Movies like The Stranger 2025
If you like "The Stranger" you are looking for philosophical, psychological and bleak movies about / with male nudity, murder, trial, apathy, alienation, existentialism and indifference themes of Crime and Drama genre shot in France.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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The Stranger (2025)
2K
Original name: L'Étranger
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Algiers, 1938. Meursault, a quiet and unassuming employee in his early thirties, attends his mother's funeral without shedding a tear. The next day, he begins a casual affair with Marie, a work colleague. He quickly slips back into his usual routine. However, his daily life is soon about to be disrupted by his neighbor, Raymond Sintès, who draws Meursault into his shady dealings. Until one blisteringly hot day, a tragic event occurs on a beach...
Style:
philosophical, psychological, bleak, art house, period drama
Plot:
male nudity, murder, trial, apathy, alienation, existentialism, indifference, beach, colonialism, fatalism, isolation, heat wave, absurdism, moral ambiguity, character study, literary, justice, stoicism, melancholy, courtroom drama, anti hero, alien, love affair, mediterranean, law ...
Time:
1930s, year 1938
Place:
algeria
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Stranger
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out psychological, bleak, realistic and serious films with plots about murder, trial, character study, lawyer, court, courtroom and moral ambiguity mostly in Drama, Crime and Romance genres. Some movies like The Stranger: La machine (1977), A Short Film About Killing (1988), A Crime (1993), By The Grace of God (2018), 12 Citizens (2014). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France, Algeria
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
The Stranger is a literal (but still very cinematic) adaptation of the novel by Albert Camus. Marcello Mastrioanni stars as Meursault, a man who feels utterly isolated from everyone and everything around him. This alienation results in sudden, ...
Style:
philosophical, neo noir, existential, neorealism, psychological ...
Plot:
nihilism, murder, philosophy, prison, death of mother, funeral, mourning, society, courtroom drama, italian neorealism, sun, boyfriend girlfriend relationship ...
Time:
year 1967, 1930s, 20th century
Place:
algeria, middle east
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Pierre Lentier murders an 8-year-old in horrendous circumstances. This 30-something solitary factory worker who lives on the edge of society is sentenced to death. A damning indictment of the death penalty and the manipulative behaviour of the media.
Style:
dark, bleak, grim, tense, controversial ...
Plot:
murder, death penalty, death sentence, child murder, media manipulation, media circus, execution, ethical dilemma, punishment, factory, courtroom, working class ...
Time:
70s
Place:
france
Similarity:
70%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
Style:
disturbing, bleak, contemplative, social, psychological ...
Plot:
lawyer, murder, death, prison, execution, dialogue, renaissance, unrequited love, politics, legal, fighting the system, death row ...
Time:
80s, year 1987, year 1988
Place:
poland, eastern europe, warsaw poland, california
Similarity:
67%
509
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
"Un Crime" takes place over a single night, between 10pm and 6am. It takes place in a single setting - a millionaire's apartment in Lyon. The film is about the conflict between two men, alone, face to face in the closed world of the ...
Style:
psychological thriller, crime drama, suspenseful, tense, intense ...
Plot:
male nudity, guilt, confession, single, power struggle, manipulation, character study, ethical dilemma, moral ambiguity, cat and mouse, suspicion, interrogation ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
59%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
Alexandre lives in Lyon with his wife and children. One day, he discovered by chance that the priest who abused him to scouts always officiates with children. He then starts a fight, quickly joined by François and Emmanuel, also victims of the ...
Style:
gothic, disturbing, realistic, suspenseful, psychological ...
Plot:
pedophilia, pedophile priest, children, religion, child abuse, childhood trauma, childhood memory, cardinal the priest, church, catholic church, female nudity, husband wife relationship ...
Time:
year 2014, year 2015, year 2016, year 2019, 2010s
Place:
france, portugal
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: China
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
When the film broke out that a young man coming from a rich adopted family murdered his birth father, the controversy around the case hit a nerve with the public at large. An experiment was held through the form of virtual court inside a college to ...
Style:
thought provoking, psychological, captivating, thrilling, suspenseful ...
Plot:
justice, courtroom drama, murder, moral dilemma, moral ambiguity, social commentary, social problems, problem, legal action, trial, murderer, criminal ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Manuel Jordan is a man who is free after serving 23 years for killing a teenager during an attempted robbery. After nearly two decades of staring at his victim's face on a newspaper clipping in his cell, the paroled man attempts to find ...
Style:
touching, emotional, melancholic, philosophical, psychological ...
Plot:
murder, prison, friendship, ex convict, robbery, justice, gang, going straight, haunted by the past, human nature, rehabilitation, parole ...
Time:
year 2003, 21st century
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
A justice drama based on a true story about a man on death row who in his last days forms a strong relationship with a nun who teaches him forgiveness and gives him spirituality as she accompanies him to his execution.
Style:
thought provoking, touching, emotional, sad, depressing ...
Plot:
death row, prison, rape, death sentence, nun, death penalty, violence, prison life, court, murder, redemption, catholic ...
Time:
20th century, year 1995, 90s
Place:
louisiana, new orleans, united kingdom, southern usa
Similarity:
47%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
In 1976 in Nice, Agnes, the daughter of the owner of the Palais de la Méditerranée, falls in love with an older lawyer.
Style:
serious, captivating, tense, realistic, touching ...
Plot:
unrequited love, mother daughter conflict, casino, suicide attempt, lawyer, forbidden love, rivalry, intrigue, fall in love, love affair, obsession, betrayal ...
Time:
20th century, year 2014, 70s, 2000s
Place:
nice france, south of france, geneva switzerland, france, french riviera ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison. He gets help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.
Style:
serious, psychological, realistic, neo noir, gloomy ...
Plot:
prison, death penalty, police, social worker, harassment, trial, police officer killed, death of loved one, frustration, car crash, gangster, french countryside ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
france, paris france, europe
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A turbulent love affair between a punk and a youthful waitress.
Style:
psychological, thrilling, suspenseful, captivating, crime drama ...
Plot:
mental disorder, couples, love affair, couple relations, life is a bitch, love interest, male female relationship, relationship problems, in love, fall in love, relationships, tragedy ...
Time:
2000s
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.
Style:
erotic, sexual, sexy, enigmatic, neo noir ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
drifter, adultery, sexualized violence, infidelity, boat, naked man, destructive relationship, couple relations, unfaithfulness, sex, sexual content, murder ...
Time:
20th century, year 2003, 1940s, year 1954, 1950s ...
Place:
scotland, glasgow scotland, europe, edinburgh scotland
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected ...
Style:
touching, thought provoking, gothic, compassionate, sentimental ...
Audience:
family outing, manly, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
lawyer, courtroom, courtroom drama, trial, racism, small town, legal, single father, coming of age, rape, justice, childhood ...
Time:
1930s, year 1932, 20th century, year 1962
Place:
alabama, usa, southern usa, america, africa ...
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
During the trial of a man accused of his father's murder, a lone juror takes a stand against the guilty verdict handed down by the others as a result of their preconceptions and prejudices. The film is adapted by Reginald Rose from his own 1957 ...
Style:
psychological, atmospheric, captivating, talky, clever ...
Plot:
courtroom drama, jury, legal action, argument, trial, murder, court, courtroom, lawyer, uncover truth, legal, dialogue ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
usa, los angeles, california
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Sophie Humbert - a famous criminal attorney who heads a prestigious law firm that does a good deal of work for the Police Commission - decides to take over the pro bono defense of Gabriel Etchegaray, a petty criminal who's just confessed to ...
Style:
tense, suspense, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing ...
Plot:
defense attorney, courtroom, murder, lawyer, court case, ethical dilemma, moral ambiguity, female protagonist, murder suspect, affair, society, manipulation ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
france
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
In a moment of madness a middle-aged, married and respectable pharmacist kills a young woman who is sun-bathing by a lake. Unable to take in what he has done, he flees from the scene of the crime and behaves as if nothing has happened. Eventually ...
Style:
neo noir, noir, psychological thriller, crying, french noir
Plot:
lawyer, repressed sexuality, bureaucracy, jury, judge, witness, judgment, old man, narration, trauma, wrongful accusation, voice over narration ...
Time:
60s
Place:
france
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
Adapted from a sensational real-life case in 2013, the intricate story begins when a young man partners with his friend to murder and dismember his parents. Pleading not guilty, the defense attorneys soon turn on each other, as the defendants play ...
Style:
psychological, realistic, captivating, suspenseful, thrilling ...
Plot:
dismemberment, murder, gory violence, justice, moral ambiguity, trial, courtroom, patricide, courtroom drama, true crime, murderer, problem ...
Place:
hong kong
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
A tale of passion, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity presents him with a chance to change it.
Style:
neo noir, atmospheric, psychological, visually appealing, cerebral ...
Plot:
twists and turns, existentialism, dark humor, character study, murder, misfit, infidelity, blackmail, trial, eccentricity, false accusation, deception ...
Time:
1940s, year 2001, y2k, 2000s, 20th century ...
Place:
california, usa
Similarity:
39%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Fragments of the life of Antonia, a young photographer for a local newspaper in Corsica. Her commitment, her friends, and her loves intertwine with the major political events of the island, from the 1980s to the dawn of the 21st century. It is the ...
Plot:
photographer, female protagonist, photograph, prison, photography, photojournalism, heroin, murder, hotel, newspaper, voice over narration, war photographer ...
Time:
90s, year 1980, year 1999, 80s, year 1993
Place:
corsica
Similarity:
38%
13K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Switzerland
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
A forged 500-franc note is cynically passed from person to person and shop to shop, until it falls into the hands of a genuine innocent who doesn't see it for what it is - which will have devastating consequences on his life, causing him to ...
Style:
slow cinema, spiritual, cynical, neo noir, anthology ...
Plot:
betrayal, murder, forgery, prison, trial, nihilism, misanthropy, loss of daughter, solitary, nude girl, labor, modernism ...
Time:
80s, year 1983
Place:
france, paris france, europe
Similarity:
38%
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:
37%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
Greg Powell, a disturbed ex-con, recruits Jimmy Youngblood (Smith) a petty thief, as partner in crime. Powell panics when they two of are pulled over by two cops for tail lights. Powell decides to kidnap the cops and Smith goes along with his crazy ...
Style:
neo noir, atmospheric, psychological, realistic, serious ...
Plot:
courtroom drama, closeted homosexual, murder, true crime, police investigation, legal, death sentence, trial, moral ambiguity, manipulation, morality, brutality ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1979, 60s, year 1963
Place:
los angeles, california, usa, las vegas
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
The film follows a famous scientist (Bruno Cremer) who rules over his errant disabled daughter (Emmanuelle Debever) with an iron fist. He's meticulous and tyrannical, while she is impetuous but equally cruel in her own immature way.
Style:
art house, grim, serious, bleak, tense ...
Plot:
female nudity, abusive father, family drama, psychological trauma, dysfunctional family, family secret, family tragedy, repression, emotional manipulation, claustrophobia, character study, social commentary ...
Similarity:
34%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Michel Jussieu, a film producer, returns one morning to the cabaret where he forgot his sweater. He discovers the corpse of an extreme right-wing journalist, but immediately he is knocked out. He wakes up in the police station ...
Style:
historical drama, suspense, noir, period drama
Plot:
world war two, murder, accusation, moral dilemma, collaboration, moral ambiguity, guilt, betrayal, interrogation, resistance movement, memory, character study ...
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
A woman stands trial for her life with a lawyer who is determined to save her despite her refusal to be saved.
Style:
suspenseful, psychological, thrilling, captivating, intense ...
Plot:
investigation, lawyer, death penalty, courtroom drama, trial, framed for murder, lawyer client relationship, accused of murder, court, accusation, guilty verdict, female protagonist ...
Similarity:
34%
157
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, Gabon
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
Although based on a novel by Georges Simenon, director (and songwriter) Serge Gainsbourg has superimposed several dark emotions and a subtle brutality over the weak plot about a man's trip to Africa and his unfortunate passion for a murderess ...
Style:
crime drama, dark, melancholic, atmospheric, art house ...
Plot:
murder, female nudity, hotel owner, manipulation, frustration, seduction, moral ambiguity, colonialism, obsession, fatalism, adaptation, sexual tension ...
Time:
1950s, 50s
Place:
africa
Similarity:
34%
154
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
Two Parisian high school students murder a woman they chose as a victim from a chance encounter.
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, psychological thriller, noir
Plot:
murder, relationships, murderer, relationship problems, problem, life is a bitch, obsession, murder mystery, cold blooded murder, moral ambiguity, dark past, alienation ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
34%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
An abused 15 year old is charged with a murder that carries the death penalty in this fact-based story.
Style:
emotional, sad, neo noir, teen, cult classic ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
death row, death penalty, teenage prostitute, murder, revenge, attorney, teenage prostitution, lawyer, teenager, teenage girl, prison, death sentence ...
Time:
80s
Place:
oklahoma
Similarity:
33%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium, Argentina
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Lise (16 years old) is accused of murdering her best friend. As the trial starts, her parents stand right by her side. But once her secret life is revealed in court, the truth becomes indistinguishable.
Style:
suspense, tense, disturbing, captivating, social
Plot:
teenage girl, trial, murder, lawyer, murderer, parent child relationship, murder trial, coming of age, courtroom, judge, female protagonist, death of girlfriend ...
Similarity:
32%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
In 1946, a soldier fathers a child then dies before its birth. Jump to 1952: on a train, the child and his mother meet a handsome soldier who makes a play for her. She accepts. Posing as a married family, the soldier finds them a rooming house where ...
Style:
bleak, realistic, sincere, serious, gloomy ...
Plot:
coming of age, death, betrayal, soldier, family relations, cons and scams, parents and children, hospital, drinking, orphanage, thief, passion ...
Time:
50s, post world war two, year 1997, 1940s, 20th century ...
Place:
russia, soviet union, black sea, siberia, new jersey
Similarity:
31%
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