Best movies like Zelazna reka
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Drama directed by Ryszard Ber.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 29
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Zelazna reka (1989):
Similar in 76%
1922 (1978)
Plot Summary:
Based on the book by Ilias Venezis "The Number 31328", the film by Nikos Koundouros unfolds through the personal tragedies of three characters, the Asia Minor Disaster and the agonizing travails of the Asia Minor Greeks who had been arrested and led to death by Kemal's troops and armed groups of Muslims. The wife of a merchant, a teacher and a seventeen-year old boy try to survive, following the column of prisoners into the depths of Asia Minor.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 355
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Greece
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Paradise Club (2016)
Plot Summary:
During the height of the social revolution, a young dancer searches for salvation when she chooses to leave paradise.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 95
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Light Arose (2017)
Plot Summary:
Aloko Udapadi is a Sinhalese epic historical film based on the story of King Valagamba of Anuradhapura (89 – 77 BCE).
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Sri Lanka
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sinhala
Similar in 77%
The Massacre of Glencoe (1972)
Plot Summary:
The true story of the events leading up to the infamous massacre of the Macdonalds by the Campbells in February of 1692.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 44
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023)
Plot Summary:
An adaptation of Daniela Krien’s novel, this coming-of-age story set in the 1990s, amidst the last days of the GDR. The 17-year-old protagonist, Maria, lives on a farm with her boyfriend. One day, an older man moves into the neighbourhood. Maria and Henner start a love affair, which takes a tragic turn.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 325
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Deckname Holec (2016)
Plot Summary:
Young director Honza David (Krystof Hádek) films the Russian invasion in in Prague in August 1968. With Eva (Vica Kerekes) - the love of his life - he tries to get out of the country. He wants to bring the explosive material to Vienna, to the director of the Austrian Television Helmut Zilk (Johannes Zeiler). He knows Eva very well - but the Czech Secret Service even better.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 76
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Austria, Czech Republic
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Lady Inger of Ostrat (1975)
Plot Summary:
This historical drama is based on a play by Henrik Ibsen and set in the year 1528. The central figure in the low-keyed story is a Norwegian noblewoman who is seeking to bring independence to that country despite the involved political intrigues of the Swedes and Danes, who are using Norway as a pawn in their rivalries.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 59
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Norway
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
An Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill (1983)
Plot Summary:
Drama about historical figure Barbara Radziwiłł, her romance with King Sigismund II August, her death and her posthumous return to Vilnius.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 82
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Poland
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Sweet Country (1987)
Plot Summary:
An American couple in Chile is drawn into the turmoil that followed President Salvador Allende's 1973 overthrow.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Greece, USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Mariken from Nieumeghen (1974)
Plot Summary:
The historical parable about a girl from the Flemish common people with folk motifs in the style of Brueghel and Bosch - love, violence, bloody scenes, ugly.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 255
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
The Holy Office (1974)
Plot Summary:
The long arm of the Inquisition, or the "Holy Office," reached at least as far as 16th-century Mexico (known as New Spain at the time). Many Spanish Catholics of Moorish or Jewish origin found it expedient to flee to the New World to escape the suffocating attentions of the Inquisition. In Spain, simply being descended from these suspect peoples is sufficient to guarantee a gruesome death by immolation. In the New World, it took slightly more. This 1974 Mexican film deals with the suffering of one family of conversos who are secretly practicing Judaism and are betrayed to the Inquisition by a family member. Interestingly, a small family clan of such secret Jews was discovered in New Mexico as recently as the late 1980s. They managed to keep their faith a secret for nearly five hundred years.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: period piece, masterpiece
Similar in 81%
New World (1978)
Plot Summary:
At the end of the 16th century, as the Spanish conquerors strive to subdue the New World, they confront another problem of equal magnitude: the evangelization of the natives, who are people of deep religious beliefs and refuse to understand nor accept Christianity. The Spanish remedy: the Inquisition. The court of the Inquisition takes severe measurements against the heretics and the indians prepare themselves for a general Revolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 97
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Mexico
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Saturday Fiction (2019)
Plot Summary:
An actress working undercover for the Allies in 1941 Shanghai discovers the Japanese plan to attack Pearl Harbor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Conspiracy of Torture (1969)
Plot Summary:
In 1599 Italy, Beatrice Cenci is the teenage daughter of the crazed landowner and nobleman Francesco Cenci whom he keeps his daughter locked up in the dungeon of his castle and sexually abuses her as well. Beatrice then plots with her stepmother, her besotted servant Olimpio, as well as a local bandit, named Catalano, to plan Francesco’s murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: slasher, gothic horror, classic horror
Similar in 80%
The Dirty Game (1965)
Plot Summary:
A U.S. intelligence general (Robert Ryan) recalls three Cold War cases of Soviet (Henry Fonda), French and Italian (Vittorio Gassman) spies.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 267
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: France, Italy, West Germany, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: anthology, retro, independent film, eurospy, microfilm
Similar in 86%
Gostanza da Libbiano (2000)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 187
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
The Magnate (1987)
Plot Summary:
This Polish historical drama film traces the fascinating saga of a wealthy, princely Polish dynasty in years 1900-1935.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 155
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 171 min
Plot tags: family saga
Similar in 89%
At the Beginning of Glorious Days (1980)
Plot Summary:
Late 17th century. With no access to the sea, Russia suffers great losses in foreign trade. Peter tries to capture the Turkish fortress of Azov, but with no success: he can win only if he has a fleet. Peter’s ukases provoke the Boyars’ indignation. Europe looks in amazement: the Russian tsar begins to work at a Dutch shipyard learning the subtleties of shipbuilding?! But his training is cut short. Peter has to return to Russia in order to brutally suppress the Streltsy rebellion organized by his sister Sophia.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Drama, History
Country: East Germany, Soviet Union
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
The Royal Exchange (2017)
Plot Summary:
In 1721, the Regent of France, wanting to seal the peace with Spain, offers to the Spanish King, a marriage between their respective heirs: Louis XV, age 11, and Maria Anna Victoria, the 4-year-old Spanish infanta. The Regent of France also offers to marry his daughter, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, 12, to the Prince of Asturias, the 14-year-old heir apparent to the Spanish throne. Madrid responds enthusiastically to both proposals, and the ceremonies are promptly organized. The exchange of the princesses is to take place with great pomp on a small island, in the river bordering the two countries. Everything has been done to expect the best of the children, but nothing will proceed as planned.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, scenic, thought provoking, art house
Similar in 84%
Tenderness (2016)
Plot Summary:
About youth, decountrifying and attitude toward life. Julia and Patrick - living-together, careful to each other couple have to face the approaching change. Artur - self-confident, world curious egoist, works as a coach and barista at the same time. Vacillating between his choices he reaches the point when his world must be defined anew. Maria - professionally fulfilled actress, running away from any relations, rebuffs every act of closeness. In their world there is no place for great ideas. Nation, identity, politics or economy are meaningless terms regarding what matters for main characters - defining one's self through non-committal human tensions and intensities. The spectator peeks at them in seemingly trivial situations and finds out what is the titular tenderness for each of them. He may observe how the confluence of events and decisions are leading to an ending full of contradictory emotions.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 47
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
Falling Star (2014)
Plot Summary:
This colourful feature debut from experienced producer Luis Miñarro offers an almost hallucinatory look at the world of Amadeo of Savoy, who was king of an ungovernable Spain for two years around 1870. This intriguing episode is transformed into a plea for beauty, creativity and joy. The film functions as a metaphor for contemporary Spain and its ongoing state of crisis.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, stylized, captivating
Similar in 76%
Save and Protect (1989)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Sokurov’s Save and Protect recalls the most crucial events of Emma’s decline and fall: affairs with the aristocratic Rodolphe and the student Leon, the humiliation that follows her husband’s botching of the operation on the stable boy’s clubfoot. The universality of the theme of eternal struggle between the soul and the flesh is conveyed through the absence of specific reference to time or place: although the film seems to begin in 1840, its surreal mode effortlessly accommodates an automobile and the strains of “When the Saints Go Marching In” on an off-screen radio. Focusing on passion from a woman’s perspective and downplaying plot, Sokurov explores his subject in exquisite detail, capturing not only the heat of passion but also the quiet moments before and after and the innocent sensuousness of the body.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 311
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Soviet Union, West Germany
Duration: 167 min
Plot tags: avant garde
Similar in 84%
Masquerade (2012)
Plot Summary:
During the confusing and conspiratorial Joseon Dynasty King Gwang-hae orders his councilor, HEO Kyun, to find him a double in order to avoid the constant threat of assassination. HEO Kyun finds Ha-sun, a jester who looks remarkably like the king, and just as feared, Gwang-hae is poisoned. HEO Kyun proposes Ha-sun fill the role as the king until Gwang-hae recovers fully and grooms Ha-sun to look and act every bit the king. While assuming the role of the king at his first official appearance, Ha-sun begins to ponder the intricacies of the problems debated in his court. Being fundamentally more humanitarian than Gwang-hae, Ha-sun’s affection and appreciation of even the most minor servants slowly changes morale in the castle for the better. However, his chief opposition, PARK, notices the sudden shift in the king’s behavior and starts to ask questions.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, captivating, realistic, stylized, inspirational, serious, period drama, mad
Similar in 84%
The Mill and the Cross (2011)
Plot Summary:
What would it be like to step inside a great work of art, have it come alive around you, and even observe the artist as he sketches the very reality you are experiencing? From Lech Majewski, one of Poland's most acclaimed filmmakers, The Mill and the Cross is a cinematic re-staging of Pieter Bruegel's masterpiece "Procession to Calvary," presented alongside the story of its creation.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland, Sweden
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, serious, realistic, surreal, christian film, philosophical, spiritual, cerebral, offbeat
Similar in 87%
Daas (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jest rok 1776. Radca wiedeńskiej Kancelarii Nadwornej Henryk Klein (Mariusz Bonaszewski) otrzymuje skargę na hrabiego Jakuba Franka (Olgierd Łukaszewicz), który kilkanaście lat wcześniej został skazany za głoszenie herezji i zbiegł do Wiednia. Donos napisany został przez jego byłego wyznawcę, Jakuba Golińskiego (Andrzej Chyra). Klein dowiaduje się, że za zdradę Goliński został ukarany i obrabowany, a teraz czeka go śmierć ku przestrodze innych. Radca przeprowadza dochodzenie. Udaje mu się ustalić, że pseudomesjasz ogłosił się Bogiem, tworzy ze swoich wyznawców armię i szuka kontaktów z dworem cesarzowej Marii Teresy. Klein podejrzewa spisek, którego celem jest zamach stanu.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 232
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Poland
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: captivating, enigmatic, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Countess of Castiglione (2006)
Plot Summary:
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione, is an unscrupulous and beautiful woman, in love with Andrea Pieri, a patriot ready to do anything to free Italy from the foreign oppressor. Wounded during a chase, Pieri takes refuge in the castle of Virginia, which, with the approval of her husband, Count Francesco Verasis of Castiglione, takes care of him. Meanwhile, Nigra, in charge of the affairs of the Kingdom of Piedmont in Paris, discovers the relations of the countess with the subversives and sees in her the perfect tool to bring Napoleon closer to the Italian cause.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 28
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy, Spain, France
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: captivating, disturbing
Similar in 85%
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Plot Summary:
Mary Stuart attempts to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, only to find herself condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, USA, China
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, costume drama, stylized, period piece, bleak, historical drama, novela, teen, captivating
Similar in 85%
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot (2004)
Plot Summary:
A BBC miniseries based loosely on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James I of England.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 205 min
Plot tags: historical drama, serious, captivating, realistic, political, period piece, costume drama, period drama, baroque, weird
Similar in 90%
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%
Colonel Redl (1985)
Plot Summary:
Set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl, an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, West Germany
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: political, clever, serious, realistic, witty, cynical, biting, suspense, period drama, queer cinema