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Movies Like S/Y Joy

If you liked S/Y Joy (1989), a drama movie directed by Göran du Rées, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

  1. 1The Nest

    The Nest (2020)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban…

  2. 2What Maisie Knew

    What Maisie Knew (2013)

    ★ 7.1/10Also drama

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…

  3. 3The Kindness of Strangers

    The Kindness of Strangers (2019)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    Clara and her two sons escape from her abusive husband with little more than their car and plan to start over in New York. After the car towed away, the family meets Alice, who gets them into an emergency shelter…

  4. 4Stillwater

    Stillwater (2021)

    ★ 6.6/10Also drama

    Bill Baker, an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma, travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, Allison, who is in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers…

  5. 5Hardball

    Hardball (2001)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama

    An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

  6. 6The Young One

    The Young One (1960)

    ★ 7/10Also drama

    A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

  7. 7Eleanor the Great

    Eleanor the Great (2025)

    ★ 6.8/10Also drama

    94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

  8. 8Bastard Out of Carolina

    Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

    ★ 7.1/10Also drama

    A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…

  9. 9Salomé

    Salomé (2013)

    ★ 6.1/10Also drama

    After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé…

  10. 10True Spirit

    True Spirit (2023)

    ★ 7/10Also drama

    When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben…

  11. 11Hounddog

    Hounddog (2008)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama

    A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

  12. 12Kisses

    Kisses (2008)

    ★ 7.1/10Also drama

    Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.

  13. 13Lady Driver

    Lady Driver (2020)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.

  14. 14Strange Weather

    Strange Weather (2016)

    ★ 5.9/10Also drama

    Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.

  15. 15Not Without Hope

    Not Without Hope (2025)

    ★ 6.6/10Also drama

    A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.

  16. 16Hungry Hearts

    Hungry Hearts (2015)

    ★ 6.5/10Also drama

    The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.

  17. 17Cassandra's Dream

    Cassandra's Dream (2007)

    ★ 6.3/10Also drama

    The tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go bad and the two become enemies.

  18. 18Skin

    Skin (2009)

    ★ 6.4/10Also drama

    Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

  19. 19Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl

    Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)

    ★ 7.2/10Also drama

    Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…

  20. 20Let Go

    Let Go (2024)

    ★ 7.9/10Also drama

    A jaded mother makes a last-ditch effort to keep her family together by taking them on a trip to their teenage daughter’s pole dancing competition.

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