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Shame poster

Movies that feel likeShame (1968)

In the midst of a civil war, a pair of former violinists in a tempestuous marriage oversee a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives.

If you loved Shame, the closest films we have are Paisan (1946), Lifeboat (1944) and In Darkness (2011). All three share Shame's bleak and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Punishment Park (1971).

πŸ… 67% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ingmar Bergmanbleakcontemplative
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel

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If Shame hit the spot, these will too

Paisan poster
Paisan
1946 Β· dir. Roberto Rossellini
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6drama Β· warMax

The same mix in both: bleakness, then stillness

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

Lifeboat poster
Lifeboat
1944 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.6war Β· drama

Both lean on bleakness more than on war

The difference: Made in the 1940s, in a different era of the craft

During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.

In Darkness poster
In Darkness
2011 Β· dir. Agnieszka Holland
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· war

Contemplative drama in both cases

A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied city of Lviv. In Darkness tells the true story of Leopold Soha who risks his own life to save a dozen people from certain death. Initially only interested in his own good, the thief and burglar hides Jewish refugees for 14 months in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied town of Lviv (formerly Poland).

A War poster
A War
2015 Β· dir. Tobias Lindholm
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7drama Β· war

Bleak war, and it commits to that

Company commander Claus Michael Pedersen and his men are stationed in Helmand, Afghanistan. Meanwhile back in Denmark, with a husband at war and three children missing their father, everyday life is a struggle for Claus' wife Maria. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy Taliban crossfire. In order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that ultimately sees him return to Denmark accused of a war crime.

Rome, Open City poster
Rome, Open City
1945 Β· dir. Roberto Rossellini
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8drama Β· warMax

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

Beanpole poster
Beanpole
2019 Β· dir. Kantemir Balagov
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.2drama Β· warRent or buy

Both play war straight

1945, Leningrad. World War II has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women, Iya and Masha, search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.

Sobibor poster
Sobibor
2018 Β· dir. Konstantin Khabenskiy
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.4war Β· dramaPrime Video

Both are drama through and through

The film is based on a real story that happened in 1943 in the Sobibor concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. The main character of the movie is the Soviet-Jewish soldier Alexander Pechersky, who at that time was serving in the Red Army as a lieutenant. In October 1943, he was captured by the Nazis and deported to the Sobibor concentration camp, where Jews were being exterminated in gas chambers. But, in just 3 weeks, Alexander was able to plan an international uprising of prisoners from Poland and Western Europe. This uprising resulted in being the only successful one throughout the war, which led to the largest escape of prisoners from a Nazi concentration camp.

Fail Safe poster
Fail Safe
1964 Β· dir. Sidney Lumet
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8thriller Β· drama Β· war

The same war instincts

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Shame does

Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.

Persian Lessons poster
Persian Lessons
2020 Β· dir. Vadim Perelman
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.4war Β· drama

Drama in the same key

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch.

Punishment Park poster
Punishment Park
1971 Β· dir. Peter Watkins
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller

Cut from the same drama cloth

In this fictional documentary, U.S. prisons are at capacity, and President Nixon declares a state of emergency. All new prisoners, most of whom are connected to the antiwar movement, are now given the choice of jail time or spending three days in Punishment Park, where they will be hunted for sport by federal authorities. The prisoners invariably choose the latter option, but learn that, between the desert heat and the brutal police officers, their chances of survival are slim.

The Counterfeiters poster
The Counterfeiters
2007 Β· dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5drama Β· war

War approached the same way

The story of Jewish counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch, who was coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

Paths of Glory poster
Paths of Glory
1957 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 96%β˜… 8.4war Β· drama

Both working the same war territory

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

In the mood for more bleak?

all bleak movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Shame’s defining feeling.