Movies Like Distant Lights (2003)

Distant Lights is a 2003 drama film from Hans-Christian Schmid with a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Leaving Las Vegas and Alice, Sweet Alice.

Drama

Leaving Las Vegas

1995

Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.

7.3

MagicScore

Alice, Sweet Alice

1976

Alice is a withdrawn 12-year-old who lives with her mother and her younger sister, Karen, who gets most of the attention from her mother, leaving Alice out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church, suspicions start to turn toward Alice. But could a 12-year-old girl really be capable of such savagery?

6.4

MagicScore

Frivolous Lola

1998

In 1950s northern Italy, a woman tests her fiancé's love and passion by trying to break his commitment to premarital chastity.

5.1

MagicScore

The War Boys

2009

David, George, and Greg, best friends since high school, are “The War Boys”. They used to perch on the US-Mexican border, waiting to spot illegal immigrants who were trying to run into the United States. Sometimes, without a thought for the immigrants, the boys chased them across the wasteland and back across the border – just for fun. It was just one of those games boys played to make themselves feel big. But high school’s over now. David is unexpectedly home from his freshman year of college and the War Boys have been reunited.

5.9

MagicScore

Take Me Home

2011

In New York City, Thom is broke and jobless, illegally working as a taxi driver. Claire is a successful business-woman, but personally she's in shambles - then comes the phone call that her estranged father is in the hospital. Not knowing what to do, Claire hops in Thom's cab and orders him to just drive and so he does. They find themselves in Pennsylvania and Claire makes the rash decision to drive across the country to California. On the road, there are many detours as the obstacles and secrets force them to learn about themselves and each other.

6.5

MagicScore

And Along Come Tourists

2007

Sven arrives in nowadays Auschwitz to do his civil service at the memorial. He encounters unfriendliness, especially by Stanislaw Krzeminski, the 85 year old KZ-survivor, and Krzysztof Lanuszewski, brother of his early love affair Ania. Even his boss Herold, the places manager, does little to help Sven familiarize. But when problems accumulate Sven realises that he already has become involved.

6.6

MagicScore

Licorice Pizza

2021

The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

7.0

MagicScore

The State I Am In

2001

Clara and Hans are left-wing terrorists who have been sought by police for almost fifteen years. Their increasingly rebellious daughter Jeanne begins to pose a threat to their security when she falls in love with a boy she meets on the beach.

6.8

MagicScore

8½

1963

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

8.1

MagicScore

#10

Once Were Warriors

1994

A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.

7.4

MagicScore

#11

Rebel Without a Cause

1955

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

Umberto D.

1952

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

7.9

MagicScore

#13

Dead Man Walking

1995

A death row inmate turns for spiritual guidance to a local nun in the days leading up to his scheduled execution for the murders of a young couple.

7.3

MagicScore

#14

Lights in the Dusk

2006

Outcast by his co-workers and living alone, Koistinen is a security guard who works the night shift in a luxury shopping mall in Helsinki. But when icy blonde Mirja approaches him, the lonely Koistinen falls helplessly for her, unaware she is manipulating him for her criminal boyfriend.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

Ghosts

2005

Nina, an end-of-teenage orphan with mental problems, starts a new job as a garden cleaner when she meets Toni. They fell in love with each other, but soon Toni starts betraying Nina. In the meantime, Francoise is picked up at a psychic department of a Berlin hospital by her husband, Pierre. After seeing Nina, Francoise believes that she has found her kidnapped daughter Marie, but neither Toni nor Pierre believe her. Nina is unsure about what to think...

6.0

MagicScore

#16

In My Father's Den

2004

War journalist Paul Prior returns to his New Zealand hometown after his father’s death, rekindling strained relationships with his brother and memories of a troubled past. He befriends Celia, a curious and aspiring writer, who shares a fascination with his world. When Celia mysteriously disappears, Paul becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to confront buried secrets and uncover the dark truths of his family and community.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Ken Park

2003

Ken Park focuses on several teenagers and their tormented home lives. Shawn seems to be the most conventional. Tate is brimming with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father and coddled, rather uncomfortably, by his enormously pregnant mother. Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Dirty Pretty Things

2002

An undocumented immigrant finds a human heart in one of the toilets of the west London hotel where he works with other undocumented immigrants.

6.9

MagicScore

#19

Man of Marble

1977

A young Polish filmmaker sets out to find out what happened to Mateusz Birkut, a bricklayer who became a propaganda hero in the 1950s but later fell out of favor and disappeared.

7.0

MagicScore

#20

Broken Flowers

2005

Introverted Don Johnston receives an anonymous letter from an ex-lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor motivates Don to embark on a cross-country search for his past flames seeking answers.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Distant Lights?

The top films similar to Distant Lights by MovieMagicScore are Leaving Las Vegas (7.3), Alice, Sweet Alice (6.4), Frivolous Lola (5.1). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Distant Lights worth watching?

Distant Lights holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10 from 31 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Distant Lights?

Distant Lights (2003) is a drama film directed by Hans-Christian Schmid, starring Maria Simon, Alice Dwyer, Devid Striesow.

Where can I find more recommendations like Distant Lights?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Leaving Las Vegas Movies like Alice, Sweet Alice Movies like Frivolous Lola Movies like The War Boys Movies like Take Me Home Movies like And Along Come Tourists

About movies like Distant Lights

This ranked list pairs Distant Lights (2003), a drama film from Hans-Christian Schmid, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Maria Simon take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to Distant Lights