Child labor movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant child labor movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out emotional, touching, period drama, realistic, bleak and melancholic films and TV shows about / with child labor, coming of age, poverty, friendship, survival, family relations, youth, orphan, children and child plots mostly in Drama, Family and History genres shot in USA, UK, France and other countries.
104
TOP 10 movies tagged as child labor: Schwabenkinder (2003), The Child Wanderers (2010), Capernaum (2018), The Rescuers (1977), The Punishment (2008), King of Thieves (2003), Midnight Is a Place (1977), Owl and the Sparrow (2007), Chop Shop (2007), Oliver Twist (2005).
Best films
List of child labor movies
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Germany
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
A man returning to his parents years after having been sent away as a child-laborer tells his lifetime story to his dying father.
Style:
sincere, captivating, touching, historical drama, psychological ...
Plot:
child labor, emigration, poverty, coming of age, father son reunion, father son relationship, death of wife, farmer, parent child relationship, german history, dying father, trauma ...
Time:
19th century
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family
Country: Norway
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
In the 1890s, 10-year-old Yohan is sent away from home to survive on his own as a child laborer. He experiences hardships and overcomes his fears by relying on bravery and hope to make the best of his circumstances.
Style:
psychological, captivating, unusual plot structure, touching, contemplative
Plot:
boy, friendship, brother brother relationship, father son relationship, mother son relationship, stealing, spying, cow, 10 year old, snow, spring, theft ...
Time:
1890s
Is relevant?
122K
Genre: Drama
Country: Lebanon, USA, France, Cyprus, Qatar, UK
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
Zain, a 12-year-old boy scrambling to survive on the streets of Beirut, sues his parents for having brought him into such an unjust world, where being a refugee with no documents means that your rights can easily be denied.
Style:
sad, social, depressing, rough, cynical ...
Audience:
toddlers
Plot:
poverty, refugee, traumatic childhood, slum, misery, neglected child, child abuse, low lives, child neglect, child protagonist, starving child, child labor ...
Time:
future, 2010s
Place:
lebanon, beirut lebanon, middle east, nebraska, sarajevo ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min.
Story:
What can two little mice possibly do to save an orphan girl who's fallen into evil hands? With a little cooperation and faith in oneself, anything is possible! As members of the mouse-run International Rescue Aid Society, Bernard and Miss ...
Style:
light, touching, cute, crying, colorful ...
Audience:
kids, family outing, family friendly, toddlers, preschool ...
Plot:
childhood, mouse, friendship, good versus evil, orphan, rescue, kidnapping, chase, little girl, anxiety, talking animal, treasure hunt ...
Time:
70s, 90s, 20th century
Place:
louisiana, madagascar, new york, usa, new orleans
Is relevant?
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Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive ...
Style:
costume drama, sentimental, period piece, visually stunning, satirical ...
Plot:
charles dickens, orphan, victorian england, poverty, kite, aunt, child's point of view, children, blackmail, survivor, friendship, social differences ...
Time:
19th century, 1800s, victorian era, future, 1840s ...
Place:
england, europe, dover england, london
Is relevant?
Genre: Thriller
Country: Spain
Duration: 180 min.
TV show
Style:
thought provoking, suspenseful, psychological, suspense, disturbing
Plot:
troubled teen, child abuse, life is a bitch, child labor, re-education, juvenile delinquency, children, exploitation, parenting, teenage life, teenager, traumatic childhood ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Germany, France
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Two amateur circus kids from a poor Ukrainian village, ten-year-old Barbu and his older sister Mimma, are sold to a circus artist called Caruso who promises them a career in the West.
Style:
disturbing, emotional, serious, realistic, bleak
Plot:
boy, circus, youth, child prostitution, human trafficking, life is a bitch, juvenile delinquency, kidnapping, kids in trouble, hopes, dishonesty, siblings relations ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
eastern europe, berlin germany, ukraine, europe, germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Family
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story:
This series is about two children who are the wards of a cantankerously un-loving uncle. That uncle owns a rug factory that has the typically brutal working conditions of the time that both poor adult and child labourers have to survive. Life is ...
Style:
historical drama, tense, bleak, atmospheric, suspense ...
Plot:
child labor, working conditions, poverty, children, industrial revolution, survival, orphan, street life, exploitation, social realism, abandonment, family tragedy ...
Time:
victorian era, 19th century
Place:
london
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Vietnam, USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
In modern-day Saigon, three lonely strangers form a unique family as a ten-year old orphan plays matchmaker to a zookeeper and a beautiful flight attendant.
Style:
uplifting, serious, sincere, sentimental, touching ...
Plot:
matchmaking, couples, youth, orphan, street kid, friendship, optimism, love and romance, on the run, society, opposites attract, human nature ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
saigon, asia, vietnam
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Alejandro, a tough and ambitious Latino street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, young Alejandro struggles ...
Style:
touching, bleak, realistic, serious, sincere ...
Plot:
street kid, coming of age, pitbull, brother sister relationship, working class, siblings relations, urban ghetto life, teenage life, family relations, kids in trouble, youth, orphan ...
Time:
year 2007, 90s, 21st century
Place:
usa, new york
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Czech Republic, UK, France, USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
Oliver Twist the modern filmed version of Charles Dickens bestseller, a Roman Polanski adaptation. The classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to ...
Style:
emotional, atmospheric, sentimental, costume drama, period piece ...
Audience:
family outing, teens, kids
Plot:
orphan, redemption, childhood, poverty, child abuse, boyhood, boy, injustice, orphanage, chess, children, corporal punishment ...
Time:
victorian era, 19th century, middle ages, 1800s, year 2005 ...
Place:
london, england, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: Australia, UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Abigail Kirk was an ordinary enough sixteen year old growing up in todays Sydney. An intriguing chain of events finds Abigail, through some eerie time shift, transported back one hundred years after watching some children playing a scary game called ...
Style:
independent film, psychotronic, crying, urban fantasy
Plot:
pianist, teenager, game, female protagonist, prostitute, bare chested male, time traveler, woman in danger, time travel, helicopter, past, waking up ...
Time:
year 1986, 19th century, victorian era, 80s, 1870s
Place:
australia, adelaide south australia, sydney australia
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Karen, Sarah, and Emma Tunney are all moving to a small town in Pennsylvania where, unknown to them, in 1913, a horrid mine accident trapped dozens of children alive, underground. But there's a problem. They're still alive.
Style:
scary, suspense, serious, suspenseful, slasher ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
creepy kid, nightmare, abandoned house, undead, zombie, danger, small town life, small town, missing person, parents and children, ghost, mother daughter relationship ...
Time:
1910s, 20th century, 2000s
Place:
pennsylvania, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Family, Animation
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
An animated version of the classic David Copperfield story. Filled with music, color, and anthropomorphic versions of the classic characters.
Style:
anthropomorphic, colorful, emotional, sentimental, period drama ...
Audience:
family friendly
Plot:
charles dickens, literary, child labor, anthropomorphism, coming of age, personal growth, adaptation, social injustice, countryside, identity, redemption, class struggle ...
Time:
victorian era, 19th century
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's ...
Style:
touching, fairy tale, heartbreaking, feel good, costume drama ...
Audience:
kids, chick flick, family outing, family friendly, pre-teens ...
Plot:
boarding school, imagination, childhood, princess, orphan, servant, little girl, fantasy life, child, girls' boarding school, coming of age, children ...
Time:
20th century, edwardian era, future, victorian era, 90s ...
Place:
india, new york, england, britain, africa ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
The story of 12-year-old Ali and his three friends. Together they work hard to survive and support their families, doing small jobs in a garage and committing petty crimes to make fast money. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is ...
Style:
bleak, neorealism, social
Plot:
emigrant, child labor, coming of age, poverty, friendship, social injustice, education, survival, childhood, social realism, resilience, teacher student relationship ...
Time:
2020s
Place:
iran, persia, afghanistan
Is relevant?
Genre: Musical, Family, Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Chiquititas is a successful children's musical telenovela from Argentina. Created and produced by Cris Morena, starring her daughter Romina Yan, it aired on Telefé from 1995 until 2001.
The series focuses about orphans living in a manor, ...
Style:
soap opera, telenovela
Plot:
friendship between girls, orphan, female protagonist, manor, latina, occupation, family relations, dual identity, rebellious teenager, teenager, domestic violence, blindness ...
Place:
argentina
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film ...
Style:
sad, touching, depressing, compassionate, serious ...
Audience:
toddlers, teen drama
Plot:
poverty, ira, injustice, parents and children, youth, family relations, depression, life is a bitch, death, children, rich and poor, human nature ...
Time:
1940s, year 1999, 90s, 1930s, 20th century ...
Place:
ireland, new york, brooklyn new york city, europe, usa ...
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Mexico, USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A Mexican teenager whose dreams of becoming a soccer star are disrupted when his mother dies. He's smuggled across the border with the promise of a better life but is instead sold to a sweatshop in downtown LA.
Style:
realistic, tense, psychological, suspenseful, thrilling ...
Plot:
soccer, human trafficking, coming of age, illegal immigration, border crossing, social injustice, child labor, slave trade, life is a bitch, child, resilience, trauma ...
Place:
los angeles, mexico
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 151 min.
Story:
Jyothi Lingam, a bright student, leads a happy life in his small village. One day, tragedy strikes when his father, the only earning member of the family, dies in an accident.
Style:
realistic, serious, disturbing, touching, suspense ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
working conditions, teenage love, life is a bitch, child labor, mother son relationship, workplace, exploitation, coping, death of father, inequality, sexual harassment, realism ...
Time:
year 2010, 2010s
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family, War
Country: USA, France
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
In this version of "Heidi," a young Swiss girl is sent off to boarding school at the beginning of World War I.
Style:
realistic, touching, sentimental, serious, independent film ...
Audience:
pre-teens, kids, family outing
Plot:
boarding school, orphan, abuse, school, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, survival, teenage life, adoption, family life, fish out of water, danger, female protagonist ...
Time:
1910s, year 1915, 20th century
Place:
swiss alps, switzerland, italy, europe, alps
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Venezuela, Spain
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Devil Gold is director José Novoa's third collaboration with producer Elia Schneider, and like the previous two films, Huelepega (or Glue Sniffer, which Schneider directed in 2000) and Sicario (1994), the film is a thriller-melodrama that ...
Style:
crime drama, art house, tragic
Plot:
amazon, violence, contamination, greed, poverty, realism, environmental destruction, social realism, human rights, slum, lawlessness, rain forest ...
Place:
venezuela, latin america, south america
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 154 min.
Story:
The story of the silk industry and the young girls who worked as silk spinners in the early 1900s in Japan. The silk mills were located in Okaya which lies just beyond the Nomugi Pass. The women and girls worked in a hot, humid atmosphere without ...
Style:
period piece, historical drama, bleak, tragic
Plot:
sexual harassment, working conditions, poverty, social realism, industrialization, child labor, resilience, brutality, class struggle, human rights, abusive boss, snow ...
Time:
90s
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Teacher Gao loves the students in his poor village and is devoted to educating them in the hope of their greater futures. When he is called away to tend to his dying mother for a month, the Mayor calls in an inexperienced 13 year-old replacement, ...
Style:
inspirational, road movie, realistic, touching, sad ...
Plot:
teacher, children, poverty, coming of age, mountain, food, asian history, youth, school teacher, job, teaching, teenager ...
Time:
year 1999, 90s, 20th century
Place:
china, tibet, tokyo, iran, japan ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Iran, France, Iraq
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Turtles can fly tells the story of a group of young children near the Turkey-Iran border. They clean up mines and wait for the Saddam regime to fall.
Style:
emotional, bleak, atmospheric, stylized, rough ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
childhood, children in wartime, blind character, coming of age, children, camp, child, muslim, anti war, saddam hussein, survival, orphan ...
Time:
year 2004, 2000s, 20th century, 21st century
Place:
kurdistan, middle east, iran, maghreb, afghanistan ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Australia
Duration: 95 min.
TV show
Story:
Four part biopic about classic Australian author A.B. Facey (1894-1982). Born in a large impoverished family, uneducated and illiterate, he had to fend for himself since he was eight, and as a recruit in WWI, he was sent to Gallipoli.
Style:
inspirational, realistic, reflective, melancholic, sentimental ...
Plot:
biopic, world war one, resilience, autobiography, survival, coming of age, village life, working class, outback, poverty, marriage, sacrifice ...
Time:
1910s, 1920s, 18th century
Place:
gallipoli, australia
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story:
Dickens of London is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz ...
Style:
costume drama, dramatic, melancholic, educational, period drama ...
Plot:
biopic, charles dickens, writers, debt, ambition, class conflict, child labor, poverty, social realism, mental illness, marriage, nostalgia ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 1800s, 1830s, 1860s
Place:
london, england
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story:
Remi lives with his mother in a French village. His father, Barberin, works in Paris. When he returns wounded and hard-hearted, Remi discovers he is actually a foundling. Barberin sells Remi to a traveling artist, Vitalis, and his animals troop. ...
Style:
anime, emotional, dramatic, sentimental, tear jerker ...
Plot:
orphan, coming of age, journey, adoption, friendship, family drama, child protagonist, countryside, poverty, surrogate family, loss, foster home ...
Place:
england
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: China
TV show
Story:
After losing her parents, Zhang Zi Jun raises her siblings and leads a boy gang. Through determination, she faces challenges and rises to business success.
Style:
disturbing, suspense, psychological, captivating, emotional ...
Plot:
female protagonist, sacrifice, orphan, survival, determination, family drama, resilience, family relations, family problems, life is a bitch, grownups, social problems ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Animation, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story:
Katri, Girl of the Meadows is an anime series based on the Finnish novel, "Paimen, piika ja emäntä" by Auni Nuolivaara. The series was broadcast originally in Japan in 1984 as part of the children's anthology series World ...
Style:
anime, emotional, sentimental, educational, melancholic ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
village life, separation, resilience, family values, poverty, perseverance, nature, family drama, survival, innocence, grandparents, work ethic ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
europe, finland
Is relevant?
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