Alienation movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant alienation movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out bleak, psychological, thought provoking, realistic, depressing and melancholic films and TV shows about / with alienation, loneliness, depression, storytelling, psychological drama, mentor, dialogue, existentialism, redemption and suicide plots mostly in Drama, Thriller and Comedy genres shot in USA, Japan, UK and other countries.
1564
TOP 10 movies tagged as alienation: Lost in Translation (2003), Taxi Driver (1976), Falling Down (1993), The Machinist (2004), All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001), Buffalo '66 (1998), Harold and Maude (1971), Five Easy Pieces (1970), Carrie (2013), Suicide Room (2011).
Best films
New films
List of alienation movies
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
Style:
melancholic, atmospheric, cerebral, intellectual, sexy ...
Audience:
girls' night, date night, family friendly, chick flick
Plot:
loneliness, midlife crisis, older man younger woman relationship, age difference, friendship, character study, alienation, fish out of water, melancholy, unlikely couple, actor, hotel room ...
Time:
2000s, year 2003, 21st century
Place:
japan, tokyo, asia, yale university, america ...
Is relevant?
1.0M
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.
Style:
psychological, neo noir, bleak, atmospheric, cult classic ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
loner, vigilante, character study, alienation, vigilantism, violence, obsession, loneliness, psychology, lone wolves, taxi, social decay ...
Time:
70s, year 1976, 20th century, year 1975
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa, america, harlem ...
Is relevant?
224K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
On the day of his daughter's birthday, William "D-Fens" Foster is trying to get to the home of his estranged ex-wife to see his daughter. His car breaks down, so he leaves his car in a traffic jam in Los Angeles and decides to walk. ...
Style:
cult classic, psychological, rough, black comedy, philosophical ...
Audience:
date night, manly
Plot:
rage, vigilante, anger, midlife crisis, alienation, violence, character study, social commentary, urban decay, losing-it hero, traffic jam, road rage ...
Time:
90s, 80s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles, california, persia, usa
Is relevant?
439K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik, a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ...
Style:
psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, depressing, surreal ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
insomnia, insanity, uncover truth, obsession, mysterious character, paranoia, losing-it hero, twists and turns, schizophrenia, life is a bitch, secrets, alienation ...
Time:
year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
usa, america, persia, los angeles
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Crime, Drama, Music, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 146 min.
Story:
Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yuichi Hasumi and Shusuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yuichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of fictional pop ...
Style:
atmospheric, sexy, teen, depressing, disturbing ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, bullying, music, alienation, high school, teenage life, social misfits, adolescence, friendship, youth, abuse, school ...
Time:
2000s, year 1999, year 2000, year 2001, 21st century
Place:
japan, east asia, okinawa japan, asia, tokyo ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.
Style:
black comedy, psychological, dark comedy, art house, depressing ...
Plot:
alienation, prison, kidnapping, stockholm syndrome, dysfunctional family, bowling, older man teenage girl relationship, relationships, dark humor, haunted by the past, gambling, blackmail ...
Time:
90s, year 1998, 20th century
Place:
new york state, new york, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is ...
Style:
black comedy, dark comedy, offbeat, feel good, inspirational ...
Audience:
teens, date night
Plot:
coming of age, suicide, funeral, older woman younger man relationship, eccentricity, misfit, old age, alienation, age difference, couples, cemetery, dark humor ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1971
Place:
california, san francisco, bay area, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.
Style:
road movie, serious, realistic, thought provoking, captivating ...
Plot:
road trip, on the road, character study, alienation, dysfunctional family, drifter, piano, pianist, father son relationship, hitchhiker, oil field, diner ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1970
Place:
california, usa, washington state, oregon, northern california ...
Is relevant?
155K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.
Style:
suspense, teen, suspenseful, rough, slasher ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama, adult
Plot:
bullying, telekinesis, prom, revenge, high school, stephen king, blood, psychic power, supernatural ability, mother daughter relationship, teenager, teenage girl ...
Time:
year 2013, 2010s, year 2000, 21st century
Place:
usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Poland
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
Dominik is an ordinary boy. He's got loads of friends, the hottest girl in school, rich parents and money to spend on brand-name clothes. But one innocent kiss with a mate changes everything. He begins to isolate himself from the outside world, ...
Style:
tense, bleak, captivating, serious, adult animation ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
suicide, escape from reality, gay, youth, depression, emo, alienation, delusion, internet, mental illness, fictional reality, self harm ...
Time:
year 2011, 21st century
Place:
poland, europe
Is relevant?
48K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 131 min.
Story:
Johnny flees Manchester for London, to avoid a beating from the family of a girl he has raped. There he finds an old girlfriend, and spends some time homeless, spending much of his time ranting at strangers, and meeting characters in plights very ...
Style:
disturbing, talky, philosophical, black comedy, compassionate ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
existentialism, sexual abuse, nihilism, humiliation, voyeurism, alienation, drifter, character study, sex scene, rape, cruelty, rapist ...
Time:
90s, year 1993
Place:
london, england, united kingdom, manchester, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
David, a struggling comedy writer fresh off from breaking up with his boyfriend, moves from New York City to Sacramento to help his sick mother. Living with his conservative father and much-younger sisters for the first time in ten years, he feels ...
Style:
lgbt cinema, sad, depressing, sentimental, touching ...
Audience:
girls' night, chick flick
Plot:
cancer, lgbtq, gay interest, gay, gay son, alienation, gay brother, gay relationship, father son relationship, gay couple, mother son relationship, breakup ...
Place:
indiana, california, sacramento california, new york
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having ...
Style:
depressing, realistic, crying, sentimental, compassionate ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
dysfunctional family, therapy, suicide attempt, suicide, grief, coming of age, depression, psychiatrist, alienation, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, loner ...
Time:
20th century, year 1980, 70s, 80s
Place:
chicago, usa, illinois, houston texas, middle east ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Poland
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
It is a bitter story about a middle-aged man, who hates his life and other people, including himself. Adam Miauczynski, the character known from director Marek Koterski's previous films, is a 44 year-old teacher, who reads poetry during school ...
Style:
independent film, dark comedy, tragicomedy, humorous, cynical ...
Plot:
midlife crisis, nothing goes right, social satire, paranoia, loner, alienation, burnout, obsessive compulsive disorder, neurosis, longing, solitude, teacher ...
Time:
year 2002, middle ages
Place:
eastern europe, central europe, warsaw poland, poland
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Spain
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
After her son Kevin commits a horrific act, troubled mother Eva reflects on her complicated relationship with her disturbed son as he grew from a toddler into a teenager.
Style:
disturbing, psychological, bleak, depressing, gloomy ...
Audience:
teens, toddlers, teen drama, adult
Plot:
psychopath, evil child, school shooting, high school, childhood, guilt, prison visit, depression, teenager, sociopath, antisocial behavior, teenage boy ...
Time:
year 2011, 90s, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
united kingdom, america, connecticut, usa, new york ...
Is relevant?
132K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls' ...
Style:
black comedy, thought provoking, teen, independent film, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, friendship, age difference, graduation, adolescence, older man younger woman relationship, teenage girl, teenage life, teen angst, blues, best friend, high school student ...
Time:
year 2001, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
usa, indiana, los angeles
Is relevant?
51K
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 78 min.
Story:
An outcast half-wolf risks his life to prevent a deadly epidemic from ravaging Nome, Alaska.
Style:
sentimental, suspenseful, feel good, inspirational, sincere ...
Audience:
kids, family outing, family friendly, teens, teen drama ...
Plot:
dog, courage, wolf, danger, goose, cartoon wolf, wilderness, animal, disease, daring rescue, furry, dog sled ...
Time:
1920s, 90s, 20th century, year 1995
Place:
alaska, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
This is the story of three characters (brothers Tomek and Jacek and their neighbor Magda), each of them is in their own way lonely and alienated. The title character makes herself secluded. Tomek's alienation results from his neurological ...
Style:
psychological, realistic, touching, atmospheric, cute ...
Plot:
alienation, brother brother relationship, dating, suicide attempt, sibling relationship, loneliness, depression, hospital, dreaming, estrangement, family relations, friendship ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
poland, europe, warsaw poland
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Japan
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
In the Swedish city of Lethe, people from different walks of life take part in a series of short, deadpan vignettes that rush past. Some are just seconds long, none longer than a couple of minutes. A young woman (Jessica Lundberg) remembers a ...
Style:
philosophical, surreal, dark comedy, black comedy, melancholic ...
Plot:
alienation, life, surrealism, loneliness, life philosophy, honest, lifestyle, art, artist, nordic, mental disorder, philosophy ...
Time:
2000s, year 2007, 21st century
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe, new jersey, california
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min.
Story:
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the ...
Style:
road movie, homoerotic, art house, erotic, touching ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot:
gay, homosexuality, male prostitute, friendship, homosexual, coming of age, unrequited love, male prostitution, male friendship, lgbt, homoerotic friendship, friendship between men ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1991
Place:
idaho, portland oregon, oregon, italy, rome italy ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Surveillance expert Harry Caul is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide to tail a young couple. Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. ...
Style:
neo noir, psychological thriller, psychological, cerebral, political thriller ...
Plot:
surveillance, paranoia, character study, spy, conspiracy, loner, losing-it hero, loneliness, obsession, wiretap, murder, hotel ...
Time:
20th century, year 1974, 70s
Place:
bay area, usa, san francisco
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Family, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. ...
Style:
feel good, inspirational, touching, sentimental, uplifting ...
Audience:
family outing, kids, date night, chick flick, adult
Plot:
christmas, holiday, small town, depression, small town life, angel, friendship, self discovery, second chance, life philosophy, life changing experience, alternate history ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1932, year 1945, 1910s ...
Place:
new york, america, new york state, usa
Is relevant?
192K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
The debut film from Darren Aronofsky in which a mathematical genius Maximilian Cohen discovers a link in the connection between numbers and reality and thus believes he can predict the future.
Style:
surreal, atmospheric, mind bending, cerebral, cult classic ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
mathematics, insanity, obsession, paranoia, computer, conspiracy, surrealism, alienation, psychology, eye, cyberpunk, mental illness ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1998, future
Place:
new york, america, middle east, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
11K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
A supernatural thriller set in the Western frontier of the late 1800s, The Wind stars Caitlin Gerard as a plains-woman driven mad by the harshness and isolation of the untamed land.
Style:
scary, psychological, psychological thriller, brutal, suspenseful ...
Plot:
folk horror, isolation, paranoia, supernatural, alienation, demon, escape, madness, exploitation, survival, rescue, women ...
Time:
19th century, 1800s
Place:
new mexico
Is relevant?
21K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Canada, Brazil, China
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
A destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.
Style:
captivating, atmospheric, tense, psychological, thought provoking ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
racism, skinhead, alienation, neo nazi, white supremacy, profanity, starting over, gang, family relations, neo nazism, subculture, danger ...
Time:
year 2019
Place:
palestine, nashville tennessee, richmond virginia, columbus ohio
Is relevant?

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
The Butcher (known from Noe's short film Carne) has done some time in jail after beating up the guy who tried to seduce his teenage mentally-handicapped daughter. Now he wants to start a new life. He leaves his daughter in an institution and ...
Style:
depressing, disturbing, psychological, controversial, bloody ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
sex, loneliness, butcher, revenge, incest, alienation, insanity, transgression, violent, existentialism, nihilism, extreme ...
Time:
turn of the century, year 1998, 20th century, 80s
Place:
paris france, france, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as "firemen", to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of ...
Style:
futuristic, atmospheric, thought provoking, tense, stylized ...
Plot:
totalitarianism, distopia, resistance, book, dystopia, satire, rebellion, dystopian future, fighting the system, fire, alienation, dictatorship ...
Time:
year 1966, future, distant future, 60s, near future
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Ryûhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is keeping a secret from his wife, Megumi (Kyôko Koizumi), and his two teenage sons. Even though he leaves the house every day, he's not really going to work. He's going to an employment office. He ...
Style:
lyrical, talky, stylized, serious, touching ...
Plot:
unemployment, alienation, rebellion, youth, hopes, chinawoman, job seeking, housewife, layoff, family secret, human nature, life is a bitch ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
tokyo, japan, east asia, asia, china ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Japan, USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Grady (Michael Douglas) is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years -- not since he wrote his award winning "Great American Novel" 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he ...
Style:
melancholic, talky, humorous, dark comedy, intellectual ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
college, midlife crisis, professor, coming of age, adultery, divorce, mentor, gay relationship, college professor, teacher student relationship, university, alienation ...
Time:
20th century, y2k, year 2000, 90s, 2000s
Place:
pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa
Is relevant?
1.7M
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, Australia
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Style:
thought provoking, atmospheric, suspense, bleak, psychological thriller ...
Audience:
teens, adult
Plot:
mental illness, villain, loneliness, mental patient, psycho, comedian, psychological trauma, mental disorder, psychopath, social problems, insanity, social decay ...
Time:
2010s, 80s, year 2019, 20th century, year 1981
Place:
new york, new jersey, los angeles, persia, bronx new york city
Is relevant?
Related movie lists