Movies like Paju
If you like "Paju" you are looking for atmospheric, touching and serious movies about / with forbidden love, small town, true love, introspection, haunted by the past, love and romance and couples themes of Drama genre shot in South Korea.
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.
Paju (2009)
593
Original name: 파주
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A young woman living in the South Korean town of Paju recalls the last 8 years of her life, since a young man on the lam escaped to it from Seoul and married her older sister.
Style:
atmospheric, touching, serious, realistic, melancholic, art house, bleak, ambiguous ending, independent film, noir ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
forbidden love, small town, true love, introspection, haunted by the past, love and romance, couples, starting over, leaving home, hopes, couple relations, love triangle, female protagonist, grief, guilt, moral ambiguity, longing, family tragedy, tragic romance, ethical dilemma, obsession, jealousy, isolation, secrets, alienation ...
Time:
contemporary
Place:
south korea, asia
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Paju
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, bleak and psychological films with plots about couple relations, isolation, couples, small town, hopes, love and romance and haunted by the past mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Paju: Secret Sunshine (2007), The Afterlight (2009), Letters to Angel (2011), Fall (2014), Edge (2010). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 142 min.
Story:
Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, the town where her dead husband was born. As she tries to come to herself and set out on new foundations, another tragic event overturns her life.
Style:
serious, realistic, psychological, philosophical, inspirational ...
Plot:
hopes, losing-it hero, suicide attempt, redemption, faith, love and romance, couple relations, human nature, family problems, death in the family, parents and children, christianity ...
Time:
2000s
Place:
south korea, asia, korea, seoul
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
After Andrew and Claire, a young couple attempting to restart their live, moves to an isolated school house in farm country, their neighbors and nature itself, trigger a surprising chain of events
Style:
atmospheric, tense, serious, realistic, psychological ...
Plot:
isolation, couples, farm, introspection, haunted by the past, couple relations, family problems, estrangement, starting over, crumbling marriage, countryside, loneliness ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
31%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A middle-age woman recovers from a serious car accident.
Style:
psychological, realistic, serious, captivating, melancholic ...
Plot:
introspection, rehabilitation, accident, starting over, family relations, estrangement, hopes, unfulfillment, couples, trauma, recovery, character study ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
spain, catalonia, europe
Similarity:
30%
Genre: Drama
Country: Estonia, Finland, Mauritania, Latvia
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A man sent to Afghanistan years earlier converts to Islam, then returns home to fight a different kind of war.
Style:
atmospheric, realistic, serious, contemplative, existential ...
Plot:
small town, family relations, social relations, parents and children, homecoming, small town life, society, religions or cults, identity, trauma, ptsd, missing daughter ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
estonia, europe
Similarity:
28%
Movie in collections
74
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 82 min.
Story:
An aging Roman Catholic Priest living contentedly at a Niagara Falls parish, receives a letter forcing his complacent life into a downward spiral.
Style:
sincere, serious, psychological, touching, realistic ...
Plot:
haunted by the past, clergy, introspection, moral dilemma, church, society, elderly, religions or cults, religion, catholic church, moral ambiguity, guilt ...
Similarity:
28%
80
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A hotel. A cliff. Six lost people, looking for something, or looking to lose themselves.
Style:
realistic, serious, psychological, atmospheric, contemplative ...
Plot:
hotel, human nature, haunted by the past, couples, introspection, self discovery, society, isolation, loss, confined, character study, uncertainty ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
england
Similarity:
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Chaurahen (Crossroads), a film directed by Rajshree Ojha, who previously directed Aisha, in addition to two other popular specialty projects, boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Soha Ali Khan, Victor Banerjee, veteran Bollywood actress ...
Style:
sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, emotional ...
Plot:
family relations, couples, couple relations, haunted by the past, dealing with death, family problems, love and romance, death in the family, life, loss, relationships, love ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
asia, mumbai india, kolkata, india
Similarity:
24%
866
Genre: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
The story takes place in a country about which we know nothing: a country of snow and dense forests somewhere in the North. A family lives in an isolated house near a lake. Alexi, the brother, is a young man with pure heart. A woodcutter. An ...
Style:
psychological, atmospheric, stylized, emotional, contemplative ...
Plot:
forbidden love, physical appearance, losing-it hero, family relations, mysterious character, love and romance, couple relations, family problems, wilderness, human nature, isolation, obsession ...
Time:
year 2008
Place:
europe
Similarity:
24%
Movie in collections
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:
24%
Genre: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 82 min.
Story:
William, Jack and Chris have been friends for as long as they can remember - until that day in April when Jack ends up under the wheels of a tractor, his body crushed, William at the wheel. Suddenly nothing is left of the boys' friendship. ...
Style:
melancholic, bleak, tension, atmospheric, dramatic ...
Plot:
friendship, guilt, trauma, accident, grief, regret, loss, coming of age, adolescence, loss of innocence, male friendship, secrets ...
Place:
netherlands
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A North Korean refugee, Jung-Nim, is trying to find a new life in South Korea, with people suspecting that she is a spy.
Style:
serious, realistic, captivating, touching, contemplative ...
Plot:
couples, social differences, starting over, injustice, forceful separation, political corruption, couple relations, life is a bitch, dishonesty, society, state affairs, hopes ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
korea, asia, north korea, south korea
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
When the coffin of Etta Rose Callahan, a charismatic dance student, is uprooted from the earth after days of rain, the small college town of Remington is haunted with questions involving the young girl's sudden suicide. Jeremiah Mouthy, a ...
Style:
suspense, gothic
Plot:
obsession, suicide, small town, tragedy, character study, jealousy, haunting, loss of innocence, mourning, scandal, grief, funeral ...
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
This family drama deals with a case of Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy, a fabricated illness. Stephanie is an apparently happy single mother of two daughters, Therese and Agnes, although the latter suffers from chronic health problems. When ...
Style:
realistic, bleak, disturbing, emotional, serious ...
Plot:
manipulation, mother daughter relationship, family drama, investigation, grief, tragedy, family secret, suspicion, obsession, guilt, moral dilemma, intimate ...
Similarity:
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Set in the crumbling environs of Calcutta, Labour of Love is a lyrical unfolding of two ordinary lives suspended in the duress of a spiralling recession.
Style:
realistic, sincere, atmospheric, contemplative, touching ...
Plot:
love and romance, couple relations, couples, society, working class, introspection, solitude, unfulfillment, unfulfilled love, bittersweet, love, urban ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
india, kolkata
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Greece, Italy, Germany, Russia, France
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
A, an American film director of Greek ancestry, is making a film that tells his story and the story of his parents. It is a tale that unfolds in Italy, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada and the USA. The main character is Eleni, who is claimed and ...
Style:
sincere, atmospheric, touching, sentimental, serious ...
Plot:
couples, politics, love affair, parents and children, hopes, couple relations, love triangle, state affairs, society, introspection, love and romance, political unrest ...
Time:
60s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 20th century ...
Place:
kazakhstan, greece, new york, canada, russia ...
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Canada
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A young writer named Espen Arnakke tells the story of his escape from the small Danish town of Jante. Espen boards a ship headed to Newfoundland, but the harsh conditions on board makes him jump ship, and he ends up in the little town of Misery ...
Style:
melancholic, reflective, art house, bleak, atmospheric ...
Plot:
small town, escape, isolation, fishing village, identity, alienation, longing, exile, sea voyage, self discovery, jealousy, romantic obsession ...
Time:
1930s
Place:
newfoundland, canada
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Dilber lives with her family in a very poor eastern village, her only dream is to marry her childhood lover, Ali. But when she finds out that it won't happen because of a reason that she can't get away with, she gets crazy and lock herself ...
Style:
realistic, serious, sincere, bleak, emotional
Plot:
true love, gender, couple relations, couples, love and romance, disability, wooing, unlikely couple, introspection, hopes, family tradition, village life ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
turkey
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Italy, Romania
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
Freddy Angi, separate and homeless, stumbles into strange love affairs, including one with his wife Anna. The two meet now and then as lovers in a hotel room.
Style:
serious, realistic, touching, atmospheric, independent film ...
Plot:
hotel, couple relations, losing-it hero, alcohol abuse, unfulfillment, writer's life, dull life, life is a bitch, cause and meaning, disintegration, black ops, loneliness ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe
Similarity:
22%
Movie in collections
187
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Inspired by a true story about a young German woman prepares to leave her war-ravaged city to begin a new life in America with her G.I. fiance. But standing between her and a hopeful future is a relentless police inspector, determined to prevent her ...
Style:
emotional, tense, realistic, serious, historical drama ...
Plot:
haunted by the past, hidden identity, uncover truth, love and romance, dishonesty, hopes, starting over, post war, escape, female protagonist, police inspector, guilt ...
Time:
1940s, post world war two, 20th century
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: France, Algeria
Duration: 79 min.
Story:
Mohsen teaches French at the University of Tehran, and Hassan is a photographer. Mohsen and Hassan are also lovers, and in Iran they live in fear, as homosexuality is punishable by death. Tired of denying their love, Mohsen and Hassan flee Iran to ...
Style:
emotional, contemplative, serious, realistic, touching ...
Plot:
friendship, small town, couples, friends, couple relations, hopes, love and romance, introspection, love affair, gender, gays and lesbians, bittersweet ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
france, europe
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
Delightfully comic exploration of the emotional and social geography of an art-house film director.
Style:
touching, captivating, realistic, emotional, semi serious ...
Plot:
lovers reunited, friendship, infidelity, friends, couple relations, haunted by the past, love triangle, mental disorder, filmmaking, art, movie business, lecture ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
jeju island, korea, asia
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
After serving 10 years in prison for murder, Jenny returns to society. She wants to live a quiet life and resume her responsibilities as a mother, but soon shadows from the past start to appear.
Style:
realistic, suspense, serious, touching, crime drama ...
Plot:
prison, hopes, mother daughter relationship, starting over, haunted by the past, family relations, adoption, murder, criminal heroes, drug dealing, strong female character, ex convict ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
scandinavia
Similarity:
21%
176
Genre: Drama
Country: Norway, Spain
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
A couple's marriage falls apart after the death of their son. Based on Henrik Ibsen's "Little Eyolf"
Style:
bleak, serious, realistic, sincere, melancholic ...
Plot:
couple relations, guilt, crumbling marriage, life is a bitch, couples, death in the family, dealing with death, grief, mourning, regret, mature, literary ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
21%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Chile, Argentina, Spain, UK, France
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
In the city of Santiago, four characters struggle to reach their goals: a psychologist who wants to help other women and save their lives, a hairdresser who wants to buy a car, a musician who wants to play in a philharmonic orchestra, and a young ...
Style:
realistic, serious, captivating, touching, psychological ...
Plot:
introspection, love affair, love and romance, couples, starting over, survival, hopes, couple relations, dysfunctional family, society, pregnancy, sexual relations ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
chile
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
After the death of his wife, Miguel decides to take a trip, postponed for many years, Argeles-sur-Mer, a small town in southern France, where thousands of refugees are concentrated for some time.
Style:
serious, realistic, sincere, thought provoking, contemplative ...
Plot:
memories, introspection, on the road, haunted by the past, life, memory, loneliness, road trip, loss of spouse, nostalgia, grief, refugee ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
spain, south of france
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico, France, Spain
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Every Friday, the Colonel puts on his only suit and goes to the dock to await a letter announcing the arrival of his pension. But the townsfolk all know that this pension will never come. His wife also knows it, and even he knows it. But he is still ...
Style:
serious, sincere, realistic, atmospheric, psychological ...
Plot:
pension, colonel, hopes, small town, parents and children, family relations, downfall, couple relations, haunted by the past, small town life, family life, husband wife relationship ...
Time:
1940s
Place:
latin america, mexico
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel, Germany, France
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
About the emotional upheaval of a Palestinian couple's last moments before leaving voluntarily Jerusalem, their native city, to forge a brighter future in France.
Style:
emotional, serious, realistic, bleak, atmospheric ...
Plot:
hopes, couples, self discovery, society, introspection, leaving home, interracial relations, couple relations, crumbling marriage, emigration, relocation, nostalgia ...
Time:
future, 21st century
Place:
israel, jerusalem, middle east, palestinian authority
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min.
Story:
After his fiancee breaks up with him and gets engaged to another man, Dennis can't get over the idea that the cheap engagement ring he bought may have triggered it. When she dies, he convinces two grave robbers to steal the new ring from her ...
Style:
realistic, serious, psychological, offbeat, independent film ...
Plot:
obsession, wedding ring, wedding, true love, love and romance, haunted by the past, breakup, grave robbing, corpse, macabre, grief, moral ambiguity ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Biba and her handsome brother Rex live in a beautiful, rambling house in north London; naive Karen is soon lured into their dissolute circle, spending an idyllic summer whiling away the hours in a haze of booze and sex. The story runs along two ...
Style:
atmospheric, psychological, realistic, captivating, psychological thriller ...
Plot:
family in danger, haunted by the past, starting over, family relations, danger, couples, hopes, family secret, character study, domestic drama, haunting, guilt ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
england
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: China, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Wu Hongyan is a female bailiff in a regional court in West China dealing with women awaiting execution—more often than not, sentenced for crimes of passion. Every weekend, without much luck, she looks for love at the Good Luck Matchmaking dance, ...
Style:
neo noir, suspenseful, thrilling, psychological, captivating ...
Plot:
affair, social realism, female protagonist, revenge, loneliness, love affair, life is a bitch, social problems, relationship problems, secret, male female relationship, death sentence ...
Similarity:
20%
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