Movies like The Return 2003
If you like "The Return" you are looking for bleak, road movie and cerebral movies about / with coming of age, brother, childhood, journey, father son relationship, children and survival themes of Drama genre shot in Russia.
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 Return (2003)
49K
Original name: Возвращение
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A story of two Russian boys whose father suddenly returns home after a 12-year absence. He takes the boys on a holiday to a remote island on a lake that turns into a test of manhood of almost mythic proportions.
Style:
bleak, road movie, cerebral, art house, atmospheric, visually stunning, philosophical, lyrical, suspenseful, independent film ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, brother, childhood, journey, father son relationship, children, survival, parents and children, existentialism, road trip, wilderness, abusive father, on the road, character study, overbearing parent, father, family relations, tragic event, brother brother relationship, european, traumatic childhood, youth, innocence lost, rivalry, nature ...
Time:
year 2003, 90s, 2000s, 21st century, contemporary
Place:
soviet union, russia, russian
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Return
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out serious, bleak, realistic and reflective films with plots about loneliness, storytelling, childhood, suprisingly clever, runaway, family relations and melancholy mostly in Drama, Crime and Thriller genres. Some movies like The Return: Nobody Knows (2004), The Italian (2005), Boyhood (2014), Paris, Texas (1984), Landscape in the Mist (1988). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 141 min.
Story:
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Style:
touching, depressing, atmospheric, gloomy, bleak ...
Audience:
kids, teens
Plot:
poverty, childhood, children, young kid, child abandonment, dysfunctional family, brother brother relationship, innocence lost, responsibility, neglect, jailbait, family relations ...
Time:
year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
japan, tokyo, east asia, asia, california ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Set in 2002, an abandoned 5-year-old boy living in a rundown orphanage in a small Russian village is adopted by an Italian family.
Style:
sentimental, harsh, inspirational, touching, realistic ...
Plot:
children, orphan, youth, orphanage, boy, escape, coming of age, adoption, drinking, friendship, adolescence, family relations ...
Time:
year 2005, year 2002, 2000s, 70s, 21st century
Place:
russia, soviet union, italy, europe, tokyo
Similarity:
100%
380K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 165 min.
Story:
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
Style:
philosophical, melancholic, cerebral, touching, depressing ...
Audience:
teens, kids, chick flick, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, childhood, teenager, high school, adolescence, domestic abuse, family drama, youth, divorced parents, stepsister stepsister relationship, relationships, marriage ...
Time:
2010s, year 2014, 2000s, 90s, near future ...
Place:
texas, ethiopia, houston texas, austin texas, usa
Similarity:
100%
139K
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany, France, UK, USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
Style:
road movie, touching, surreal, atmospheric, lyrical ...
Plot:
amnesia, father son relationship, desert, redemption, on the road, road trip, relationships, memory, melancholy, motel, reconciliation, drifter ...
Time:
80s, year 1984, 20th century
Place:
texas, los angeles, houston texas, california, america ...
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Greece, France, Italy
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
Road movie about two children searching for their father who is supposed to live in Germany. Their obsession for this father figure will take them to the boundaries between childhood and adolescence.
Style:
road movie, serious, touching, realistic, rough ...
Plot:
on the road, youth, children, soldier, siblings relations, life is a bitch, human nature, mother daughter relationship, greek, father daughter relationship, pursuit, fear ...
Time:
80s, year 1988
Place:
germany, greece, europe
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Italy
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in the hands of an unqualified childcare provider.
Style:
emotional, atmospheric, disturbing, realistic, independent film ...
Plot:
childhood, kids in trouble, youth, boy, realism, adoption, social problems, life is a bitch, street kid, society, parents and children, coming of age ...
Time:
year 2012, year 2011, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
france, belgium
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Siberia. Late autumn. In taiga, in the deserted village there lives an old man Ivan & his seven-year-old grandson Leshia. A pack of feral dogs devours everything alive in the neighborhood. One of these dogs is Leshia's best friend. ...
Style:
touching, sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic ...
Plot:
wilderness, elderly, isolation, orphan, life is a bitch, danger, woods, nature, wilderness survival, survival, post soviet, old man ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
soviet union, russia
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Netherlands
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
A small family "a father and a son" lives on the top floor of an old house. The father retired from the military, when he was a student in flight school, he experienced the first and the only love of his life. This girl became his wife and ...
Style:
serious, psychological, atmospheric, touching, sensual ...
Plot:
gay subtext, father son relationship, homosexual subtext, gay, soldier, youth, bare chested male, dream, teenage boy, family relations, single parent, parents and children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
russia
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden, France, West Germany
Duration: 188 min.
Story:
Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden.
Style:
intellectual, philosophical, sincere, art house, visual ...
Plot:
christmas, childhood, ghost, coming of age, children, boy, child abuse, grief, brother sister relationship, brother brother relationship, extramarital affair, marriage as hell ...
Time:
turn of the century, 1900s, year 1982, 20th century, victorian era ...
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe, tokyo
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden, France, UK
Duration: 149 min.
Story:
Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.
Style:
cerebral, atmospheric, philosophical, art house, slow cinema ...
Plot:
insanity, existentialism, spirituality, religion, female nudity, distopia, art, dialogue, philosophy, god, post apocalypse, mental disorder ...
Time:
year 1986, 80s
Place:
soviet union, ussr, europe, russia
Similarity:
100%
63K
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland, Denmark, France, UK
Duration: 82 min.
Story:
Anna, a young novitiate in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a family secret dating back to the years of the German occupation.
Style:
art house, emotional, visually stunning, cerebral, melancholic ...
Plot:
nun, family secret, faith, world war two, anti semitism, judaism, holocaust, religion, suicide, character study, confronting the past, orphan ...
Time:
60s, post world war two, 2010s, year 2016, 90s ...
Place:
poland, eastern europe, israel, europe, denmark
Similarity:
100%
33K
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, Soviet Union
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
The Russian poet Andrei Gorchakov, accompanied by guide and translator Eugenia, is traveling through Italy researching the life of an 18th-century Russian composer. In an ancient spa town, he meets the lunatic Domenico, who years earlier had ...
Style:
philosophical, atmospheric, cerebral, art house, contemplative ...
Plot:
philosophy, art, church, existentialism, poetry, dream, obsession, storytelling, great ending, poet, memory, redemption ...
Time:
year 1983, 80s, 18th century
Place:
rome italy, italy, soviet union, russia, ussr ...
Similarity:
100%
14K
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
Robert Bresson plumbs great reservoirs of feelings with one of the most searing portraits of human desperation ever put on film.
Style:
art house, black and white, depressing, contemplative, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
child abuse, coming of age, suicide, adolescence, minimalism, betrayal, sexual abuse, solitude, existentialism, children, poacher, humiliation ...
Time:
year 1967, 60s, 20th century
Place:
france, europe, japan, tokyo, paris france
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 46 min.
Story:
Seven year old Sasha practices violin every day to satisfy the ambition of his parents. Already withdrawn as a result of his routines, Sasha quickly regains confidence when he accidentally meets and befriends worker Sergei, who works on a ...
Style:
art house, realistic, serious, spiritual, uplifting ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
youth, friendship, childhood, self discovery, children, young adult, little boy, coming of age, spirituality, minimalism, art, boy ...
Time:
year 1961, 60s
Place:
ussr, soviet union, russia
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
Torn straight from the headlines, Michael Winterbottom's compelling and prescient 'In This World' follows young Afghan Jamal and his older cousin Enayat as they embark on a hazardous overland trip from their refugee camp at Peshawar, ...
Style:
inspirational, bleak, sincere, road movie, political ...
Plot:
refugee, immigrant, politics, hopes, poverty, on the road, life is a bitch, friendship, danger, migration, society, death ...
Time:
year 2002, year 2001
Place:
middle east, afghanistan, iran, tehran iran, pakistan ...
Similarity:
100%
269K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the ...
Style:
bleak, harsh, depressing, rough, gloomy ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
survival, apocalypse, post apocalypse, post apocalyptic, father son relationship, distopia, end of the world, cannibalism, starvation, dystopia, on the road, journey ...
Time:
future, year 2009, near future, distant future, 2000s ...
Place:
pittsburgh, usa, north america, canada
Similarity:
80%
199K
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and make a pact to help him escape from an island in the Mississippi.
Style:
suspense, sweet, southern gothic, suspenseful, touching ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, friendship, childhood, bittersweet, ex convict, first love, fugitives, teenage boy, love story, obsession, hopes, river ...
Time:
year 2012, year 2013, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
mississippi, arkansas, southern usa, usa
Similarity:
100%
60K
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:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada, UK, France, Hungary, Belgium
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
The chilling story of a young American boy living in France in 1918 whose father is working for the US government on the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. What he witnesses helps to mold his beliefs – and we witness the birth of a terrifying ...
Style:
suspense, psychological, bleak, rough, suspenseful ...
Plot:
childhood, fascism, evil child, leader, boy, tantrum, brutality, government agency, boyhood, youth, minimalism, scared ...
Time:
year 1919, 2010s, 1910s
Place:
france
Similarity:
100%
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:
100%
16K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Russia
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Vladimir is reaching the end of his life and decides to leave his wealth to his only daughter, cutting out his wife and her son from his will.
Style:
realistic, serious, philosophical, touching, neo noir ...
Plot:
murder of husband, society, elderly, elderly couple, family relations, social differences, parents and children, disagreement, class differences, father daughter relationship, viagra, luxury ...
Time:
2010s, 90s, year 2011, 21st century
Place:
russia, soviet union, moscow russia
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a ...
Style:
disturbing, bleak, crying, depressing, art house ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
children, poverty, boy, friendship, coming of age, bully, neighbor, urban decay, rat, strike, british, death of child ...
Time:
70s, year 1999, 90s, 20th century
Place:
glasgow scotland, scotland, britain, nebraska
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
A River Runs Through is a cinematographically stunning true story of Norman Maclean. The story follows Norman and his brother Paul through the experiences of life and growing up, and how their love of fly fishing keeps them together despite varying ...
Style:
sentimental, touching, period piece, inspirational, thought provoking ...
Plot:
coming of age, fishing, father son relationship, childhood, river, brother brother relationship, beautiful scenery, self discovery, brothers, wilderness, death of brother, gambling ...
Time:
1900s, 1920s, 1910s, year 1992, 1930s ...
Place:
montana, usa
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Brazil, France
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
An emotive journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
Style:
touching, emotional, road movie, feel good, realistic ...
Plot:
childhood, friendship, letter, road trip, teacher, on the road, children, homeless, bus, poverty, youth, age difference ...
Time:
year 1998, 20th century, 90s
Place:
brazil, south america, rio de janeiro, latin america
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Russia
Duration: 157 min.
Story:
A trip to the pastoral countryside reveals a dark, sinister reality for a family from the city.
Style:
emotional, cerebral, surreal, melancholic, serious ...
Plot:
abortion, death, dysfunctional family, family bonds, relationships, pregnancy, family drama, misunderstanding, crumbling marriage, brothers, betrayal, countryside ...
Time:
90s
Place:
russia, czech republic, europe
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, Germany, France, USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Meeting his handicapped son for the first time, a young father attempts to forge a relationship with the teenager.
Style:
psychological, touching, emotional, serious, contemplative ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
estrangement, parents and children, single parent, teenage life, human nature, disability, hospital, self discovery, coming of age, redemption, hopes, family relations ...
Time:
year 2004
Place:
europe, germany, italy, berlin germany, milan italy
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 217 min.
Story:
In Kyushu, southwest Japan, one hot summer morning, a municipal bus is hijacked. In the carnage only three people survive: the driver, a school girl, and her older brother.
Style:
bleak, psychological, sincere, lyrical, depressing ...
Plot:
road trip, on the road, bus driver, haunted by the past, family relations, serial killer, orphan, starting over, hijacking, bus, redemption, asian ...
Time:
2000s, 90s
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take ...
Style:
independent film, art house, philosophical, slow cinema, contemplative ...
Plot:
suicide, desert, soldier, existentialism, death, abrupt ending, muslim, dialogue, iranian, depression, hopelessness, conversation ...
Time:
year 1997, 90s
Place:
iran, middle east, persia, tehran iran, asia ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger bother, Minus, is ...
Style:
psychological, philosophical, art house, black and white, serious ...
Plot:
schizophrenia, mental illness, older sister, religion, insanity, psychology, nordic, existentialism, dysfunctional family, mental disorder, illness, spirituality ...
Time:
year 1961, 20th century, 60s
Place:
eastern europe, scandinavia
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
With 8 ½ Frederico Fellini leaves a self-portrait where dreams and reality are a mix. With help from a most excellent cast and unique scenery this self reflecting film is one of his master works.
Style:
psychological, art house, cerebral, philosophical, surreal ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
surrealism, childhood, filmmaking, midlife crisis, loneliness, stream of consciousness, flashback, memory, satire, catholic, dream, actress ...
Time:
20th century, year 1963, 60s, 1930s
Place:
italy, europe, paris france, france, england ...
Similarity:
100%
Related movie lists
