Best movies like Closer to Home

A story of a U.S.-based senior citizen named Juan who lives in a senior citizens' home run by his son and daughter-in-law. Juan's favorite pastime is watching Wowowee on The Filipino Channel, though he does not watch the show just for entertainment's sake. Aside from wanting to connect with the Philippines that he dearly misses, Juan is lonesome for his first love Aida, with whom he lost touch during the Japanese occupation of Manila. Wowowee is Juan's way of coping with homesickness and reliving the past.

A theatrical star, born on the wrong side of the tracks, marries a drunken blue-blood millionaire.

A working girl from New Jersey looks for love with a fast-lane Manhattan salesman from Queens.

Biography of the African-American who became a major performer in the Paris cabarets of the 1920s and 1930s. The film follows her life beginning as a struggling performer in 1917 St. Louis, her frustrations leading to her move to France, and follows to her death in 1975. Written by John Sacksteder

A Bollywood update of Jane Austen's classic tale, in which Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Balraj and Darcy come to visit, the Bakshis have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance.

David Cuevas is a family man who works as a gangland tax collector for high ranking Los Angeles gang members. He makes collections across the city with his partner Creeper making sure people pay up or will see retaliation. An old threat returns to Los Angeles that puts everything David loves in harm’s way.

In the remote countryside of Ilongo, various women are sexually abused by local men. Two sisters meet Simon, the most attractive man in the village, and fight over him - one constantly haunted by Catholic dogma because of the abuse she suffered previously.

A haunting and powerful psychological thriller. Set in icy upstate New York in the winter of 2002, "After" is about the Valentinos, a middle class clan facing financial hardship--their family stone cutting business is slowly failing--and coping with the usual rivalries and resentments that affect all but their absent daughter, Samantha, who has recently escaped Rochester for a new life in lower Manhattan. At their center is matriarch Nora (Quinlan), whose cheerful exterior masks an emotional fragility of which the entire family is painfully aware and fiercely protective. But, their delicate balance is threatened by a carefully concealed secret that, once revealed, will change their lives forever.

On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.

A Catholic New Yorker falls in love with a girl and wants to marry her, but he struggles to accept her past and what it means for their future.

Filipino-American high school student Ben (Dante Basco) works in a comic book shop to earn money to pay his way into Cal Arts. His father, a postman, is determined that his son--who has won a pre-med scholarship to UCLA--will become a doctor. The eighteenth birthday party of Ben's sister, Rose, sets off a comedic and touching series of events and family struggles that will in turn determine young Ben's future. This fresh independent production from Gene Cajayon presents a lighthearted and warm coming-of-age tale filtered through the eyes of an American subculture rarely seen on film.

A fable of five vastly separate inner-city lives who struggle against their limitations in an interlocking tale assembled by a dark orchestrator.

Curmudgeonly author Giles De'Ath, a widower with a marked distaste for modern popular culture, attempts to buy a ticket for a film adaptation of an E.M. Forster novel, but instead finds himself watching a tacky teen sex comedy. Yet when the beautiful Ronnie Bostock appears on the movie screen, Giles finds himself caught in a whirlwind of unanswered questions about both his own sexuality and his place in late 20th-century society.

Melvin, a social worker, meets handsome stripper Efren and they become friends. When Melvin's mother dies, he moves in with Efren and his three female roommates.

In a crowded, multi-appartment house, a young student peeps on his neighbours making love and subsequently develops a steamy affair with the neighbour's wife. The affair slowly becomes an obsession and spins out of control.

Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.

A young Englishman is dispatched to Sarawak to become part of the British colonial government. He encounters some unorthodox local traditions, and finds himself faced with tough decisions of the heart involving the beautiful Selima, the unwitting object of his affections.

This film concerns two mysterious characters who meet on a Sunday in Queens. Madeleine the most unsettling creature of that name since "Vertigo" is a middle-aged, moderately successful actress. Oliver/Matthew is either a homeless man or a famous film director or both. Madeleine hails him on the street as the latter, launching a bizarre chain of events that includes a conversation in a diner, a very unromantic sexual encounter, the arrival of Madeleine's odd husband and unsuspecting daughter, and a child's birthday party. The film also compassionately tracks the daily rounds of Oliver/Matthew's fellow denizens of the homeless shelter, some of whom will be recognizable to New York audiences.

A Bajau midwife copes with the irony of her own infertility amid the deprivations of her gypsy community in Tawi-Tawi. A saga of island life stuck between the devil of passion and the deep blue sea of tradition.

A young woman is torn between the affections of her two lovers. One is a young bachelor who brings passion into her life. The other is a married man who has kept her as his mistress for years. Architect JD has a chip on his shoulder about his father Rico never really accepting him as his son. Seamstress Sari struggles to take care of her family. The two meet by chance, and JD aggressively pursues Saris affections. Though the two are clearly a good match, there is a problem standing in the way of their bliss: Sari is the mistress of JDs father. Against his better judgment, JD continues to court Sari even after finding out this difficult fact. He hides his true identity as Ricos son, and fights to win Saris heart.

A playboy learns to love, while a virgin learns to live -- a queer romantic comedy set inside the restaurant industry... 'John Apple Jack' brings East and West together to create one sumptuously heart-warming dish. When John discovers his sister's fiance is Jack, his childhood crush, passions ignite and his life spirals out of control... losing his job, his playboy reputation and his underwear, all while rushing to the altar to finally confess his love!

An American-Chinese man brings over his wife from China to America, but the challenges of making a living and adjusting to a new life, plus the attentions of a gambler threaten their marriage.

Mateo is a lighthouse caretaker dating a teacher Suzette. The small town they are in is trying to increase tourism. Jerome stumbles across Mateo and Suzette having sex, whilst he is on holiday from Manila. A local a gay man, who pays local teenage boys for sex, talks to Mateo about the negative aspects of being gay in the Philippines. According to local legend, a lighthouse fairy seduces desirable men who then never marry. Mateo's relationship with Jerome leads to self reevaluation

A "Felliniesque" journey into the heart of the insatiable American dream; A slice of quintessential Americana, depicted with candor, pathos and humor.

Maurice, a reticent young homeless man, somehow manages to get by in Brooklyn; he spends his nights in parked cars until he finds himself at Bizarre, an underground club renowned for its burlesque shows. Maurice is fascinated by the club’s playful revues celebrating self-determined sexuality and creative otherness, and the two female club owners both adore him. He soon becomes a part of their self-selected family, and begins to bond with introverted Luka. But Maurice turns his back on Luka’s growing affection. Running away from his true emotions he drifts aimlessly through the city. He tries to find his feet at a boxing club, where he meets Charlie. Unable to withstand the pressure of his repressed feelings, Maurice unleashes a mounting foment of emotions, pervaded by tenderness and menace.

A pretty pineapple plantation owner is very strict with her younger sister when it comes to men. One days she finds a good-looking man suffering from amnesia. She makes him believe that he is her husband.

A New Jersey teen faces her impending adulthood, dreaming of a life as a successful New York artist. But when she gets caught up in the carefree sport of pre-AIDS sex and drugs, her future becomes less certain.

A story of two high school senior students who believes passing the UPCAT will help make their dreams of becoming successful come true.

After a series of bad relationships, a man orders a mail order bride and receives more than he bargained for.

New York: Every night the mysterious "Night Owl" goes on the air with her moody radio show. She seems to have an inexplicable influence on some men; several of Julie's friends commit suicide while listening to her voice. She fears for her husband Harry, who becomes more and more distant from her.

For reasons unknown, a flautist and an astronomer find themselves drawn to one another. But, when the flautist stumbles upon a secret regarding his late father, the two wind up in a celestial duel against the ancient Master Flautist for earth's future.

A documentarian funds a NYC doorman's Asian mail order bride in exchange for the right to film the experience.

Rose, a 17-year-old Filipino-American teenager from Texas, dreams of becoming a country music icon. She has to fend for herself when her mother is arrested by ICE, and must choose between following her dreams without her mother or leaving her passions behind.

Welcome to the world of the City Rats where eight lives collide in a Pulp Fiction style blend that reveals London‘s true dark and twisted underbelly.

Circa 1940 in Trinidad, still a British Colony, lives Ganesh Ramseyor, of East Indian origin, along with his wife, Leela. He longs to reach out to people, especially to Hindus, in order to promote the Hindu Faith, and be known as a writer. He does get considerable success, so much so that he becomes famous as a miracle worker, having cured a man of sharing intimacy with his bicycle; prevented a man from believing that he can fly; and convincing a young woman to end her fast. His fame spreads all over the island and thousands throng to seek his blessings, which he does dole out quite benevolently, without charging any fees from the poor and the needy. He then decides to spread his wings by challenging the local politician Pandit Narayan Chandrashekhar alias Cyrus T., and takes over The Hindu Organization, thence opening his way to a seat in the prestigious Member of the Legislative Assembly

A tribute to the real potential of digital cinema, Slingshot is a slum epic on steroids. It weaves stories left and right into a shocking tableau about life for the lowest of the low in the Philippines poorest and most crime-ridden districts. National elections are coming up so in the usual attempt to appear “tough-on-crime”, The Big Boys have been sent into crack down on the the local squatters, thieves and miscreants who litter the film like broken bottle. And since no sweep is ever a clean sweep, the cops brutal shock-force tactics quickly ripple outwards with jagged repurcussions.

Minda, in her forties, is having a torrid affair with the younger Dave, and is trying to hide it from her husband Chito. Dave is an occasional tattoo artist. He also plays drums in a rock and roll band that has a difficult time finding gigs, now that the US Navy has left Subic Bay. One day Stephanie, a Philippino-American who came to the Philippines on a cultural discovery tour, turns up at Minda's house claiming she is her daughter, whom she gave away for adoption twenty years earlier. Stephanie has questions about her adoption that Minda is unwilling to answer. Dave arrives and takes Stephanie out, much to the annoyance of Minda.

A special little homeless girl travels about the Philippines curing the afflicted with her mysterious healing powers, until one day she befriends a sick old man who for some perplexing reason she is unable to cure. The unlikely pair are drawn to each other and their lives are forever changed by their unique friendship and magical journey together.

Story revolves around the sad plight of the live sex performers Rolly (Paolo Rivero), Gigi (Klaudia Koronel), Rosita (Ana Capri), Sandra (Hazel Espinosa and Vio (Simon Ibarra) and what drives them to do the inexplicable.

The movie is typical of lower budgeted sexy-erotic films made in the Philippines at this time. There is no style, no visuals, no good story, nothing particularly memorable..

A woman (Ynez Veneracion) who was maltreated during her younger years (Aiza Marquez played the young role) gets revenge on the people who abused her.

Ding tells the story of his life and how it was shaped by three women which includes his godmother, her adopted daughter and his wife.

A story set in the Philippine Republic in the 1900s where a lass, a Spanish mestizo, and a fisherman are caught up by Macabebe soldiers who are trying to capture Emilio Aguinaldo.

A college heartthrob meets a college newbie - a challenge, a tension, a discovery, and a love that will change everything between them.

Syota ng Bayan is Tanya Marquez, a bold star who quits showbiz and goes back to her hometown. Finding out that a cement factory is causing a lot of havoc in the environment and in the lives of her town mates, she challenges the incumbent of Mayor Golano to have it closed. When denied, Tanya rallies the people in protest but is silenced. The mayor's opponents prevail upon Tnays to run for mayor in the coming elections against Golano's son, Peter Lee. During the campaign period Tanya and Peter Lee meet and fall in love.

A story of a Family that was been broken for the reason of the mother making an affair with her boss. Their Father became paralyze. The main character Irma Alegre decided to be a prostitute and so is her sister Angela Perez but their father suicides.

A slice of daily life in the slums of the Philippines. Gina, a poor but honest young girl sells banana slices. She lives with her grandmother and her younger brother and sister, her father being in jail. Nonoy, a water boy, delivers water up six floors to the rich Mrs. Alano. Nonoy is in love with Gina, but she desires her classmate, Jimboy, a handsome flirt, who is the son of Mrs. Alano.

The armed conflict between the Philippine military and the communist resistance at the beginning of the 1990s forms the backdrop to this study of three individuals who, for different reasons, are trying to resolve an untenable situation.

With the imminent death of his autocratic grandfather, coinciding with the burgeoning oppressive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Servando Monzon III, inheritor of the hacienda and businesses of his powerful clan, agonizes on becoming the new feudal lord and capitulating with Marcos’ designs to control the Philippines. He is aware of his clan’s long history of violence; he knows the very violent history of his county; and he foresees a very violent future with the Marcos dictatorship.

A poor Filipino woman (Assunta de Rossi) tries to take care of her mentally handicapped sister amid the poverty and violence of the shantytown in which they live.