Movies like Pendulum Swings

If you like "Pendulum Swings" you are looking for emotional, serious and melancholic movies about / with redemption, compassion, second chance, recovery, empathy, character study and self destructing themes of Drama genre shot in USA.
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.
Pendulum Swings (2011)
 6.8
 44
Pendulum Swings (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story: PENDULUM SWINGS follows a man into a dark place in his life - a place at which he arrives through a combination of bad decisions and forces beyond his control. When he finally hits bottom, he is presented with an opportunity to climb out of his despair with a helping hand from a small number of people who could have chosen to judge him or write him off, but choose instead to offer compassion and grace.
Style: emotional, serious, melancholic, realistic, reflective, psychological, independent film, tragic
Plot: redemption, compassion, second chance, recovery, empathy, character study, self destructing, morality, healing, humanity, moral dilemma, resilience, intimate, friendship, addiction, family drama, small town, crisis of faith, urban decay, faith, divorced father, hopes, suicidal thoughts, pendulum, self destruction ...
Time: contemporary

Movie in categories

emotional movies
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redemption movies
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compassion movies
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melancholic movies
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recovery movies
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empathy movies
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Most similar movies to Pendulum Swings

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out emotional, melancholic, realistic and independent film films with plots about redemption, intimate, small town, second chance, healing, character study and friendship mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Pendulum Swings: Godsend (2021), Grief Share (2024), The Last Brickmaker in America (2001), Home (2013), Tjommies (2023). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
 5.7
 100
Godsend (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: When a man (Michael Ochotorena, "John Light," "Dispatched") wakes up under a bridge to discover he no longer knows who he is or how he got there, his life brutally unfolds as a homeless person. Enduring the scorn of random ...
Style: emotional, realistic, reflective, independent film, road movie
Plot: kindness, compassion, homelessness, hopes, humanity, street life, redemption, amnesia, loss, faith, survival, second chance ...
Similarity:
95%
The Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min.
Story: A short film that tells the story of three older men who come into the same restaurant on Wednesday mornings at the same time every week. The story is told from the perspective of Megan, the newly hired waitress at the restaurant that takes classes ...
Style: reflective, emotional, realistic, uplifting, independent film
Plot: restaurant, empathy, humanity, compassion, routine, personal growth, slice of life, intimate, friendship, faith, bittersweet, healing ...
Similarity:
84%
Grief Share (2024)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min.
Story: "Grief Share" centers around a diverse group of individuals who are brought together by their mutual desire to heal. Each member of the class has experienced a profound loss and each individual's story parallels the parables of Jesus.
Style: emotional, inspirational, sincere, reflective, spiritual ...
Plot: grief, faith healing, loss, healing, bereavement, support group, hopes, empathy, mourning, faith based, religious, community ...
Similarity:
75%
The Last Brickmaker in America (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story: A man must cope with the loss of his wife and the obsolescence of his job before finding redemption by becoming a role model to an equally lost 13-year-old.
Style: realistic, serious, touching, sincere, reflective ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: friendship, family relations, self discovery, teenage life, interracial relations, hopes, society, idealism, spoiled brat, quibbling, aging, death in the family ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Similarity:
74%
Movie in collections
 7.4
 198
Home (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: The story of a man suffering from mental illness who attempts to rebuild his life.
Style: realistic, uplifting, sincere, independent film, psychological ...
Plot: mental illness, redemption, parents and children, starting over, hopes, family relations, friendship, empathy, realism, character study, isolation, independence ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, new york
Similarity:
72%
Tjommies (2023)
Genre: Drama
Country: South Africa
Story: When a retired police inspector, who suffers from agoraphobia, receives an eviction notice, he befriends a homeless boy and together they come up with a plan to get rid of his phobia.
Style: heartfelt, psychological, emotional, contemplative, realistic
Plot: mental health, isolation, agoraphobia, friendship, healing, recovery, bonding, redemption, loneliness, homelessness, personal growth, character study ...
Similarity:
67%
 6.8
 34
Endings (2010)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Emmy Ferguson is a 10-year old who learns that, after a long bout with leukemia, today is probably her last day on earth. Chris Ryan is a 35-year-old drug addict who is determined to make this his last day. And Adonna Frost, suffering from advanced ...
Style: emotional, poignant, melancholic, sad, contemplative ...
Plot: cancer, drug addict, terminal illness, death, dying, mortality, family relations, empathy, child protagonist, character study, grief, addiction ...
Similarity:
64%
 6.7
 503
Grace & Glorie (1998)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: When a lonely ex-New Yorker moves into the home of a rural senior to act as a hospice worker, the two initially couldn't seem to be less alike. However, as time passes, the two find much kinship including a lost child. Slowly the two build a ...
Style: heartfelt, life affirming, emotional, serious, reflective
Plot: friendship, bonding, life lesson, healing, humanity, companionship, senior citizen, loneliness, small town, intimate, family drama, resilience ...
Time: 90s
Place: new york, connecticut
Similarity:
63%
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 5.3
 30
Two Pictures (2018)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Two strangers - Ruth, a burn unit nurse and Conrad, a shipyard worker - cross paths over a strange weekend in Seattle.
Style: captivating, psychological, thrilling, emotional, independent film ...
Plot: dreaming, nurse, problem, bonding, character study, redemption, empathy, heroism, intimate, blue collar, slice of life, second chance ...
Similarity:
59%
Eternal Salvation (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story: Jonathan Wright has it all, a prestigious job, incredibly beautiful wife Amy, gorgeous 7-year-old daughter Megan and countless friends. In the prime of his life, Jonathan suffers a life threatening brain aneurysm that leaves him comatose. After ...
Style: serious, touching, realistic, suspenseful, spiritual ...
Audience: adult
Plot: salvation, love, christian, friendship, filmmaking, family relations, best friend, father daughter relationship, parent child relationship, friends, friendship between men, second chance ...
Time: 21st century
Similarity:
58%
An Encounter with the Messiah (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story: The Woman with the Issue of Blood, or as we call her in our film, Maria. She was arguably the most well-known, nameless figure in the bible. A woman who suffered for 12 years with an incurable disease. 12 years of doctors telling her that they can ...
Style: religious drama, serious, inspirational, emotional, reflective ...
Plot: faith, miraculous event, hopes, faith healing, faith based, redemption, spiritual journey, compassion, sacrifice, forgiveness, urban, perseverance ...
Similarity:
57%
A Cross to Bear (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: Mother of a 15-month old daughter and would-be dancer, fighting alcoholism and the hardships of living on the streets gets help from a home for women and tries to find the will to live and get her life back on track
Style: realistic, serious, sincere, touching, inspirational ...
Plot: addiction, friendship, starting over, adoption, poverty, pregnancy, family relations, hopes, life is a bitch, optimism, couples, babies and infants ...
Time: 21st century
Similarity:
55%
 6.7
 29
Rhino (2022)
Genre: Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 85 min.
Story: DamiĂ¡n, an 11-year-old boy who is separated from his violent family, is taken to live in a children's home by state intervention. Accompanied by Leandro, a social worker with a personal story similar to his, DamiĂ¡n will have to accept that ...
Style: emotional, melancholic, psychological
Plot: social issues, domestic violence, coming of age, childhood, trauma, foster home, children's home, healing, intimate, social worker, empathy, resilience ...
Time: 2020s
Place: argentina
Similarity:
50%
 6.6
 33
Refuge (2017)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: The lives of a Hollywood actress battling drug addiction, a teen with a violent past, a teacher fighting to keep a dream alive, and a cop caught in a love triangle are brought together by fate.
Style: realistic, serious, independent film, tense, touching ...
Plot: addiction, redemption, hopes, love triangle, haunted by the past, dedicated educator, youth, hollywood, rehabilitation, trauma, celebrity, recovery ...
Time: 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, usa
Similarity:
49%
Brandy Diaries (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 144 min.
Story: Srinu, a civil aspirant, struggles with failure in love and ends up with an addiction to alcohol. Will he fight his inner demons to cure his addiction?
Style: realistic, emotional, bleak, intense, melancholic ...
Plot: alcoholism, addiction, mishap, self destructing, character study, redemption, regret, heartbreak, young adult, personal growth, desperation, loss ...
Place: india
Similarity:
49%
 6.3
 143
Lucky Child (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 89 min.
Story: A man who has lost his wife and daughter finds a baby in a garbage. He decides to save her.
Style: emotional, melancholic, realistic, art house, independent film ...
Plot: grief, child abandonment, loss, family tragedy, single father, rescue, redemption, compassion, loneliness, character study, bittersweet, social realism ...
Similarity:
47%
 8.3
 24
For Michelle (2017)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story: When Brett Cornell learns that the mother of a child he is alleged to have Fathered 5 years prior, has died in an accident, he heads south to try and take custody of the daughter that he never knew. Brett takes to desperate measures to make it in ...
Style: emotional, tense, independent film, romantic drama, psychological ...
Plot: family drama, fatherhood, child custody, custody battle, foster home, single father, character study, second chance, moral dilemma, male protagonist, redemption, parenthood ...
Place: new york, north carolina, south carolina
Similarity:
47%
Linked (2017)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 46 min.
Story: A troubled young man battles his inner demons as he seeks redemption and a second chance in his life.
Style: reflective, emotional, realistic, serious, melancholic ...
Plot: redemption, second chance, self discovery, personal growth, soul searching, regret, coming of age, trauma, moral dilemma, loss, isolation, identity ...
Similarity:
47%
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I'm Beginning To See the Light (2025)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story: A tale of self-rediscovery seen through the eyes of a grief-stricken trumpeter, who finds salvation in a lighthouse and its two suicidal visitors.
Style: emotional, dramatic, contemplative, atmospheric, melancholic ...
Plot: lighthouse, grief, suicide, seaside, empathy, loneliness, trumpet player, salvation, healing, intimate, mourning, redemption ...
Similarity:
46%
One More Chance (1981)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: An ex-convict, after spending six years in prison, tries to re-establish a relationship with the son he hasn't seen in all that time.
Style: realistic, heartfelt, emotional, melancholic, independent film ...
Plot: father son relationship, ex convict, family drama, second chance, redemption, reconciliation, estranged son, forgiveness, regret, male protagonist, parenting, bittersweet ...
Time: 80s, 20th century
Place: los angeles
Similarity:
46%
 6.2
 515
Soda Springs (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: The story of a man's struggle to claim his future by confronting his past. The road is not an easy one as old demons resurface to threaten everything Eden has fought to overcome.
Style: realistic, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional ...
Plot: small town, redemption, starting over, haunted by the past, family relations, lifestyle, hopes, homecoming, parents and children, going straight, social relations, male protagonist ...
Time: future, 21st century
Place: idaho, america, usa
Similarity:
46%
Abandoned Man (2025)
Genre: Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 91 min.
Story: After serving time in prison for his brother's crime, a man warily reunites with family, finding hope and healing in a life-changing bond with his niece.
Style: dramatic, emotional, realistic, melancholic, suspense
Plot: family drama, second chance, redemption, guilt, trauma, family secret, healing, uncle niece relationship, bittersweet, moral dilemma, intimate, forgiveness ...
Similarity:
44%
 7.9
 1K
Mandali (2023)
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Mandali mirrors the journey of a man and his struggle to uphold righteousness in times of diminishing social conscience and the downfall of cultural and traditional values through the protagonist. Purshottam Chaubey aka Puru is a peon in an ...
Style: serious, melancholic
Plot: morality, drug abuse, redemption, struggle, addiction, crisis of conscience, family conflict, guilt, mature, resilience, intimate, recovery ...
Similarity:
43%
Movie in collections
 4.9
 167
Hope Bridge (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: After a high school boy learns that his father committed suicide, he begins a journey to find hope and reconciliation in the midst of his grief.
Style: emotional, psychological, captivating, thrilling, poignant ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: hopes, suicide, bereavement, father son relationship, faith, depression, grief, family relations, relationships, life is a bitch, dysfunctional family, loss of father ...
Similarity:
42%
Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo (2024)
Genre: Drama
Country: Egypt
Duration: 100 min.
Story: The story follows Hassan and his dog, Rambo, as they embark on a quest to save Rambo from Hassan's vengeful landlord, whom the dog attacked. Through his challenging journey across Cairo to find a safe haven for Rambo, Hassan confronts his ...
Style: emotional, heartfelt, realistic, tense, melancholic
Plot: self discovery, human animal relationship, friendship, loyalty, resilience, character study, empathy, compassion, moral dilemma, social realism, social commentary, quest ...
Place: cairo egypt, egypt
Similarity:
42%
 6.2
 294
Broke (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 105 min.
Story: A disgraced sports star and gambling addict attempts to turn his life around with the support of his number one fan.
Style: disturbing, psychological, captivating, emotional, melancholic
Plot: gambling addiction, redemption, working class, gambler, second chance, lifestyle change, athlete's life, social issues, gambling, changing lives, problem, social problems ...
Similarity:
42%
Flowers for Fannie (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Fannie Fairchild locked up her heart when her beloved George was killed in the Great War. But now she faces her own mortality and realizes that she has no one to maintain her grave with flowers.
Style: reflective, melancholic, romantic drama, emotional, spiritual ...
Plot: mortality, loss, loneliness, elderly man, intimate, bittersweet, acceptance, character study, aging, friendship, memory, compassion ...
Similarity:
40%
 7.6
 446
Ilayaraja (2019)
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 141 min.
Story: Vanajan hails from a modest household and lives with his ailing father, wife and children. One day, he finds himself at a crossroads when his moneylender makes him an unusual offer.
Style: emotional, realistic, melancholic, intense, tense
Plot: loan shark, poverty, family drama, small town, empathy, moral dilemma, survival, working class, sacrifice, slice of life, desperation, intimate ...
Similarity:
40%
 5.9
 485
Magnus (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: Estonia, UK
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Magnus, a handsome teenager, wants to commit suicide and his father tries to change his mind.
Style: psychological, emotional, melancholic, realistic, independent film ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: suicide, father son relationship, coming of age, family drama, intimate, mental illness, redemption, bittersweet, healing, dark humor, alienation, isolation ...
Time: 2000s
Place: estonia
Similarity:
39%
 5.9
 343
The Winner (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland, USA, Switzerland
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Oliver (Pawel Szajda) is a talented young pianist of Polish American heritage. After breaking off his European tournée, he is forced to repay the tour organizers 250 thousand Euros. On his journey, he meets the very colorful character of (Janusz ...
Style: emotional, reflective, inspirational, melancholic, road movie ...
Plot: horse race, friendship, piano, triumph, personal growth, character study, musician, redemption, second chance, underdog, bittersweet, intimate ...
Place: poland, eastern europe, new york, chicago
Similarity:
39%