Movies and TV shows like Ellis Island
If you like "Ellis Island" you are looking for period piece, historical drama and family saga movies or TV shows about / with american dream, immigration, struggle, assimilation, hopes, survival and poverty themes of Drama and History genre shot in USA.
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Ellis Island (1984)
313
Genre: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 420 min.
TV show
Story:
The lives and struggles of some of the countless immigrants who arrived on Ellis Island during the 19th century in search of the American Dream.
Style:
period piece, historical drama, family saga, emotional, poignant, educational, nostalgic
Audience:
adult
Plot:
american dream, immigration, struggle, assimilation, hopes, survival, poverty, discrimination, realism, adaptation, identity, social realism, class conflict, detention, bureaucracy, xenophobia, biopic, urbanization, immigrant, world war one, torture, extramarital affair, arrival, irish american, arrow ...
Time:
turn of the century, 19th century, 1910s
Place:
new york
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Most similar movies to Ellis Island
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out historical drama, period piece, melancholic and family saga films and TV series with plots about identity, survival, adaptation, family relations, coming of age, resilience and class conflict mostly in Drama, History and War genres. Some movies like Ellis Island: Pathfinding to the Northeast (2008), Manure and Gillyflowers (1978), The Seekers (1979), Naples to New York (2024), The Merchant: Gaekju 2015 (2015). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story:
The series tell a story about ZHU, Kaishan's family migrating from Shandong province to the Northeast in China during the end of the Qing Dynasty to the outbreak of the Second World War, which was a period full of turbulences and even chaos, ...
Style:
historical drama, family saga, period piece, serious, disturbing ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
chinese history, migration, struggle, social problems, family relations, life is a bitch, dynasty, immigration, family drama, dysfunctional family, family problems, immigrant ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
95%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: West Germany
Duration: 90 min.
TV show
Story:
A story about the life of Maximiliane Irene von Quindt based on a classic novel by Christine Bruckner .
Style:
family saga, period piece, historical drama, emotional, bleak ...
Plot:
world war two, german history, female protagonist, aristocracy, literary, adaptation, nostalgia, loss, manor, class conflict, social change, survival ...
Time:
20th century
Similarity:
91%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 240 min.
TV show
Story:
The sons and grandchildren of Philip Kent make a life for themselves in America.
Style:
family saga, dramatic, realistic, historical drama, sentimental ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
family relations, american revolution, american dream, immigration, inheritance, migration, perseverance, ambition, identity, adaptation, small town life, intimate ...
Time:
19th century, 18th century
Place:
america
Similarity:
86%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
In the immediate post-war period, amidst the rubble of a poverty-ridden Naples, two kids, Carmine and Celestina, try to survive as best they can by helping each other out. One night, they secretly board a ship bound for New York to reach ...
Style:
realistic, emotional, neorealism, historical drama, period piece ...
Plot:
post war, journey, immigration, struggle, social realism, hopes, resilience, working class, poverty, coming of age, friendship, survival ...
Time:
1950s, 1940s
Place:
new york, naples italy, italy
Similarity:
79%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Many great men come from humble beginnings. During the end of the tumultuous Chosun Dynasty, Chun Bong Sam is a poor peddler who inherits a run-down inn. Through hard work and perseverance against a corrupt bureaucracy, Bong Sam achieves great ...
Style:
historical drama, period piece, thrilling, captivating, tense ...
Plot:
rags to riches, ambition, perseverance, society, direction and purpose, changing lives, aspiration, entrepreneurship, joseon dynasty, korean history, corruption, business ethics ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
korea
Similarity:
69%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Venezuela
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Samuel, a young Venezuelan, emigrates from his country in search of a better life and to help his family, without knowing the difficult situations that he will face as an immigrant. away from home is based on real events of millions of Venezuelans ...
Style:
bleak, tense
Audience:
adult
Plot:
immigration, hardship, realism, resilience, empathy, social commentary, survival, poverty, perseverance, hopes, adaptation, longing ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
latin america, venezuela
Similarity:
67%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Saudi Arabia
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story:
In the wake of the significant societal changes in the 1970s, the life of a Saudi family is turned upside down after sheltering a baby found at the mosque.
Style:
historical drama, family saga, captivating, disturbing, realistic ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
arab culture, arabic history, social change, cultural difference, historical character, life, society, abandoned baby, cultural conflict, social realism, gender roles, adoption ...
Time:
80s, 70s
Place:
saudi arabia, middle east, arabia
Similarity:
65%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
TV show
Story:
Five siblings living in modern day Houston, TX must learn to survive after their father dies and their mother is deported back to Mexico. All the while surviving in the shadow of the American dream and harsh realities of the city.
Style:
captivating, sincere, emotional, realistic, bilingual
Audience:
adult
Plot:
american dream, siblings, dream, immigration, family drama, family bonds, deportation, brother sister relationship, bigger dreams, siblings relations, family problems, family relations ...
Time:
2010s
Similarity:
64%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway
Duration: 148 min.
Story:
Sweden, 1849. A poverty-stricken family decides to move to America in the hope of finding a better and more prosperous life. Although they know the journey will be dangerous and the pressure of facing a new life in a strange and wild land is great, ...
Style:
historical drama, family saga, period piece, captivating, disturbing ...
Plot:
immigration, social problems, society, lifestyle, social issues, struggle for survival, family bonds, survival, determination, journey, adaptation, literary ...
Time:
19th century, 1840s, 1850s
Place:
america, eastern europe
Similarity:
62%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Russia
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
USSR, 1980s. The Elista Children's Hospital is experiencing the country's first major HIV outbreak, with more than 70 children and several adults infected. Now everyone: doctors, patients, relatives need to preserve human dignity in the ...
Style:
dramatic, medical drama, disturbing, serious, suspenseful ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
epidemic, doctor, medical, female protagonist, female nudity, branding iron, hiv, fighting illness, doctors and patients, children, terminal illness, illness ...
Time:
80s
Place:
ussr, soviet union
Similarity:
61%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
The story follows Li Shande, a man deceived by his colleagues and demoted from his supervisory role. Now forced to become the “Lychee Envoy,” he faces a near-impossible mission to deliver fresh lychees from Lingnan to Chang’an as a birthday ...
Style:
historical drama, period piece, suspense, suspenseful, tense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
tang dynasty, betrayal, deception, political intrigue, conspiracy, corruption, loyalty, honor, redemption, sacrifice, resilience, bureaucracy ...
Place:
ancient china
Similarity:
60%
403
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Denmark
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story:
The development of Carlsberg Beer, the Carlsberg brewery and the mishaps between father and son, are the main story. But also the social life in Denmark in this time period, both for the rich and poor are explored.
Style:
period piece, family saga, historical drama, educational
Plot:
father son relationship, family conflict, social class, biopic, entrepreneurship, industrialization, ambition, innovation, realism, social change, business rivalry, legacy ...
Time:
19th century, 1800s
Place:
denmark, copenhagen, scandinavia, rome italy
Similarity:
60%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Finland
Duration: 154 min.
TV show
Story:
Activists follows the years from 1899 to 1906 when Finland as an independent nation started to form. At the center stage are young restless souls who operate against the backdrop of the phenomena of the time: deep social divisions, political ...
Style:
period piece, historical drama, dramatic, tension, tense ...
Plot:
activism, nationalism, civil unrest, independence movement, realism, political intrigue, class conflict, revolutionary, frustration, power struggle, idealism, riot ...
Time:
turn of the century
Place:
finland, russia
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 56 min.
TV show
Story:
The true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive—and to reunite.
Style:
historical drama, emotional, psychological, captivating, family saga ...
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, jewish family, jew persecution, family reunited, holocaust survivor, survival, world war, nazi occupation, jewish life, orthodox jew, jewish woman ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, year 1939
Place:
poland, eastern europe
Similarity:
53%
Genre: Drama, History, Western
Country: Australia
TV show
Story:
In the Bendigo Goldfields in 1855, the charismatic headman of the Chinese mining camp suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers and authorities when a murdered European woman is discovered ...
Style:
period piece, historical drama, stylized, dramatic, suspenseful ...
Plot:
gold rush, racial tension, murder, cultural conflict, interracial relations, prejudice, society, community, murder of a woman, gold, golddigger, murder investigation ...
Time:
1850s, 19th century
Place:
australia
Similarity:
53%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Stendhal's epic tale of a young French officer in the Napoleonic wars, and his aunt - a duchess of legendary beauty and resourcefulness.
Style:
historical drama, intense, poignant, emotional, art house ...
Plot:
napoleonic wars, aristocracy, european history, intrigue, adaptation, political intrigue, literary, duchess, passion, betrayal, seduction, forbidden love ...
Time:
19th century, 1810s
Place:
italy
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Drama, History, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 333 min.
TV show
Story:
Frontierswoman Sayward Luckett's struggles in Ohio during the late 18th-century and early 19th-century.
Style:
family saga, romantic drama, emotional, historical drama, period drama ...
Plot:
pioneer, american history, motherhood, land, resilience, family bonds, village life, survival, marriage, agriculture, struggle, domestic drama ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
ohio
Similarity:
52%
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
11-year-old George Washington "Wash" Black embarks on a globe-trotting journey of identity after fleeing a Barbados sugar plantation aboard a flying machine in the company of his master’s eccentric inventor brother.
Style:
period piece, historical drama, poignant, reflective, suspenseful ...
Plot:
plantation, escape, freedom, race, slavery, oppression, inventor, identity, coming of age, colonialism, resilience, betrayal ...
Time:
19th century, 1800s
Place:
caribbean
Similarity:
49%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Iran
TV show
Story:
An Iranian historical TV series that narrates the Iranian history in a 60 year period from Jungle movement to Iranian revolution and Iraq-Iran War.
Style:
historical drama, period piece, thrilling, emotional, family saga ...
Plot:
revolution, conflict, soldier, revolutionary, war, military, world war two, biopic, nationalism, exile, pilot, patriotism ...
Time:
20th century
Place:
middle east, iran, persia
Similarity:
49%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Brazil
TV show
Story:
Based on historical events 'Amazonia' recreates the story of the State of Acre, the latest territory to be annexed in Brazil.
Style:
historical drama, tense, suspense, captivating, educational ...
Plot:
political intrigue, brazilian history, amazon rainforest, culture clash, government conspiracy, social problems, government corruption, conflict, political unrest, politics, government, male female relationship ...
Time:
19th century
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and ...
Style:
historical drama, suspense, captivating, tense, disturbing ...
Plot:
russo japanese war, japanese history, power struggle, war, military, military officer, wartime, wartime life, battles, brother brother relationship, fight, military history ...
Time:
19th century, 1880s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Germany
TV show
Story:
After his return from World War I, there is no more work for Fidelis in his parents' butcher shop in Swabia, Germany. To make a better life for himself and Eva, the former fiancée of a friend who fell in battle, he emigrates to Argus, a town ...
Style:
captivating, thrilling, psychological, heartfelt, emotional ...
Plot:
butcher, relationships, family relations, problem, social problems, direction and purpose, social issues, job, society, ambitious, workplace, ambition ...
Time:
1920s
Place:
midwest
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Spain
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
Resourceful young Hugo Llor works to make a name for himself in 14th-century Barcelona while keeping a vow he made to the Estanyol family.
Style:
historical drama, disturbing, captivating, family saga, dramatic ...
Plot:
medieval, life, teenager, dream, coming of age, life is a bitch, shipyard, urban, loyalty, orphan, ambition, survival ...
Time:
14th century, middle ages, medieval times
Place:
barcelona, catalonia, europe, spain
Similarity:
47%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 653 min.
TV show
Story:
In a bucolic Polish hamlet, the tense relationship between a father and son reaches a boiling point when the men lose their hearts to the same woman and vie for her affections. Based on Wladyslaw Reymont's Nobel Prize-winning book and helmed by ...
Style:
family saga, historical drama, atmospheric, poignant, pastoral ...
Plot:
literary, realism, village life, social realism, domestic drama, harvest, peasant, church, country, easter, jealousy, poverty ...
Time:
turn of the century, 19th century
Place:
poland
Similarity:
45%
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story:
Set in 19th-century Dublin and New York, the story reimagines the period immediately after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, the man responsible for the extraordinary success of the Guinness brewery, and the far-reaching impact of his will on the ...
Style:
period piece, historical drama, family saga, dramatic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
based on real people, legacy, inheritance, ambition, dynasty, class conflict, betrayal, loyalty, family secret, entrepreneurship, city life, industrialization ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 1860s
Place:
dublin ireland, new york
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
After their family emigrates from Colombia during the summer of ‘99, a metalhead science prodigy and his deviant younger brother do their best to adapt to new lives in America.
Style:
disturbing, captivating, psychological, emotional, period piece
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
brothers, family relations, immigrant, american dream, coming of age, immigration, immigrant family, family drama, social problems, husband wife relationship, father son relationship, brother brother relationship ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Mayor Nick Wasicsko took office in 1987 during Yonkers' worst crisis when federal courts ordered public housing built in the white, middle class side of town, dividing the city in a bitter battle fueled by fear, racism, murder and politics.
Style:
serious, tense, captivating, rough, political ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
politics, racism, state affairs, society, life is a bitch, urbanization, hunting, true crime, racial discrimination, secrets, pop culture, white house ...
Time:
20th century, 80s, 2010s, 90s
Place:
new york, usa, dominican republic, new york state
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story:
It tells the story of villagers from Ningxia who migrated and built Minning Town from scratch.
The government wants to build the rural housing land and encourages the farmers of Xiji Country to migrate or relocate. However, the conditions of the ...
Style:
inspirational, historical drama, educational
Audience:
adult
Plot:
poverty, social realism, perseverance, migration, sacrifice, bureaucracy
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 186 min.
TV show
Story:
They had a dream is above all an imaginary story based on solid facts. It is both a social and a fictional saga, exploring the interconnected lives of two Guadeloupian families to reveal hidden or obscure aspects of French society. In the Sixties, ...
Style:
family saga, tense, captivating, unusual plot structure, suspenseful ...
Plot:
racial issues, love, family relations, historical event, interracial relations, black white relations, identity, migration, frustration, diaspora, realism, racial discrimination ...
Time:
60s, 90s, 80s, 2000s, 70s
Place:
france
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: China
TV show
Story:
The series follows the lives of three brothers as they struggle through the turbulent political period before the war. They become part of the first-generation immigrant entrepreneurial path in Qingdao. The story began in 1904 when the Jinan Railway ...
Style:
family saga, historical drama, period piece, suspense, captivating ...
Plot:
brothers, chinese history, republican era china, sino japanese war, brother brother relationship, immigrant, political unrest, life is a bitch, political intrigue, family relations, wartime life, entrepreneurship ...
Place:
china
Similarity:
42%
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