Movies like The Wave 2008
If you like "The Wave" you are looking for psychological, philosophical and emotional movies about / with fascism, experiment, suicide, nazism, teacher, bullying and teachers and students themes of Drama 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 Wave (2008)
111K
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Original name: Die Welle
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 the masses can become manipulated.
Style:
psychological, philosophical, emotional, political, disturbing, thought provoking, intellectual, mind bending, realistic, motivational ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
fascism, experiment, suicide, nazism, teacher, bullying, teachers and students, dictatorship, high school, education, against humanity, politics, fanaticism, distopia, violence, society, psychology, dictator, anarchist, friendship, vandalism, world war two, justice, childhood, school ...
Time:
contemporary
Place:
germany, california, europe
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Wave
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, interesting and psychological films with plots about storytelling, runaway, mentor, brutality, catastrophe, dialogue and corruption mostly in Drama, Thriller and Mystery genres. Some movies like The Wave: The Experiment (2001), Detachment (2011), The Class (2008), Elephant (2003), Evil (2003). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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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, thought provoking, rough, tense, disturbing ...
Plot:
prison, experiment, torture, suspense, aggression, human experiment, psychology, disorder, prison escape, isolation, degradation, abuse ...
Time:
70s, 21st century
Place:
germany, canada
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long ...
Style:
psychological, bleak, thought provoking, depressing, touching ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, depression, suicide, teachers and students, dedicated educator, human relationship, school, unhappy, social problems, life is a bitch, society, social decay ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
36K
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.
Style:
sincere, melancholic, psychological, realistic, thought provoking ...
Audience:
teens, kids, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
teacher, teachers and students, school, high school life, society, high school, education, teenager, dedicated educator, adolescence, mentor, life philosophy ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
paris france, france, latin america, california, europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
93K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. The film chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting.
Style:
disturbing, bleak, realistic, controversial, non-linear ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
school shooting, violence, mass murder, teacher, teenager, school, murder, high school, bullying, youth, serial killer, suicide ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, california, portland oregon
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
40K
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Stockholm, the fifties. Though academically bright, violent pupil Erik Ponti is expelled from his state school with the headmaster’s words “there’s only one word for people like you – evil… what you need is a good thrashing, and more”. ...
Style:
psychological, disturbing, touching, rough, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
rebellion, coming of age, private school, friendship, rebelliousness, corporal punishment, humiliation, life is a bitch, bully, high school, violence, boarding school ...
Time:
20th century, 50s
Place:
sweden, europe, stockholm sweden, eastern europe, scandinavia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Also search:
Fight Club similar movies
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
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:
psychological, disturbing, bleak, depressing, gloomy ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
psychopath, evil child, depression, high school, guilt, mother son relationship, mental illness, prison visit, school shooting, family problems, childhood, parents and children ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
connecticut, usa, new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Drama, Sport, Thriller, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) – high schools that produce Nazi elite. Over his father's objections, Friedrich enrolls. During his year in seventh ...
Style:
melancholic, harsh, disturbing, emotional, sentimental ...
Plot:
nazi, boxing, friendship, anti semitism, boarding school, nazi germany, war, pow, world war two, youth, military school, gay subtext ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, post world war two, year 1942
Place:
germany, berlin germany, poland, new jersey, europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
67%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.
Style:
psychological, rough, thought provoking, tense, disturbing ...
Plot:
prison, prison life, psychology, confined, experiment gone awry, human nature, violence, brutality, torture, moral ambiguity, bullying, twists and turns ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
india
⇓ similarity ⇓
60%
Movie in collections
15K
Genre: Drama
Country: Estonia
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
An average guy of an Estonian high-school decides to defend his bullied classmate. This starts war between him and the informal leader of the class. As teenagers' honour is a touchy thing, everything ends in bloodshed.
Style:
disturbing, serious, tense, emotional, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
school shooting, vengeance, society, humiliation, youth, friendship, social relations, life is a bitch, friends, teenage life, social misfits, juvenile delinquency ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
estonia, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
60%
19K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Belgium, Netherlands
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Harassed by bullies because of his mild autism, teen Ben (Greg Timmermans) finds refuge in an online computer game, which leads him to his virtual dream girl, Scarlite (Laura Verlinden). Together, the odd couple seeks revenge against Ben's ...
Style:
psychological, surprise ending, serious, stylized, sad ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
autism, bullying, asperger's syndrome, communication problem, escape from reality, internet, mental illness, faked death, computer, suicide, computer game, antisocial behavior ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
belgium, brussels
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
Also search:
V for Vendetta related movies
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 ...
Style:
gloomy, tense, reflective, atmospheric, sincere ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
cold war, surveillance, spy, communism, berlin wall, stasi, iron curtain, espionage, voyeurism, loneliness, interrogation, politics ...
Time:
80s, year 1984, 20th century, 90s
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, europe, central europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
26%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Trevor is a troubled high school student, thanks to the effects of bullying. This is the story of his fight to break free.
Style:
realistic, harsh, suspenseful, sincere, sad ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
bullying, depression, school shooting, teacher, vengeance, school, social misfits, high school, teenage life, teenager, violence, childhood ...
Place:
tokyo, oregon
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Taking place during the 1976 Soweto uprising, the story follows a white school teacher whose life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Style:
thought provoking, talky, emotional, disturbing, realistic ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
racism, lawyer, fighting the system, legal, society, injustice, rebellion, discrimination, women, children, courtroom, friendship ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1976
Place:
south africa, africa, australia, england, new jersey ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
After surviving a stabbing by a student, teacher Trevor Garfield moves from New York to Los Angeles. There, he resumes teaching as a substitute teacher. The education system, where violent bullies control the classrooms and the administration is ...
Style:
realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, unusual plot structure, allegory ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, high school, gang, gangsters, teenager, revenge, suspense, hip hop, mentor, vengeance, ghetto, mafia ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
los angeles, new york, new jersey, california, usa ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
20K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Switzerland
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
Jealousy flares after the headmistress of an elite boarding school for girls becomes obsessed with a new student.
Style:
atmospheric, melancholic, serious, stylized, erotic ...
Audience:
girls' night, teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
boarding school, coming of age, lesbian, older woman younger woman relationship, obsession, lesbian relationship, boarding school life, lesbian interest, asthma, teenage crush, school, girls' boarding school ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1934
Place:
england, spain, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Also search:
Movies like The Butterfly Effect
22K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
An American, Leopold Kessler, goes to post-war Germany in 1945 to work as a railroad conductor for the Zentropa Rail Line instead of going into the Army because he feels its a more valuable thing to do for the state of the world. He meets Katharina ...
Style:
surreal, gloomy, bleak, psychological, art house ...
Plot:
train, world war two, assassination, idealism, betrayal, terrorism, against humanity, misfit, nazi, suicide, employee, haunted by the past ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 20th century
Place:
germany, poland, munich germany, europe, frankfurt germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A hardcore American racist skinhead who, because of his intelligence, leads a gang dedicated to fighting the enemy: the supposed American-Jewish conspiracy for domination. However, he's hiding a secret: he's Jewish-born, a brilliant ...
Style:
disturbing, emotional, thought provoking, bleak, realistic ...
Plot:
skinhead, judaism, racism, anti semitism, neo nazi, nazism, hate, jewish, bomb, identity crisis, anger, introspection ...
Time:
60s, 20th century
Place:
new york, usa, israel, argentina, germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
99K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Greece
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family ...
Style:
disturbing, psychological, thought provoking, art house, sexy ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, adult, teen drama
Plot:
incest, dysfunctional family, siblings relations, isolated house, brother sister incest, child abuse, eccentric family, family problems, overprotective father, cat, confined, greek ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
greece, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Movie in collections
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:
enigmatic, tense, psychological, disturbing, surreal ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
writers, teacher, high school, school, suspense, obsession, literature, student, art, privacy invasion, voyeurism, stalking ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
france, paris france
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Genre: Drama, 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, intense, emotional ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
loneliness, internet, multiple storylines, couples, cyberspace, dishonesty, lawyer, bullying, social media, lifestyle, character study, family problems ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new jersey, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Also search:
Movies like Room
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A two character movie, involving a college professor, John, who is confronted by a female student, Carol, who is failing his course. The two spend a long time talking to each other, during which time John says a few things that can be taken the ...
Style:
psychological, disturbing, serious, realistic, intense ...
Plot:
manipulation, police investigation, existentialism, revenge, violent, sexual harassment, dishonesty, teachers and students, sexual abuse, art, prejudice, redemption ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
new jersey
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Inspired by a true story. A petty criminal sent to Alcatraz in the 1930s is caught attempting to make an escape. As punishment he is put in solitary confinement. The maximum stay is supposed to be 19 days, but Henri spends years alone, cold and in ...
Style:
dramatic, emotional, thought provoking, tense, political ...
Plot:
prison, courtroom, lawyer, alcatraz, court, prison escape, justice, murder, legal, escape attempt, suspense, courtroom drama ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1941, year 1938
Place:
san francisco, california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: France, Germany, Netherlands, Israel
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Paradise Now is filmed from the perspective of two Palestinian men who are preparing to perform a suicide attack in Israel. This is the first film to deal with the subject of suicide bombers.
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, bleak, controversial, political ...
Plot:
terrorism, politics, suicide, freedom, friendship, bomb, israeli palestinian conflict, manipulation, self sacrifice, occupation, destiny, mission gone awry ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
middle east, palestine, israel, palestinian authority, jerusalem ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
The story of former UVF member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffen's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.
Style:
psychological, rough, emotional, intense, serious ...
Plot:
redemption, reconciliation, murder, memory, haunted by the past, secrets, life is a bitch, acceptance, terrorism, gangsters, ira, vengeance ...
Time:
70s, 2000s, year 1975, 21st century
Place:
ireland, northern ireland, london, europe, australia
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
82K
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, surreal, art house, tense ...
Plot:
suicide, guilt, childhood, dysfunctional family, videotaping, family in crisis, haunted by the past, suspense, voyeurism, psychology, lie, nightmare ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
paris france, france, germany, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Also search:
Films like A Few Good Men
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
A quiet and inconspicuous man (Trelkovsky) rents an apartment in France where the previous tenant committed suicide, and begins to suspect his landlord and neighbors are trying to subtly change him into the last tenant so that he too will kill ...
Style:
psychological, surreal, scary, atmospheric, disturbing ...
Plot:
surrealism, paranoia, insanity, suspense, bruce lee, dark humor, nightmare, apartment building, mental illness, hallucination, suicide, conspiracy ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
paris france, france, europe
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.
Style:
intense, suspenseful, psychological, atmospheric, harsh ...
Plot:
revenge, rape, suspense, hospital, attack, surveillance, teacher, marriage, death, twists and turns, character study, actor ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
iran, poland, middle east, tehran iran, tehran
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
On a winter day in a southside Queens high school, events collide and six students are suddenly in an armed standoff with the NYPD. At the school, classrooms freeze, teachers come and go, resources are scant.
Style:
thought provoking, educational, feel good, harsh, dramatic ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night
Plot:
high school, hostage, coming of age, school, hip hop, vengeance, unlikely friendships, violence, women, weapons, internet, culture clash ...
Time:
90s
Place:
new york, new jersey, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On ...
Style:
bleak, thought provoking, rough, disturbing, harsh ...
Plot:
world war two, genocide, against humanity, war crime, brutality, atrocity, occupation, anti war, war, military, children in wartime, holocaust ...
Time:
1940s, year 1943, 20th century
Place:
germany, ussr, poland, europe, russia
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 150 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:
suspenseful, tense, compassionate, captivating, political ...
Plot:
tunnel, berlin wall, politics, suspense, betrayal, communism, escape, political unrest, wartime, freedom, breast feeding, brutality ...
Time:
60s
Place:
east germany, germany, berlin germany, west berlin west germany, german democratic republic ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
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