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Brothers poster

Movies that feel likeBrothers (2009)

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.

If you loved Brothers, the closest films we have are Valkyrie (2008), The Patriot (2000) and Battle Royale (2000). All three share Brothers' contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is City of Men (2007).

🍅 63% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jim Sheridancontemplativetensebleakmelancholy
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Brothers hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Brother's Keeper (1992)

Valkyrie poster
Valkyrie
2008 · dir. Bryan Singer
🍅 62%★ 7.1drama · thriller · warPrime Video

Contemplative where it counts, tense underneath

Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.

The Patriot poster
The Patriot
2000 · dir. Roland Emmerich
🍅 61%★ 7.2drama · history · warParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: grief

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than Brothers does

After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.

Battle Royale poster
Battle Royale
2000 · dir. Kinji Fukasaku
🍅 90%★ 7.5drama · thriller · actionPrime Video

Both land bleakness and melancholy at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

The Last Samurai poster
The Last Samurai
2003 · dir. Edward Zwick
🍅 65%★ 7.8drama · action · warMax

One thread runs through both: grief

The difference: Trades the tension of Brothers for an angle of its own

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

The Hurt Locker poster
The Hurt Locker
2008 · dir. Kathryn Bigelow
🍅 96%★ 7.5drama · thriller · war

Drama built on stillness, twice over

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

Full Metal Jacket poster
Full Metal Jacket
1987 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 89%★ 8.2drama · warMax

Bleak war in both cases

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 1980s show

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Fracture poster
Fracture
2007 · dir. Gregory Hoblit
🍅 72%★ 7.2thriller

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases

A husband is on trial for the attempted murder of his wife, in what is seemingly an open/shut case for the ambitious district attorney trying to put him away. However, there are surprises for both around every corner, and, as a suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse is played out, each must manipulate and outwit the other.

Cell 211 poster
Cell 211
2009 · dir. Daniel Monzón
🍅 98%★ 7.6action · thriller · dramaNetflix

Both lean on melancholy more than on drama

The difference: Sits closer to action than Brothers does

The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes poster
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011 · dir. Rupert Wyatt
🍅 82%★ 7.6thriller · action · dramaHulu

Contemplative thriller, and it commits to that

A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.

Hard Candy poster
Hard Candy
2006 · dir. David Slade
🍅 67%★ 7drama · thriller

Tense war, and it commits to that

Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.

City of Men poster
City of Men
2007 · dir. Paulo Morelli
🍅 74%★ 7.2dramaParamount+

Drama built on melancholy, twice over

Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.

Nobody Knows poster
Nobody Knows
2004 · dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
🍅 92%★ 8drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: brothers and sisters

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Brothers’ defining feeling.