Best movies like Viper in the Fist
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
1920. Jean Rezeau and his elder brother were living happily in their family estate in Brittany, until the death of their grandmother. The return of their mother, a worthy descendant of fairytales' witches, brings an all new atmosphere to their home.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 992
Genere: Drama
Country: France, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Viper in the Fist (2004):
Similar in 78%
Fire-Eater (1998)
Plot Summary:
The twin sisters Helena and Irene are born in Helsinki during World War II. A few months later their mother, Sirkka, leaves the girls in the care of their grandmother, an old communist, and runs away with a German soldier. Their life under the protection of their grandmother and the teachings of communism ends first with the death of Stalin, then with that of their grandmother. The girls are eight years old when they are put in an orphanage. Their mother shows up at the orphanage in the company of Ramon, a Spanish trapeze artist. They are on a talent search for a German circus. Ramon trains the reluctant Irene during circus tours in Central Europe. She becomes the trapeze star of the circus. The hard work soon exhausts Irene and she falls from height, as if on purpose. Helena has secretly learned the art of fire-eating. Now she is burdened with both her mother and her sister. The violent life, however, separates the three from each other. In the present-day Helsinki the middle-aged.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 361
Genere: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
The River with No Bridge (1992)
Plot Summary:
THE RIVER WITH NO BRIDGE begins in 1908 and tells the story of a widow, Fude HATANAKA and her two sons, Seitaro and Koji, who live in the small town of Komori, where Buraku people are forced to reside. The two boys are continuously harassed by their teachers and classmates through their childhood as a result of their Buraku heritage. In the midst of the 1918 Great Rice Riots in Osaka, Seitaro meets with Asako, the daughter of a rice shop owner, and falls in love with her. She too is of Buraku descent. At the same period, Hideaki, an old friend of the brothers returns to Komori, and he along with Koji and the townspeople create "Zenkoku Suiheisha", the National Levelers Association, an organization pledged to build a bridge over the river of discrimination, making all people equal in every way.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: saga
Similar in 79%
Donkey (2009)
Plot Summary:
It is 1995. The summer when the war operation Storm will take place. Boro, who is going to be forty in a year and a half, with his wife Jasna and son Luka goes to his home village Drinovci, Herzegovina, after seven years. He wants to see his brother who managed to leave Sarajevo with his family. Boro knew that his brother was wounded, but when he sees him after many years, he discovers that the brother will spend the rest of his life in wheel chair. Boro constantly fights with Jasna, and he doesn't speak at all to his father Pako, whom he blames for his mother's death. In two weeks in August 1995, Boro will solve the years long dispute with his father, he will learn to be a better husband and a father.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 647
Genere: Drama
Country: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UK, Serbia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, unusual plot structure, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Responsible Child (2019)
Plot Summary:
Ray, a young boy on the cusp of adolescence who finds himself standing trial for murder. Moving into his mother Veronica's home to be with his elder brother Nathan, 23, Ray witnesses an argument which escalates into a violent axe attack perpetrated on his brother by his mum's partner Scott.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, brutal, bleak, suspense, realistic, factual, compassionate
Similar in 86%
True Mothers (2020)
Plot Summary:
After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, convinced by the discourse of an adoption association, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a baby boy. A few years later, their parenthood is shaken by a threatening unknown girl, Hikari, who pretends to be the child's biological mother. Satoko decides to confront Hikari directly.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: captivating, entertaining
Similar in 83%
Misunderstood (1966)
Plot Summary:
Andrew's brave front convinces his father that he is unaffected by his mother's death. Playmate and protector of his little brother Miles, he is often blamed when mischief goes wrong. Only when tragedy strikes does his father recognize Andrew's true qualities.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: modern day adaptation
Similar in 86%
Mother (1991)
Plot Summary:
Henri Verneuil was born Achod Malakian of Armenian parentage on October 15, 1920, in Rodosto, Turkey, and his family fled to France and settled in Marseilles when he was a young child. He later recounted his childhood experience in the novel Mayrig, which he dedicated to his mother and made into this 1991 film with the same name.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: saga
Similar in 77%
Mother and Son (2022)
Plot Summary:
In the late 1980s, Rose moves from the Ivory Coast to the Paris suburbs with her two young sons, Ernest and Jean. Spanning 20 years from their arrival in France to the present day, the film is the moving chronicle of the construction and deconstruction of a family.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 385
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: interesting
Similar in 87%
Run the Tide (2016)
Plot Summary:
When their drug abusing mother is released from prison determined to rebuild their family, Rey kidnaps his younger brother Oliver and escapes their desert home for the California coast.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Life Kills Me (2002)
Plot Summary:
Paul (Sami Bouajila of The Adventures of Felix and The Siege) is a smart, well-educated Frenchman of Arab ancestry. He's a smooth talker, but he can't seem to get a job worthy of his skills. He ends up living in a single room, struggling to get by while going on many fruitless job interviews, during which he impresses his potential employers by turning his pizza delivery job into a tall tale about revamping the whole pizza chain. But at some point, they always seem to "see through him." He retreats into the boxing ring. His brother, Daniel (Jalil Lespert of Human Resources) also has trouble finding his place in the world. He spends all his time bodybuilding and takes dangerous drugs to enhance his physique. He dreams of being the next Schwarzenegger, but is forced to settle for a demeaning job at a sex club.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 200
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating
Similar in 81%
Mark of an Angel (2008)
Plot Summary:
Elsa, a woman with a long history of depression in the midst of a divorce from her husband of 12 years develops an obsession with a seven year old girl she sees at a birthday party when she comes to pick up her son Thomas. Determined to find out more about the girl, Elsa uses Thomas as a way into the girl's family by aiding to develop a friendship between Thomas and the girl's brother Jeremy so that in turn Elsa can then befriend the girl's mother Claire. She uses Thomas more and more in her pursuit of this obsession telling her employer and fellow employees that Thomas is seriously ill so that she can run off watch the girl (Lola) wherever she goes. Elsa even tells her parents lies that she is going out with a friend so they will baby-sit so Elsa can even go as far as hiding in the bushes outside of Lola's house and watching her at night.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 899
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, psychological, emotional, suspenseful, tense, mind bending, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 81%
Softie (2021)
Plot Summary:
Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: social
Similar in 89%
No Letting Go (2015)
Plot Summary:
What would you do to save your child? A young teenager struggles with a debilitating mental illness as his mom risks everything to save him without losing the rest of her family.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 732
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, cult classic, independent film
Similar in 89%
Tomorrow at Dawn (2009)
Plot Summary:
Mathieu, a piano virtuoso, goes home to help his brother Paul to take care of their sick mother. Paul is into reenacting old battles, dressing up and getting into character, even dueling if necessary. Mathieu gets involved in this world and play becomes real.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 548
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, captivating
Similar in 75%
The Grand Highway (1987)
Plot Summary:
Louis, a nine-year-old boy from Paris, spends his summer vacation in a small town in Brittany. His mother Claire has lodged him with her girlfriend Marcelle and her husband Pelo while she's having her second baby. There Louis makes friends with Martine, the ten-year- old girl next door, and learns from her about life.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: anthology, touching, realistic, semi serious, feel good
Similar in 89%
Burning Secret (1988)
Plot Summary:
Burning Secret is a 1988 drama film, based on the short story Brennendes Geheimnis by Stefan Zweig, about an American diplomat's son who befriends a mysterious baron while staying at an Austrian spa during the 1920s. The film was written and directed by Andrew Birkin.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 506
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, West Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 79%
Black Irish (2007)
Plot Summary:
In South Boston, where Irish roots run deep and Catholic tradition reigns, two brothers face similar hardships but lead far different lives. While older brother Terry descends into drugs and crime, 16-year-old Cole vies to make the state baseball championships - but must struggle to withstand his brother's destructive influence.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Dummy (2008)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age drama about two young brothers whose lives are thrown into turmoil when their mother dies suddenly, leaving them to fend for themselves. While Danny loses himself in music, sex and drugs, his younger brother Jack transforms a life size mannequin into a brand new mum for him to talk to. Jack's obsession leads to both comic misunderstandings and bitter antagonism as the pair battle through grief, anger and denial.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 333
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, humorous, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1989)
Plot Summary:
Rocklin Colorado, 1925. A hard cold winter. Young Arturo Bandini loves his father Svevo, his mother Maria and his brothers. Even though his bricklayer father wastes the little money he has in the Imperial Poolhall and his time with the rich American widow, Hildegarde. Even though his beautiful and pious mother lets his father get away with that, even if his little brother wets the bed. Arturo loves them all. He also loves to play baseball, even though he has to wait until spring. And he also loves the movies ... and Rosa. But she doesn't love him.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 710
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Italy, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 77%
The Nun (2013)
Plot Summary:
Suzanne Simonin describes her life of suffering in letters. As a young woman she is sent to a convent against her will. Since her parents cannot afford the dowry required for a marriage befitting her rank they decide she must instead become a nun. Although a kind and understanding Mother Superior helps her to learn the convent’s daily routine, Suzanne’s desire for freedom remains unabated. When the Mother Superior dies, Suzanne finds herself faced with reprisals, humiliation and harassment at the hands of the new Abbess and the other Sisters. For many years, Suzanne is subjected to bigotry and religious fanaticism. (Berlinale.de).
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, atmospheric, serious, psychological, erotic, sincere, independent film, period drama
Similar in 85%
All Good Children (2010)
Plot Summary:
After experiencing a tragedy, Irish brothers Dara and Eoin move to rural France, where they become friends with young Bella, whose beauty and charm bewitches the emotionally unstable Dara.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 285
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, Belgium, France
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, tense, sincere, gloomy
Similar in 78%
I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive (2009)
Plot Summary:
This finely acted, delicate and provocative new film by one of France’s most impressive filmmakers—working here with his son, Nathan—depicts the troubled life of an adopted boy who, as a taciturn adult, visits his birth mother and strikes up a relationship fraught with tension and emotion.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, tense, emotional, realistic
Similar in 83%
My Son (2006)
Plot Summary:
Julien and his mum care for each other very much. But Julien has committed a deadly sin: he is growing into a teenager! Worse, he has found himself a girlfriend of his age. "Mummy" is not going to tolerate such an ignominy. Julien is HER baby and will remain HERS for ever, encouraged in her "crusade" by her bovine husband and barely thwarted by the more courageous interventions of Suzanne, Julien's sympathetic big sister.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 829
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, tense, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 82%
The Devil in the Skin (2011)
Plot Summary:
Coming-of-Age drama telling the story of the strong bond between Xavier and his little brother Jacques and their struggle to remain together despite all odds.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 71
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
Plot Summary:
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotional slice-of-life story. Jones is portrayed here portrayed as Bill Willis, a former war hero turned author who combats alcoholism and is starting to experience health problems. Living in France with his wife, daughter, and an adopted son, the family travels an unconventional road which casts them as outsiders to others. Preaching a sexual freedom, his daughter's sexual discovery begins at an early age and betrays her when the family moves to Hanover in America. Her overt sexuality clashes with the values of her teenage American peers and gives her a problematic reputation. Meanwhile, her brooding brother copes with his own interior pain regarding his past, only comfortable communicating within the domestic space.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: sentimental, clever, realistic, talky, independent film, tense, touching, serious, witty, contemplative
Similar in 83%
Stella (2008)
Plot Summary:
1977. Stella entre en sixième, dans un grand lycée parisien. Stella entre dans le monde... Un nouveau monde, à l'opposé de celui qu'elle connaît. Presque un miracle. Elle, elle vit dans un café, un café d'ouvrier, à la frontière de Paris. Cette rentrée va changer sa vie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: sentimental, semi serious, touching, humorous, realistic, teen
Similar in 84%
Cider with Rosie (2015)
Plot Summary:
A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story set in the Cotswolds during and immediately after the First World War.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 825
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, sentimental, touching, semi autobiographical
Similar in 79%
Chicken (2015)
Plot Summary:
RICHARD, 15 with learning difficulties, longs to put down roots but his restless and destructive brother, POLLY, needs to keep moving. When the land they live on is bought by a new landowner, and the electricity supply to their caravan is cut, their already precarious living conditions get even worse. Then a chance meeting with the new landowner's daughter, 17 year old ANNABEL (Yasmin Paige), leaves RICHARD besotted; whilst POLLY befriends the guys who run a seedy traveling fair. Richards optimistic view on life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as Polly's abusive behavior worsens, family secrets are revealed, and he is torn between loyalty to his brother and his first true friend in ANNABEL. For better or worse, Richards life is about to change forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 535
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 79%
A Year in My Life (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s France, a young boy is taken in by a couple after spending a few months in the care of social service.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, sincere, captivating, feel good, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 82%
Salvation Army (2013)
Plot Summary:
Abdellah is a young gay man navigating the sexual, racial and political climate of Morocco. Growing up in a large family in a working-class neighborhood, Abdellah is caught between a distant father, an authoritarian mother, an older brother whom he adores and a handful of predatory older men, in a society that denies his homosexuality.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 667
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Morocco, Switzerland
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, social, bleak, queer cinema