20 best movies like The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

List of the best movies like The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988): Surviving Picasso, Brideshead Revisited, Brown Sugar, I Want Your Love, Mo' Better Blues, Junooniyat, One Night Stand, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Proof, The Outlaw.

Tags: movies similar to The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) - full list

Markimdb: 6.3
Genremelodrama, drama, biography
CountryUSA
Duration02:05

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUnited Kingdom, Italy, Morocco, USA
Duration02:13

Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 classic British novel, Brideshead Revisited is a poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama, music
CountryUSA
Duration02:28

Sidney is a writer who's just left her L.A. Times music review gig to edit New York hip-hop magazine XXL. Dre is an executive with a hip-hop record company based in New York. They've known each other since they met as children, when both discovered hip-hop for the first time. Now that they're back together, they should be perfect for each other, except that Dre's about to marry lawyer Reese and Sidney claims not to be interested in Dre romantically. Meanwhile, Dre is growing increasingly restless with his company's focus on profit over artistry, which leads to signing the gimmicky duo Ren and Ten while ignoring the talented Chris

Markimdb: 5.2
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA

After a decade of living in San Francisco, Jesse is forced to move back to his Midwestern roots because he can no longer afford the city. On his final night in the city, friends and ex-lovers gather for a going away party that promises to heighten Jesse's already bittersweet feelings about leaving.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genremelodrama, drama, music
CountryUSA
Duration02:10

Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet.

Markimdb: 4.2
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryIndia
Duration02:49

Captain Jahan Bakshi rescues a Punjabi girl, Suhani. This starts a friendship that evolves into a passionate love affair.

Markimdb: 5.8
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
Duration01:42

In Los Angeles, Max Carlyle makes a good living directing commercials and has a happy home life with his wife, Mimi, and two children. When Carlyle travels to New York City to visit his friend Charlie, who has been diagnosed with AIDS, he has repeat run-ins with a beautiful woman, Karen, and eventually sleeps with her. Though he goes home the next day and doesn't return until a year later, Carlyle's infidelity still lingers.

Markimdb: 6.9
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama, music
CountryUSA
Duration01:54

The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryAustralia
Duration01:30

Martin, a young blind photographer, is divided between his friendship with restaurant worker Andy and the exclusive love that Celia—who is terribly jealous of this new friendship—has for him.

Markimdb: 5.5
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama, western
CountryUSA
Duration01:56

Newly appointed sheriff Pat Garrett is pleased when his old friend Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico on the stage. Doc is trailing his stolen horse, and it is discovered in the possession of Billy the Kid. In a surprising turnaround, Billy and Doc become friends. This causes the friendship between Doc and Pat to cool. The odd relationship between Doc and Billy grows stranger when Doc hides Billy at his girl Rio's place after Billy is shot.

Markimdb: 7
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, detective
CountryUSA
Duration01:54

Matthew, a young advertising executive in Chicago, puts his life and a business trip to China on hold when he thinks he sees Lisa, the love of his life who left him without a word two years earlier, walking out of a restaurant one day.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA
Duration01:44

Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Moseley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "kicking it," they hang out with their friends, talking about love and sex. Then Nina tests the strength of Darius' feelings and sets a chain of romantic complications into motion.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genremelodrama, drama, western
CountryUnited Kingdom, Germany, USA
Duration01:54

An intimate story of the enduring bond of friendship between two hard-living men, set against a sweeping backdrop: the American West, post-World War II, in its twilight. Pete and Big Boy are masters of the prairie, but ultimately face trickier terrain: the human heart.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
Duration02:24

Ms. Isabel Archer isn't afraid to challenge societal norms. Impressed by her free spirit, her kindhearted cousin writes her into his fatally ill father's will. Suddenly rich and independent, Isabelle ventures into the world, along the way befriending a cynical intellectual and romancing an art enthusiast. However, the advantage of her affluence is called into question when she realizes the extent to which her money colors her relationships.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genremelodrama, drama, military, biography
CountryUSA

Two Navy fighter pilots find themselves in the midst of a forbidden relationship throwing their lives and careers into disarray.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, biography
CountryUnited Kingdom, Germany, Canada, USA
Duration01:39

    Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Carl Jung takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein as his patient. Jung’s weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud. Both men fall under Sabina’s spell.

    Markimdb: 7.1
    Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
    CountrySpain, USA
    Duration01:36

    Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

    Markimdb: 5
    Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:35

    Seven close friends reunite for the wedding of two of their friends. Problems arise because the bride and the maid of honor have had a long rivalry over the groom.

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryUSA
    Duration02:34

    Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

    Markimdb: 6.6
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:37

    Three friends form a bond over the year, Johnathan is gay, Clare is straight and Bobby is neither, instead he loves the people he loves. As their lives go on there is tension and tears which culminate in a strong yet fragile friendship between the three.

    Markimdb: 7.2
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryAustralia, USA
    Duration02:23

    An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.

    Markimdb: 5.9
    Genremelodrama, drama
    CountryUSA
    Duration01:52

      After falling in love in Paris, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Their church's Spanish-born pastor struggles with his faith, while Neil encounters a woman from his childhood.

      Markimdb: 6.2
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
      Duration01:32

      For 16 years Miss Bentley has been spending April at an elegant hillside villa on Lake Como. This year, 1937, her London society artist father has recently died and the only other English-speaking guests are brash Americans. Then Major Wilshaw arrives. He suggests they meet for cocktails and Miss Bentley stands him up -- not even thinking about it -- as she helps the new nanny of an Italian family settle in. Miss Beaumont, a tall, young American who has dropped out of finishing school in Switzerland, is bored and finds some amusement in flirting with the major, whose libido is awakened for the first time since before the great war. And Miss Bentley now finds more about the major to admire than his ears.

      Markimdb: 6.6
      Genremelodrama, drama, music, biography
      CountryUnited Kingdom, Germany
      Duration01:40

      Chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe, John Lennon, and Sutcliffe's girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr.

      Markimdb: 5.6
      Genremelodrama, drama, biography
      CountrySpain, United Kingdom, France, USA, Germany
      Duration01:32

      Scandal erupts over a famous bullfighter's affair with a left-wing actress.

      Markimdb: 6
      Genremelodrama, drama, detective
      CountrySouth Korea, China, Singapore
      Duration01:50

      Dangerous Liaisons is a Chinese film by Hur Jin-ho based on the novel with the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.

      Markimdb: 7.1
      Genremelodrama, drama, adventure
      CountryCanada, USA, Denmark
      Duration01:38

      After weeks of traveling through Europe, the immature William finds himself in Copenhagen, the place of his father’s birth. He befriends the youthful Effy, who works in William’s hotel as part of an internship program, and they set off to find William’s last living relative. Effy’s mix of youthful exuberance and wisdom challenges William unlike any woman ever has. As the attraction builds, he must come to grips with destabilizing elements of his family’s sordid past.

      Markimdb: 6
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountrySpain
      Duration01:35

      Son de Mar (English: "Sound of the Sea") is a 2001 Spanish drama / erotic film directed by Juan José Bigas Luna based on the novel of the same title by Manuel Vicent. It revolves around Ulises (Jordi Mollà), who comes to a fishing village to teach literature at a local high school. During his stay he falls in love with Martina (Leonor Watling), the daughter of his landlord. Sierra (Eduard Fernández), a rich businessman, also falls in love with her and fruitlessly tries to win her heart.

      Markimdb: 6.5
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:49

      Jamie is a New York-based executive recruiter who entices Dylan, an art director from Los Angeles, to take a job at the New York office of GQ magazine. Finding that they have much in common, the two become fast friends. Feeling jaded by a number of broken romances, Dylan and Jamie decide that they are ready to quit looking for true love and focus on having fun. However, complications unfold when the two best pals add sex to their relationship.

      Markimdb: 6.3
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:50

      A group of friends graduate from the halls of Georgetown University into lives that revolve around sex, paychecks, and career aspirations. Kirby waits tables to pay for law school. His roommate Kevin struggles at a D.C. newspaper as he lusts after the stylish Jules. Jules may be an object of adoration and envy, but secretly she has problems of her own. Demure Wendy is in love with Billy—a sax player and an irresponsible drunk. Alex wants it all: a career in politics and the appearance of a traditional home life. Alex's girlfriend, Leslie, is an ambitious architect who doesn't know about his infidelity, but his new allegiance to the Republican Party is already enough to put her off marriage.

      Markimdb: 6
      Genrethriller, melodrama, drama, crime
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:55

      In a seaside California town, best friends Mac and Nick are on opposite sides of the law. Mac is a former drug dealer trying to clean up his act, while Nick is a high-profile detective trying to take down a Mexican drug lord named Carlos. Soon Nick's loyalties are put to the test when he begins an affair with restaurateur Jo Ann -- a love interest of Mac's -- unwittingly leading his friend into a police-orchestrated trap.

      Markimdb: 7.6
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
      Duration02:37

      Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.

      Markimdb: 7
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryDenmark, Sweden
      Duration01:37

      Former Danish servicemen Lars and Jimmy are thrown together while training in a neo-Nazi group. Moving from hostility through grudging admiration to friendship and finally passion, events take a darker turn when their illicit relationship is uncovered.

      Markimdb: 5.6
      Genremelodrama, drama, music
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:30

      Jenny Stewart is a tough Broadway musical star who doesn't take criticism from anyone. Yet there is one individual, Tye Graham, a blind pianist who may be able to break through her tough exterior.

      Markimdb: 6.5
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration02:04

      Can two serial cheaters get a second chance at love? After a one-night stand in college, New Yorkers Lainey and Jake meet by chance twelve years later and discover they each have the same problem: because of their monogamy-challenged ways, neither can maintain a relationship. Determined to stay friends despite their mutual attraction, they make a pact to keep it platonic, a deal that proves easier said than done.

      Markimdb: 6
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration02:03

      Toward the end of his life F. Scott Fitzgerald is writing for Hollywood studios to be able to afford the cost of an asylum for his wife. He is also struggling against alcoholism. Into his life comes the famous gossip columnist.

      Markimdb: 7.2
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration02:23

      In his funky California beach enclave, Chip's the go-to guy for personal insights. But he isn't quite as enlightened when it comes to his own baggage.

      Markimdb: 6.2
      Genremelodrama, drama, family, crime, biography
      CountryUSA, Canada
      Duration01:31

      A very gentle middle-aged man is married, but when he falls in love with another woman, he decides that to divorce his wife would humiliate her too much – so instead he decides to kill her.

      Markimdb: 6
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:28

      Natalie allows her classmate Jeff, who ran away from home after a fight with his stepfather, to stay at her place while her father is away on a business trip. Natalie soon starts dating Jeff's friend James Casey, who isn't as faithful as she thinks, while her best friend Polly falls in love with baseball player Zoo Knudsen.

      Markimdb: 6.3
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryFrance, Japan, USA
      Duration01:33

      Nora Wilder (Parker Posey), a single, career woman works at a Manhattan boutique hotel where her excellent skills in guest relations lack in the romantic department. If it is not her loving and dominant mother (Gena Rowlands) attempting to set her up that consistently fail, she has her friend’s (Drea de Matteo) disastrous blind dates to rely on as a backup for further dismay. She's surrounded by friends who are all happily engaged or romantically involved and somehow, love escapes Nora -- until she meets an unusual Frenchman (Melvil Poupaud) who helps her discover life beyond her self-imposed boundaries.

      Markimdb: 6.3
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA, Canada
      Duration01:41

      Married couple Jack and Terry Linden are experiencing a difficult period in their relationship. When Jack decides to step outside the marriage, he becomes involved with Edith, who happens to be the wife of his best friend and colleague, Hank Evans. Learning of their partners' infidelity, Terry and Hank engage in their own extramarital affair together. Now, both marriages and friendships are on the brink of collapse.

      Markimdb: 7.1
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:53

      The morning of a small town Labor Day picnic, a drifter blows into town to visit an old fraternity buddy who also happens to be the son of the richest man in town. Hal is an egocentric braggart - all potential and no accomplishment. He meets up with Madge Owens, the town beauty queen and girlfriend of Alan Benson.

      Markimdb: 7.1
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryTaiwan

      Three high school students experience the perks and pitfalls of love in director Leste Chen’s sensitive tale of friendship and yearning.

      Markimdb: 6.7
      Genremelodrama, drama, military
      CountryUSA, Italy
      Duration03:28

      Napoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of two aristocratic families.

      Markimdb: 7.1
      Genredrama, adventure
      CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
      Duration01:30

      Based on Anne Holm's acclaimed young adult novel North to Freedom, I Am David chronicles the struggles of a 12-year-old boy who manages to flee a Communist concentration camp on his own -- through sheer will and determination. All he has in his possession is a loaf of bread, a letter to deliver to someone in Denmark and a compass to help get him there.

      Markimdb: 7.7
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:57

      An ambitious young man wins an heiress's heart but has to cope with his former girlfriend's pregnancy.

      Markimdb: 7.5
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:51

      A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.

      Markimdb: 5.3
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryTurkey
      Duration02:23

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      Markimdb: 5.6
      Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:27

      The Four Faced Liar is a story of love and lies for four twenty-somethings looking to find themselves in New York City... A story of love and lies for four twenty-somethings looking to find themselves in New York City. A pair of best friends and a seemingly perfect couple meet at a local Irish pub tucked in the winding streets of the West Village. Through their chance meeting, the four bond and over time all of their relationships with one another morph into love, betrayal and heartbreak for all.

      Markimdb: 6.2
      Genremelodrama, drama
      CountryUSA
      Duration01:55

      A rich, young beauty, Louise Durant, follows the man she loves and hopes to marry to Zurich where he studies violin at the conservatory. A piano student at the conservatory falls madly in love with Louise. The violinist loves his music first and Louise second. The pianist loves Louise first and his music second. Louise must ultimately choose which man she wants.




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