Movies like America 2009
If you like "America" you are looking for psychological, sincere and uplifting movies about / with adoption, youth, human spirit, teenage life, custody, sexual abuse and life is a bitch 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.
America (2009)
722
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
In "America," Dr. Maureen Brennan, a psychiatrist at a youth treatment center, encounters her newest patient, a bi-racial boy named America. Through their sessions, Dr. Brennan helps America come to terms with his roller-coaster life, which began when he was taken by authorities from his crack-addicted mother, and placed into foster care as an infant. The short time of stability in his life occurred when America lived with Mrs. Harper, the elderly nanny to one of his foster families. Later reunited with his mother, she soon abandons America and he is again placed into foster care. Lagging behind in school and full of anger, America retreats further away from society after years of sexual abuse. After attempting suicide, America is placed in a treatment center where Dr. Brennan helps him open up about his painful past and discover the support and courage he needs to get his life back on track.
Style:
psychological, sincere, uplifting, serious, realistic
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
adoption, youth, human spirit, teenage life, custody, sexual abuse, life is a bitch, mental illness, society, family problems, family in crisis, doctors and patients, healing power, hopes, children, foster child, overweight man, therapy, black man, struggle, child care, teen social issues, power relations, teenager, psychiatrist ...
Time:
21st century, contemporary
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to America
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, sincere and emotional films with plots about hopes, family problems, youth, life is a bitch, family relations, society and parents and children mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like America: Gimme Shelter (2013), An Unexpected Family (1996), Gracie's Choice (2004), The Reading Room (2005), Abandoned (2001). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.
Style:
emotional, serious, psychological, rough, cult classic ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick
Plot:
abusive mother, pregnancy, homeless, abuse, teenage mother, mother daughter relationship, survival, starting over, pregnant teenager, family problems, life is a bitch, youth ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
When Ruth Whitney abandons her two children with her sister Barbara is left to take care of them, at first none of them like it but soon they grow to like each other. Then over a year later Ruth comes back saying she wants her kids and Barbara goes ...
Style:
contemplative, psychological, realistic, uplifting, touching ...
Plot:
youth, guardian, redemption, family relations, adoption, custody, family life, hopes, human spirit, legal, life is a bitch, legal action ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled ...
Style:
sentimental, emotional, sincere, touching, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
custody battle, teenage girl, coming of age, custody, youth, responsibility, abusive mother, teenager, family values, dysfunctional family, parents and children, siblings relations ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
nova scotia
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Making good on a promise he made to his dying wife, a widower (Jones) opens a reading room, a place where people can learn to read. Despite his goodwill, problems in the neighborhood threaten his establishment.
Style:
uplifting, sincere, touching, feel good, serious ...
Plot:
against the odds, last wish, hopes, human spirit, teachers and students, poverty, homeless, family relations, power relations, youth, society, dealing with death ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
636
Genre: Drama
Country: Hungary
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Áron is a happy child in his family. But at some point things take a different turn, and his mother starts to lose her health rapidly. As this happens, the man in charge decides what's best for Áron without consulting the young boy's ...
Style:
uplifting, serious, sincere, touching, art house ...
Plot:
corporal punishment, orphan, kids in trouble, children, male bonding, coming of age, life is a bitch, human spirit, juvenile delinquency, friendship, boarding school life, teenage life ...
Time:
60s, year 1960
Place:
hungary, europe
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A compelling drama that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the gritty, realistic lives of a struggling family, and a privileged family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy. This film ...
Style:
sincere, sexy, touching, serious, captivating ...
Plot:
custody, hopes, adoption, starting over, parents and children, social worker, family life, wife abuse, adopted son, christian, family in crisis, faith ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, ohio, florida
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
On one evening in a decade of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, the innocence of youth and family unravels. Five parallel coming-of-age stories dramatize the stages of grief. A youthful mother in a custody battle over her children, finds ...
Style:
sexy, serious, psychological, sincere, suspenseful ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
haunted by the past, teenage life, family problems, life is a bitch, social misfits, misfit, youth, addiction, custody, society, bittersweet, homosexual ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
usa, california
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Anna Forbes suffers an attack and sexual abuse by her father-in-law. But when she overcomes her fear and tells her husband Mark what happened he does not believe her, choosing instead to believe his father who denies everything. As Anna becomes ...
Style:
thought provoking, tense, talky, realistic, serious ...
Plot:
abuse, legal action, rape, sexual abuse, rape victim, false accusation, mental institution, sexual content, danger, dedicated lawyer, life is a bitch, dishonesty ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Director Rocky Costanzo's searing legal drama centers on a highly credentialed child psychologist named Glen Erskine (Richard Meese) whose life is shattered when he's accused of sexually assaulting a young boy he's been treating. ...
Style:
realistic, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing, serious ...
Plot:
child abuse, man boy relationship, coming of age, courtroom, sexual abuse, pedophilia, life is a bitch, redemption, parents and children, dysfunctional family, teenage life, custody ...
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
After her mother's death, a young girl is separated from her abusive father and is sent between her various friends and relatives, always longing to find a place to call home.
Style:
contemplative, serious, realistic, uplifting, bleak ...
Plot:
adoption, youth, foster child, child abuse, child care, disease, innocence lost, dysfunctional family, abusive father, homeless, society, unfulfillment ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
24%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A true story about a concerned housewife, Pat Melancon, who tries to block Shintech, a massive Japanese petrochemical conglomerate, from building a plant in her toxic township already known as "cancer alley". Pat and a few newly recruited, ...
Style:
sincere, serious, realistic, thought provoking
Plot:
cancer, heroic mission, human spirit, fighting the system, environmentalism, terminal illness, obsessive quest, hopes, society, social relations, small town, church ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Bilal, a Muslim high school senior works at his family's long-owned taxi stand. "The Stand," as they call it, has been the source of all activity and money for the family for the last sixty years. It seems like Bílal is about to ...
Style:
realistic, touching, sincere, sentimental, independent film ...
Plot:
coming of age, self discovery, follow your dream, teenage life, family business, society, youth, hopes, human spirit, workplace, family problems, parents and children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, detroit
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Knowing the past changes the future. Seeking a connection to her heritage, Rebecca Hoffman sets out on a journey of discovery following the deaths of her adoptive parents. She finds that connection with her birth family in the Navajo community. But ...
Style:
sincere, serious, realistic, touching, sexual
Plot:
self discovery, adoption, starting over, couple relations, life is a bitch, hopes, couples, twins, society, family life, orphan, youth ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
arizona
Similarity:
22%
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:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Africa, USA, UK
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Shirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son, Donovan - he was shot in the back of the neck on his way home from school one afternoon over a year ago. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. ...
Style:
uplifting, realistic, serious, emotional, touching ...
Plot:
disability, family problems, family relations, parents and children, hopes, single parent, human spirit, life is a bitch, introspection, small town, family in crisis, social decay ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
africa, south africa, cape town south africa
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, Ireland
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
A dying 15-year-old boy draws stories of an invincible superhero as he struggles with his mortality.
Style:
touching, sincere, emotional, serious, cult classic ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
youth, life is a bitch, hopes, coming of age, human spirit, family problems, family in crisis, terminal illness, dealing with death, child illness, sick child, first love ...
Place:
ireland, usa
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A story of a young boy who becomes an elective mute after witnessing what he believes to be the killing by his older brother of a teenage boy. The young boy's brother then tells him not to say anything because of the trouble it would cause in ...
Style:
serious, realistic, psychological, gloomy, disturbing
Plot:
children, youth, dysfunctional family, siblings relations, teenage life, family in crisis, unfulfillment, misfit, mute or deaf, doctors and patients, life is a bitch, power relations ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Runaway teen Lexi find herself alone and pregnant on the streets. Seemingly beyond hope, she must turn to Devon, a woman with her own demons, to help her find a way back from her past mistakes.
Style:
realistic, rough, sincere, serious, independent film ...
Audience:
kids, teen drama
Plot:
escape, homeless, teenage life, life is a bitch, kids in trouble, love, dysfunctional family, youth, society, pregnancy, family problems, loneliness ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
oregon, usa, portland oregon
Similarity:
21%
Movie in collections
659
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Incarcerated women join a band of volunteers who battle forest fires and assist during natural disasters.
Style:
realistic, emotional, serious, touching, sincere ...
Plot:
redemption, youth, power relations, juvenile delinquency, human spirit, hopes, society, fire brigade, friendship, rivalry, friend, troubled youth ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
The emotional story of a young man in a mental institution for teens who begins to understand his psychosis in the environment of others with mental and emotional problems. He finds intimacy with Lisa, a young woman suffering from schizophrenia.
Style:
psychological, mind bending, surreal, psychedelic, spiritual ...
Plot:
mental illness, multiple personality disorder, angst, mental disorder, insanity, schizophrenia, mental institution, teenage love, coming of age, young lovers, psychiatric hospital, homosexual subtext ...
Time:
60s, 50s, 1950s
Place:
philadelphia
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Marcia always thought her overachieving daughter Zoey was the dream child. But then she discovers that her perfect teen has a not-so-perfect drug addiction. Marcia and her ex-husband go through plenty of denial as their daughter spirals out of ...
Style:
humorous, captivating, psychological, touching, suspenseful ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
drug addict, rehabilitation, drug abuse, introspection, drug dealing, doctors and patients, teenage life, going straight, life is a bitch, hopes, couples, family relations ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn ...
Style:
realistic, serious, touching, emotional, talky ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
pregnancy, teenage pregnancy, parent child relationship, husband wife relationship, family problems, pregnant teenager, lifestyle, teenage life, family in crisis, hopes, high school, sister sister relationship ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
When her husband dies, Mrs. Ester Hobbes (Ellen Bry, TV's St. Elsewhere) learns that his wealth was just an illusion. Her only real inheritance is a run-down Southern home occupied by a foster family. Slowly, Mrs. Hobbes finds herself making ...
Style:
serious, realistic, emotional, sentimental, touching ...
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
adoption, family relations, family problems, society, orphan, introspection, youth, religions or cults, parents and children, redemption, self discovery, blood ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
georgia, usa
Similarity:
20%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
When Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff in how best to bring it under control. As Robbie's health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and ...
Style:
edutainment, controversial, uplifting, serious, realistic ...
Plot:
blaster, health, medicine, slice of life, medical, youth, child hero, family relations, hospital, bittersweet, family problems, family life ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, baltimore
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Style:
serious, realistic, emotional, psychological, captivating ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night, adult
Plot:
mental illness, schizophrenia, mental health, family relations, family problems, human spirit, mental disorder, ptsd, illness, suicidal, psychology, strong female presence ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
19%
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:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Family members struggle to heal their emotional wounds after an incident of sexual abuse.
Style:
touching, emotional, sincere, realistic, contemplative ...
Plot:
psychiatrist, dysfunctional family, haunted by the past, parents and children, domestic disturbance, family in crisis, life is a bitch, hopes, family problems, redemption, estrangement, teenager ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
Rich L.A. party brat Tim (Adam Horovitz) spins into a cycle of despair after his parents divorce, and trying to fill the void with drugs and trouble only buys him a ticket to an asylum. But with the help of a psychiatrist (Donald Sutherland) who has ...
Style:
realistic, serious, suspenseful, thought provoking, independent film ...
Plot:
juvenile delinquency, gang, redemption, coming of age, life is a bitch, youth, nightlife, dysfunctional family, teenage life, lifestyle, mentally unstable, society ...
Time:
year 1989, 80s
Place:
usa, los angeles
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
This movie chronicles the trials of the mentally ill and their care-givers in an over-crowded ward of a hospital.
Style:
psychotronic, realistic, serious, psychological, disturbing
Plot:
medical, mental institution, hospital, psychiatric hospital, nurse, medicine, psychiatric ward, kitchen sink realism, psychopath, power relations, disability, kids in trouble ...
Time:
year 1963, 60s
Place:
ireland, europe
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Baby Annie is HIV positive and has been left in the clinic by her drug addicted mother. To prevent that she's deported to a home where they'd just wait for her to die, nurse Susan takes charge of Annie at her home. Two years later she ...
Style:
realistic, serious, sentimental, emotional, touching
Plot:
adoption, aids, hiv, medicine, child illness, child care, foster child, foster parent, women, orphan, poverty, homeless ...
Time:
90s
Similarity:
19%
Related movie lists
