Totalitarian state movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant totalitarian state movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out serious, realistic, captivating, tense, harsh and talky films and TV shows about / with totalitarian state, betrayal, brutality, friendship, world war two, death, life is a bitch, politics, culture clash and war plots mostly in Drama, War and Thriller genres shot in Germany, UK, USA and other countries.
132
TOP 10 movies tagged as totalitarian state: Curfew (2019), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), The White Rose (1982), The Edelweiss Pirates (2004), The King Is Dancing (2000), Charlotte Gray (2001), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Forest of the Gods (2005), Waves Against the Sand (2021), Arcadia (2016).
Best films
List of totalitarian state movies
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
When day becomes night, a strict curfew forces ordinary people to go pedal to the metal in a deadly race for freedom. During this contest, alliances and friendships are both made and lost.
Style:
exciting, tense, disturbing, psychological, captivating ...
Plot:
virus, totalitarian state, pregnant woman, curfew, competition, driver, life is a bitch, escapades, adaptation, danger, rivalry, hopes ...
Time:
near future
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, West Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, psychological, cult classic, political ...
Plot:
distopia, dystopia, politics, totalitarianism, dystopian future, brainwashing, technology, fascism, totalitarian state, satire, surveillance, political corruption ...
Time:
future, 80s, year 1984, near future, 20th century ...
Place:
london, england, europe, britain, united kingdom
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: West Germany
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
During the Second World War, a small group of students at Munich University begin to question the decisions and sanity of Germany's Nazi government. The students form a resistance cell which they name the "White Rose" after a ...
Style:
bleak, realistic, serious, emotional, thought provoking ...
Plot:
world war two, resistance, nazi, anti fascist, fascism, death sentence, resistance movement, nude girl, dying young, german history, intrigue, world war ...
Time:
year 1943, 1940s, 20th century, year 1982, 1920s
Place:
germany, europe, munich germany, california, paris france ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Im Kölner Stadtteil Ehrenfeld lebt eine Gruppe von Arbeiterkindern kurz vor Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs ihren ganz eigenen Alltag. Die selbsternannten „Edelweißpiraten“ träumen von einer gerechten Welt und sehnen sich nach der unbeschwerten ...
Style:
tense, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, serious ...
Plot:
resistance, wartime life, world war two, nazi germany, human spirit, rebellion, young heroes, captivity, rebelliousness, life is a bitch, against humanity, idealism ...
Time:
1940s, year 1944, 20th century, post world war two
Place:
europe, germany
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama, History, Music
Country: France, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
Louis XIV, the French sun-king has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer
Style:
atmospheric, stylized, realistic, serious, captivating ...
Plot:
king of france, french history, performer's life, royal family, royalty, composer, ballet, forbidden love, dancing, playwright, intrigue, dishonesty ...
Time:
17th century
Place:
france, versailles, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: UK, Germany, Australia, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
This is a drama set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War II. Charlotte Gray tells the compelling story of a young Scottish woman working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot. Based on the ...
Style:
sexy, sentimental, romantic, captivating, realistic ...
Audience:
chick flick, girls' night
Plot:
espionage, war, french resistance, nazi, holocaust, world war two, wartime life, women, resistance, wartime, secret agent, world war ...
Time:
1940s, year 2001, 20th century, post world war two
Place:
france, london, paris france, europe, scotland ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
In a dystopicly polluted rightwing religious tyranny, a young woman is put in sexual slavery on account of her now rare fertility.
Style:
sexy, sensual, erotic, apocalyptic, disturbing ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
distopia, dystopia, sex, sexualized violence, religion, impregnation, sexual attraction, violence against women, totalitarian state, dystopian future, rebellion, slavery ...
Time:
future
Place:
canada, iran
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 157 min.
Story:
Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he mentors Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12.
Style:
psychological, suspenseful, captivating, crying, fairy tale ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
dystopia, arena, mentor, fight to the death, death of friend, flashback, deception, singing, execution, murder, fight, love ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Country: Lithuania, UK
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
The story about one man - an artist and an intellectual - who was imprisoned by two brutal regimes, the Nazis and the Soviets. 'The Professor' is a man who lives by his own personal version of the Ten Commandments. After miraculously ...
Style:
compassionate, captivating, disturbing, suspense
Plot:
nazi, memories, world war two, life is a bitch, scientist, artist, performer's life, communism, historical figure, government agency, professor, life turned upside down ...
Place:
ussr
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Chile
TV show
Story:
Dalangtaosha is directed by Jana Shah and Lin Xiaoxin, starring Bao Janfeng and Cheng Taishen, and starring Hai Qing in particular, Wang Wenna, Sun Lishi and Du Ziming, starring Wang Zhifei, Xia Tian, Ma Mingyu, Dai Yi, Chen Ruoxuan and Meng Zoey.
Style:
serious, realistic, captivating, thrilling, family saga ...
Plot:
betrayal, stereotypes, political conflict, communist propaganda, social realism, storytelling, patriotism, government official, economic crisis, chinese history, communist party, historical event ...
Place:
china
Is relevant?
349
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
In the not too distant future where a deadly disease has gripped the world, Arcadia has been built as safe disease-free haven for the privileged. Outside Arcadia, the average life lasts merely 40 years - unless they can earn a place amongst the ...
Style:
tense, suspenseful, captivating, exciting, social ...
Plot:
totalitarianism, distopia, family relations, dystopia, disease, pandemic, dystopian future, social commentary, social injustice, illness, totalitarian state, dystopian society ...
Time:
future, near future
Place:
london
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
In this vivid historical drama set in 1980s East Germany, two dockworkers and best friends who dream of escaping the repressive regime are forced to choose their loyalties when the state police promise them safe passage out of the country — if ...
Style:
realistic, serious, suspenseful, captivating, tense
Plot:
friendship, ambition, relationship vs career, dishonesty, moral dilemma, danger, betrayal, investigation, snitch, dictatorship, dictator, boyfriend girlfriend relationship ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
germany, east germany, german democratic republic
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
79K
Genre: Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Czech Republic, USA, Russia, UK
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
Set in Stalin-era Soviet Union, a disgraced MGB agent is dispatched to investigate a series of child murders -- a case that begins to connect with the very top of party leadership.
Style:
suspense, suspenseful, serious, factual, intense ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
serial killer, child murder, murder mystery, stalinism, investigation, murder, child murder investigation, politics, murder investigation, totalitarian regime, justice, betrayal ...
Time:
1930s, 1940s, 1950s, year 2015, 50s ...
Place:
moscow russia, soviet union, russia, ukraine, berlin germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: West Germany
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
In a totalitarian society of the future, in which the government controls all facets of the media, a homicide detective investigates a string of bombings, and finds out more than he bargained for.
Style:
art house, parody, intellectual, detective
Plot:
dystopia, dystopian society, cyberpunk, killed in a car crash, totalitarian regime, police officer, bomb threat, resistance fighter, crime investigation, totalitarian state, surrealism, post apocalypse ...
Time:
future, year 1982, year 1989
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
Russia, 1936: revolutionary hero Colonel Kotov is spending an idyllic summer in his dacha with his young wife and six-year-old daughter Nadia and other assorted family and friends. Things change dramatically with the unheralded arrival of Cousin ...
Style:
touching, stylized, captivating, sad, political ...
Plot:
politics, communist, stalinism, communism, father daughter relationship, nkvd, countryside, repression, symbolism, love, tragedy, redemption ...
Time:
1930s, 20th century, year 1994, year 1936
Place:
soviet union, russia, ussr, poland
Is relevant?
15K
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
TV show
Story:
Set in the spirit of L. Frank Baum's classic, the "Tin Man" follows the adventures of DG, a waitress and part-time student, as she travels through the mystical world of "The O. Z. (Outer Zone)", discovering her hidden past. ...
Style:
atmospheric, intense, fairy tale, exciting, dark fantasy ...
Audience:
family outing, teens
Plot:
fantasy world, wizards and magicians, wizard of oz, magical, good versus evil, witch, imaginary, journey, curses spells and rituals, childhood, young heroes, youth ...
Place:
kansas
Is relevant?
12K
Genre: Drama
Country: Hungary, West Germany, Austria
Duration: 146 min.
Story:
A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and friends flee or are ground under by the Nazi terror, the ...
Style:
political, horror musical, art film, mind twisting, disturbing ...
Plot:
nazi, nazi germany, actor, pact with the devil, theater, nazism, ambition, ethics, success, price of fame, female nudity, biopic ...
Time:
year 1981, 1930s, 1920s
Place:
germany, hamburg germany, berlin germany, eastern europe, europe ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Sport
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
Style:
grindhouse, cult classic, apocalyptic, freeze frame, funny ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
dystopia, cyberpunk, brutality, corporation, satire, fighting the system, fistfight, tournament, corporate executive, resentment, courage, conspiracy ...
Time:
future, 70s, near future, 2010s, year 1975 ...
Place:
houston texas, new york, tokyo, geneva switzerland, california
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 148 min.
Story:
Hanna's War is the true story of Hanna Senesh, a Hungarian-Jewish WW2 resistance fighter, who would become Israel's "Joan of Arc". As a young person, she fled Nazi-occupied Hungary for Palestine, where she was recruited and ...
Style:
political, grindhouse, independent film, contemplative, realistic ...
Plot:
holocaust, cannon, world war two, concentration camp, women's prison, writers, women, secret mission, wartime, wartime life, spy, world war ...
Place:
israel, middle east, hungary
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 196 min.
Story:
Ulrich Mühe plays a German businessman who was born completely without scruples. This makes him an eminently suitable candidate for success in the chaotic years after World War I. The shameless man's story is contrasted with that of his polar ...
Style:
f word
Plot:
male nudity, male pubic hair, revolution, world war two, german history, totalitarian state, decadence, homosexual, male objectification, shooting, wound, businessman ...
Time:
post world war one, 1920s
Place:
berlin germany, germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 199 min.
Story:
Russia attacked Finland in late November 1939. This film tells the story of a Finnish platoon of reservists from the municipality of Kauhava in the province of Pohjanmaa/Ostrobothnia who leave their homes and go to war. The film focuses on the ...
Style:
realistic, epic, tense, bleak, captivating ...
Plot:
war, world war two, winter, invasion, infantry, cold weather, wartime, military, world war, battlefield, tank, politics ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, 20th century, year 1939
Place:
finland, russia, baltics, europe, soviet union ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
A Jewish boy separated from his family in the early days of WWII poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth. Although improbabilities and happenstance are ...
Style:
political, retro, realistic, surreal, psychedelic ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
holocaust, nazi, circumcision, male nudity, woman peeing, hitler youth, children in wartime, physical exam, war, coming of age, genocide, nazi germany ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 90s, year 1990, 1930s
Place:
germany, poland, berlin germany, eastern europe, latvia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery
Country: Italy, Russia
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
The true story of Ivan Sanchin, the KGB officer who was Stalin's private film projectionist from 1939 until the dictator's death. Told from Sanchin's view, the sympathetic but tragically flawed hero maintains unwavering faith in his ...
Style:
realistic, disturbing, serious, political, contemplative ...
Plot:
stalinism, dictatorship, politics, projectionist, world war two, political unrest, injustice, head of state, state affairs, love, communism, communist ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1991, 1930s, 50s
Place:
ussr, russia
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 134 min.
Story:
"Stalingrad" follows the progress of a German Platoon through the brutal fighting of the Battle of Stalingrad. After having half their number wiped out and after being placed under the command of a sadistic Captain, the Lieutenant of the ...
Style:
realistic, serious, captivating, gloomy, epic ...
Plot:
world war two, war, battles, nazism, eastern front, soldier, german soldier, starvation, survival, military life, holocaust, winter ...
Time:
year 1942, year 1943, 1940s, 20th century
Place:
russia, germany, europe, italy, berlin germany ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
The movie narrates the story of David Carr, an unemployed worker and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1936 he decides to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, an anti-fascist coalition of liberals, communists and ...
Style:
political, sad, hispanic, philosophical, social ...
Plot:
spanish civil war, politics, revolution, anarchist, working class, civil war, communist, trench warfare, anarchy, socialist, dictator, dictatorship ...
Time:
1930s, 90s, 20th century, year 1995, year 1937 ...
Place:
spain, catalonia, barcelona, europe, basque country ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 162 min.
Story:
In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of ...
Style:
romantic, sentimental, touching, emotional, scenic ...
Audience:
chick flick, date night
Plot:
world war two, love story, desert, beautiful scenery, tragic love, power of love, love and romance, passion, adultery, sex scene, doomed love, life philosophy ...
Time:
1940s, 1930s, year 1944, year 1942, 90s ...
Place:
sahara, italy, ottoman empire, cairo egypt, africa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Country: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany
Duration: 159 min.
Story:
Knut Hamsun is Norway's most famous and admired author. Ever since he was young he has hated the English for the starvation they caused Norway during WWI. When the Germans occupy Norway 9 April 1940 he welcomes them and the protection they can ...
Style:
sad, talky, uplifting, sincere, emotional ...
Plot:
world war two, holocaust, writers, world war, nazi, poet, writer's life, biopic, nobel prize winner, nazism, marriage, fascism ...
Time:
1940s, year 1996, 1930s
Place:
germany, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, Puerto Rico, USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A journalist starts an investigation into the disappearance of famed poet and political agitator, Garcia Lorca, who disappeared in the early days of the Spanish Civil War in the the 1930's.
Style:
tense, gloomy, realistic, serious, independent film ...
Plot:
spanish civil war, writers, politician, poet, francisco franco, totalitarian state, spanish history, injustice, investigation, murder, biopic, society ...
Time:
year 1996, 1930s, 50s, 60s, 1950s
Place:
spain, europe, madrid, puerto rico
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
One evening in the mid-sixties, Rolf Anschütz, a chef who runs a small restaurant in a town called Suhl in the middle of the East German province of Thuringen offers his guests a unique and exotic meal - Japanese Sukiyaki. It was intent to be a ...
Style:
exotic
Plot:
food, restaurant, foreigner in japan, german history, totalitarian state, culture shock, husband wife relationship, bare chested male, male pubic hair, improv, barter, friendship ...
Place:
east germany, japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: Denmark, Germany, Norway, France, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
During Nazi occupation, red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid ("Flame") and Jørgen Haagen Schmith ("Citron"), assassins in the Danish resistance, take orders from Winther, who's in direct contact with Allied leaders. One shoots, ...
Style:
period piece, sincere, realistic, atmospheric, tense ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
gestapo, world war two, wartime, spy, nazi, nazism, terrorist, world war, double agent, ethnic conflict, organized crime, greed ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 1940, year 1944, post world war two
Place:
denmark, germany, copenhagen, scandinavia, europe ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
