Movies like House of Sand and Fog

If you like "House of Sand and Fog" you are looking for bad ending, depressing and atmospheric movies about / with depression, tragedy, eviction, immigrant, life is a bitch, nude and american dream themes of Crime and Drama genre shot in USA.
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House of Sand and Fog (2003)
 7.5
 76K
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min.
Story: Behrani, an Iranian immigrant buys a California bungalow, thinking he can fix it up, sell it again, and make enough money to send his son to college. However, the house is the legal property of former drug addict Kathy. After losing the house in an unfair legal dispute with the county, she is left with nowhere to go. Wanting her house back, she hires a lawyer and befriends a police officer. Neither Kathy nor Behrani have broken the law, so they find themselves involved in a difficult moral dilemma.
Style: bad ending, depressing, atmospheric, bleak, emotional, sad, psychological, gloomy, touching, heartbreaking ...
Plot: depression, tragedy, eviction, immigrant, life is a bitch, nude, american dream, relationships, justice, visceral, tragic event, real estate, female lawyer, secrets, character study, complex characters, dysfunctional family, manipulation, honest, loss of son, human nature, house, muslim, debt, immigration ...
Time: year 2003, 70s, 20th century, 21st century, contemporary
Place: san francisco, persia, bay area, usa, california, iran

Movie in categories

depression movies
3716
bad ending movies
2548
tragedy movies
4642
depressing movies
2019
eviction movies
341
bleak movies
11156

Most similar movies to House of Sand and Fog

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out interesting, realistic, serious and thought provoking films with plots about storytelling, dialogue, redemption, psychological drama, brutality, mentor and tragedy mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like House of Sand and Fog: Crash (2004), Reservation Road (2007), Requiem for a Dream (2000), American History X (1998), In the Bedroom (2001). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
 7.7
 461K
Crash (2004)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
Style: touching, inspirational, sincere, sexy, gloomy ...
Audience: adult
Plot: racism, police, redemption, prejudice, plot twist, racial tension, racist, multiple storylines, sexual harassment, social injustice, class differences, interracial relations ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, usa, california, persia, puerto rico ...
Similarity:
100%
Reservation Road (2007)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Two fathers' lives intersect when one of them is involved in a terrible and sudden hit-and-run car accident that leaves the other's son dead. In response, the two men (Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo) react in unexpected ways as a ...
Style: psychological, intense, suspenseful, bleak, emotional ...
Plot: redemption, obsession, investigation, revenge, dysfunctional family, losing-it hero, lawyer, character study, family problems, parents and children, cover up, death in the family ...
Time: year 2007, 21st century
Place: usa, boston
Similarity:
100%
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control. A look into addiction and how it overcomes the mind and body.
Style: psychological, disturbing, bleak, depressing, atmospheric ...
Audience: kids, adult
Plot: addiction, drug abuse, heroin, drug addiction, insanity, drug, junkie, loneliness, mental illness, depression, dream, subculture ...
Time: year 2000, future, y2k, 20th century, 90s ...
Place: britain, america, new york, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city ...
Similarity:
100%
American History X (1998)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story: Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two thugs who tried to break into/steal his truck. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader ...
Style: cerebral, rough, serious, clever, disturbing ...
Audience: boys' night, date night, teens, teen drama
Plot: gang, skinhead, racism, prison, neo nazism, neo nazi, character change, nazism, juvenile delinquency, murder, politics, african american ...
Time: 20th century, year 1998, 90s
Place: los angeles, usa, california, america, north america ...
Similarity:
100%
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 7.4
 44K
In the Bedroom (2001)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min.
Story: Summertime on the coast of Maine, "In the Bedroom" centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler is a doctor practicing in his native Maine and is married to New York born Ruth Fowler, a music teacher. He is involved ...
Style: realistic, bleak, heartbreaking, depressing, suspense ...
Plot: older woman younger man relationship, family in crisis, age difference, dysfunctional family, grief, family drama, revenge, roman empire, small town, marriage, jealousy, family relations ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: maine, detroit, new england, canada
Similarity:
100%
 6.2
 3K
Normal Life (1996)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Chris Anderson and his wife Pam live a fairly normal life until Chris loses his job on the police force and secretly turns to robbing banks to make his wife's dreams come true. Upon discovering his secret, she joins his deadly crime wave and ...
Style: realistic, serious, tense, suspenseful, independent film ...
Plot: lovers on the run, love, female orgasm, relationships, bank robber, bank, robbery, destructive relationship, drug abuse, bookstore, husband wife relationship, dysfunctional marriage ...
Time: year 1996, 90s
Place: chicago, usa, california
Similarity:
100%
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief ...
Style: black comedy, ambiguous ending, dark comedy, crime drama, psychological ...
Plot: small town, revenge, rape, small town life, loss of daughter, billboard, police brutality, regret, death of daughter, anger, violence, guilty conscience ...
Time: 2010s, year 2017, 21st century
Place: missouri, idaho, persia, america, usa
Similarity:
100%
 7.4
 328K
Babel (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico, France, Japan
Duration: 143 min.
Story: Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.
Style: emotional, breathtaking, inspirational, sincere, cerebral ...
Audience: adult
Plot: multiple storylines, redemption, woman urinating, cultural difference, deaf girl, desert, mexican border, sex, death, destiny, language barrier, multiple perspectives ...
Time: year 2006, 2000s, 21st century
Place: morocco, japan, tokyo, africa, mexico ...
Similarity:
67%
Movie in collections
 6.4
 40K
Cake (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide.
Style: depressing, heartbreaking, sentimental, psychological, touching ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night
Plot: loneliness, sex, drug addiction, obsession, depression, mental health, suicide, friendship, mental disorder, dead child, loss of wife, suicide attempt ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, los angeles, california, mexico, tijuana mexico
Similarity:
100%
 7.1
 27K
Frozen River (2008)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Ray Eddy, an upstate New York trailer mom, is lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling. Broke after her husband takes off with the down payment for their new doublewide, Ray reluctantly teams up with Lila, a smuggler, and the two begin ...
Style: melancholic, bleak, thought provoking, suspenseful, atmospheric ...
Plot: poverty, single parent, native american reservation, winter, survival, native american, smuggling, working class, christmas, courage, parenthood, u.s. canadian border ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place: new york, canada, new york state, usa, quebec ...
Similarity:
100%
 8.3
 1.3M
American Beauty (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Style: melancholic, thought provoking, sexual, dark comedy, sexy ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, kids, girls' night, teen drama ...
Plot: midlife crisis, dysfunctional family, existentialism, age difference, obsession, loneliness, coming of age, older man younger woman relationship, dysfunctional marriage, youth, adultery, suburbs ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999, year 2013
Place: usa, america, los angeles, iran
Similarity:
100%
 7.6
 60K
Leviathan (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 140 min.
Story: In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.
Style: depressing, bleak, atmospheric, thought provoking, emotional ...
Plot: lawyer, adultery, corruption, politics, courtroom, poverty, small town, corrupt mayor, alcohol abuse, drunk, alcoholism, small town life ...
Time: 2010s, year 2014, 21st century
Place: russia, soviet union
Similarity:
67%
The Last Supper (1995)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story: A group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.
Style: black comedy, dark comedy, witty, intense, disturbing ...
Plot: politics, satire, death, sexism, dinner, vigilante, serial killer, dark humor, murder, wine, painter, hypocrisy ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: iowa, usa
Similarity:
100%
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Spain
Duration: 112 min.
Story: After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager.
Style: disturbing, psychological, bleak, depressing, gloomy ...
Audience: teens, toddlers, teen drama, adult
Plot: psychopath, evil child, school shooting, high school, childhood, guilt, prison visit, depression, teenager, sociopath, antisocial behavior, teenage boy ...
Time: year 2011, 90s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: united kingdom, america, connecticut, usa, new york ...
Similarity:
100%
 7.9
 518K
Mystic River (2003)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 138 min.
Story: A story about friendship and loyalty, guilt and vengeance, and the fateful affect the past has on the present.
Style: psychological, suspense, depressing, twist ending, emotional ...
Audience: chick flick, adult
Plot: murder, murder mystery, vengeance, police, police investigation, investigation, death in the family, police detective, sexual abuse, loss of child, child abuse, loss of daughter ...
Time: year 2003, 2000s, 70s, 20th century, 60s ...
Place: boston, massachusetts, persia, usa
Similarity:
31%
Once Were Warriors (1994)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 102 min.
Story: A drama about a Maori family lving in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.
Style: disturbing, brutal, depressing, controversial, realistic ...
Plot: relationships, gang, violent, children, dysfunctional family, indigenous people, child abuse, domestic abuse, redemption, ghetto, working class, family relations ...
Time: 20th century, year 1994, 90s
Place: new zealand, oceania
Similarity:
31%
Dead Man Walking (1995)
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:
30%
 8.1
 765K
Trainspotting (1996)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story: Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.
Style: disturbing, psychedelic, captivating, dark comedy, black comedy ...
Audience: boys' night, teens, teen drama
Plot: addiction, heroin, drug addiction, drug abuse, existentialism, dark humor, counterculture, junkie, life is a bitch, subculture, dialogue, social misfits ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1996
Place: scotland, edinburgh scotland, london, england, britain ...
Similarity:
29%
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 8.0
 348K
Magnolia (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 188 min.
Story: An epic mosaic of many interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Style: cerebral, clever, depressing, sincere, sexy ...
Audience: chick flick, adult
Plot: multiple storylines, social problems, human nature, child prodigy, coincidence, depression, sex, cancer, fictional game show, father son relationship, dysfunctional family, terminal illness ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1999, 60s, 1950s ...
Place: los angeles, california, reno nevada
Similarity:
29%
 7.1
 41K
99 Homes (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: After his family is evicted from their home, proud and desperate construction worker Dennis Nash tries to win his home back by striking a deal with the devil and working for Rick Carver, the corrupt real estate broker who evicted him.
Style: emotional, sincere, captivating, sexy, thought provoking ...
Audience: teens
Plot: moral dilemma, real estate agent, eviction, single father, motel, financial crisis, dysfunctional family, human nature, workplace, parent child relationship, workplace situations, finance ...
Time: year 2010, 21st century
Place: usa, florida, orlando florida, california, boston ...
Similarity:
29%
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Gilbert has to care for his brother Arnie and his obese mother, which gets in the way when love walks into his life.
Style: melancholic, depressing, touching, sad, emotional ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: dysfunctional family, disability, small town, mentally challenged, mental illness, self discovery, responsibility, brothers, character study, coming of age, life philosophy, life & death ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1993, 70s, 60s
Place: iowa, texas, southern usa, usa
Similarity:
29%
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
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:
29%
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Bob and his friends Dianne, Rick and Nadine have been drug addicts for years and live from one high to the next. Gus Van Sant attempts to show an intimate look into the lives of heroin addicts with his film Drugstore Cowboy.
Style: cult classic, road movie, independent film, depressing, grim ...
Audience: teens
Plot: drug abuse, addiction, heroin, dark humor, drug addiction, drug, junkie, friendship, on the road, drug addict, beat generation, coming of age ...
Time: 70s, year 1989, 20th century, year 1971
Place: usa, portland oregon
Similarity:
28%
Movie in collections
Ordinary People (1980)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story: Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having ...
Style: depressing, realistic, crying, sentimental, compassionate ...
Audience: teens
Plot: dysfunctional family, therapy, suicide attempt, suicide, grief, coming of age, depression, psychiatrist, alienation, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, loner ...
Time: 20th century, year 1980, 70s, 80s
Place: chicago, usa, illinois, houston texas, middle east ...
Similarity:
28%
 8.2
 1.0M
Taxi Driver (1976)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story: A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.
Style: psychological, neo noir, bleak, atmospheric, cult classic ...
Audience: adult
Plot: loner, vigilante, character study, alienation, vigilantism, violence, obsession, loneliness, psychology, lone wolves, taxi, social decay ...
Time: 70s, year 1976, 20th century, year 1975
Place: new york, manhattan new york city, usa, america, harlem ...
Similarity:
28%
 9.2
 2.2M
The Godfather (1972)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 175 min.
Story: Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the ...
Style: serious, captivating, atmospheric, epic, dramatic ...
Audience: boys' night, manly, chick flick, adult
Plot: mafia, organized crime, gangster, revenge, crime family, betrayal, mob boss, wedding, greed, pride and honor, cosa nostra, violence ...
Time: 1950s, 1940s, 20th century, 50s, year 1972 ...
Place: italy, new york, bronx new york city, manhattan new york city, sicily ...
Similarity:
28%
 8.6
 864K
City of God (2002)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil, France
Duration: 130 min.
Story: Cidade de Deus is a shantytown that started during the 1960s and became one of Rio de Janeiro’s most dangerous places in the beginning of the 1980s. To tell the story of this place, the movie describes the life of various characters, all seen by ...
Style: rough, bleak, hood, sexy, stylized ...
Audience: teen drama, adult
Plot: gang, violence, ghetto, favela, coming of age, storytelling, gang war, gangster, society, juvenile delinquency, organized crime, journalism ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, year 2003, 2000s, future ...
Place: latin america, rio de janeiro, south america, brazil, africa
Similarity:
28%
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Style: depressing, sexual, disturbing, melancholic, sad ...
Audience: adult
Plot: addiction, loneliness, casino, alcoholism, prostitute, alcohol abuse, prostitution, depression, self destructing, tragedy, alcoholic, medical ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1995
Place: las vegas, los angeles, usa, nevada
Similarity:
28%
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min.
Story: After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
Style: depressing, sad, heartbreaking, touching, independent film ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, adult
Plot: sadness, family drama, loneliness, suicide attempt, depression, loss, death, uncle nephew relationship, dysfunctional family, guardian, nephew, grief ...
Time: 2010s, year 2016
Place: massachusetts, boston, nebraska, new england
Similarity:
28%
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Colombia, Ecuador
Duration: 101 min.
Story: A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
Style: sentimental, sincere, independent film, depressing, touching ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: drug dealing, immigrant, human trafficking, friendship, coming of age, depression, drug, illegal immigration, women, drug abuse, addiction, character study ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place: colombia, new york, south america, new jersey, latin america ...
Similarity:
28%