationship, Heloise's uncle Fulbert and the bishop of Paris work together to put a stop to it. Héloïse becomes pregnant with Abelard's child, and they are married in secret. Abelard struggles for acting against the will of God, yet is unable to escape his love for Heloise.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 818
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, Yugoslavia
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: independent film, erotic, sexy, serious, captivating, realistic, sexual, erotic drama, period drama
Similar in 78%
Soldier of God (2005)
Plot Summary:
“Soldier of God” A film by W. D. Hogan From The New York Times Director W. D. Hogan‘s sweeping period epic “Soldier of God” unfurls in the Middle East of the late Twelfth Century. As the story opens, the Knights Templar, a religious order originally assigned to protect Christian pilgrims, has disintegrated from chivalric order and justice into dissolute chaos, as its individual factions bloodthirstily vie with one another for power and control.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 523
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, exciting, epic, realistic
Similar in 85%
Adelheid (1970)
Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of World War II, a former Czech soldier takes charge of a manor formerly owned by a German family. He falls in love with the daughter, who is now a maid, and is forced to confront the stress between his love and his conscience when he discovers her sheltering her German-soldier brother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 912
Genere: Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: surreal, atmospheric, touching, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 85%
Witchhammer (1970)
Plot Summary:
A ruthless inquisitor spins the superstitions of local peasants into religious heresy, finding cause to accuse dozens of innocent men and women of witchcraft. The inquisitor targets nobles and merchants, whose property and goods are then confiscated. After suffering an array of medieval tortures, most of the accused confess–only to be burned alive at the stake as helpless villagers watch. With its bold and striking cinematography, the film captures scenes of both daring nudity and brutal torture.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History, Horror
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, gothic, gothic horror, satanic, tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Religion (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story is based in Banaras and is about a Hindu Priest Chaturvedi (Pankaj Kapoor) who follows the scriptures to practice Hindu religion. When a child is abandon by a woman and brought in his house by his daughter - after initial hesitation but due to requests from his wife (Supriya Pathak) - the family adapts the child; only to know after 4 years that the child is a Muslim. The family gives away the child and Chaturvedi engulfs himself in the purification process to cleanse his body, mind and soul due to contact with a Muslim soul. By the time, Chaturvedi thinks he is fully purified – the child reappears – seeking refuge, due to Hindu- Muslim riots. This is the time Chaturvedi finally realizes that the true religion is - religion where humans help humans – humanity.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: India
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, psychological, captivating, christian film, spiritual, art film, thinking, touching, serious
Similar in 81%
Pope Joan (2009)
Plot Summary:
A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Germany, UK, Italy, Spain
Duration: 149 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, costume drama, epic, historical drama, spiritual, sad, realistic
Similar in 87%
The Rising Hawk (2019)
Plot Summary:
The Mongol Empire had grown to the largest the world had ever known. It's armies now laid siege to much of Eastern Europe. A small village fights for freedom in the frontier landscape of the Carpathian Mountains.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Ukraine, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: stylized, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, uplifting, brutal
Similar in 83%
The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Plot Summary:
A town cursed with barren women and famine is saved by a miracle birth to an old, ugly woman: the Mother. Immediately afterwards, the old woman's Daughter (Ormond) claims to have delivered the baby herself in a virgin birth. She imprisons the Mother and begins to exploit the Baby by selling blessings to the desperate townspeople of Mâcon.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Netherlands, France, UK, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: disturbing, avant garde, surreal, serious, atmospheric, rough, stylized, bleak, controversial, philosophical
Similar in 84%
Waiting for Heaven (2006)
Plot Summary:
Eflatun is a master miniature artist who's living in 17th century Istanbul. One day, he's taken to the vizier's mansion by force. There he learns that Danyal, one of the Ottoman princes who has ignited an insurrection, is arrested in a far off state and to be executed soon. Eflatun is ordered to make a portrait of the rebel prince who's been condemned to death in a Western manner to help the authorities be certain on the identity of him. Upon the order, Eflatun sets off for an arduous journey to Anatolia. He picks up a girl named Leyla en route. Together, they find themselves in a great venture fraught with sensations.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Hungary, Turkey
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 89%
Pope Joan (1972)
Plot Summary:
Based on the medieval legend of Pope Joan, who was made Pope for a brief period around 855 A.D. The movie presents her existence as fact, though it is questionable that Pope Joan really did exist, and portrays her relationships with other notables of the time.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 391
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, period drama, cult film
Similar in 90%
Andrei Rublev (1966)
Plot Summary:
An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 205 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, breathtaking, art house, black and white, philosophical, epic, visual, visually appealing, spiritual, bleak
Similar in 79%
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 82%
The Radicals (1989)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Anabaptist movement and two of its first leaders, Michael and Margaretha Sattler.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: biblical, independent film, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
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
Similar in 82%
The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008)
Plot Summary:
Religious and cultural reawakening inspires rebellion in a 19th century Norwegian village.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, realistic, esoteric, bleak
Similar in 89%
Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les batailles (1994)
Plot Summary:
A part of Joan of Arc's life. At the beginning, Jeanne (Joan) has already left Domremy, she is trying to convince a captain to escort her to the Dauphin. It ends during Jeanne's first battle, at Orleans. Meanwhile, Jeanne is depicted more as a warrior than a saint (all cliches are avoided), with only her faith for strength.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 810
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: France
Duration: 160 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 78%
The Lion in Winter (2003)
Plot Summary:
King Henry II (Patrick Stewart) keeps his wife, Eleanor (Glenn Close) locked away in the towers because of her frequent attempts to overthrow him. With Eleanor out of the way he can have his dalliances with his young mistress (Yuliya Vysotskaya). Needless to say the queen is not pleased, although she still has affection for the king. Working through her sons, she plots the king's demise and the rise of her second and preferred son, Richard (Andrew Howard), to the throne. The youngest son, John (Rafe Spall), an overweight buffoon and the only son holding his father's affection is the king's choice after the death of his first son, young Henry. But John is also overly eager for power and is willing to plot his father's demise with middle brother, Geoffrey (John Light) and the young king of France, Phillip (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Geoffrey, of course sees his younger brother's weakness and sees that route as his path to power. Obviously political and court intrigue ensues.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 167 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, stylized, exciting, captivating, gothic, political, costume drama, historical drama, witty
Similar in 90%
Sword of War (2009)
Plot Summary:
Year 1100. Italy.The Northern lands are ruled by a German emperor: Fredrick aka "Barbarossa. His dream is to conquer also the lands in the Center and in the South so as to revive the Empire that was once of the one Charles Magno.But in the North a young man from Milan has formed an army of 900 young men coming from different cities: the "company of death". This young man's name is Alberto Da Giussano. His dream is to defeat the Emperor and to give back freedom to the Northern lands.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 88%
The Assassins (2012)
Plot Summary:
In the year 198 BC, Cao Cao (Chow Yun Fat), Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, ventured to the east and defeated China's greatest warrior Lu Bu, terrifying every ambitious warlord across the country. Several years later, after taking the Han Emperor under his wing, Cao crowns himself King of Wei. He built a magnificent Bronze Sparrow Island to symbolize his power and rumors spread that he would replace the Emperor. Meanwhile, young lovers Mu Shun (Hiroshi Tamaki) and Ling Ju (Liu Yi-Fei) are taken from a prison camp to a hidden tomb, where they spend five cruel years together, training as assassins for a secret mission. In the year 220 BC astronomical signs predict dramatic change. As a result, Cao's son Cao Pi (Yau Sam-Chi) and Cao's followers urge Cao to become the new Emperor - but unknown opposing forces plot against him.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, epic, realistic, captivating, stylized
Similar in 87%
Alfred the Great (1969)
Plot Summary:
While Old England is being ransacked by roving Danes in the 9th century, Alfred is planning to join the priesthood. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows to take up arms against the invaders, leading the English Christians to fight for their country. Alfred soundly defeats the Danes and becomes a hero. But now, although Alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for God and his lust for blood.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized, period drama
Similar in 78%
The War Lord (1965)
Plot Summary:
A knight in the service of a duke goes to a coastal villiage where an earlier attempt to build a defensive castle has failed. He begins to rebuild the duke's authority in the face of the barbarians at the border and is making progress until he falls in love with one of the local women.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: technicolor, epic, sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, period drama
Similar in 75%
Crusaders (2001)
Plot Summary:
Towards the end of the eleventh century, Pope Urban II announces a crusade against the Saracens, who have occupied the holy city of Jerusalem. Three young friends Richard, Peter and Andrew set off to join the crusading army.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 585
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Italy, Germany
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 88%
A Viking Saga: Son of Thor (2008)
Plot Summary:
Drama set in the viking age, Helgi witnesses the destruction of his village and narrowly escapes to his uncle Rurik who raises him like his son. Many years later he meets the people responsible for his parents death and someone he never expected to see again.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Denmark, USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: captivating, saga, exciting, serious, tense, suspense, epic, realistic
Similar in 88%
Macbeth (1971)
Plot Summary:
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord siezes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: disturbing, visual, atmospheric, bleak, spiritual, existential, fairy tale, emotional, political thriller, controversial
Similar in 90%
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