Movies like Mephisto

If you like "Mephisto" you are looking for tense, serious and bleak movies about / with politics, nazi, german, downfall, nazis, morality and fascism themes of Drama genre shot in West Germany or Hungary.
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Mephisto (1981)
 7.8
 8K
Mephisto
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany, Hungary, Austria
Duration: 144 min.
Story: A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and friends flee or are ground under by the Nazi terror, the popularity of his character supercedes his own existence until he finds that his best performance is keeping up appearances for his Nazi patrons.
Style: tense, serious, bleak, disturbing, realistic, dramatic, biting, harsh, cerebral, talky ...
Plot: politics, nazi, german, downfall, nazis, morality, fascism, rise and fall, jews, betrayal, infidelity, brutality, greed, political unrest, crime gone awry, devil, ambition, corruption, showbiz, character study, drinking, mentor, life philosophy, political, obsession ...
Time: 1930s, 1920s
Place: germany, europe, berlin germany, hamburg germany, paris france

Best films like Mephisto

The list contains the best and most popular movies with the same themes ordered by rating. Click "View All" button to show all items.
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (1989)
Drama
Poland, West Germany
572 min.
 9.1
Scenes from a Marriage
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Drama
Sweden
283 min.
 8.5

Movie in categories

Choose a movie to watch from relevant lists of films. Click "View All" button to show all collections.
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Most similar movies to Mephisto

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, talky, serious and cerebral films with plots about catastrophe, runaway, character study, culture clash, mentor, storytelling and dialogue mostly in Drama, War and History genres. Some movies like Mephisto: Man of Marble (1977), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978), The Shop on Main Street (1965), Veronika Voss (1982), Julia (1977). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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Man of Marble (1977)
 7.9
 3K
Man of Marble
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 165 min.
Story: Man of Marble is a Polish film about a student making a film about a bricklayer who was once idolized. She interviews people who knew him and finds old footage that lead to an unfolding mystery that causes her producer to cancel the project.
Style: emotional, serious, meditative, realistic, sincere ...
Plot: journalism, human nature, censorship, fighting the system, brutality, politics, prison, pornography, ambition, runaway, dishonesty, heroes ...
Time: 20th century, 50s, 1950s
Place: poland, europe, tokyo, japan, canada
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   95%
    User:   100%
 
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978)
 7.9
 10K
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Near the end of World War II, Maria marries Hermann, who is immediately sent off to battle. When the war concludes, Maria believes that Hermann is dead. She starts working at an Allied bar, where she meets American soldier Bill. They start a ...
Style: emotional, psychological, surreal, serious, reflective ...
Plot: marriage, german, human nature, infidelity, loneliness, women, character study, relationships, sacrifice, tragedy, romance, wartime life ...
Time: 20th century, 40s, 1940s, 1930s, year 1943 ...
Place: germany, europe, canada, west germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   79%
    User:   70%
 
The Shop on Main Street (1965)
 8.1
 7K
The Shop on Main Street
Genre: Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 128 min.
Story: In a small town in Nazi-occupied Slovakia during World War II, decent but timid carpenter Tono is named "Aryan comptroller" of a button store owned by an old Jewish widow, Rozalie. Since the post comes with a salary and standing in the ...
Style: offbeat, serious, captivating, realistic, talky ...
Plot: holocaust, jewish, nazi, jews, anti heroes, nazis, genocide, fascism, store, rescue, greed, censorship ...
Time: 1940s
Place: slovakia, europe, israel
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   62%
    User:   64%
 
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Veronika Voss (1982)
 7.9
 5K
Veronika Voss
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 104 min.
Story: In Munich 1955, German film star Veronika Voss becomes a drug addict at the mercy of corrupt Dr. Marianne Katz, who keeps her supplied with morphine. After meeting sports writer Robert Krohn, Veronika begins to dream of a return to stardom. As the ...
Style: stylized, melancholic, gloomy, serious, bleak ...
Plot: addiction, drug addiction, hopes, secrets, love and romance, runaway, loneliness, drinking, german, noir, greed, existentialism ...
Time: 80s, 1930s, 1950s
Place: germany, munich germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   59%
    User:   69%
 
Julia (1977)
 7.3
 8K
Julia
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Style: serious, captivating, realistic, atmospheric, dramatic ...
Plot: friendship, politics, nazi, friends, writer's life, fascism, unlikely friendships, mentor, nazis, idealism, train, jews ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, 30s
Place: germany, europe, england, vienna, austria ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   58%
    User:   57%
 
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The Flower of My Secret (1995)
 7.1
 9K
The Flower of My Secret
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain, France
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Marisa Paredes is Leocadia ("Leo") Macias, a woman writing “pink” romance novels under the alias of Amanda Gris that are very popular all across Spain. Unlike her romantic novels, her own love life is troubled. Leo has a less than ...
Style: clever, serious, touching, reflective, realistic ...
Plot: romance, obsession, suicide attempt, postmodernism, writer's life, relationships, loneliness, self discovery, writing, hospital, infidelity, writers ...
Time: 90s
Place: spain, europe, madrid, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   57%
    User:   49%
 
The Ten Commandments (1989)
 9.1
 17K
The Ten Commandments
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland, West Germany
Duration: 572 min.
Story: The Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner. It consists of ten one-hour films, inspired by the Ten Commandments. ...
Style: bleak, psychological, tense, serious, reflective ...
Plot: morality, philosophy, human nature, adultery, obsession, storytelling, loneliness, complex characters, redemption, relationships, solitude, existentialism ...
Time: 20th century, 80s
Place: poland, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   48%
    User:   54%
 
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The Apostle (1997)
 7.2
 12K
The Apostle
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story: After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Style: talky, realistic, touching, serious, psychological ...
Plot: redemption, small town, christianity, religion, radio, christian, country, religions or cults, god, character study, jesus, coma ...
Time: 20th century, 30s, 1930s
Place: texas, louisiana, usa, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   48%
    User:   45%
 
Winter Light (1963)
 8.1
 17K
Winter Light
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 81 min.
Story: A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.
Style: bleak, atmospheric, psychological, serious, cerebral ...
Plot: small town, suicide, isolation, existentialism, religion, apocalypse, god, loneliness, clergy, swedish, relationships, love ...
Time: 20th century, 60s
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   48%
    User:   54%
 
The Pawnbroker (1964)
 7.8
 7K
The Pawnbroker
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: A Jewish pawnbroker, a victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.
Style: bleak, emotional, realistic, serious, dramatic ...
Plot: holocaust, survival, nazi, jewish, uncover truth, jews, loneliness, nazis, guilt, tragedy, character study, concentration camp ...
Time: 1960s
Place: new york, poland, usa, germany, manhattan new york city ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   47%
    User:   55%
 
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Woyzeck (1979)
 7.2
 8K
Woyzeck
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 82 min.
Story: Having fathered an illegitimate child with his lover, Marie, feckless soldier Franz Woyzeck takes odd jobs around his small town to provide some extra money for them. One of them is volunteering for experiments conducted by a local doctor, who puts ...
Style: bleak, disturbing, psychological, atmospheric, serious ...
Plot: murder, obsession, military, brutality, insanity, soldier, loneliness, german, adultery, unlikely criminals, infidelity, dialogue ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, 1920s
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   47%
    User:   50%
 
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
 8.5
 13K
Scenes from a Marriage
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 283 min.
Story: Ten years of Marianne and Johan's relationship are presented. We first meet them ten years into their marriage. He is a college professor, she a divorce lawyer. They say that they are happily married - unlike their friends Katarina and Peter ...
Style: talky, realistic, tense, psychological, serious ...
Plot: loneliness, marriage, divorce, crumbling marriage, relationships, love, romance, introspection, honest, love story, couple relations, obsession ...
Time: 20th century, 70s
Place: europe, sweden
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   46%
    User:   44%
 
The Edge of Heaven (2007)
 7.8
 28K
The Edge of Heaven
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, Turkey, Italy
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Nejat seems disapproving about his widower father Ali's choice of prostitute Yeter for a live-in girlfriend. But he grows fond of her when he discovers she sends money home to Turkey for her daughter's university studies. Yeter's ...
Style: touching, realistic, intellectual, serious, melancholic ...
Plot: prison, german, immigrants, destiny, death, tragedy, parents and children, funeral, loneliness, complex characters, relationships, family bonds ...
Time: contemporary
Place: germany, europe, turkey, hamburg germany, istanbul turkey
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   45%
    User:   39%
 
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Moonlighting (1982)
 7.7
 2K
Moonlighting
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 97 min.
Story: A Polish contractor, Nowak, leads a group of workmen to London so they can provide cheap labor for a government official based there. Nowak (Irons) has to manage the project and the men as they encounter the tempations of the West and loneliness and ...
Style: bleak, realistic, tense, serious, harsh ...
Plot: culture clash, political unrest, mentor, greed, immigrants, working class, political, brutality, workplace situations, paranoia, crime gone awry, character study ...
Time: 80s
Place: poland, london, england, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   44%
    User:   49%
 
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
 7.5
 6K
Jesus of Montreal
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A group of actors putting on an interpretive Passion Play in Montreal begin to experience a meshing of their characters and their private lives as the production takes form against the growing opposition of the Catholic church.
Style: serious, biblical, disturbing, gloomy, thought provoking ...
Plot: redemption, christianity, male nudity, religion, hospital, jesus, clergy, philosophy, catholicism, human nature, mentor, god ...
Time: 80s
Place: canada, montreal quebec canada
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   44%
    User:   38%
 
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Shame (1968)
 8.0
 10K
Shame
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Ingmar Bergman's psychological study of how humans react in a situation of war. The film takes place on Gotland, where invasion forces arrives.
Style: bleak, psychological, biting, serious, enigmatic ...
Plot: war, island, civil war, betrayal, politics, countryside, wartime, swedish, brutality, soldier, character study, visceral ...
Time: 20th century, 60s
Place: israel
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   43%
    User:   41%
 
The Front (1976)
 7.4
 7K
The Front
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.
Style: clever, humorous, semi serious, dramatic, realistic ...
Plot: politics, fighting the system, friendship, communism, writers, writing, censorship, cons and scams, political, unlikely friendships, paranoia, greed ...
Time: 1950s, 20th century, 50s, 1960s
Place: new york, europe, florence, usa, italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   42%
    User:   37%
 
Hanussen (1988)
 7.3
 1K
Hanussen
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Hungary, West Germany, Austria
Duration: 140 min.
Story: A man's story parallels Hitler's rise. Austrian Klaus Schneider, wounded in World War I, recovers in the care of Dr. Emil Bettleheim. Bettleheim discovers that Schneider possesses powers of empathy and of clairvoyance, such that could aid ...
Style: bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, thought provoking ...
Plot: uncover truth, idealism, moral dilemma, war, rebelliousness, clairvoyant, theater, assassination, nazism, clairvoyance, society, state affairs ...
Time: 20s, 1920s, 1930s
Place: germany, berlin germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   42%
    User:   37%
 
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The Conformist (1970)
 8.1
 22K
The Conformist
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 113 min.
Story: A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
Style: atmospheric, bleak, surreal, sexual, stylized ...
Plot: fascism, assassination, assassin, betrayal, murder, sexuality, neo noir, introspection, surrealism, political, moral dilemma, obsession ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, 30s, 40s, 1940s
Place: italy, europe, france, paris france, rome italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   40%
    User:   41%
 
Under the Volcano (1984)
 7.1
 4K
Under the Volcano
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Against a background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta Day of Death, we are taken through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul living in alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in ...
Style: atmospheric, gloomy, psychological, serious, dark humor ...
Plot: dysfunctional family, drugs/alcohol, drinking, depression, adultery, human nature, wilderness, adaptation, introspection, relationships, male nudity, runaway ...
Time: 20th century, 30s, 1930s
Place: mexico, latin america
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   40%
    User:   40%
 
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Cradle Will Rock (1999)
 6.9
 8K
Cradle Will Rock
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story: A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.
Style: talky, clever, serious, sincere, realistic ...
Plot: politics, artist, communism, art, depression, political, censorship, actor's life, corruption, greed, celebrity culture, fascism ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, 30s
Place: new york, usa, manhattan new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   38%
    User:   43%
 
Rosetta (1999)
 7.6
 11K
Rosetta
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Young and impulsive Rosetta lives with her alcoholic mother and, moved by despair, she will do anything to maintain a job.
Style: bleak, realistic, serious, rough, psychological ...
Plot: dysfunctional family, realism, coming of age, tragedy, parents and children, brothers, down on your luck, crime gone awry, teenage life, alcoholic, poverty, unemployment ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: belgium, europe, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   37%
    User:   40%
 
September 11 (2002)
 7.0
 5K
September 11
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, France, Egypt, Japan, Mexico, USA, Iran
Duration: 134 min.
Story: 11 directors show their view on the terrorist attacks on the world trade center in New York.
Style: disturbing, bleak, serious, realistic, atmospheric ...
Plot: terrorism, politics, 9/11, islam, innocence lost, life & death, political, greed, injustice, tragedy, genocide, brutality ...
Time: 2000s
Place: iran, middle east, europe, israel, former yugoslavia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   35%
    User:   32%
 
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The Ogre (1996)
 7.0
 2K
The Ogre
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, France, UK
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Frenchman Abel Tiffauges likes children, and wants to protect them against the grown-ups. Falsely suspected as child molester, he's recruited as a soldier in the 2nd World War, but very soon he is taken prisoner of war.
Style: realistic, disturbing, sincere, serious, emotional ...
Plot: friendship, redemption, nazi, children, jewish, wartime, confined, palaces castles and temples, childhood, nazis, german, war ...
Time: 1930s, year 1939, 1940s
Place: germany, france, japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   35%
    User:   29%
 
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)
 7.7
 4K
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 174 min.
Story: The film follows one day in the lives of the Tyrone family, each member is troubled and has been damaged by alcohol and/or drugs. In addition, they have issues with each other that lead to fights and an inability to reconcile completely with one ...
Style: clever, tense, serious, psychological, gloomy ...
Plot: addiction, dysfunctional family, irish, redemption, drug addiction, family life, drinking, character study, crumbling marriage, crime gone awry, culture clash, tragedy ...
Time: 20th century, 60s
Place: ireland, connecticut
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   34%
    User:   31%
 
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Alice in the Cities (1974)
 8.0
 8K
Alice in the Cities
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 110 min.
Story: German journalist Philip Winter has a case of writer’s block when trying to write an article about the United States. He decides to return to Germany, and while trying to book a flight, encounters a German woman and her nine year old daughter ...
Style: road movie, psychological, semi serious, touching, melancholic ...
Plot: friendship, hotel, on the road, self discovery, childhood, parenthood, loneliness, german, adventure, existentialism, police investigation, friends ...
Time: 20th century, 70s
Place: germany, europe, tokyo, japan, texas ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   34%
    User:   28%
 
My Life to Live (1962)
 8.0
 22K
My Life to Live
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 80 min.
Story: Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.
Style: atmospheric, serious, gloomy, reflective, bleak ...
Plot: prostitution, philosophy, artist, prostitute, pimp, french, gunfight, photographer, existentialism, loneliness, childhood, new wave ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, 1960s
Place: france, tokyo, paris france
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   34%
    User:   31%
 
Max (2002)
 6.6
 7K
Max
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Hungary, Canada, UK
Duration: 106 min.
Story: In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolph Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
Style: realistic, serious, gloomy, talky, thought provoking ...
Plot: friendship, politics, artist, art, fascism, propaganda, jewish, adultery, german, world politics, drinking, nazi ...
Time: 1910s, 20s, 20th century, future, 1920s ...
Place: germany, europe, vienna, munich germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
System:   34%
    User:   33%
 

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Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995)
 7.4
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Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Italy, Germany
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Nelly leaves her lazy, unemployed husband to work for retired judge Mr Arnaud, forty years her senior, after he offers to clear her bills for her. While she types his memoirs the two develop a close friendship, but Arnaud becomes jealous when Nelly ...
Style: serious, realistic, touching, talky, gloomy ...
Plot: human nature, romance, introspection, couple relations, friendship, adultery, french, infidelity, beautiful scenery, relationships, looking for love, adaptation ...
Time: 90s, 1920s
Place: europe, france, tokyo, california
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Manderlay (2005)
 7.4
 20K
Manderlay
Genre: Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Germany, UK, Italy
Duration: 139 min.
Story: In 1933, after leaving Dogville, Grace Margaret Mulligan sees a slave being punished at a cotton farm called Manderlay. Officially slavery is illegal and Grace stands up against the owners of the farm. She stays with some gangsters in Manderlay and ...
Style: bleak, disturbing, clever, serious, offbeat ...
Plot: idealism, slavery, racism, guilt, freedom, male nudity, art, gangster, fighting the system, torture, political, interracial relations ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, 30s
Place: alabama, usa, southern usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
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