Movies like Clowning
If you like "Clowning" you are looking for independent film, dark and surreal movies about / with identity crisis, moral ambiguity, circus, underground, double life, isolation and temptation themes of Crime and Romance genre shot in USA.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
Clowning (2022)
106
Genre: Crime, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
With his girlfriend pregnant, Dante, a pacifist hippie who makes lip balm called, Mama Earth; is struggling to keep his bills paid. After finding a mysterious flyer for a Birthday Clown Wanted, Dante calls the number and obtains the job. At the Birthday Party he meets a female clown named, Pele. After joining her Pity Party, Dante is pulled into an underworld and quickly finds himself in over his head.
Style:
independent film, dark, surreal, psychological, tense, melancholic, art house, dark comedy, existential, grotesque
Audience:
adult
Plot:
identity crisis, moral ambiguity, circus, underground, double life, isolation, temptation, urban, transformation, underworld, obsession, secret society, claustrophobia, coming of age, birthday party
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Most similar movies to Clowning
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out tense, psychological, existential and melancholic films with plots about urban, moral ambiguity, obsession, isolation, identity crisis, claustrophobia and alienation mostly in Romance, Crime and Drama genres. Some movies like Clowning: Tuner (2025), Another You (2025), Retrocausality (2019), Drum (2016), Belonging (2019). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
214
Genre: Crime, Drama, Music, Romance, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
A talented piano tuner's life is turned upside down when he discovers that his meticulous skills for tuning pianos can equally be applied to cracking safes.
Style:
crime thriller, tense, suspenseful
Audience:
adult
Plot:
safecracker, heist, slow burn, obsession, minimalism, double life, moral ambiguity, ethical dilemma, claustrophobia, isolation, cat and mouse, urban ...
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: Turkey
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Mümtaz and Derya are condemned to live out their last moments each day in someone else's skin.
Style:
poignant, psychological, surreal, existential, melancholic ...
Plot:
mortality, body swapping, identity, empathy, existential crisis, identity crisis, rehearsal, ethical dilemma, fate, isolation, desperation, memory ...
Similarity:
88%
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 73 min.
Story:
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Scott a 22-year-old blockbuster actor has to find a girl whom he has a strange connection with before it's too late, while his mom catches a new strange virus.
Style:
psychological, emotional, melancholic, heartfelt, tense ...
Plot:
isolation, pandemic, uncertainty, claustrophobia, mother son relationship, urban, family drama, loss, memory, obsession, intimate, mental illness ...
Time:
2020s
Similarity:
87%
42
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
The atmosphere is dreamlike, the characters have no name, neither the streets. Teheran is the only character whose name is constantly evoked. A lawyer, as many others, works and lives alone in his apartment, which is both his office and his home. In ...
Style:
art house, melancholic, psychological, surreal, existential ...
Plot:
loneliness, isolation, mysterious stranger, alienation, identity crisis, symbolism, minimal dialogue, intimate, moral ambiguity, minimalism, cold, rain ...
Place:
iran
Similarity:
75%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Turkey, Canada, France
Duration: 73 min.
Story:
A murder investigation is flipped inside out in Burak Çevik's second feature, a spellbinding and surprising work that questions whether we can ever truly understand criminal motives. We begin in the present as an unseen narrator recounts the ...
Style:
atmospheric, art house, tense, suspenseful, experimental ...
Plot:
murder, motive, flashback, narration, alienation, haunting, love, urban, relationships, confession, city, investigation ...
Place:
turkey
Similarity:
73%
2K
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Hungary
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
As a result of a drug experiment, Misi will be able to travel through time, but only if he drinks from a special homemade spirit.
Style:
existential, psychological, surreal, mind bending, tense ...
Plot:
travel, experimental drug, alternate reality, character study, identity crisis, experimental narrative, coming of age, laboratory, dark humor, urban, minimalism, time travel ...
Place:
hungary
Similarity:
73%
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
After his wife's death, Claude struggles to appear normal while living with a Secret.
Style:
suspense, psychological, serious, melancholic, tension ...
Plot:
secret, grief, character study, loss of loved one, society, past, death, love, self discovery, husband wife relationship, depression, widower ...
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Romance
Country: India
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
28 degrees celsius is a romantic suspense thriller centred around Anjali, who suffers from a brain injury that makes her vulnerable to extreme temperatures and she must remain at a constant 28C to survive. As Karthik fights to protect her, ...
Style:
suspense, tense, twist ending
Audience:
adult
Plot:
survival, brain injury, sacrifice, protector, claustrophobia, obsession, investigation, couples, cat and mouse, urban, moral ambiguity
Similarity:
65%
Movie in collections
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
In a dream world, the exaggerated lives of six teenagers are thrown into a world of drugs in crime in a typical crime plot in a not so typical world of stolen cocaine, penicillin, Fire Saws, and Carl Jung.
Style:
surreal, dark comedy, psychological, suspenseful, experimental ...
Plot:
teenager, drug, violence, drug traffic, moral ambiguity, mature, dream world, loss of innocence, alternate reality, identity crisis, coming of age, urban ...
Place:
pennsylvania
Similarity:
59%
Genre: Action, Crime, Romance
Country: Russia
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Potseluy babochki (Russian: Поцелуй бабочки, meaning Butterfly Kiss) is a 2006 Russian film directed by Anton Sivers. The world premiere of the film was held July 21, 2006. He (Nikolai Orlanov) is the genius of industrial espionage. ...
Style:
sincere, psychological, captivating, tragic ending, melancholic ...
Plot:
espionage, industrial espionage, male female relationship, love story, fall in love, master criminal, relationships, love interest, changing lives, lifestyle change, couple relations, love affair ...
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Two assassins: Luis, young and impulsive and André, married teacher. Fate lets them cross their lines, evident in the same victim. From the beginning they like each other; and both become addicted to killing synchronously.
Style:
dark, psychological thriller, crime drama, intense, suspenseful ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
serial killer, obsession, hitman, assassin, double life, moral ambiguity, character study, violent, cat and mouse, crime spree, identity crisis, friendship ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Crime, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Berlin, Germany. A cruel murder took place in an appartment building. Somebody bit off quite a piece of the victim's penis, who then, of course, lost a lot of blood, before being struck down at the head. Leading investigator Bernhard Kominka, ...
Style:
detective, dark, suspense, psychological, tense ...
Plot:
murder, investigation, violence, moral ambiguity, obsession, guilt, ethical dilemma, police procedural, family drama, identity, forbidden romance, femme fatale ...
Time:
90s
Place:
berlin germany, germany
Similarity:
53%
73
Genre: Crime
Country: USA
Story:
Officer Tracy Smith deals with family, the reoccurring nightmare of the brutal murder of his parents and his Secret Internal Investigation of a Special Narcotics Unit. Tracy quickly learns that being a Detroit Narcotics Officer nothing is what it ...
Style:
dark, tense, suspenseful, intense, noir ...
Plot:
corruption, investigation, law enforcement, police procedural, narcotics, moral ambiguity, conspiracy, internal affairs, urban, undercover, betrayal, violence ...
Place:
detroit
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
A look into the inequities of the ghosts of society through three interwoven french new wave styled vignettes by three different visual and literary artists.
Style:
art house, atmospheric, anthology, experimental, independent film ...
Plot:
social commentary, inequality, ghost, symbolism, political satire, alienation, social realism, literary, minimal dialogue, slow burn, minimalism, urban ...
Similarity:
49%
394
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
When a female guard becomes a prisoner of his mind, a male inmate struggles to keep the truth from escaping.
Style:
captivating, romantic, romantic drama, independent film, suspenseful ...
Plot:
prisoner, imprisonment, husband wife relationship, relationships, romantic relationship, love affair, love and romance, love interest, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, male female relationship, reformatory, couple relations ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
Abstract artist James escapes to a private estate to work on his newest collection, but life soon imitates art, and his fantasies of love are interrupted by nightmarish delusions.
Style:
psychological, experimental, surreal, art house, atmospheric ...
Plot:
modern art, obsession, paranoia, isolation, symbolism, mental illness, haunting, creative block, self destructing, slow burn, mature, claustrophobia ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
This sci-fi thriller explores the journey of the "Other Ones" and thrie search for a mysterious new super drug and it's illusuve creator Oprheum. Loaded and guided only by "The Orifice" the "Other Ones" must decide ...
Style:
suspenseful, dark, psychological, futuristic, enigmatic ...
Plot:
dystopia, identity crisis, hallucination, conspiracy, moral ambiguity, quest, cyberpunk, secret society, claustrophobia, urban, isolation, underground ...
Time:
near future
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Romance
Country: South Korea
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
A woman who can make all of one man’s fantasies come true moves in next door .
Style:
erotic, sensual, psychological, suspense, independent film ...
Plot:
wish fulfillment, reality vs fantasy, supernatural, obsession, sexual exploration, temptation, seduction, male protagonist, magic realism, moral ambiguity, addiction, neighbor ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
45%
Movie in collections
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
An assassin flashes between a nightmarish dream and her reality at a secret underground organization. When her latest mission involves killing a grieving mother, she discovers her target is closer to home than she realizes.
Style:
dark, tense, psychological thriller, suspenseful, twisted ...
Plot:
female protagonist, assassin, secret society, moral dilemma, claustrophobia, identity crisis, betrayal, motherhood, flashback, moral ambiguity, grief, double life ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
In another indictment of the flaws of our so-called civilization, this satire from the late director Marco Ferreri features Christopher Lambert as Michel, a miserable man who has failed at love and finds solace in a mechanical key holder.
Style:
dark comedy, melancholic, psychological, existential, absurd ...
Plot:
satire, loneliness, doll, obsession, isolation, alienation, male protagonist, sexual frustration, unrequited love, midlife crisis, fetishism, fetish ...
Time:
80s
Similarity:
41%
11K
Genre: Action, Romance
Country: Bangladesh
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
Nishan spent more than twelve years behind bars. The story begins as he steps out of prison, only to find that the world he left behind has changed drastically. Society refuses to accept him as one of its own. Thus begins Nishan's struggle to ...
Style:
tense, dark, crime thriller, suspense
Audience:
adult
Plot:
moral ambiguity, survival, regret, desperation, redemption, identity crisis, moral dilemma, working class, guilt, father son relationship, isolation, family conflict ...
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Crime
Country: Germany
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Detective Kreutzer follows a case of a jazz singer murdered in a club. What unravels as the detective gets closer to the truth, surprises even Kreutzer himself.
Style:
detective, tense, noir, crime thriller, dark ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
investigation, murder mystery, jazz club, crime scene, secrets, police procedural, evidence, moral ambiguity, nightlife, twists and turns, urban, corruption ...
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Clayton has a problem with his roommate Brian... he's secretly in love with him! Blinded by passion, he can't tell the difference between his daydream fantasies and reality. Can he control his desire or will he cross the line?
Style:
erotic, romantic drama, psychological, melancholic, independent film ...
Plot:
gay, sexual fantasy, obsession, secret love, lgbtq, gay romance, sexual identity, character study, coercion, temptation, sexual tension, unrequited love ...
Similarity:
37%
Movie in collections
Genre: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Kawai Joji, an aspiring screenwriter who has won a screenplay competition but has yet to make his professional debut, meets a beautiful woman, Naomi, in a rundown bar one day. Naomi says she is working at the bar while aiming to become an actress. ...
Style:
melancholic, art house, sensual, indie film, moody
Plot:
adaptation, literary, screenwriter, character study, infatuation, creative block, male female relationship, filmmaking, obsession, male protagonist, urban, femme fatale ...
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
Ajay is a contract killer who has immense respect for students, and on the other hand, Vijay wants to make films highlighting antagonists. What happens when the duo go about realizing their goals with mad determination?
Style:
crime drama, suspenseful, tense, dark, psychological ...
Plot:
contract killer, moral ambiguity, mythology, social commentary, violence, anti hero, urban, crime spree, identity crisis, obsession, ambition, outsider ...
Similarity:
37%
486
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, Iran
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
An Iranian expat living in London has a shady past and an enigmatic present.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, dark, suspense ...
Plot:
problem, troubled past, life, character study, moral ambiguity, iranian, identity crisis, loneliness, immigrant, alienation, redemption, urban ...
Place:
london, iran
Similarity:
35%
Genre: Crime, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Art patron Pierce's priceless movie posters are stolen from the museum. Dashing, straight-arrow detective Dan falls for the seductive Pierce, but she's a suspect.
Style:
crime drama, suspense, noir, twist ending
Plot:
forgery, seduction, police detective, investigation, erotica, cat and mouse, museum, suspect, glamour, ethical dilemma, male protagonist, betrayal ...
Similarity:
34%
112
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA, Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A guy tries to find outside what he is unable to find inside.
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, contemplative, existential ...
Plot:
introspection, character study, self discovery, identity crisis, problem, meaning of life, lifestyle, cause and meaning, loneliness, intimate, journey, slice of life ...
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
An innocent family's youngest brother is accused of local mass murders. Someone must step in to solve this mystery and stop this lunatic. Who will it be? Watch and find out!
Style:
tense, suspense, atmospheric, psychological, creepy ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
serial killer, suspicion, investigation, paranoia, falsely accused, cat and mouse, moral ambiguity, small town, haunting, obsession, stalker, home invasion ...
Similarity:
33%
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: Egypt
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
The story of the film, in a different context of a successful and wealthy engineer named Hossam Khedive, but recently suffers from problems in his natural life resort to alternative life through a new device enters the world of dreams.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, captivating, mind bending, emotional ...
Plot:
dream, engineer, relationship problems, family problems, changing lives, lifestyle change, relationships, escape, dreamscape, technology, self discovery, virtual reality ...
Similarity:
33%
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