Movies like Blue River
If you like "Blue River" you are looking for serious, realistic and contemplative movies about / with dysfunctional family, arson, sibling relationship, school, youth, betrayal and family relations 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.
Blue River (1995)
335
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Edward's father walked out on his family years ago. In the years since, his mother has become a fundamentalist Christian and fallen for the school's self-righteous principal, Henry Howland. When Howland begins to mistreat Edward's mother, Edward's troubled older brother decides to get revenge. Now, Edward must protect his family from his brother's wrath.
Style:
serious, realistic, contemplative
Plot:
dysfunctional family, arson, sibling relationship, school, youth, betrayal, family relations, family life, teenage life, vengeance, society, family problems, single parent, small town, coming of age, siblings relations, small town life, brother, hypocrisy, religious fundamentalism, brother brother relationship, religious fundamentalist
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, wisconsin
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Blue River
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, touching and independent film films with plots about family relations, youth, family problems, coming of age, society, dysfunctional family and teenage life mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Blue River: Safe Passage (1994), Amy & Isabelle (2001), Return to Peyton Place (1961), My Louisiana Sky (2001), Refuge (2012). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A mother with seven sons feels like she's losing control of her life and her family. But personal...
Style:
touching, realistic, melancholic, serious, sentimental ...
Plot:
dysfunctional family, character study, family relations, family problems, life is a bitch, family life, parents and children, couples, estrangement, hopes, single parent, terrorism ...
Time:
90s, year 1994, 70s
Place:
new jersey, middle east, utah, beirut lebanon, london
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
In 1971, in the small town of Shirley Falls, in Maine, the odd and lonely secretary Isabelle Goodrow raises her teenager daughter Amy alone. She has only two friends in her job among her gossiper colleagues. When her overprotected daughter is ...
Style:
touching, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy
Plot:
parents and children, teenage life, love and romance, family life, dysfunctional family, friendship, single parent, youth, family problems, disgraced, teachers and students, isolation ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
maine, new england
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Residents of the small town of Peyton Place aren't pleased when they realize they're the characters in local writer Allison MacKenzie's controversial first novel. A sequel to the hit 1957 film.
Style:
retro, captivating, realistic, serious, emotional ...
Plot:
small town, scandal, infidelity, mother in law, family relations, dysfunctional family, social relations, couples, estrangement, family problems, crumbling marriage, single parent ...
Time:
year 1961, 50s
Place:
new york, massachusetts, new hampshire, usa, new england
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A girl comes to terms with her mentally challenged parents.
Style:
serious, sentimental, emotional, touching, melancholic ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
youth, self discovery, family life, society, family problems, parents and children, disability, small town life, child's point of view, mother daughter relationship, father daughter relationship, compassion ...
Time:
50s, 20th century, 1950s
Place:
louisiana, usa
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
609
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
After their parents abandon the family, a young woman works to take care of her younger siblings.
Style:
touching, serious, realistic, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
family in crisis, teenage life, dysfunctional family, youth, family problems, life is a bitch, siblings relations, family relations, college dropout, mentally challenged, amphetamine, teenage girl ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Single mom Dottie Ingels sells cosmetics in a department store, but she dreams of being a comedian. When she inherits some money, she takes the chance and moves with her two children Erica and Opel to New York to perform in small bars. Soon her ...
Style:
realistic, semi serious, sentimental, touching, humorous
Audience:
kids, girls' night
Plot:
female protagonist, comedian, sister sister relationship, stand up comedian, mother daughter relationship, single mother, feminist, slice of life, female friendship, sisters, family relations, parents and children ...
Time:
year 1992, 90s
Place:
new york, usa, las vegas
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Finland, Sweden, Denmark
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
A 14-year-old boy in a stifling Helsinki slum takes some unwise life lessons from his soon-to-be-incarcerated older brother, in Finnish master Pirjo Honkasalo’s gorgeously stylized and emotionally devastating work about what we pass on to younger ...
Style:
realistic, bleak, stylized, serious, atmospheric ...
Plot:
coming of age, naked man, brother brother relationship, male nudity, siblings relations, realism, family problems, dysfunctional family, life is a bitch, urban ghetto, family relations, protecting from truth ...
Time:
2010s, 21st century
Place:
europe, helsinki finland, finland
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Single mother Tyree Battle struggles to keep her young son Thaniel away from the gang-plagued city streets that he is mixed up in. Under severe gang pressure, Thaniel accidentally shoots Jewish shopkeeper Eli Zeal in a botched robbery attempt. ...
Style:
realistic, touching, serious, emotional, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, gang, homecoming, family problems, self discovery, aging, redemption, single parent, youth, going straight, parents and children, family life ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, louisiana
Similarity:
27%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
After his parents’ death, Shawn, 19 and mildly delinquent, tries to look after his little sister to cash in on his dad’s life insurance. But you can’t buy love -- and you sure can’t ignore it. Shawn will find out he’s got more to gain by ...
Style:
realistic, serious, emotional, psychological, gloomy
Plot:
custody, family problems, coming of age, teenage life, family relations, youth, rivalry, small town, family life, dog, homeless, poverty ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
michigan, usa
Similarity:
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Based on the book by Caroline B. Cooney, a girl happens to look down at a milk carton one day and she sees herself on the back! Could her parents really have kidnapped her?
Style:
realistic, serious
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
love, abused child, kidnapping, family relations, uncover truth, life is a bitch, coming of age, love and romance, young heroes, youth, siblings relations, fall in love ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa
Similarity:
22%
322
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
The movie spotlights an intelligent high school senior and National Merit Scholar (Bryant) who has never been part of the "in crowd." She teaches a high school equivalency night class, tends to the needs of her widower father, Jesse ...
Style:
realistic, serious, sincere, emotional, contemplative ...
Audience:
girls' night, date night, teen drama
Plot:
teenage pregnancy, single parent, small town, coming of age, teenage life, destructive relationship, family relations, couples, parents and children, youth, lifestyle, love and romance ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Robert Townsend stars as the patriarch of a family devastated when his wife is killed in a senseless auto accident. Reeling with grief, each family member must find courage and vision to carry on, ultimately eager to do the mother proud.
Style:
realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, family life, parents and children, family in crisis, youth, car accident, grief, accidental death, society, love, dealing with death, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, chicago
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
ANNE B. REAL is the coming of age story of a young female rapper, who finds her inspiration by reading the Diary of Anne Frank.
Style:
sincere, serious, realistic, touching, contemplative
Plot:
hip hop, introspection, lifestyle, teenage life, youth, juvenile delinquency, life is a bitch, urban ghetto, urban ghetto life, family life, siblings relations, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
When a school bus driving woman (Tyne Daly) has a heart attack, she makes one request of her three daughters (Ally Sheedy, Marla Sucharetza, Marceline Hugo) - she wants them to find their long lost brother, who was taken away by their father (Jack ...
Style:
independent film, contemplative, talky, realistic, serious ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
family relations, autumn, estrangement, parent child relationship, rich and poor, siblings relations, parents and children, family in crisis, dysfunctional family, family life, couples, family problems ...
Time:
90s
Place:
boston, europe, england, usa, harvard university
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel, France
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Zion, aged 14 and his brother Meir, 17, are facing a crisis in their relationship after a terrible accident. They keep the secret to themselves and it haunts them until, finally, Zion re-examines his loyalty towards his older brother and decides ...
Style:
realistic, serious, bleak
Plot:
family relations, family problems, dysfunctional family, youth, society, introspection, teenage life, haunted by the past, working class, family in crisis, siblings relations, profanity ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
israel
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Set in 1974 Texas, three teen siblings struggle with the death of their father and try to live with their abusive mother. When one of the teens is sent away because the mother can't cope with his autism, the teens embark on a life changing road ...
Style:
sentimental, serious, realistic, captivating, sincere ...
Plot:
autism, road trip, dysfunctional family, family problems, on the road, youth, family relations, escapades, self discovery, obsessive quest, death in the family, teenage life ...
Time:
20th century, 70s
Place:
usa, texas
Similarity:
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
It's 1963 in rural Massachusetts, and Nora James has the usual worries of an eleven year-old girl:lipstick, first crushes, staying out of trouble at school...not easy when your teacher is the elderly Sister Concilia. And even harder when your ...
Style:
independent film, serious, psychological, realistic
Plot:
youth, family relations, contests and competitions, life is a bitch, nanny, assassination, hopes, clergy, society, unfulfillment, single parent, family problems ...
Time:
90s
Place:
boston, massachusetts
Similarity:
21%
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:
21%
Movie in collections
392
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel, Germany, France
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Brothers Yaki and Shaul live with their parents in Petah Tikva, a satellite town of Tel Aviv. Yaki is doing military service. As for all other 18-year-old Israelis, this means he is allowed to carry a gun. This weapon gives the brothers the power to ...
Style:
realistic, tense, serious, captivating, emotional ...
Plot:
family problems, kidnapping, family relations, unemployment, society, working class, parents and children, teenage life, dysfunctional family, soldier, youth, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
israel, middle east
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Four sisters who disagree about everything... except what matters most. Family.
Style:
realistic, serious, emotional, touching, independent film
Audience:
family outing, girls' night
Plot:
family life, family problems, parents and children, single parent, family gatherings, society, hopes, small town, death in the family, bittersweet, family relations, siblings relations ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
philadelphia
Similarity:
20%
424
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Life is tough for Chol-Min - his mother died during labor, forcing him to grow up alonge with his stoic police officer father. However, Chol-Min lives a high-spirited life and roams around town with his own mutt, a half-bred police dog, making ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, gloomy, contemplative, touching ...
Plot:
coming of age, redemption, fighting crime, family relations, single parent, teenage life, hopes, adoption, small town, estrangement, society, parents and children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
south korea, asia, korea
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Abandoned by her dreamer single mom, a teenage loner becomes obsessed with ecological disaster, forcing her and her grandmother, a functioning alcoholic, to rethink their futures.
Style:
realistic, touching, captivating, psychological, sexy ...
Plot:
coming of age, family relations, environmentalism, society, family problems, gain trust, dysfunctional family, teenage life, life is a bitch, youth, bittersweet, teenager ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
A young woman named Esmeralda and her family move to New York from a rural area of Puerto Rico. The transition is difficult due to the many challenges she and her family face.
Style:
realistic, serious, sincere, touching, hispanic
Plot:
immigrant, lifestyle, human spirit, rise to the top, family life, parents and children, teenage life, family problems, hopes, youth, single parent, teachers and students ...
Time:
60s
Place:
new york, puerto rico, usa, latin america, brooklyn new york city
Similarity:
20%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Lee Bishop is forced to grow up quickly when his mother leaves for Iraq and his younger sister joins him on the varsity wrestling squad.
Style:
semi serious, realistic, independent film, surprise ending, uplifting
Audience:
teens
Plot:
high school, wrestling, wrestler, steroids, teenage life, youth, family life, family relations, obsession, betrayal, school, coming of age ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
20%
544
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
After an accident in a small Maryland fishing town, 11-year-old Emma begins to question the nature of the adults around her.
Style:
sincere, serious, touching, emotional, realistic ...
Plot:
youth, small town, introspection, family problems, human nature, family relations, friendship, family in crisis, swimming, swimmer, sex crime, dysfunctional family ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
maryland, usa
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
hree teenagers looking for adventure find more than they expected in this coming-of-age drama. High school seniors Wade (Jason James Richter) and Lorna (Kate Hudson) have spent all their lives in the small logging town of Calamus Grove, a ...
Style:
realistic, serious, touching, sentimental, independent film ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
coming of age, interracial relations, culture clash, teenage life, love and romance, self discovery, best friend, on the road, small town, society, social misfits, lifestyle ...
Time:
60s, 90s
Place:
oregon, usa
Similarity:
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Will, a charming 35-year-old Philadelphia ad man, heads to Lebanon, Pa. to bury his recently deceased father. He forms an unexpected friendship with CJ, his bright, newly pregnant 17-year-old cousin. As Will becomes interested in CJ's married ...
Style:
realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, culture clash, love and romance, society, pregnancy, youth, hopes, coming of age, road not taken, small town, wooing, bittersweet ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
pennsylvania, usa, philadelphia
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden, USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
On a freezing January evening, school bus driver Lesley completes her route, but her final inspection abruptly ends when a bluebird comes into view. What happens next shakes her small Maine logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have ...
Style:
sincere, touching, realistic, serious, bleak ...
Plot:
isolation, winter, family problems, family in crisis, youth, single parent, dysfunctional family, drug abuse, teenage life, parents and children, working class, small town ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
maine, usa
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
A look at the trials and tribulations of The Compson siblings, living in the deep south during the early part of the 20th century.
Style:
serious, realistic, touching, southern gothic, gloomy ...
Plot:
family relations, parents and children, dysfunctional family, downfall, siblings relations, family life, family problems, family in crisis, life is a bitch, male nudity, siblings, mental retardation ...
Time:
1910s, 20th century, 1930s, 1920s
Place:
mississippi, southern usa, usa
Similarity:
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
In 1983, Oliver Nicholas, at thirteen, is well-poised to enter the precocious teenage world of first-sex, vodka and possible-love in New York City when he is traumatized by the stroke of his housekeeper (and only true maternal figure), a ...
Style:
realistic, serious, emotional, humorous, sexual ...
Plot:
coming of age, youth, nanny, friendship between boys, stroke, dysfunctional family, society, survival, betrayal, parents and children, family life, family relations ...
Time:
year 1983, 21st century
Place:
new york
Similarity:
19%
Related movie lists
