Movies like Hanging Gardens (2022)

Inside I'm Dancing (2004)

Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Girl in the Book (2015)

The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Blue Chips (1994)

Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Eleanor the Great (2025)

94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Adopt a Highway (2019)

Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

What Maisie Knew (2013)

In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Megan Leavey (2017)

The true story of Marine Corporal Megan Leavey, who forms a powerful bond with an aggressive combat dog, Rex. While deployed in Iraq, the two complete more than 100 missions and save countless lives, until an IED explosion puts their faithfulness to the test.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Kite Runner (2007)

After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)

Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Last Bus (2021)

Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Skin (2009)

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Official Secrets (2019)

The true story of British intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun who—prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion—leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing member states into voting for war.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Tigertail (2020)

A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Breadwinner (2017)

A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

A Map of the World (1999)

School nurse Alice Goodwin lives with her husband and two daughters on a dairy farm in a small Wisconsin community. After an accident on her property involving a friend's child, the town turns against her and Alice finds herself fighting charges of child abuse.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)

The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)

Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)

With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the Digital Circus and its history. Will they come to terms with what they uncover, or will they make... the other choice? Also, presumably at some point someone says something funny, because this ending can’t be THAT depressing, can it? A theatrical screening of episode 8 and the all new, hour-long episode 9.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

American Graffiti (1973)

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Aparajito (1956)

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Anche il riccio respira (TBA)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Big (1988)

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Bad Timing (1982)

Nancy Savoca’s second student film follows two twelve-year olds, Bobby (Joey D’Arelli) and Denise (Kelly Cinnante) who run away to Hollywood. They land at an open mic night in a New Jersey bar where Bobby’s aunt and uncle (once aspiring actors) lay out the realities of life as a working actor. The film was inspired by performers Savoca met while making her first student film, most notably William DaPrato. Filled with wry humor and quiet revelations about the pursuit of artistic dreams, Bad Timing also features Marianne Leone and the on-screen debut of future Academy Award winner Chris Cooper.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Paranoid Park (2007)

A teenage skateboarder becomes suspected of being connected with a security guard who suffered a brutal death in a skate park called "Paranoid Park".

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Persepolis (2007)

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

The Silent Landscape (2003)

Hamid is an Iranian teenage boy whose sexuality brings him into conflict with his family's Muslim beliefs.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

The Card Counter (2021)

William Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

It's a Nice Night (2022)

Ollie’s best friend, Bunny, is moving away. As they spend what feels like their very last day together, reminiscing on the past and reliving their childhoods, they get caught in a cycle of arguments and prolonged silences. With Bunny’s help, Ollie slowly grasps what it means to move on.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama