Movies like The Past Is a Foreign Land
If you like "The Past Is a Foreign Land" you are looking for tense, captivating and disturbing movies about / with student, moral ambiguity, gambling, lawyer, criminal, escapades and problem themes of Drama genre shot in Italy.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
The Past Is a Foreign Land (2008)
552
Original name: Il passato è una terra straniera
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
A promising law student from a good family is driven by a cool cardsharper into a downward spiral of criminality, discovering a part of himself he had never known.
Style:
tense, captivating, disturbing, dark, suspenseful, noir, moody
Plot:
student, moral ambiguity, gambling, lawyer, criminal, escapades, problem, obsession, mature, manipulation, criminal underworld, law student, identity crisis, betrayal, addiction, corruption, double life, urban, realism, guilt, violence, nightlife, urban decay, class conflict, con men ...
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Past Is a Foreign Land
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out tense, dark, noir and suspenseful films with plots about moral ambiguity, urban, corruption, revenge, violence, betrayal and investigation mostly in Drama and Crime genres. Some movies like The Past Is a Foreign Land: Vortex (2019), Long Live the Bride (2015), The Fire (2011), Yakuza Ladies: Burning Desire (2005), Heavy (2019). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
138
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
The story revolves around a "surprise" kidnapping case. Liu Xiaojun (Dapeng), the owner of the car dealership, was involved in a kidnapping case for the accident of reselling a black car. He was surrounded by the kidnapped little girl Kiki ...
Style:
psychological, tense, crime drama, suspenseful, dark ...
Plot:
kidnapping, car, money, abduction, desperation, stealing a car, problem, gambler, gambling debt, escapades, money problems, theft ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France, Belgium
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
In a despairing, fatalistic Rome, Nicola finds himself flirting with the city’s dark side. Drinking too much and living among drifters, petty criminals and anxious immigrants, Nicola becomes entwined in an insurance scam that leads him further ...
Style:
bleak, dark, intense, suspenseful, melancholic ...
Plot:
violence, insurance scam, criminal underworld, urban decay, police investigation, moral ambiguity, corruption, drinking, poverty, isolation, class conflict, anti hero ...
Place:
rome italy, italy
Similarity:
75%
159
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Judith decides to go on her own to the salsa-dancing night, even though her boyfriend, with whom she goes there every week, can’t accompany her. A stranger, with whom she briefly dances, offers to walk her home. Next morning, upon returning home, ...
Style:
psychological, tense, disturbing, serious, captivating ...
Plot:
female protagonist, rape victim, sexual assault, trauma, problem, violence, sexual abuse, rape, violent, unsettling, justice, moral ambiguity ...
Place:
germany
Similarity:
73%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
Tamaki's (Iwashita) husband is the head of the Idei clan, based in southern Osaka. As the film opens, punch-permed lieutenant Ginji (Riki Takeuchi) is killed while pumping iron. Following the hit, rumors and recriminations abound, slowly ...
Style:
crime drama, disturbing, tense, captivating, intense ...
Plot:
yakuza, organized crime, crime family, criminal underworld, mafia, female protagonist, multiple storylines, bandit, criminal gang, criminal syndicate, gang, criminal ...
Time:
2000s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
71%
Movie in collections
377
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Drug-dealer Sev and his equally broken girlfriend Maddie accept a risky deal from an old childhood friend, setting off an irreversible chain of events.
Style:
tense, suspenseful, thrilling, captivating, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
revenge, drug dealer, white trash, life is a bitch, social problems, social issues, drug, social decay, junkie, royalty, social misfits, society ...
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city
Similarity:
68%
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, Spain, Argentina, France, Brazil, UK
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Adaptation and unification in a single story of several stories by the writer Rubem Fonseca, where the theme of violence in contemporary society is explored.
Style:
suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, captivating, crime drama ...
Plot:
violence, serial killer, killing, who done it, antisocial behavior, life is a bitch, murder, murderer, criminal, social problems, moral ambiguity, globalization ...
Place:
brazil, new york, miami
Similarity:
65%
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
The story of Ismail Abdoul, a promising young boxer getting caught between his sporting carreer and his rising fame in the criminal underworld.
Style:
crime drama, tense, crime thriller, noir
Plot:
boxing, moral ambiguity, rise and fall, violence, ambition, drug traffic, anti hero, character study, organized crime, street life, corruption, gang ...
Similarity:
63%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
Story:
Revolves around a female lawyer and a male ex-con who team as victim advocates and go to the edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog.
Style:
thrilling, psychological, captivating, crime thriller, suspenseful ...
Plot:
lawyer, female protagonist, court, underdog, legal action, judge, teamwork, courtroom drama, advocate, justice, criminal, fight for justice ...
Similarity:
57%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A cold-lighted Palermo of the 90's. A single day. Unnamed characters slide towards the fulfillment of their destiny. A story of causes and effects, in which crimes affect not only the victims, but the perpetrators too. And from which no one, in ...
Style:
psychological, crime drama, captivating, thrilling, dark ...
Plot:
criminal, life, problem, fatalism, fate, moral ambiguity, realism, urban decay, slow burn, minimalism, social commentary, corruption ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
Emotionless hitman Michael meets Jessy, awakening unfamiliar feelings. A mission gone awry forces him to reevaluate his entire existence, challenging his beliefs and way of life.
Style:
tense, crime thriller, intense, dark, noir ...
Plot:
hitman, gangster, urban, moral dilemma, identity crisis, assassin, violence, organized crime, moral ambiguity, underworld, forbidden romance, character study ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
52%
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 136 min.
Story:
Pietro is a revered teacher, Teresa his brilliant and precocious student. Their affair is both illicit and tempestuous. After one fight, Teresa suggests that each tell the other a secret, one so shameful or shocking that were it to be made public, ...
Style:
romantic drama, art house, melancholic, tense, ambiguous ending
Plot:
teacher student relationship, forbidden love, moral ambiguity, guilt, reputation, infidelity, betrayal, character study, literary, shame, obsession, emotional manipulation ...
Time:
20th century
Place:
rome italy, italy
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Charlie, a down-on-his-luck loner, crosses paths with a blind homeless man who is his exact double. Perplexed and intrigued by the discovery, Charlie invites the man into his life.
Style:
suspenseful, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, bleak ...
Plot:
doppelganger, striptease, couple relations, lookalikes, misfit, isolation, obsession, identity crisis, dual identity, moral ambiguity, alienation, urban ...
Similarity:
51%
479
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 139 min.
Story:
Moscow, the 90s ... A city without a past and without a future. A city that doesn't forgive mistakes. Showing Moscow bohemia, the criminal business: nightlife, easy money, excitement and confusion form the surface of this life. The main ...
Style:
crime drama, suspenseful, captivating, disturbing, suspense ...
Plot:
organized crime, affair, criminal, money, stolen money, intrigue, crime boss, love triangle, gang, murder, bandit, suspicion of adultery ...
Time:
90s
Place:
moscow russia
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A stripper from Club Chez Nous is murdered. The killer contacts a newspaper to whitewash himself. Two journalists start to investigate the case and stumble on other crimes along the way.
Style:
suspense, dark, crime drama, tense, detective ...
Plot:
murder, investigation, newspaper, journalism, media manipulation, cover up, violence, sexuality, corruption, nightlife, moral ambiguity, club ...
Time:
70s
Place:
europe, belgium, eastern europe
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Story:
A police psychologist uses his skills to become a bounty hunter.
Style:
thrilling, captivating, crime thriller, tense, crime drama ...
Plot:
bounty hunter, investigation, criminal, crime investigation, agent, police officer, police, police detective, police investigation, psychologist, fighting crime, moral ambiguity ...
Similarity:
48%
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain, France, Denmark
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Petra doesn’t know who her father is. Her entire life, it’s been hidden from her. After the death of her mother, she embarks on a search that leads her to Jaume, a famous artist and a powerful, ruthless man. On her path to uncovering the truth, ...
Style:
intense, tense, suspenseful, twist ending, psychological ...
Plot:
family secret, violence, fatherhood, family drama, identity, father daughter relationship, redemption, abuse of power, complex characters, revenge motive, manipulation, betrayal ...
Time:
90s
Place:
barcelona
Similarity:
47%
266
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Ex-showgirl and part-time hooker Rogers looses her legitimate job at a casino because of an abusive trick. She gets revenge when she is blacklisted and her son is threatened.
Style:
dark, crime drama, suspenseful, tense, intense ...
Plot:
revenge, retribution, payback, protective mother, female protagonist, mother son relationship, moral ambiguity, abuse, survival, streetwise, sex work, urban ...
Time:
90s
Place:
las vegas
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Park Jung-gu sends out homemade bombs to people he finds online who are likely to use them, yet these devices are unused. One day, Jung-gu meets Lee Hyo-min, a delinquent student at his university and sends him a package. Soon an explosion in a ...
Style:
tense, suspenseful, crime drama, psychological thriller, dark ...
Plot:
bomb, character study, murder, terrorism, murderer, criminal, threat, investigation, bomb threat, explosions, crime investigation, terror ...
Similarity:
46%
Movie in collections
170
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
After his cousin commits suicide, journalist Stewart Cooper begins to unravel a web of shaming, lies, and secrets. Following the leads he discovers the involvement of the police, his cousin’s ex and the man she had an affair with – her church ...
Style:
crime drama, psychological, thrilling, captivating, suspenseful ...
Plot:
investigation, crime investigation, relationships, private investigation, brother, religious faith, crime solving, uncover truth, secret, affair, faith, male female relationship ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Caterino is a worker at the Ilva factory in Taranto. When the company executives decide to use him as a spy to identify the workers they should get rid of, Caterino starts to track his colleagues, in search of reasons to report them. He then asks to ...
Style:
realistic, bleak, tense, intense, tragic
Plot:
mole, factory, psychological manipulation, betrayal, surveillance, moral ambiguity, dehumanization, alienation, social realism, class struggle, oppression, blue collar ...
Time:
20th century
Place:
italy
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
The main character is a man named Takashi Morioka, who has lost his job and his home due to a recession. He ends up falling into a trap set by the diabolical Yuki Michio, who happened to survive by chance an incident on an island 16 years ago where ...
Style:
tense, suspense, psychological thriller, captivating, psychological ...
Plot:
delivery man, breaking the law, financial problem, delivery, choice, money problems, deal, family in danger, ethical dilemma, coercion, moral ambiguity, manipulation ...
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Frank, a professional counterfeiter from a wealthy mob family,receives the heart of the man he was supposed to kill two weeks earlier. He soon finds himself in a set of circumstances that will test his new heart & if he really has changed.
Style:
dark, psychological, medical drama, neo noir, emotional ...
Plot:
organ transplant, heart transplant, redemption, forgery, identity crisis, moral dilemma, crime family, life & death, criminal underworld, identity, second chance, guilt ...
Similarity:
42%
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
"MMOF" is unflinching and deals with the fury of a man pushed to the limits. Deepak (a mild-mannered, honest to the bone man) who tries to make ends meet by running a Cinema Theatre passed onto him by his father along with his family. A ...
Style:
psychological, suspense, tense, thrilling, captivating ...
Plot:
murder mystery, investigation, whodunit, killing, secret, murderer, crime solving, murder, murder investigation, theater, uncover truth, problem ...
Place:
india
Similarity:
42%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
In 1990s Los Angeles, danger lurks around the corner after a freak accident leaves an undercover cop with supernatural abilities while also unleashing a horror that he must destroy before it destroys everything.
Style:
dark, disturbing, tense, suspense, captivating ...
Plot:
supernatural, undercover cop, supernatural horror, supernatural power, unlikely hero, protector, battles, supernatural ability, fight, police detective, police officer, urban ...
Time:
90s
Place:
los angeles
Similarity:
42%
299
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Dives into the often ignored seedy underbelly of Maine and it follows Emma Maddox as she returns to her hometown years following the mysterious death of her brother, Mikey. As she reconnects with his best friend Tommy, the two rekindle their flame ...
Style:
suspenseful, tense, captivating, psychological, thrilling ...
Plot:
redemption, revenge, small town, problem, bereavement, life is a bitch, lie, getting home, investigation, betrayal, friendship, coastal town ...
Place:
maine
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A human story unfolds when detectives aggravated by a major bust gone wrong are forced to deal with a tormented man thrown into the cage after urinating on the Mayor's limo. The explosive combination of character and situation balances intense ...
Style:
disturbing, semi serious, captivating, tense, crime drama ...
Plot:
satire, ethical dilemma, bandit, criminal gang, detective inspector, police detective, fighting crime, gang, criminal, political conspiracy, problem, character study ...
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: Lithuania
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Following a traumatic experience, Gaile, a speech therapist, is incapable of feeling any emotion. However, while preparing a video presentation for a scientific conference, she sees herself on screen and is surprised to find suppressed sensations ...
Style:
art house, tense, psychological thriller, dark, noir ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
character study, obsession, female protagonist, alienation, manipulation, experimental narrative, identity crisis, self discovery, moral ambiguity, voyeurism, performance art, urban ...
Place:
lithuania
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Lithuania, Russia
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A thriller about a crook who efforts to get out of the business could cost him his life. Gena is a drug runner who has grown tired of the violence and unpredictability of his life, and he decides it's time to go straight. Gena plans one last ...
Style:
crime drama, captivating, tense, crime thriller, road movie ...
Plot:
betrayal, prostitution, underground, murder, gangster, drug smuggling, murderer, escape, criminal underworld, organized crime, smuggling, russian mafia ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
moscow russia, eastern europe, france, lithuania
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain, Mexico
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
The night Celia unsuccessfully attempts suicide, a teenage girl (Melany) is raped and murdered nearby. Miguel Ángel, the police officer in charge of finding the perpetrator of the crime, digs around Celia and her closest circle, including her two ...
Style:
tense, disturbing, suspense, psychological, captivating ...
Plot:
police investigation, suicide attempt, murder, sexual abuse, relationships, problem, male female relationship, investigation, sleuth, murder investigation, crime investigation, character study ...
Time:
2000s
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 56 min.
Story:
Two symbiotic sociopaths play obscurely deviant mind games with each other while engaging in perversely brutal acts of violence against victims apparently chosen at random
Style:
disturbing, intense, tense, bleak, atmospheric ...
Plot:
violence, working class, class conflict, moral ambiguity, character study, cruelty, celebrity, social commentary, humiliation, obsession, machismo, alienation ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
39%
Related movie lists
