Movies like The Forest for the Trees
If you like "The Forest for the Trees" you are looking for psychological, sincere and serious movies about / with teacher, emotional breakdown, loneliness, life is a bitch, fish out of water, dedicated educator and misfit themes of Drama genre shot in Germany.
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 Forest for the Trees (2003)
2K
Original name: Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
As an awkward idealistic high school teacher begins her first job in the city, things turn out to be much tougher than she had imagined.
Style:
psychological, sincere, serious, emotional, mumblecore, sad, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Plot:
teacher, emotional breakdown, loneliness, life is a bitch, fish out of water, dedicated educator, misfit, society, workplace, hardcase students, workplace situations, unsupportive coworkers, high school, obsession, loner, voyeur, isolation, rejection, false friend, education, professor, betrayal by friend, mishap, idealist, teachers and students ...
Time:
90s, 2000s, 21st century, contemporary
Place:
germany, europe
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Forest for the Trees
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, touching and sincere films with plots about society, life is a bitch, power relations, youth, hopes, misfit and teacher mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like The Forest for the Trees: The Invisible Eye (2010), It All Starts Today (1999), To Sir, with Love II (1996), Cheaters (2000), Detachment (2011). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Argentina, France, Spain
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Spying on her students, a teacher finds an exciting hobby.
Style:
realistic, serious, tense, captivating, psychological ...
Plot:
rebellion, high school life, political unrest, youth, society, workplace, teachers and students, against the rules, social relations, workplace situations, responsibility, state affairs ...
Time:
20th century, 80s
Place:
argentina, latin america
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Set in a forlorn mining town near Valencienne in the north of France, the story is about one man's struggle to bring life to his once prosperous village and its inhabitants. Philippe Torreton, who won a César for Best Actor with his title role ...
Style:
social, thought provoking, realistic, serious, bleak ...
Plot:
teacher, education, school teacher, professor, dedicated educator, kindergarten, poverty, corrupt system, human rights, labor, job, homeless ...
Time:
year 1999, 20th century, 90s
Place:
france, europe
Similarity:
92%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Mark Thackeray (Poitier) is a West Indian, who in the 1967 film had taken teaching in a London East End school. He spent twenty years teaching and ten in administrative roles. He has taught the children of his former pupils, but is now retiring.
Style:
political, serious, realistic, uplifting, emotional ...
Plot:
teacher, education, black, juvenile delinquency, high school teacher, school teacher, african american, high school, dedicated educator, hopes, society, idealism ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
chicago, usa
Similarity:
85%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
Style:
realistic, serious, sincere, clever, offbeat
Audience:
teens, kids
Plot:
teachers and students, high school, lifestyle, teenage life, social differences, dedicated educator, youth, contests and competitions, rivalry, society, fraud, teacher ...
Time:
90s
Place:
chicago, usa
Similarity:
85%
110K
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, depressing, bleak, thought provoking, independent film ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, depression, suicide, teachers and students, dedicated educator, school, unhappy, social problems, high school life, teen angst, human relationship, social decay ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
84%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Pat Conroy, an ambitious, slightly rebellious idealistic teacher accepts Bennington county, SC's school board superintendent's offer to teach the all-black kids of the pauper fishery community on Yamacraw Island. Staffless 'head' ...
Style:
realistic, serious, suspense, contemplative
Plot:
teachers and students, society, misfit, power relations, hopes, rebellion, dedicated educator, hardcase students, youth, interracial relations, school, idealism ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
south carolina
Similarity:
78%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
Marc is a passionate cyclist and urban slacker who avoids work and responsibility. Marc's life changes from one moment to the next when he suffers a life-changing accident. He can either wallow in self-pity or tackle the beast called life with ...
Style:
serious, touching, sincere, psychological, emotional ...
Plot:
cyclist, life is a bitch, couple relations, hopes, disability, parents and children, human nature, misfit, human spirit, redemption, family relations, new love ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, germany
Similarity:
76%
37K
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, talky ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
teachers and students, high school life, adolescence, dedicated educator, high school, ethnic diversity, mentor, life philosophy, social relations, workplace, self discovery, teaching ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
paris france, france, europe, morocco, caribbean ...
Similarity:
71%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
Sylvia Barrett is a rookie teacher at New York's inner-city Calvin Coolidge High: her lit classes are overcrowded, a window is broken, there's no chalk, books arrive late. The administration is concerned mainly with forms and rules ...
Style:
esoteric, independent film, serious, realistic, bleak ...
Plot:
teacher, school teacher, education, teaching, teacher student relationship, high school teacher, high school, dedicated educator, racial discrimination, mentor, racism, unrequited love ...
Time:
year 1967, 60s
Place:
new york, usa
Similarity:
70%
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A young doctor relocates to a remote region of central Asia, thinking his fiancee soon will join him ...
Style:
realistic, captivating, serious, psychological, touching ...
Plot:
doctors and patients, boss and employee, self discovery, workplace, hopes, countryside, workplace situations, fish out of water, doctor, loneliness, social relations, friends ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
russia, asia
Similarity:
66%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A business man decides that he wants to teach school in the inner city and chooses a tough school in the South Bronx. He teaches the children how to play the game of chess, and along the way they learn a lot about life.
Style:
touching, realistic, serious, spiritual, uplifting
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
chess, teacher, school teacher, misfit, youth, hardcase students, high school life, juvenile delinquency, elementary school, lifestyle, hopes, life is a bitch ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, bronx new york city
Similarity:
60%
Genre: Drama
Country: Cuba
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Meet Chala, an eleven year-old boy with a hard life and strong respect for Carmela, his sixth grade teacher. The pair develops a solid bond, but after Carmela suffers an accident, things get complicated…
Style:
serious, realistic, emotional, touching, inspirational ...
Plot:
boy, hopes, female teacher, alcoholic mother, kids in trouble, hardcase students, society, rebellion, youth, dedicated educator, teachers and students, urban ghetto life ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
cuba, latin america, havana cuba
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
Based on the true story of a beloved teacher for the blind who discovers she herself is losing her eyesight.
Style:
sentimental, emotional, touching, serious, realistic ...
Plot:
blindness, cancer, love and romance, hopes, renewed love, life is a bitch, lovers reunited, disability, blind character, blind man, power relations, down on your luck ...
Time:
80s, 90s, 20th century
Place:
arizona, usa
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A study of the friendship between a Chinese woman and a fisherman who came to Italy from Yugoslavia many years ago, who live in a small city-island in the Veneto lagoon.
Style:
serious, realistic, emotional, atmospheric, touching ...
Plot:
friendship, hopes, single parent, social relations, life is a bitch, society, workplace, misfit, fish out of water, workplace situations, poet, sailing ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
italy, venice, europe
Similarity:
54%
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
A troubled and emotionally fragile woman finds herself at the center of a firestorm, in this gut-wrenching psychological drama.
Style:
thought provoking, psychological, disturbing, rough, sincere ...
Plot:
female teacher, hostage, teachers and students, juvenile delinquency, hardcase students, youth, mentally unstable, high school, life is a bitch, society, breaking point, police ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
france, paris france
Similarity:
53%
237
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A new kid moves into a tough neighborhood controlled by gangs, and tries to teach them poetry.
Style:
serious, emotional, realistic, touching, independent film ...
Plot:
gang, poetry, teenage life, idealism, fighting the system, youth, dedicated educator, life is a bitch, rebellion, society, stoner, school ...
Time:
year 1988, 80s
Place:
new york
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Anesthesist Doug Peeno hopes to pay for the legal costs of preventing his son Bryan being left in his first wife's bad custody with he proceeds of his present wife Linda's new job. She's the first graduate in her family and eagerly ...
Style:
sincere, emotional, realistic, serious
Plot:
public health, idealism, uncover truth, rebellion, ambition, fighting the system, against the odds, couples, negligence, family problems, injustice, society ...
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Frank and Simone have fulfilled a dream and live with their two children in a row house in the suburbs. They are a happy couple, until the day Frank is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The family is suddenly confronted with death.
Style:
realistic, contemplative, captivating, serious, emotional ...
Plot:
hospital, family relations, family life, unfulfillment, suburbs, male nudity, suffering, family problems, life is a bitch, dealing with death, family in crisis, male pubic hair ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, germany
Similarity:
52%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
All, including school administration and a friend, turn their backs on a girl who accused a classmate of rape.
Style:
touching, realistic, disturbing, sincere, rough ...
Audience:
chick flick, teens
Plot:
rape, innocence lost, high school, sexualized violence, juvenile delinquency, rape and revenge, teenage love, against the odds, fighting the system, rebellion, youth, rivalry ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
51%
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
One Monday morning Katya, Vika and Zhanna learn that there will be a school disco, their first disco, on the coming Saturday night. The girls feverishly start preparing for the event, which rapidly becomes the most important moment ever in their ...
Style:
touching, realistic, gloomy, serious, suspense ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
friends, teenage life, life is a bitch, boy girl relationship, youth, family problems, friendship, high school life, social relations, dysfunctional family, school, social decay ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
soviet union, moscow russia, russia, ussr
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A drama directed by Michael Switzer.
Style:
realistic, serious, uplifting, captivating, gloomy ...
Plot:
child molester, autism, mentally challenged, teacher student relationship, testimony, courtroom, victim, teacher, mental illness, sexual cruelty, children, youth ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
47%
318
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A German corporate headhunter travels to Houston, Texas, in pursuit of a renowned oil company CEO, only to have his life fall apart.
Style:
realistic, serious, disturbing, psychological, suspenseful ...
Plot:
addiction, life turned upside down, introspection, life is a bitch, estrangement, workplace situations, workplace, alcohol abuse, disorder, plan gone wrong, business, top executive ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, germany, texas
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
How should you spend your time if your days are numbered? This is the question facing Linda, a young woman suffering from a congenital heart defect. Contrary to her doctors’ expectations she has managed to survive to celebrate her thirtieth ...
Style:
emotional, touching, serious, realistic, sincere ...
Plot:
sisters, introspection, family relations, terminal illness, life is a bitch, surgical operation, journey, dealing with death, unfulfillment, siblings relations, sister sister relationship, strong female presence ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, germany, hamburg germany, paris france
Similarity:
44%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
A young farmer in Central France tries to sustain his spiritual connection to the land amid the crushing pressures of modern agriculture in this brooding drama.
Style:
serious, realistic, atmospheric, captivating, melancholic ...
Plot:
farm, estrangement, countryside, workplace situations, workplace, society, nothing goes right, down on your luck, life is a bitch, tradition, chore, solitude ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
france, europe
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
A young, white teacher is assigned to an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina populated mostly by poor black families. He finds that the basically illiterate, neglected children there know so little of the world outside their island.
Style:
deep, realistic, serious, uplifting, thought provoking ...
Plot:
teacher, racism, school teacher, education, youth, racial discrimination, american south, african american, humanist, teaching, black history, blaxploitation ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, 60s, year 1969
Place:
south carolina, america, usa, southern usa
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.
Style:
contemplative, thought provoking, captivating, psychological, independent film ...
Plot:
chess, social problems, misfit, high school, life is a bitch, society, dedicated educator, human relationship, teacher, city, unconventional method, youth ...
Place:
miami
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
Two misfit males, one man-child, one boy, find each other, building a small cabin in the woods to create a new life. Their daily struggle for survival creates a strong bond between them until the hut is destroyed and one of the boys carted off. The ...
Style:
rough, serious, touching, realistic, gloomy
Plot:
woods, misfit, mentally unstable, leaving home, life is a bitch, friendship, young heroes, mental illness, mental institution, loneliness, mental disorder, psychology ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
germany
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A nearly sightless boy is sent to a school for blind children, where he secretly discovers the possibilities of the recorded sound.
Style:
contemplative, serious, realistic, touching, educational ...
Plot:
boy, disability, hopes, blind character, coming of age, against the odds, friendship, follow your dream, rebellion, fighting the system, society, rebelliousness ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
italy, europe, tuscany
Similarity:
40%
372
Genre: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 75 min.
Story:
Joy is an emotionally damaged young woman of eighteen, who was given up at birth, to grow up in homes and with foster families. She lives on the fringes of society, getting by on benefits and earning a little extra by playing the accordion in the ...
Style:
psychological, realistic, atmospheric, emotional, tense ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
obsession, parents and children, life is a bitch, teenage life, redemption, shoplifting, mistaken identity, society, family relations, hopes, dysfunctional family, youth ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
39%
378
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Story of a New England boys' school and of one of the students who is infatuated with an instructor's wife who has Multiple Sclerosis. The woman struggles to show her strict husband how love rather than demands helps the student to ...
Style:
independent film, serious, realistic, touching, gloomy ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
housewife, disability, waking up, boarding school, multiple sclerosis, teacher, infatuation, hopes, ambition, unfulfillment, couple relations, idealism ...
Time:
year 1996, 60s, 20th century
Place:
new england
Similarity:
37%
Related movie lists
