Poignant movies and TV shows – page 3

List of poignant movies

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Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Genre: Animation, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'. Curious as to who he is, Shizuku meets ...
Style: anime, touching, feel good, uplifting, emotional ...
Audience: teens, family outing, kids, pre-teens, family friendly ...
Plot: imagination, self discovery, school, teenage life, high school life, follow your dream, love, youth, fall in love, teenage love, love and romance, cat ...
Time: 90s, year 1995, 20th century
Place: japan, tokyo, europe, asia, italy
Is relevant ?
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
Style: twist ending, sad, sentimental, tear jerker, compassionate ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: loss, anguish, group therapy, grief, christmas, love, death, life & death, redemption, justice, tragedy, life philosophy ...
Time: 2010s
Place: china, manhattan new york city, brooklyn new york city, usa, new york
Is relevant ?
 6.4
 39K
Cake (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: After having visions of a member of her support group who killed herself, a woman who also suffers with chronic pain seeks out the widower of the suicide.
Style: heartbreaking, depressing, psychological, touching, sentimental ...
Audience: chick flick
Plot: drug addiction, loneliness, depression, obsession, suicide, friendship, suicide attempt, support group, character study, tragedy, mental illness, honest ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, los angeles, california, tijuana mexico, mexico
Is relevant ?
Like Father, Like Son (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.
Style: touching, disturbing, psychological, sincere, intense ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: family drama, family reunited, boy, parents and children, architect, father son relationship, family relations, self discovery, moral dilemma, introspection, identity crisis, life turned upside down ...
Time: year 2013, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, asia
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.9
 92K
Short Term 12 (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, works with her boyfriend and colleague, Mason, to help at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Style: sad, compassionate, realistic, touching, independent film ...
Audience: teens, teen drama, adult
Plot: child abuse, depression, social worker, adolescence, teenager, suicide attempt, self mutilation, troubled teen, foster child, coming of age, mental illness, self harm ...
Time: year 2013, y2k, 2010s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 1.4M
The Green Mile (1999)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 189 min.
Story: A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cellblock's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, ...
Style: touching, emotional, sentimental, heartbreaking, sad ...
Audience: girls' night, chick flick, date night, family friendly, adult
Plot: prison, death penalty, stephen king, death row, magic realism, supernatural, convict, false accusation, electric chair, life & death, life philosophy, psychic ...
Time: 1930s, 20th century, 90s, year 1999, year 1935
Place: usa, southern usa, louisiana, america, persia
Is relevant ?
The Intouchables (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 112 min.
Story: A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
Style: inspirational, feel good, touching, emotional, motivational ...
Audience: date night, teens, family friendly, adult
Plot: friendship, disability, friendship between men, unlikely friendships, life philosophy, disabled person, lifestyle change, human relationship, handicapped, culture clash, friends, interracial friendship ...
Time: 2010s, year 2011, 21st century
Place: france, paris france
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 811K
Gran Torino (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. ...
Style: serious, emotional, touching, suspense, thought provoking ...
Audience: manly, chick flick, teen drama, adult
Plot: gang, friendship, elderly, veteran, racism, prejudice, gunfight, widower, gangster, interracial relations, old man, vigilante ...
Time: year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place: detroit, usa, michigan, italy, north america
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 259K
The Bucket List (2007)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing ...
Style: feel good, inspirational, philosophical, sentimental, touching ...
Audience: chick flick, date night
Plot: friendship, road trip, elderly, terminal illness, unlikely friendships, journey, human spirit, philosophy, bucket list, dying, follow your dream, self discovery ...
Time: year 2007, 21st century
Place: usa, africa, cote d'azur, tanzania, mount everest ...
Is relevant ?
Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, UK, Canada
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.
Style: depressing, touching, sincere, gloomy, sad ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: addiction, heroin, grief, life is a bitch, love and romance, haunted by the past, loss of spouse, drug addiction, best friend, character study, childhood, starting over ...
Time: year 2007, 21st century
Place: seattle, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 655K
Into the Wild (2007)
Genre: Adventure, Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 148 min.
Story: The true story of top student and athlete, Christopher McCandless, who after graduating from Emory University in 1992, abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
Style: road movie, philosophical, melancholic, inspirational, reflective ...
Audience: teens, date night, teen drama, adult
Plot: road trip, wilderness, survival, self discovery, freedom, journey, solitude, life philosophy, isolation, travel, lifestyle change, beautiful scenery ...
Time: 2000s, year 2007, 20th century, year 1990, year 1991 ...
Place: alaska, los angeles, america, astoria oregon, seattle ...
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 248K
The Fountain (2006)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Spanning over one thousand years, and three parallel stories, The Fountain is a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world.
Style: surreal, melancholic, artsy, philosophical, atmospheric ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: metaphysics, spirituality, afterlife, cancer, buddhism, immortality, surrealism, multiple storylines, obsession, loneliness, love, death ...
Time: future, 2000s, year 2006, 16th century, 21st century
Place: spain, tibet, latin america, europe, central america ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 8.0
 31K
Nobody Knows (2004)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 141 min.
Story: In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Style: depressing, touching, serious, atmospheric, bleak ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: childhood, poverty, dysfunctional family, boy, young kid, innocence lost, children, child abandonment, brother brother relationship, tragedy, coming of age, family relations ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place: japan, tokyo, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 58K
3-Iron (2004)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: South Korea, Japan
Duration: 88 min.
Story: A young man, whose only possession is a motorcycle, spends his time riding around the city looking for empty apartments. After finding one, he hangs out for a while, fixing himself something to eat, washing laundry or making small repairs in return. ...
Style: lyrical, contemplative, surreal, romantic, philosophical ...
Audience: date night
Plot: golf, loneliness, motorcycle, relationships, abusive husband, jealousy, love triangle, art, love story, love, existentialism, destiny ...
Time: year 2004, y2k, 21st century
Place: korea, east asia, south korea, asia
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 457K
Big Fish (2003)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true ...
Style: surreal, sentimental, feel good, touching, fairy tale ...
Audience: date night, kids, chick flick, teens, girls' night ...
Plot: fish, journey, surrealism, father son relationship, fantasy world, storytelling, childhood, loneliness, mermaid, magic realism, magic, parents and children ...
Time: 60s, 70s, 20th century, 1940s, year 2003 ...
Place: texas, usa, alabama, paris france, russia ...
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 23K
Missing (1982)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 122 min.
Story: Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to a South American country to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a right-wing military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he ...
Style: political, political thriller, emotional, talky, tense ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: dictatorship, politics, military coup, political conspiracy, corruption, conspiracy, journalist, political intrigue, military, missing person, capitalism, coup d'etat ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, year 1982, year 1973
Place: chile, latin america, south america, washington d.c., santiago chile
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 117K
Talk to Her (2002)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Style: psychological, emotional, surreal, sexy, sincere ...
Plot: rape, tragic love, friendship, suicide, loneliness, female nudity, obsession, impossible love, tragic event, hospital, sex, women ...
Time: near future, year 2002, 2000s, 21st century
Place: spain, madrid, iberian peninsula, europe, jordan
Is relevant ?
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, France
Duration: 98 min.
Story: A melancholy story about the love between a woman and a man who live in the same building and one day find out that their husband and wife had an affair with each other. More and more the two meet during their daily lives as they determine that they ...
Style: art house, atmospheric, melancholic, visually stunning, artsy ...
Audience: teens
Plot: loneliness, adultery, infidelity, forbidden love, marriage, love affair, unrequited love, love, newspaper, food, tragedy, betrayal ...
Time: 60s, 2000s, y2k, year 2000, 20th century ...
Place: hong kong, japan, china, east asia, shanghai ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 8.0
 327K
Magnolia (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 188 min.
Story: An epic mosaic of many interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Style: philosophical, cerebral, sincere, depressing, mind bending ...
Audience: chick flick, adult
Plot: social problems, multiple storylines, depression, human nature, child prodigy, dysfunctional family, introspection, cancer, terminal illness, loneliness, alienation, coincidence ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1999, 60s, 1950s ...
Place: los angeles, california, reno nevada
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 157K
Awakenings (1990)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, ...
Style: inspirational, motivational, sentimental, sincere, uplifting ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: mental illness, mental institution, hospital, illness, doctors and patients, medical, psychiatry, fighting illness, hopes, medicine, disability, patient ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, 1930s, 60s, year 1969
Place: america, new york, usa, bronx new york city
Is relevant ?
Time of the Gypsies (1988)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Yugoslavia, Italy, UK
Duration: 142 min.
Story: In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Romany with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime that threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
Style: surreal, touching, poignant, cerebral, independent film ...
Audience: teens
Plot: coming of age, magic realism, gypsy, romani people, ethnic, forced prostitution, adolescence, european, vengeance, bittersweet, immigration, racism ...
Time: 90s, year 1988, 20th century, 80s
Place: former yugoslavia, eastern europe, serbia, europe, milan italy ...
Is relevant ?
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Genre: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 169 min.
Story: As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Style: realistic, epic, breathtaking, captivating, tense ...
Audience: manly, chick flick, kids, date night, adult
Plot: war, world war two, military, courage, battles, self sacrifice, sniper, friendship, nazi, army, d day, rescue ...
Time: 1940s, year 1944, year 1998, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: normandy, poland, germany, france, europe ...
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 543K
Rain Man (1988)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.
Style: road movie, sincere, uplifting, touching, inspirational ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: autism, road trip, redemption, disability, runaway, brother brother relationship, mentally challenged, siblings relations, family relations, casino, mental illness, mathematics ...
Time: 20th century, year 1988, 80s
Place: las vegas, california, ohio, cincinnati ohio, missouri ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
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2371
dramatic movies
4757
sad movies
sad
2538
loneliness movies
5242
 8.2
 1.2M
The Truman Show (1998)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Truman Burbank is the star of "The Truman Show", a 24-hour-a-day "reality" TV show that broadcasts every aspect of his life -- live and in color -- without his knowledge. His entire life has been an unending soap opera for ...
Style: philosophical, thought provoking, psychological, surreal, touching ...
Audience: teens, family outing, teen drama
Plot: self discovery, simulated reality, alternate reality, freedom, video surveillance, small town, fictional reality show, hidden camera, utopia, dystopia, paranoia, god complex ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1998, future
Place: florida, persia, america, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 378K
Raging Bull (1980)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min.
Story: When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his ...
Style: black and white, stylized, atmospheric, visual, bloody ...
Audience: adult
Plot: character study, boxing, redemption, rise and fall, violent, boxer, biopic, bad temper, tragedy, jealousy, gangster, paranoia ...
Time: 20th century, 1950s, year 1980, 60s, 1940s ...
Place: new york, chicago, bronx new york city, italy, miami ...
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 135K
Ran (1985)
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 160 min.
Story: In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how their new-found power will corrupt them.
Style: visual, visually stunning, visually appealing, atmospheric, breathtaking ...
Audience: adult
Plot: samurai, feudal japan, medieval, shakespeare, greed, vengeance, castle, betrayal, nihilism, insanity, great ending, sword fight ...
Time: 16th century, medieval times, 20th century, year 1985, middle ages
Place: japan, bolivia, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min.
Story: While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, implacable rabble-rouser, Randle Patrick McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse, Mildred Ratched.
Style: psychological, thought provoking, dramatic, serious, surprise ending ...
Audience: date night, family friendly, teen drama, adult
Plot: mental illness, mental institution, fighting the system, human spirit, insanity, freedom, psychiatrist, unlikely friendships, psychopath, society, nurse, escaped mental patient ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, year 1975
Place: oregon, eastern europe, america, persia
Is relevant ?
 8.5
 281K
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 174 min.
Story: A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Style: sad, uplifting, inspirational, touching, emotional ...
Audience: teens, date night, adult
Plot: childhood, coming of age, friendship, first love, filmmaking, cinema, nostalgia, haunted by the past, adolescence, breast feeding, village, funeral ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s, year 1988, 1950s, year 1954 ...
Place: italy, sicily, europe, rome italy, corsica
Is relevant ?
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Gilbert has to care for his brother Arnie and his obese mother, which gets in the way when love walks into his life.
Style: melancholic, touching, emotional, depressing, sad ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: dysfunctional family, disability, self discovery, mental illness, small town, mentally challenged, responsibility, life philosophy, brothers, coming of age, family drama, family problems ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1993, 60s, 70s
Place: iowa, texas, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 337K
Before Sunrise (1995)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Austria
Duration: 101 min.
Story: On his way to Vienna, American Jesse meets Céline, a student returning to Paris. After long conversations forge a surprising connection between them, Jesse convinces Celine to get off the train with him in Vienna. Since his flight to the U.S. ...
Style: philosophical, emotional, melancholic, sentimental, feel good ...
Audience: date night, teens, girls' night, chick flick
Plot: love, chance meeting, destiny, relationships, fall in love, tourist, young lovers, conversation, coincidence, love story, travel, teenage girl ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1995
Place: austria, europe, france, vienna, los angeles ...
Is relevant ?
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