20 best movies like Diffuse Light (2021)

A movie about reporter W. Eugene Smith and his research on mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan, resulting in severe neurological symptoms.

During the last forty years, the photographer Sebastião Salgado has been travelling through the continents, in the footsteps of an ever changing humanity. He has witnessed the major events of our recent history ; international conflicts, starvations and exodus… He is now embarking on the discovery of pristine territories, of the wild fauna and flora, of grandiose landscapes : a huge photographic project which is a tribute to the planet's beauty. Sebastião's Salgado's life and work are revealed to us by his son, Juliano, who went with him during his last journeys, and by Wim Wenders, a photographer himself.

Uses astonishing visuals to tell the intersecting stories of George Mallory, the first man to attempt a summit of Mount Everest, and Conrad Anker, the mountaineer who finds Mallory's frozen remains 75 years later.

A struggling street photographer, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develops a connection that transforms them in ways that they could not expect.

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), man of the people, autodidact and revolutionary sculptor - the most brilliant of his era. At 42, Rodin meets Camille Claudel, a young woman desperate to become his assistant. He quickly acknowledges her as his most able pupil, and treats her as an equal in matters of creation.

Straight out of Jersey comes Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper fighting through a world of strip malls and strip clubs on an unlikely quest for glory.

Ashes and Snow, a film by Gregory Colbert, uses both still and movie cameras to explore extraordinary interactions between humans and animals. The 60-minute feature is a poetic narrative rather than a documentary. It aims to lift the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species, dissolving the distance that exists between them.

Present days. A man and his companion go on a journey to cremate the dead body of the former beloved wife, on a riverbank in the area where they spent their honeymoon.

Director Mitya escapes from the set of the next television series. In this he is helped by the ghost of Marcello Mastroianni. The decision to escape launches a chain of events with the participation of Mitya's family and friends, which can only be unraveled by the answer to the question of what kind of director he wants to be: great, talented, or just normal.

The Humorist is a film about a week in the life of Boris Arkadiev, a fictional Soviet stand-up comedian. Boris is tormented not only by external oppression and censorship but also by his own insecurities that poison all his relationships.

The story of Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti.

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.

Jenia is a workaholic - glossy magazine editor. Stas is celebrity photographer. She is ambitious, and he on the contrary always relaxed. Jenia's ig dream is to become editor in chief, but for that to happen she needs to find a husband immediately! The condition given by the shareholders of the magazine is strict: since magazine is family-oriented - it needs a family person as a boss. To solve this problem Jenia has only a week. Stas decides to help the girl, having connections of lot of bachelors who could well fit to be the future husband. But Jenia suddenly realizes that she is not that ambitious, and Stas was surprised to discover he is in love.

In the near future, as humanity prepares to set foot on Mars, Jacob Obus, an elderly musician, takes pride in slowing down time by playing instruments inspired by women's bodies, designed by his friend Arthur. A love triangle develops when Jacob and Arthur both fall in love with Avril, a young photographer. Enter Eugène Spaak, Arthur's father, an inventor and cosmologist who unveils a new theory about man's desire to reach Mars and helps Jacob find the true meaning of life and love.

An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

A satirical drama reflecting our times — about the sense of community, moral courage and the affluent person’s need for egocentricity in an increasingly uncertain world.

The plot revolves round the life of Karthik (Dhanush) a struggling freelance photographer in Chennai who does portfolios, weddings and other functions. Karthik has a keen interest in wild life photography and friends call him a genius, though he is bit of a loner. His role model is Madhesh Krishnaswamy (Ravi Prakash), a world renowned wildlife photographer and his dream is to be an assistant to this arrogant man. Karthik hangs out with his friends and is extremely close to Sundar (Sundar) who introduces his girlfriend Yamini (Richa) to the gang. Initially Karthik and Yamini can't stand each other but there lies the twist, when opposites attract.

Alevtina Romanova is a warden in the woman's colony, and the only thing that is different from her «iron lady» image is her voice - a voice which even a notable opera diva would envy. However, Alevtina has been ashamed of her talent since the times she was a kid and nowadays, preliminarily making sure no one's around, she rarely sings for herself. Despite the fact that Alevtina is trying to stay invisible, one of the prisoners secretly records her singing on video by a cellphone and puts it online. The tape becomes a real sensation, and soon Alevtina is invited to Moscow to participate in the main singing show on national television. A sincere desire to change her life awakens inside Alevtina but she's not ready to compete in the show at all. The only person who could train her voice and prepare her for the performance is that very prisoner, who recorded the video, who turns out to be a singer in the past.

Loner Mark Lewis works at a film studio during the day and, at night, takes racy photographs of women. Also he's making a documentary on fear, which involves recording the reactions of victims as he murders them. He befriends Helen, the daughter of the family living in the apartment below his, and he tells her vaguely about the movie he is making.

Nakamura Aoi stars as a young aspiring manga artist who's able to deal with loneliness and separation from his family through the companionship of an American Shorthair cat named Gin-o-gou.

Tolla is an unemployed translator whose wife is leaving him. Despondent and weak, he submits to the suggestion of an acquaintance to have a contract placed on the man that his wife is seeing. Instead, however, he arranges for the hit to be placed on himself. Before the contract is executed, he develops a relationship with a prostitute, and then changes his mind. In order to survive he takes the obvious course of action, which turns out to have possibly been unnecessary, and then he must deal with the guilt.

A sex therapist goes through puberty after the successful removal of a benign tumor resting against his pituitary gland. He experiences all the changes and effects of puberty over a three-week period.

A wealthy businessman shows his young adult kids how tough life can be.

Pretty Sasha finds herself in a whirlpool of intrigue and criminal games after her lover, a talented painter, is murdered. Chased on one side by brutal criminals who don't leave witnesses, and on the other by the cops who consider her the #1 suspect, Sasha is forced to act alone to solve the mystery of her lover’s death and keep herself alive and free at the same time. Gradually she unravels the tangle of mysteries and deceptions, only to learn that her lover was forging paintings which had been sold for millions of dollars, and no-one really is who they say they are.

Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Young Violetta and her mother Hannah are a peculiar couple. Ten-year-old Violetta lives a quiet life with her grandmother, while her mother Hannah is an unpredictable photographer who lives off of the generosity of others. When Hannah forces her daughter to pose as a model, Violetta finds her life with her loving grandmother turned upside down.The resulting pictures quickly become a sensation for the trendy 70's Paris art scene, and Violetta finds herself caught in between her new stature as an art muse and her dull childhood.

In what appears to be a serendipitous encounter upon saving the life of a stranger, the calculated and reserved businessman Nick meets the impulsive and optimistic photographer Ali, who believes in destiny and carpe diem, or seizing the day. Nick, who seeks closure for his past mistakes, is drawn towards Ali's spirit and vigor. Despite living with a congenital heart disease and being on the wait-list for a heart transplant, Ali continues to be hopeful about her future. Ali challenges Nick to seize every moment of his life before it's too late. Meanwhile, Nick finds a way to give Ali a new lease on life - even if it means risking one's life and their love for each other.

Dovlatov charts six days in the life of brilliant, ironic writer who saw far beyond the rigid limits of 70s Soviet Russia. Sergei Dovlatov fought to preserve his own talent and decency with poet and writer Joseph Brodsky while watching his artist friends get crushed by the iron-willed state machinery.

From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.

Master filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) transforms a portrait of the world-renowned museum into a magisterial, centuries-spanning reflection on the relation between art, culture and power.

Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.

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While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.

After suffering the recent loss of his wife, David Reynolds decides to take his family on a cathartic trip to her home village in Columbia. While en route, they get into a car accident and seek refuge in a secluded inn. While there they find a mysterious young girl, Ana Maria, locked up with cryptic symbols painted on the walls of her cell. Shocked by the treatment of her caretaker, the family sets Ana free only to realize that she is possessed by an evil spirit from centuries past. What’s worse, the spirit can jump from person to person, creating a deadly dynamic amongst the once loving family. Now, David must figure out a way to lock the spirit up for good before it destroys him and his family.

A family comedy about a young Prince, who sets on a mission to find a missing Princess from the neighborhood kingdom. Along the journey, Prince meets a doopie dragon who joins him on an adventure, but Prince does not know that the dragon isn't who he says he is.

Evgeniy's hobby is to send fake letters to real countries. He has collected a letter from every country except New Zealand, and he sends a letter there. Things turn worst when he actually receives a letter from someone there.

As the band Placebo approach their 20th Anniversary they were given a unique opportunity to play ten cities throughout Russia. In a time when Russia was at the forefront of the world’s current affairs, little was actually reported outside Russia about the internal culture of the country. Fronted by Placebo’s Stefan Olsdal, the film explores the alternative cultures that are present within Russia’s major cities. As the tour travelled through the country the band went out and met various artists, architects, animators and musicians, finding out about the alternative creative culture and celebrating all they have to offer. From Krasnoyarsk in Siberia to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea, Placebo: Alt.Russia takes you on the band’s journey through Russia, meeting great characters on the way, investigating the alternative culture in Russia, and taking in the raw emotions of Placebo’s powerful concerts.

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son.

Lee, a former Western film icon, is living a comfortable existence lending his golden voice to advertisements and smoking weed. After receiving a lifetime achievement award and unexpected news, Lee reexamines his past, while a chance meeting with a sardonic comic has him looking to the future.

Hilarity, romance, and transcendence prevail after a power outage traps six different groups of New Yorkers inside elevators on Christmas Eve.

Crunch Calhoun, a third-rate motorcycle daredevil and part-time art thief, teams up with his snaky brother to steal one of the most valuable books in the world. But it's not just about the book for Crunch — he's keen to rewrite some chapters of his own past as well.

A parents struggling with their children suddenly get an advise for psychologist - to exchange the kids...

They have been abandoned in a world adorned with concepts such as family, friendship, love, and opportunities. In search of answers to their questions, they devour themselves like a chemical substance that corrodes the world around, in order to eventually learn not to listen but to hear, not to look but to see. And to find their way.

After boyfriend's disappearance Zhenia develops an uncanny power for prophetic dreams. Using this gift she decides to escape fate and save her true love from Moscow's criminal underworld

The story of a minibus driver and a fairytale princesss nestling under the wing of timeless friendship in an ordinary neighborhood.

Young girl Masha accidentally discovers the organization of snow and ice mages fighting the global devil under the leadership of Santa Claus.

Orléans is a typical provincial Russian town on the banks of a salt lake called Yarovoye. The town is 'steeped in evil'. But it isn't some great evil. This evil is of a banal and everyday type: Lida the hairdresser has indiscriminate affairs, followed by numerous abortions; Rudik the doctor enjoys an endless supply of women, thanks to his position, neglecting his paralyzed father who lives with him and hoping the old man will die soon; the local officer of the law has no qualms about committing murder; a magician from the local circus might actually be sawing women in half on stage... One day, a mysterious man appears in this quiet backwater town. He goes by the title of the Executor: at least that's what it says on his business card...

The creators of the legendary tango à trois reunite for an encore performance 25 years after breaking up. Determined to take on the night as if they had never aged they face the realities when their families arrive to join the audience.

On the eve of conscription young man Sasha, nicknamed "Jagger" decides to spend their meager savings on fashionable shoes.