Best movies like White Mama
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like White Mama? Provide your insights to help others towards tv series and movies you've watched before that they may also enjoy. Help enlarge the group of people suggesting videos to each other. We welcome your input!
Plot Summary:
A poor, elderly white woman living in a tenement in a black ghetto is befriended by a neighborhood boy, and the two of them form a mutually beneficial relationship: he provides her companionship and protection, and she becomes the mother he never had.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 783
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like White Mama (1980):
Similar in 84%
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982)
Plot Summary:
Esther Cimino, a music teacher who has reached retirement age, finds that her mental faculties are slipping somewhat. The film is a trenchant, realistic study of the ravages and displacements, socially, physically, and mentally, that are visited upon a once-proud, sensitive, and still highly intelligent woman who is declared mentally incompetent by her children. She is subjected to a hearing, where her blurred responses prompt the judge to put her in a nursing home, and she begins to deteriorate. However, her granddaughter who loves her rouses her back to life and helps her learn how to live again.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 774
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 82%
Max Rose (2013)
Plot Summary:
An ageing jazz pianist learns something about his wife of 65 years, leading him to question their life together.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 617
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, thought provoking, captivating, sincere, touching, serious
Similar in 89%
The Three Wishes of Billy Grier (1984)
Plot Summary:
A teenager must cope with a disease that causes himself to age at an astronomical rate.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Where God Left His Shoes (2007)
Plot Summary:
When Frank, Angela, and their two children are evicted from their New York City apartment, they have no choice but to move into a homeless shelter. After a few difficult months, good news comes their way on Christmas Eve: a nearby housing project has an apartment available immediately-however, Frank needs a job on the books in order to qualify.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, sincere, realistic, sad, gloomy
Similar in 90%
Stone Pillow (1985)
Plot Summary:
A homeless woman named Florabelle becomes the unwitting guide to the streets for a New York social worker named Carrie who thinks she has lessons to offer the down-and-out clients she serves at the homeless shelter. Soon, however, Carrie realizes that she's the one who has much to learn.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 591
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 81%
As Summers Die (1986)
Plot Summary:
Set in a sleepy Southern Louisiana town in 1959, a lawyer, searches for justice as he volunteers to help a black woman whose property is being threatened by the Holts, the first family of the town, after she refuses to sell her valuable land.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 853
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: political, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
X/Y (2014)
Plot Summary:
As Mark, Jen, Sylvia, and Jake navigate through their emotionally-arrested states, X/Y reveals the honest and wanton desire we all have to connect with someone and what is at stake when that connection fades.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, sexy, sincere, touching, serious, independent film, erotic
Similar in 90%
Amexicano (2007)
Plot Summary:
A look at the bond between an illegal immigrant and a blue-collar Italian-American from Queens.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 299
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, humorous, independent film
Similar in 85%
Life Support (2007)
Plot Summary:
The true-life story of a mother who overcame an addiction to crack and became a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, psychological, captivating
Similar in 81%
1 Out of 7 (2011)
Plot Summary:
Runaway teen Lexi find herself alone and pregnant on the streets. Seemingly beyond hope, she must turn to Devon, a woman with her own demons, to help her find a way back from her past mistakes.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, realistic, bleak, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Sky Is Gray (1980)
Plot Summary:
Drama - From Ernest J. Gaines, author of "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman," comes a deceptively simple, yet emotionally complex tale of a young boy's discovery of what it's like to be black in Louisiana during the 1940's. James, the boy in question, has a raging toothache that necessitates a trip to the dentist. His mother (played by Emmy-winner Olivia Cole), accompanies James to town on an eye-opening odyssey where the boy gains valuable insights into poverty, racism - and his own sense of pride. With an exciting musical score by Webster Lewis, this multi-award winning film explores a child's discovery that the world is a complicated place... where things are never truly black or white... only shades of gray. - Olivia Cole, James Bond III, Margaret Avery.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 81
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Macondo (2014)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered on an 11-year-old Chechnyan refugee living in Vienna whose life is thrown into disarray when a friend of his deceased father materializes.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 310
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Anne B. Real (2003)
Plot Summary:
ANNE B. REAL is the coming of age story of a young female rapper, who finds her inspiration by reading the Diary of Anne Frank.
IMDB Rating: 2.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Not Waving But Drowning (2012)
Plot Summary:
Not Waving But Drowning is a chronological look at growing up, formed from two different stories. The two sets of friends represent the American dilemma between what you have known and what you hope to know; the tear between longing for the past and the desire to explore.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 431
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, touching, captivating, sincere, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 77%
Firelight (2012)
Plot Summary:
Incarcerated women join a band of volunteers who battle forest fires and assist during natural disasters.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 631
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, psychological, captivating
Similar in 78%
Max & Lenny (2014)
Plot Summary:
Max and Lenny is the story of a friendship between two girls fighting for survival in a northern area of Marseille.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
How She Move (2007)
Plot Summary:
After the death of Raya Green's(Rutina Wesley) sister, she gets out from her classes at school, and sees a stomp crew practicing. She meets Bishop(Dwain Murphy) which is the dance crew leader. She then meets Michelle and does a stomp battle with her. They become enemies then friends later on. Her uptight mom pushes her to pass the test to get into Medical school, but she thinks she failed.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Canada, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, exciting, serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Whales of August (1987)
Plot Summary:
The Whales of August is a 1987 film based on a play by David Berry starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish as elderly sisters. Also in the cast were Ann Sothern as one of their friends, and Vincent Price as a peripheral member of the former Russian aristocracy. The film was shot on location on Maine's Cliff Island. The house still stands and is a popular subject of artists on the island. The film was directed by Lindsay Anderson, his final feature film, and the screenplay was adapted by David Berry from his own play.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: clever, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, sentimental, independent film, eighties
Similar in 87%
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Plot Summary:
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, hood, clever, sad, therapeutic
Similar in 83%
The Stick Up Kids (2008)
Plot Summary:
People always told Santos he was something special. His Uncle told him to get a skill, so he became a hustler and with his three,they became "The Stick Up Kids" Harlem would never be the same. They thought they had it all... Money, cars, the lifestyle and the lingo. The only two words They didn't know were JURISDICTION AND GENTRIFICATION but in their world it was all for one and one for all until an unexpected, mysterious death, forced "The Stick Up Kids"to change their focus from doing crime to stopping the "North Manhattan Project". Now it was up to Santos to pull off one last sting before it destroyed them all. Watch out America. 'The Stick Up Kids" are coming to your town!.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, crime drama, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
True Friends (1998)
Plot Summary:
New York, The Bronx, 1980. Two Italian boys Joey Esposito and Louie Mazerino jump to the defence of a smaller Puerto Rican boy, J.J. Lopez, when J.J. is threatened by six schoolyard bullies. The three boys soon become best friends, and they always look out for each other. However, their innocence is shattered when they witness Big Tony, the local Mob boss kill a man. The three boys vow to each other to keep it a secret. Fifteen years later, the three boys, now in their late twenties are still the best of friends and still living in The Bronx. They dream of opening their own bar. Desperate to better themselves, Joey devises a scheme to steal money from Big Tony and open their own Joint.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
A Storm in Summer (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1969, Abel Shaddick, a crotchety deli owner, has a grudge against virtually everyone in his upstate New York town of Fairview, particularly against his slacker nephew Stanley who lives behind the shop. Without telling his uncle, Stanley agrees to put up a needy city kid for the summer as part of a charity program run by rich debutante Gloria. Abel immediately vetoes the plan, but it is too late. The kid, young Herman Washington, is already on his way.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 507
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, uplifting, feel good, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 87%
Ricochet River (2001)
Plot Summary:
hree teenagers looking for adventure find more than they expected in this coming-of-age drama. High school seniors Wade (Jason James Richter) and Lorna (Kate Hudson) have spent all their lives in the small logging town of Calamus Grove, a conservative place where change comes slowly. Jesse Howl (Douglas Spain), a teenager of Native American ancestry, has just moved to Calamus Grove, and soon finds he doesn't fit in this close-knit community. Wade and Lorna go out of their way to befriend Jesse, and soon find that they're also regarded as outcasts among their peers. Eager to get away from the narrow minds which are stifling them, the three friends grab a car and take off for a summer road trip that turns out to be full of lessons in life and love. Ricochet River was based on the novel by Robin Cody.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 326
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, talky
Similar in 87%
The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003)
Plot Summary:
A troubled teen is given the chance to redeem his criminal debt to society.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 594
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, UK, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 81%
Just Like the Son (2006)
Plot Summary:
A petty thief's mentoring of an apparent orphan takes a profound turn when he kidnaps the boy from a foster home and drives him cross-country to his sister's house in Texas.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film, serious
Similar in 78%
Man in the Chair (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of an aspiring young filmmaker's encounter with a grumpy fount of movie lore.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, sincere, cult classic, masterpiece
Similar in 75%
Our Song (2000)
Plot Summary:
Focusing on the bonding between three female (an African American female, a half African American half Latino American female, and a Latino American female) high school members of Brooklyn's "Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band" and the choices the girls face once their school closes down because of the need for asbestos removal. This film is about a host of topics, not least of which is the hard-work involved in maintaining.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 848
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, touching, independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, neorealism, erotic
Similar in 78%
To Sir, with Love II (1996)
Plot Summary:
Mark Thackeray (Poitier) is a West Indian, who in the 1967 film had taken teaching in a London East End school. He spent twenty years teaching and ten in administrative roles. He has taught the children of his former pupils, but is now retiring.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 79%
Toe to Toe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, sentimental, sexy, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 83%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative