Best movies like Whistle Down the Wind
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When an injured wife murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the owner’s three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of Christ.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: disturbing, touching, serious, crying, allegory, independent film, detective, vintage
Best tv shows and movies like Whistle Down the Wind (1961):
Similar in 90%
The Running Man (1963)
Plot Summary:
An insurance man (Alan Bates) gets chummy in Spain with a couple (Laurence Harvey, Lee Remick) who have collected on a fake death.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: noir, tense, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cynical, independent film, freeze frame
Similar in 90%
The Grim Reaper (1962)
Plot Summary:
Near the Tiber river, in a Roman park, a prostitute was killed. The police tracks down people that were inside the park during that night. They are questioned and have to explain why they were there. One of them is the killer.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Italy
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: neorealism, neo noir, psychological, tense, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative, crying
Similar in 90%
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
Plot Summary:
Bill Savage is struggling to maintain his marriage to his increasingly unbalanced wife, Myra, who believes she is a medium. She plans a scheme that will make her famous, involving kidnapping then "psychically" locating a little girl.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: suspense, black and white, psychological, tense, atmospheric, suspenseful, disturbing, noir, psychological thriller, neo noir
Similar in 88%
Deadfall (1968)
Plot Summary:
Cat burglar Henry Clarke and his accomplices the Moreaus attempt to steal diamonds from the chateau of millionaire Salinas.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, freeze frame, british noir
Similar in 88%
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
Plot Summary:
Celestine has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil, his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph, is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: bleak, enigmatic, harsh, cynical, political, art house, biting, social, spiritual, artsy
Similar in 86%
The French Detective (1975)
Plot Summary:
When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: crime drama, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, freeze frame, poliziottesco, french noir
Similar in 80%
The Seventh Juror (1962)
Plot Summary:
In a moment of madness a middle-aged, married and respectable pharmacist kills a young woman who is sun-bathing by a lake. Unable to take in what he has done, he flees from the scene of the crime and behaves as if nothing has happened. Eventually her boyfriend is charged with the crime and, in a strange twist of fate, the killer finds himself serving on the jury.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 942
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: noir, neo noir, psychological thriller, crying, french noir
Similar in 82%
Grace & Mercy (2006)
Plot Summary:
In poor health and dead broke, Grace has a plan to provide a future for her young daughter. With the help of her sister Mercy, she robs her former employer. But an alarm goes off during the robbery and they escape into a nearby church. They hold the police at bay by taking the Pastor and the elders hostage by gun point. Outside, the LAPD try to avoid another public relations disaster by keeping the hostage situation quiet and the local media away. Inside, the Pastor and the elders do their best to ease a potentially dangerous situation with their good-natured, spiritual guidance. Eventually, the church members become a new family to the desperate sisters, who have learned to trust in the Lord. But will the Lord provide HIS own Grace & Mercy for these two desperate siblings?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: touching, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 90%
The Grissom Gang (1971)
Plot Summary:
The Grissom Gang is a remake of the notorious 1949 British melodrama No Orchids For Miss Blandish. Kim Darby plays a 1920s-era debutante who is kidnapped and held for ransom. Her captors are the Grissoms, a family comprised of sadists and morons, and headed by Ma Barker clone Irene Dailey. One of the Grissoms, played by Scott Wilson, takes a liking to his prisoner, which results in a bloody breakdown of the family unit. Both The Grissom Gang and the original No Orchids For Miss Blandish were inspired by the best-seller by James Hadley Chase, though neither film retains Chase's original ending.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: neo noir, independent film, tense, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cynical, biting, crying
Similar in 89%
The Colors of the Mountain (2010)
Plot Summary:
A motley crew of young boys in Colombia lives only for one passion: soccer. But when their precious new ball rolls into a minefield, their dreams are suddenly on hold. Even as the village becomes the center of a tug-of-war between right-wing paramilitary groups and leftist guerrillas, the idea of a rescue attempt is too tempting to resist.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia, Panama
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, bleak, realistic, tense, touching, serious, independent film, crying
Similar in 83%
The Go-Between (1971)
Plot Summary:
Tale of torrid and forbidden love between Christie and Bates in the English countryside.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: sexy, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Blue Ridge Fall (1999)
Plot Summary:
After a boy kills his father he must turn to his frinds to cover his tracks with tests their loyality and friendship.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 443
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: crime drama, tense, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 82%
Forever Mary (1989)
Plot Summary:
A teacher discovers his calling. Marco relocates to Palermo from Milan and takes a job teaching in a reform school while he waits for a high school position. He tries to understand and motivate his handful of students, reading them colloquial poetry, encouraging them to stand up for their rights, finding out about their histories. Natale, in for murder, enamoured of the Mafia, the King Rat within the group; Mery, a drag queen, arrested for assault when defending himself, in love with Mario and, in daylight, rejected by all; Pietro, illiterate, muscular, believing his destiny is set; the callow Claudio, vulnerable, learning to harden himself. What can Mario learn and do in such a short time?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: Italy
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, disturbing, touching, realistic, neorealism
Similar in 77%
Tough Enough (2006)
Plot Summary:
From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 81%
The Simple-Minded Murderer (1982)
Plot Summary:
The feeble-minded Sven's mother dies and he gets work as a farm-hand at the rich, affluent Höglund's farm. He has to work without pay and sleeps together with the cows. He meets the disabled Anna who is the first one to treat him as an adult. One day he has had enough of Höglund's maltreatment and moves in with Anna's family. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: non-linear, period piece, touching, offbeat, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, gloomy
Similar in 88%
Term of Trial (1962)
Plot Summary:
Weir, an alcoholic schoolteacher, whose criminal record for refusing to fight during the Second World War has prevented him from progressing further in his teaching career, is looked upon with disdain by his headmaster, his pupils and even his wife. The one person who appreciates his shyness and warmth is one of his pupils, Shirley Taylor. After Weir offers to give her free private tuition, the pupil slowly falls in love with her teacher leading to accusations of molestation.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 841
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: crying, detective
Similar in 80%
Pianese Nunzio, Fourteen in May (1996)
Plot Summary:
A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year old boy. It's the chance the gangsters were waiting for to get rid of the thorn in their side. Will they be able to force the boy to accuse the priest of sexual harassment and have his reputation destroyed?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 424
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sexual, crying, sexy, gay cinema, baroque
Similar in 87%
Mean Creek (2004)
Plot Summary:
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, intense, independent film, captivating, emotional, sad, tense
Similar in 75%
The Child I Never Was (2002)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer dispassionately discusses the nuts and bolts of his grisly avocation, as well as the youthful traumas which helped to mold him into a psychopath, in this disturbing independent drama from Germany, based on the true story of of Germany's most famous child murderer Juergen Bartsch who, between the ages of 15 and 19, abused, tortured and killed four schoolboys in the Ruhr region of Germany from 1962 to 1966.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 638
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, bleak, art house, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 86%
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 82%
Oliver Twist (2005)
Plot Summary:
Oliver Twist the modern filmed version of Charles Dickens bestseller, a Roman Polanski adaptation. The classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, UK, Czech Republic
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: emotional, costume drama, atmospheric, sentimental, touching, serious, suspense, period piece, melancholic, stylized
Similar in 85%
I'm Not Scared (2003)
Plot Summary:
While playing outside one day, nine-year-old Michele discovers Filippo, who is chained to the ground at the bottom of a hole. Michele witnesses town baddie Felice nearby and suspects something bad is happening. Michele is unsure whom he should tell about his discovery, eventually spilling the beans to his closest friend. Michele's parents learn of his discovery and warn him to forget what he saw.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Italy, Spain, UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing, tense, realistic, confusing, sad, art house, twisted
Similar in 77%
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Plot Summary:
Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Spain
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sentimental, bleak, realistic, depressing, heartbreaking, compassionate, touching, sincere, emotional
Similar in 86%
This Is England (2006)
Plot Summary:
A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 127000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: emotional, political, depressing, stylized, harsh, rough, cult classic, social, tense, sincere
Similar in 87%
A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jack Higgins' straightforward thriller about a guilt-ridden IRA bomber forced into "one last job".
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, exciting, serious, realistic, neo noir, political, political thriller, crime drama, surprise ending
Similar in 88%
Black Bread (2010)
Plot Summary:
In the harsh post-war years' Catalan countryside, Andreu, a child that belongs to the losing side, finds the corpses of a man and his son in the forest. The authorities want his father to be made responsible of the deaths, but Andreu tries to help his father by finding out who truly killed them. In this search, Andreu develops a moral consciousness against a world of adults fed by lies. In order to survive, he betrays his own roots and ends up finding out the monster that lives within him.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, realistic, serious, emotional, suspenseful, disturbing, controversial, bleak
Similar in 81%
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Plot Summary:
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 329000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: touching, black and white, enigmatic, compassionate, sentimental, thought provoking, southern gothic, educational, inspirational, gothic
Similar in 78%
If.... (1968)
Plot Summary:
The film is a caustic portrait of a traditional English boys’ boarding school, where social hierarchy reigns supreme and power remains in the hands of distanced and ineffectual teachers and callously vicious prefects in the Upper Sixth. But three Lower Sixth students, leader Mick Travis, Wallace and Johnny decide on a shocking course of action to redress the balance of privilege once and for all.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: surreal, disturbing, controversial, dark comedy, stylized, cult classic, political, philosophical, existential, mind bending
Similar in 79%
The Outsiders (1983)
Plot Summary:
When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, teen, melancholic, intense, hood, sentimental, stylized, epic, erotic, retro
Similar in 89%
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Plot Summary:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, thought provoking, sad, emotional, atmospheric, suspense, depressing, serious, realistic