Movies like The Lives of Others
If you like "The Lives of Others" you are looking for gloomy, political thriller and sincere movies about / with surveillance, cold war, spy, communism, berlin wall, stasi and politics themes of Drama, Mystery and Thriller genre shot in Germany or France.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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The Lives of Others (2006)
441K
Original name: Das Leben der Anderen
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
A tragic love story set in East Berlin with the backdrop of an undercover Stasi controlled culture. Stasi captain Wieler is ordered to follow author Dreyman and plunges deeper and deeper into his life until he reaches the threshold of doubting the system.
Style:
gloomy, political thriller, sincere, political, emotional, harsh, suspense, sad, breathtaking, philosophical ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
surveillance, cold war, spy, communism, berlin wall, stasi, politics, redemption, espionage, iron curtain, life philosophy, voyeurism, paranoia, secrets, corruption, conspiracy, secret police, fighting the system, writers, peeping tom, tragedy, moral dilemma, writer's life, idealism, complex characters ...
Time:
80s, 20th century, year 1989, 2000s, 90s, year 1984, year 2006 ...
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, europe, soviet union, east berlin, central europe ...
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Lives of Others
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, suspense, serious and complex films with plots about storytelling, dialogue, runaway, secrets, twists and turns, death and brutality mostly in Drama, Thriller and Mystery genres. Some movies like The Lives of Others: The Conversation (1974), Barbara (2012), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), The Experiment (2001), Black Book (2006). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Surveillance expert Harry Caul is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide to tail a young couple. Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. ...
Style:
neo noir, psychological thriller, psychological, cerebral, political thriller ...
Plot:
surveillance, paranoia, character study, spy, conspiracy, loner, losing-it hero, loneliness, obsession, wiretap, murder, hotel ...
Time:
20th century, year 1974, 70s
Place:
bay area, usa, san francisco
Similarity:
100%
17K
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
It is the summer of 1980 in East Germany and, alone, Barbara is confined to living and working as a doctor in a small provincial town - her punishment for attempting to emigrate to the West. She has only one focus; to escape and for this, she has to ...
Style:
tense, melancholic, compassionate, atmospheric, psychological ...
Plot:
doctor, escape, stasi, cold war, fascism, lovers apart, iron curtain, communism, introspection, character study, power relations, life is a bitch ...
Time:
80s, 20th century, 70s, year 1980
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, northern germany, german democratic republic ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, USA, Hungary, Turkey
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.
Style:
confusing, neo noir, bleak, period piece, political ...
Audience:
boys' night, adult
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, secret service, mole, british intelligence, investigation, double agent, kgb, government agency, secret agent, undercover ...
Time:
70s, year 2011, 2010s, 20th century
Place:
london, england, europe, istanbul turkey, hungary ...
Similarity:
91%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Das Experiment is a shocking psycho thriller about the potential for brutality that humans hide. Even more shocking is the fact that it’s based on an actual occurrence—a 1971 psychological experiment at Stanford University that was aborted ...
Style:
psychological, suspense, thought provoking, rough, tense ...
Plot:
prison, experiment, torture, abuse, social experiment, aggression, prison escape, disorder, degradation, warden, psychology, violence ...
Time:
year 2001, 70s, year 2002, 21st century
Place:
germany, canada
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Netherlands, Germany, UK, Belgium
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Style:
erotic, psychological, tense, sexy, dramatic ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
holocaust, world war two, espionage, nazi, spy, nazism, resistance, female spy, occupation, gestapo, german soldier, war ...
Time:
1940s, year 1956, 1950s, year 2006, 20th century ...
Place:
netherlands, israel, holland, germany, belgium ...
Similarity:
100%
72K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Italy, USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he accidentally captures on film the commission of a murder. ...
Style:
cerebral, surreal, erotic, independent film, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
photographer, photography, photograph, fashion, voyeurism, corpse, murder witness, fashion photographer, fashion model, nudity, free love, photo studio ...
Time:
60s, year 1966, 20th century
Place:
london, england, europe, united kingdom, paris france
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
A law firm brings in its 'fixer' to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.
Style:
suspenseful, clever, suspense, political thriller, disturbing ...
Plot:
lawyer, legal, business, twists and turns, conspiracy, guilt, character study, divorce, nervous breakdown, law firm, courtroom, trial ...
Time:
year 2007, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
new york, wisconsin, usa, milwaukee wisconsin, manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: Germany, Italy, USA
Duration: 189 min.
Story:
Inspired by real events and spanning three eras of German history, film tells the story of Kurt, a young art student who falls in love with fellow student, Ellie. Ellie’s father, Professor Seeband, a famous doctor, is dismayed at his daughter’s ...
Style:
suspense, sensual, exciting, captivating, sincere ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
painter, art gallery, nazi, artist, nazism, berlin wall, sex scene, female pubic hair, forced abortion, romantic relationship, pregnancy, world war two ...
Time:
1950s, 1940s, 1930s, year 1948, 20th century ...
Place:
east germany, berlin germany, germany, west berlin west germany, west germany ...
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Israel, Sweden
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
Eyal, an Israeli Mossad agent, is given the mission to track down and kill the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex-Nazi officer, who might still be alive. Pretending to be a tourist guide, he befriends his grandson Axel, in Israel to visit his sister ...
Style:
captivating, suspenseful, sincere, suspense, realistic ...
Plot:
gay, lgbtq, mossad, terrorist, male pubic hair, gay club, lgbt, hitman, homoeroticism, redemption, glbt, murder ...
Time:
year 2004, 21st century
Place:
israel, germany, berlin germany, argentina, lebanon ...
Similarity:
100%
90K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Austria, Germany, Italy
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
A married couple is terrorized by a series of videotapes planted on their front porch.
Style:
disturbing, psychological, clever, psychological thriller, tense ...
Plot:
suicide, nightmare, guilt, childhood, haunted by the past, hidden camera, dysfunctional family, videotaping, found footage, psychology, voyeurism, lie ...
Time:
year 2005, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
paris france, france, algeria, germany, iraq ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the cold war during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
Style:
political, black and white, suspense, grim, realistic ...
Plot:
cold war, spy, espionage, berlin wall, british intelligence, iron curtain, double agent, spy thriller, literary, politics, great ending, secret agent ...
Time:
60s, year 1965, 20th century
Place:
east germany, berlin germany, london, england, persia ...
Similarity:
100%
2.6M
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 139 min.
Story:
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the ...
Style:
psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, cerebral, thought provoking ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night, chick flick, girls' night, adult
Plot:
twists and turns, self destructing, psychology, split personality, plot twist, nihilism, insanity, obsession, dissociative identity disorder, insomnia, identity crisis, mental illness ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 1999, year 2013
Place:
delaware, seattle, iran, america, los angeles ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Disconnect interweaves multiple storylines about people searching for human connection in today’s wired world. Through poignant turns that are both harrowing and touching, the stories intersect with surprising twists that expose a shocking reality ...
Style:
thought provoking, depressing, suspenseful, cerebral, independent film ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
multiple storylines, loneliness, couples, technology, internet, cyberspace, dishonesty, journalist, bullying, lawyer, social media, career ...
Time:
year 2013, 21st century
Place:
usa, new jersey
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Germany, UK, Belgium, USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician's assistant drowns in a mysterious accident. In director Roman ...
Style:
political thriller, atmospheric, suspense thriller, political, tricky ...
Plot:
writers, twists and turns, political conspiracy, politics, investigation, writer's life, betrayal, espionage, desert island, conspiracy, suspicion, uncover truth ...
Time:
year 2010, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
new england, new york, oxford university, massachusetts, britain ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 167 min.
Story:
Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, political, compassionate, captivating ...
Plot:
berlin wall, tunnel, politics, communism, breast feeding, political unrest, cold war, wartime, heroes, danger, daring rescue, prison escape ...
Time:
ancient times, 60s, year 2001
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, west berlin west germany, german democratic republic ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Argentina, Spain
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.
Style:
suspense, clever, touching, suspenseful, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
twists and turns, investigation, rape, murder, murder mystery, murderer, lawyer, writers, justice, passion, investigator, homicide ...
Time:
year 2009, 2000s, y2k, 90s, 20th century ...
Place:
latin america, argentina, south america, harvard university, buenos aires argentina
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Canada
Duration: 144 min.
Story:
Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years just before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers seem to be at the heart of this mystery.
Style:
disturbing, breathtaking, art house, cerebral, visually stunning ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
punishment, children, sexual abuse, cruelty, physical appearance, suicide, child abuse, death, small town, authoritarianism, transgression, priest ...
Time:
year 1914, year 2009, 1910s, pre world war one, 2000s ...
Place:
germany, northern germany, europe, italy
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, Germany, Kenya, France, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Justin Quayle is a low-level British diplomat who has always gone about his work very quietly, not causing any problems. But after his radical wife Tessa is killed he becomes determined to find out why, thrusting himself into the middle of a very ...
Style:
political thriller, tense, political, suspense, heartbreaking ...
Plot:
conspiracy, marriage, spy, lovers, death, murder, politics, corruption, passion, investigation, aids, idealism ...
Time:
2000s, year 2005, 21st century
Place:
africa, sudan, germany, london, kenya ...
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Alex Linden is a psychiatrist living in Vienna who meets Milena Flaherty though a mutual friend. Though Alex is quite a bit older than Milena, he's attracted to her young, carefree spirit. Despite the fact that Milena is already married, their ...
Style:
erotic drama, erotic, disturbing, sexual, non-linear ...
Plot:
female nudity, erotica, rape victim, voyeurism, rape, public sex, extramarital affair, perversion, obsession, infidelity, wedding ring, sexual promiscuity ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1980
Place:
vienna, britain, austria, europe, new york ...
Similarity:
75%
166K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins is the future of his political party: an honorable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defense spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's ...
Style:
political thriller, clever, political, suspenseful, suspense ...
Plot:
political conspiracy, conspiracy, journalism, corruption, journalist, investigation, reporter, murder, congress, espionage, world politics, assassination ...
Time:
year 2009, 2000s, 70s, 21st century
Place:
usa, washington d.c.
Similarity:
100%
15K
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Germany, France, USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
Two families attempt a daredevil plan to escape DDR with a homemade hot air balloon, but it crashes just before the border. The Stasi finds traces of this attempt to escape and immediately starts investigations, while the two families are forced to ...
Style:
suspenseful, captivating, suspense, tense
Audience:
date night
Plot:
berlin wall, stasi, balloon, iron curtain, border patrol, manhunt, communism, husband wife relationship, german history, danger, couples, cold war ...
Time:
20th century, year 1989, 70s, year 1979
Place:
east germany, german democratic republic, berlin germany, east berlin, west germany ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: New Zealand, UK
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
Paul (Macfadyen), a prize-winning war journalist, returns to his remote New Zealand hometown due to the death of his father, battle-scarred and world-weary. For the discontented sixteen-year-old Celia (Barclay) he opens up a world she has only ...
Style:
suspenseful, emotional, psychological, talky, atmospheric ...
Plot:
journalism, disappearance, small town, father daughter relationship, homecoming, small town life, society, haunted by the past, doubts and hesitations, reporter, photograph, betrayal ...
Time:
year 2004
Place:
new zealand
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Three generations of a wealthy Bordeaux family are caught in the crossfire when Anne decides to run for mayor, thanks to a political pamphlet that revives an old murder scandal.
Style:
psychological, tense, suspenseful, political thriller, suspense ...
Plot:
forbidden love, incest, politics, cousins in love, haunted by the past, womanizer, murder, bourgeoisie, society, family problems, parents and children, love and romance ...
Time:
year 2003
Place:
vichy, france
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden, USA
Duration: 158 min.
Story:
This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, as he investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, ...
Style:
suspenseful, neo noir, rough, captivating, serious ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
investigation, rape, serial killer, hacker, sexual abuse, missing person, twists and turns, murder mystery, vengeance, murder investigation, journalist, strong female character ...
Time:
year 2011, 60s, 2010s, year 1966, 21st century
Place:
stockholm sweden, scandinavia, europe, london, eastern europe
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 167 min.
Story:
Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in ...
Style:
tense, sexy, suspense, political, factual ...
Plot:
cold war, espionage, spy, double agent, cia, politics, corruption, conspiracy, mentor, secret agent, patriotism, invasion ...
Time:
year 1960, 1940s, 20th century, year 2006, year 1961 ...
Place:
cuba, usa, london, berlin germany, washington d.c. ...
Similarity:
50%
709K
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors.
Style:
twist ending, psychological, bleak, neo noir, intense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
revenge, vengeance, incest, violence, psychopath, captivity, older man younger woman relationship, hypnosis, mind game, plot twist, psychological torture, torture ...
Time:
year 2003, 80s, distant future, near future, y2k ...
Place:
south korea, korea, stockholm sweden, oceania, east asia ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: USA, India, Germany
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate ...
Style:
suspense, historical drama, dramatic, period piece, intense ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
cold war, espionage, lawyer, spy, cia, agent, soviet spy, courtroom, politics, berlin wall, court, negotiation ...
Time:
year 1960, year 2015, 2010s, year 1957, 1950s ...
Place:
east germany, berlin germany, soviet union, new york, west germany ...
Similarity:
50%
121K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A school teacher discusses types of government with his class. His students find it too boring to repeatedly go over national socialism and believe that dictatorship cannot be established in modern Germany. He starts an experiment to show how easily ...
Style:
philosophical, political, disturbing, suspense, educational ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
fascism, nazism, suicide, dictator, experiment, bullying, teacher, teachers and students, high school, fanaticism, dictatorship, against humanity ...
Time:
year 2008, 20th century, year 2011
Place:
germany, middle east, israel, europe, berlin germany ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
An affectionate and refreshing East/West-Germany comedy about a boy who’s mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell and when she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happen (since she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid ...
Style:
sentimental, humorous, breathtaking, witty, feel good ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
berlin wall, coma, politics, capitalism, childhood, idealism, german reunification, society, amnesia, cold war, culture clash, communism ...
Time:
year 2003, year 1989, year 1990, year 2004, 2000s ...
Place:
east germany, german democratic republic, germany, berlin germany, soviet union ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
A sixteen-year-old boy insinuates himself into the house of a fellow student from his literature class and writes about it in essays for his French teacher. Faced with this gifted and unusual pupil, the teacher rediscovers his enthusiasm for his ...
Style:
suspense, witty, disturbing, surreal, enigmatic ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
writers, teacher, obsession, high school, privacy invasion, mind game, student, stalking, direction and purpose, art, desire, high school life ...
Time:
year 2012, 21st century
Place:
france, paris france
Similarity:
100%
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