Movies like The Runner 1984

If you like "The Runner" you are looking for movies about / with boy, coming of age, iranian, child, minimal dialogue, traumatic childhood and social injustice themes of Drama genre shot in Iran.
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 Runner (1984)
 7.7
 2K
The Runner (1984)
Original name: دونده
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 94 min.
Story: Amiro is a young boy who has lost his home during the war. He spends his days by working odd jobs, until he realizes that the only way that he can realize his dreams is by enrolling in school. In school, he has conflict with other students. Finally there is a competition to see who can say the whole alphabet in one breath.
Plot: boy, coming of age, iranian, child, minimal dialogue, traumatic childhood, social injustice, children in wartime, school, student, ice, running, competition, winning, bicycle, innocence, friend, orphan, childhood, job, little boy, persian, flame
Place: iran, persia

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to The Runner

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out islamic, serious, realistic and sincere films with plots about persian, iranian, family relations, poverty, society, boy and coming of age mostly in Drama, Fantasy and Family genres. Some movies like The Runner: The Traveler (1974), The Father (1996), Mother (1990), Stray Dogs (2004), The River's End (2003). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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Aclà's Decent Into Floristella (1992)
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 86 min.
Story: Set in Sicily in the 1930's, Aurelio Grimaldi's feature debut chronicles the harsh story of twelve-year-old boy, Aclà, sold into slavery by his destitute parents to work in the underground Floristella sulfur mines. Overworked and ...
Style: political, gay cinema
Plot: boy, pedophilia, gay, youth, sex crime, social injustice, childhood, traumatic childhood, boyhood, sea, nudity, frog ...
Time: 1930s
Place: sicily, italy
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.5
 2K
The Traveler (1974)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 83 min.
Story: The Traveler is a 1974 Iranian drama film directed by Abbas Kiarostami that tells the story of Hassan Darabi, a troublesome, amoral 10-year-old boy in a small Iranian town. He wishes to see the Iran national football team play an important match in ...
Style: spiritual
Plot: soccer, truancy, iranian, boy, football, coming of age, city, money, smoking, bus, corporal punishment, director ...
Place: persia, iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
61%
 7.4
 2K
The Father (1996)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Mehrollah is a 14-year-old boy who is forced to find a job to support his family after his father dies. He travels to the southern parts of Iran, looking for work. Upon his return to his hometown, he notices certain changes in his family.
Style: inspirational, islamic, realistic, serious, gloomy ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: coming of age, boy, chaos, child, traumatic childhood, humanist, realism, muslim, family relations, village, parent child relationship, youth ...
Time: 90s
Place: iran, middle east, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
57%
 8.5
 5K
Mother (1990)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 108 min.
Story: The film progresses along two distinct but interwoven series of events. The first series involves young members of a family who have gathered round their old mother and revive their common childhood memories. the second line focuses on the old ...
Style: spiritual, islamic, interesting
Plot: iranian, persian culture, mother, carpenter, brother brother relationship, sister sister relationship, husband wife relationship, brother brother conflict, persian
Place: persia, iran, middle east, tehran iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
52%
Movie in collections
 7.1
 703
Stray Dogs (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 93 min.
Story: Two children are orphaned in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Plot: boy, child, dog, children, muslim, war in afghanistan, social injustice, traumatic childhood, street kid, father, cinema, prison ...
Place: afghanistan, middle east, iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
The River's End (2003)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Iran
Duration: 96 min.
Story: A young man leaves his birthplace, Isfahan, to come to capital city ,Tehran, to forgot his childhood memories. He is the storyteller and he tarts revealing his dreams which have been started a few months after the death of his father. In these ...
Plot: swimming, husband wife relationship, boy, father son relationship, disturbed individual, dead father, iranian, butcher, river, persian
Place: iran, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
46%
 7.3
 799
The Cycle (1977)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Ali and his father go from their poor neighborhood in the outskirts of the city to a hospital so that Ali's father can be treated for his sickness. However since they have no money, Ali starts to work for Dr. Sameri who deals in blood.
Style: banned
Plot: iranian, poverty, nurse, city, father, blood, father son relationship, treatment, illness, medical clinic, controversy, urban setting ...
Place: persia, iran, tehran iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
 7.5
 1K
Travellers (1992)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 90 min.
Story: A young woman's wedding becomes a ritual of mourning when her sister and family die in an auto accident on the way to the wedding. The sisters' mother refuses to accept her daughter's death, and in the midst of wedding guests and ...
Style: realistic, serious, beautiful
Plot: iranian, wedding, newlywed, mirror, death, female protagonist, family relations, couples, dealing with death, ghost, against the rules, destiny ...
Time: 90s
Place: iran, persia, middle east, tehran iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
45%
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The Brick and the Mirror (1966)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 126 min.
Story: Hashem (Zakariya Hashemi) is a cab driver who finds an infant child in the back seat of his cab one night after he gives a ride to a young woman. Hashem and his girlfriend, Taji (Taji Ahmadi), try to cope with this unwanted child. Hashem insists on ...
Plot: iranian, cafe, taxi, class society, child abandonment, class struggle, poor, taxi driver, beggar, hijab, poverty, persian ...
Place: iran, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
44%
 6.9
 422
The Peddler (1987)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 95 min.
Story: The movie consists of three episodes that explore the lives of poor and desperate in Iran. In episode one, a very poor couple with many crippled children abandon their newly born baby in hopes that it will have a better future. In the second ...
Style: anthology
Plot: poverty, iranian, old age, merchant, cripple, caretaker, insanity, abandoned baby, director, handicapped, persian
Place: iran, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
 6.6
 740
Sara (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Sara is the perfect young housewife. When husband Hessam requires an expensive emergency operation abroad, it is she who works for the funds. For the next three years she labors secretly to pay the shady loan shark and save Hessam - until the truth ...
Plot: girl, iranian, surgical operation, housewife, male female relationship, wedding dress, scandal, blackmail, bully, loan, women's rights, wealth ...
Place: iran, persia, tehran iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
43%
Where is the Friend's Home? (1987)
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: Iran
Duration: 83 min.
Story: An 8 year old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.
Style: art house, social, thought provoking, road movie, inspirational ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: village, childhood, coming of age, homework, school, teacher, youth, on the road, empathy, iranian, children, family relations ...
Time: year 1987, 80s
Place: iran, middle east, persia, kurdistan
⇓ similarity ⇓
42%
 6.7
 3K
Shirin (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 92 min.
Story: A hundred and fourteen famous Iranian theater and cinema actresses and a French star: mute spectators at a theatrical representation of Khosrow and Shirin, a Persian poem from the twelfth century, put on stage by Kiarostami. The development of the ...
Style: experimental, contemplative, atmospheric, stylized, emotional ...
Plot: theater, feminism, artists and showbiz, strong female presence, iranian, religious, minimal dialogue, arab, cinema, face, women, persian ...
Time: 21st century
Place: iran, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
42%
 7.5
 3K
The Mirror (1997)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 95 min.
Story: When a young Iranian's mother doesn't meet her after school, she tries to negotiate the streets of Tehran by herself.
Style: inspirational, neorealism, experimental, serious
Plot: youth, iranian, child, children, childhood, on the road, girl power, women power, filmmaking, family relations, disorder, human nature ...
Time: year 1997, 90s
Place: iran, middle east, persia, tehran iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
 7.9
 8K
The Cow (1969)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 104 min.
Story: An old villager deeply in love with his cow goes to the capital for a while. While he's there, the cow dies and now the villagers are afraid of his possible reaction to it when he returns.
Style: art house, depressing, islamic, controversial, contemplative ...
Plot: iranian, persian culture, illness, arab, village, village life, countryside, down on your luck, mentally unstable, society, life is a bitch, losing-it hero ...
Time: year 1969, 20th century, 60s
Place: iran, persia, asia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
 7.5
 6K
M for Mother (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 113 min.
Story: What appears to be a grand love story turns sour when parents-to-be discover that their unborn child will likely be born with serious birth defects, as a result of the mother's exposure to chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war. The father ...
Style: sincere, captivating, sad, islamic
Plot: iraq iran war, iranian, family problems, pregnancy, pregnant woman, child illness, relationship problems, illness, dysfunctional family, mother child relationship, parenthood, persian culture ...
Place: iran, persia, middle east, iraq
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
Here Without Me (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 100 min.
Story: The story is about the world of a small family with familiar dreams and not so remarkable problems. The mother is trying to lead everything to save her family, but small events disarrange all her plans.
Style: disturbing, sentimental, melancholic, islamic
Plot: iranian, adaptation, love, dream, cinema, poverty, worker, money, son, delusion, renaissance, husband wife relationship ...
Place: persia, iran, middle east, tehran iran, tehran
⇓ similarity ⇓
35%
 7.2
 2K
The Cyclist (1989)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 82 min.
Story: The wife of Nasim, an Afghan immigrant in Iran, is gravely ill. He needs money to pay for her care, but his day labor digging wells does not pay enough. A friend connects Nasim to a two-bit promoter who sells tickets to watch Nasim ride a bicycle ...
Style: islamic, psychological, realistic, serious, emotional ...
Plot: cycling, bicycle, immigrant, iranian, bike, economist, refugee, black market, gambling, motorcycle, religions or cults, injustice ...
Time: 80s
Place: iran, middle east, persia, afghanistan
⇓ similarity ⇓
34%
Movie in collections
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 8.2
 17K
Life and a Day (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Somaieh, the youngest daughter of an indigent family, is getting married and fear is overwhelming each and every member of the family regarding how to overcome their difficulties after she's gone.
Style: suspense, captivating, beautiful
Plot: marriage, family relations, poverty, poor, family problems, poor family, family life, relationships, life is a bitch, relationship problems, persian culture, distopia ...
Place: iran, middle east, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
34%
 7.1
 5K
Mum's Guest (2004)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 103 min.
Story: A mother of a poor family, has guests coming over, yet doesn't know how to get the dinner party altogether with limited resources.
Style: islamic, dark comedy, black comedy
Plot: persian culture, iranian, medical student, hospital, guest, poverty, neighborhood, persian
Place: persia, iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
33%
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 80 min.
Story: After their father dies, a family of five are forced to survive on their own in a Kurdish village on the border of Iran and Iraq. Matters are made worse when 12 year old Ayoub, the new head of the family, is told that his handicapped brother, Madi, ...
Style: realistic, bleak, meditative, harsh, emotional ...
Plot: kurd, children, coming of age, youth, siblings relations, orphan, family relations, village life, family in crisis, parents and children, village, life is a bitch ...
Time: 2000s, 90s
Place: iraq, iran, middle east, kurdistan, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
33%
 7.7
 863
Tight Spot (1973)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Iran
Duration: 114 min.
Story: This film, based on a well-known novel of the same name by Sadegh Chooback, is about a wronged man seeking revenge. Director Amir Naderi's inspiration for making the film was one of his childhood heroes, the legendary Zar Mohammad, who waged a ...
Plot: assassin, heroes, partisan, hopes, sheik, empathy, fighting the system, fight, iranian, government, boat, social injustice ...
Place: persia, iran
⇓ similarity ⇓
33%
 6.5
 3K
Boutique (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 113 min.
Story: A clothing store worker (Jahan) meets a poor girl named Eti. Jahan tries to help the girl and solve her problems, but…
Style: touching, realistic, sincere, serious, neo noir ...
Plot: lifestyle, friendship, love and romance, downfall, life is a bitch, couples, bittersweet, iranian, singleness, youth, social differences, friends ...
Time: 21st century
Place: iran, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
32%
Movie in collections
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Under the Skin of the City (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 92 min.
Story: Tuba works daily at a grueling textile factory in Iran, returning home every night to deal with the rest of her problematic family, which includes: a pregnant daughter whose husband beats her regularly; a teenage son, who's been getting into ...
Style: serious, realistic, emotional, suspenseful, suspense ...
Plot: dysfunctional family, politics, introspection, life is a bitch, factory worker, family relations, couples, working class, family life, human nature, parents and children, injustice ...
Time: 21st century
Place: iran, japan, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
32%
Children of Heaven (1997)
Genre: Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Iran
Duration: 89 min.
Story: Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes, Ali's. School awaits...
Style: realistic, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental ...
Audience: kids, teens, family outing
Plot: childhood, poverty, school, children, unemployment, life, family drama, running, islam, siblings relations, coming of age, young heroes ...
Time: 90s, year 1997, 20th century
Place: iran, middle east, persia, tehran iran, maghreb
⇓ similarity ⇓
30%
The Deserted Station (2002)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 88 min.
Story: On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a nearby village and encounters a teacher who offers to help. Whilst the husband and teacher go ...
Style: serious, psychological, sentimental, touching, islamic ...
Plot: teacher, prodigy, self discovery, youth, teachers and students, on the road, society, religions or cults, isolation, school, train, village life ...
Time: 21st century
Place: iran, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran, France
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.
Style: philosophical, melancholic, contemplative, thought provoking, serious ...
Plot: kurd, countryside, small town, fish out of water, family relations, village, parents and children, coming of age, politics, village life, poetry, existentialism ...
Time: 90s, year 1998, year 1999
Place: iran, middle east, kurdistan, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
Iran is My Country (1999)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, History
Country: Iran
Duration: 84 min.
Story: Sohrab, a provincial young writer, is lost in the desert on the way to Tehran to get a publication license for his book on old Persian poetry, but the trip involves some bizarre events.
Style: avant garde
Plot: writers, poem, student, desert, iranian, poetry, persian, young
Place: iran, persia
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
 7.7
 3K
The Tenants (1987)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 109 min.
Story: A satirical comedy about the oddball inhabitants of a Tehran apartment building and their landlord.
Plot: iranian, capitalism, anti fascism, sibling relationship, collaboration, con men, irony, apartment building, marital problem, landlord, construction worker, government official ...
Place: iran, persia, middle east
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
 6.6
 1K
The Demons (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A ten year old boy, prone to excessive worry, begins to succumb to his anxiety as a string of child abductions plague his town.
Style: stylized, weird
Plot: boy, bullying, sexual curiosity, childhood, mental disorder, child, children, coming of age, sexual exploration, child kidnapping, fear, sibling relationship ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
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