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20 best movies like The Color Purple (1985)

List of the best movies like The Color Purple (1985): A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Marvin's Room, Dad, Everlasting Moments, The Doctor, My Life, Shadrach, Thelma & Louise, Angela, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Tags: movies similar to The Color Purple (1985) - full list

Markimdb: 8
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
Duration02:09
CharactersPoor
PlotFamily life
PlaceSchool, USA, New York
StyleTo cry, Soulful, By books, Touching, Serious

In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism. We come to know these people well through big and little troubles: Aunt Sissy's scandalous succession of "husbands"; the removal of the one tree visible from their tenement; and young Francie's desire to transfer to a better school...if irresponsible Papa can get his act together.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration01:38
CharactersFamily, Terminally ill, Sisters
PlotCancer
PlacePsychiatric hospitals
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching

A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrecomedy, drama, family
CountryUSA
Duration01:57
CharactersDoctors, Terminally ill
PlotLife, Friendship, Family life
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Makes me think, Touching, Serious

A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genredrama, history
CountrySweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany
Duration02:11
CharactersPhotographers, Housewives, Artists
PlotOn real events
PlaceSweden
StyleSoulful, Atmospheric, Fascinating, Gloomy, Touching

In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life.

Markimdb: 7
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration02:02
CharactersTerminally ill, Surgeons
PlotOn real events, Cancer
PlaceHospitals
StylePsychological problems, To cry, Soulful, By books, Touching

Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors from a patient's perspective, he realises that there is more to being a doctor than surgery and prescriptions.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration01:57
CharactersTerminally ill
PlotLife, Death, Cancer, Family life
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Smart, Touching, Heartbreaking

It seems that Bob Jones has everything a man could want, namely a fulfilling job and a beautiful, pregnant wife, Gail. But Bob's life is turned upside-down when he is diagnosed with cancer and given four months to live -- not even enough time to see his first child's birth. To cleanse himself of demons in his remaining days, Bob makes a video diary, hoping to pass along some wisdom to his future child. Along the way, he discovers a lot about himself.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration01:29
CharactersSlaves, Friends
PlotSlavery, Life, Friendship, Family life
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching, Serious

In 1935, 99-year-old former slave Shadrach asks to be buried on the soil where he was born to slavery, and that land is owned by the large Dabney family, consisting of Vernon, Trixie and their seven children, and to bury a black man on that land is a violation of strict Virginia law.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genrecomedy, drama, crime
CountryUSA, United Kingdom, France
Duration02:10
CharactersFBI, Friends, Housewives
PlotTravel, Friendship, Chase, Fate, Freedom
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Fascinating

Whilst on a short weekend getaway, Louise shoots a man who had tried to rape Thelma. Due to the incriminating circumstances, they make a run for it and thus a cross country chase ensues for the two fugitives. Along the way, both women rediscover the strength of their friendship and surprising aspects of their personalities and self-strengths in the trying times.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration01:39
CharactersLosers, Sisters
PlotDancing, Life, Obsession, Mental disorders, Family life
PlaceNew York
StyleSoulful, Atmospheric, Fancy, Gloomy, Touching

A ten year old girl named Angela leads her six year old sister, Ellie, through various regimens of 'purification' in an attempt to rid themselves of their evil, which she believes to be the cause of their mother's mental illness. Precocious, to say the least, Angela has visions of Lucifer coming to take her and her sister away, and one of her remedies for this is for them to remain within a circle of their dolls and toys until they see a vision of the virgin Mary come to them. But such thinking can only lead to an ending befitting of her own mental state.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
Duration01:52
CharactersHorses, Friends, Singers
PlotTravel, Friendship
StyleSoulful, Fascinating, Touching, Serious

After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama, biography, sport
CountryAustralia, USA
Duration01:54
CharactersFathers, Mothers
PlotOn real events, Sports, Life, Swimming, Competitions
PlaceAustralia, USA
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching, Serious

A young man aspiring for recognition of his talents battles against his estranged father's sentiment towards him as the father deals with his own demons.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genredrama, music, biography
CountryUSA
Duration01:54
StyleTo cry, Touching

A young girl who has been abandoned by her former-groupie mother informs a fading rock star that she is his daughter.

Markimdb: 7
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryUSA
Duration01:49
CharactersFamily, Mothers
PlotLife, Loneliness, Death, Justice, Family life
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching

Focuses on the lives of residents in the fictional London suburb of Charnham.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration02:00
CharactersPoets
PlotLove
StyleSoulful, Atmospheric, Fancy, Gloomy, Makes me think

About existence from the perspective of 20 nameless black females. Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration02:19
CharactersFamily, Bartenders, Parents
PlotWedding, Money, Loneliness, Breakup, Computers
PlaceAircraft, Hospitals, Cemetery
TimeNew Year
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Fascinating, Touching

A woman must fly back to her hometown when her Alzheimer's-stricken mother wanders into a blizzard. The return home forces her to confront her past.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryRepublic of Ireland, United Kingdom
Duration02:08
CharactersGay, Musicians, Transgender people, Singers
PlotFuneral
PlaceIreland
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching, Serious

In the 1970s, a foundling lad, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving his Irish town for London, in part to look for his mother and in part because his trans-gender nature is beyond the town's understanding.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genredrama
CountryUSA
CharactersBlonde girls, Disabled people, Poor
PlaceUSA
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Heavy, Touching, Depressive

Quickie-mart employee Melissa and paraplegic Richie are very much in love. Supported only by Melissa’s small hourly wage, they are nevertheless thrilled to learn that Melissa is pregnant. Then their situation deteriorates, and their tenuous financial situation threatens to bring their happy life crashing down.

Markimdb: 5.2
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration02:03
CharactersMothers
PlotFriendship, Pursuit
PlacePrison, USA
StyleSoulful, Fascinating, Touching, Serious, Disturbing

When their drug abusing mother is released from prison determined to rebuild their family, Rey kidnaps his younger brother Oliver and escapes their desert home for the California coast.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryUSA
Duration01:46
CharactersStrong women, Family
PlotJustice
PlaceLos Angeles
StyleLight, To cry, Cute, Inspirational, Soulful

Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, is 35 years old and still trying to find a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid. When his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his two kids and the only available public school is on its last legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
CountryUSA, Germany, United Kingdom
Duration02:10
CharactersLawyers
PlotMoney, Life, Death, Family life, Shopping
PlaceParty, Beach, Hotels
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching

Irresponsible party girl Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is kicked out of her father's (Ken Howard) and stepmother's (Candice Azzara) home, where she lives for free, and is taken in by her hard-working sister, Philadelphia lawyer Rose (Toni Collette). After Maggie's disruptive ways ruin her sister's love life, Rose turns her out as well. But when their grandmother, who they never knew existed, comes into their lives, the sisters face some complicated truths about themselves and their family.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
CharactersGay, Losers
PlotFriendship
PlaceSmall cities
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching, Serious

The story of Nathan, a young teenager who tries to flourish in a romantic relationship with neighbour Roy. The two young men will have to face the brutal reality of the rural south of the United States in the late 1970s.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama
CountryFrance, Belgium
Duration02:03
CharactersFamily, Students, Friends, Lovers, Surgeons
PlotLove, Soccer, Gambling, Poker, Relationship
PlaceTrains, Paris, France, Hospitals
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Fascinating, Tense, Touching

Claire is a midwife and has devoted her life to others. At a moment when she is preoccupied by the imminent closure of the maternity clinic where she works, her life is further turned upside down when Béatrice, her father's former mistress, turns up on the scene. Béatrice is a capricious and selfish woman, Claire's exact opposite.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genredrama
CountryUSA
CharactersMusicians, Sisters
PlotReligious
StyleTo cry, Soulful, By books, Atmospheric, Serious

Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, HIGHER GROUND, depicts the landscape of a tight-knit spiritual community thrown off-kilter when one of their own begins to question her faith. Inspired by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs' memoir This Dark World, the film tells the story of a thoughtful woman's struggles with belief, love, and trust - in human relationships as well as in God.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama
CountryUSA
CharactersTerminally ill
PlotFamily life
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Gloomy, Touching, Serious

Danny, dying of Aids, returns home for his last months. Always close to his mother, they share moments of openness that tend to shut out Danny's father and his sister.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryUSA
Duration02:35
CharactersDogs, Blonde girls, Autistic, Photographers, Sisters
PlotTravel, Motorcycles, Money, Computers, Missing people
PlaceSpace, USA, Los Angeles
StyleLight, To cry, Fascinating

A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, Wendy follows the guiding spirit of Mr. Spock on her journey into the unknown.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
Duration02:12
CharactersDoctors, Poets, Psychiatrists
PlotLove, Soccer, American Football, Fear
PlaceIslands, New York
StylePsychological problems, To cry, Gloomy, Touching, Serious

A troubled man talks to his suicidal sister's psychiatrist about their family history and falls in love with her in the process.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama, documentary
CountryUSA, India
PlotDeath, Religious, Uprising
StyleInspirational, Makes me think, Serious

Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genredrama, biography, sport
CountryUSA
Duration02:09
CharactersTeens, Strong women, Orphans, Losers, Poor
PlotOn real events, Sports, American Football, Life, Success
PlaceGhetto, Rugby
StyleKind, To cry, Inspirational, Fascinating, Vital signs

Oversized African-American, Michael Oher, the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genredrama
CountryUSA
Duration01:39
CharactersJews, Drivers
PlotFriendship, Funeral
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Touching

The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters in a time when those types of relationships where shunned.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA
Duration01:43
CharactersTeens, Teachers
PlotOn real events
PlaceSchool, Los Angeles
StyleTo cry, Soulful, Heavy, Gloomy, Makes me think

Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.





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