Best movies like I Prefer the Sound of the Sea

A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters - Brea, an introspective pastor's daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea's best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time. Tensions and buried feelings abound, as colleges are chosen and adults behave badly, as Brea, Laura and Tim attempt to hang onto what they have, all the while yearning to break free.

This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.

Grazia is a free-spirited mother-of-three married to shy fisherman Pietro and living on the idyllic but isolated island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean Sea. She shows signs of manic depressive behavior — one moment she's laughing wildly and swimming half-naked in the sea, while the next she's curled in a ball on her bed. Out of her earshot, the adult members of her extended family vaguely discuss sending her to a facility of some sort in Northern Italy.

Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, three teenagers edge towards adulthood.

When a veteran marshal is sent to a small town, he quickly falls for two women: a midwife and an earthy young woman nicknamed "Frisky".

After twenty years of marriage, Gloria discovers that her husband has been cheating on her. It' a terrible trauma and she decides to stay with her sister in USA in St. Louis. She takes with her Matteo and Francesco, her two sons. Matteo wastes no time in settling into his new life, but Francesco find it more difficult, being shy and full of complexes.

This movie contains three short stories dealing with the theme of homosexuality. In "A Friend of Dorothy", a woman joins the Navy during the 1950's and discovers lesbianism. In "Mr. Roberts", a teacher in a 1970's classroom struggles with his closeted gay status. Finally in "Amos and Andy", a father wrestles with his own emotional acceptance of a present day wedding between his son and another man.

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

A dark comedy centering on the lives of a Neapolitan based family whose father, a fish merchant, is so infatuated with the reality TV show "Grande Fratello" (the Italian version of "Big Brother") he starts living his life as if he were on it.

As a child, Ed was cleaning his father’s hunting rifles - a surprise birthday treat for the old man - when one of them went off, hitting and killing his mother. On seeing the bloodshed, his father flew into a murderous rage - Ed just barely escaped with his life. Now in his teens, he returns home; he doesn’t expect to find his father, still there, waiting for a chance to settle the score . . .

An epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set in the breathtaking Italian Alps, The Eight Mountains follows over four decades the profound, complex relationship between Pietro and Bruno.

Palermo, Sicily, 1980. Mafia member Tommaso Buscetta decides to move to Brazil with his family fleeing the constant war between the different clans of the criminal organization. But when, after living several misfortunes, he is forced to return to Italy, he makes a bold decision that will change his life and the destiny of Cosa Nostra forever.

Story about two brothers and their wives, and the interactions between them and their two high school age children. When the kids get into serious trouble together, how will the parents relationships change with and among each other? Will the parents protect the kids or force them to face the consequences of their actions?

Serena Bruno is an architect who studied and got several masters in different countries of the world but she decides to go back to Italy so she can live and work there. She will soon find out that her native country is not as open minded and she will struggle to find a job that she truly loves and is passionate about. Along the way she will meet Francesco a gay man who will help and support her throughout her journey.

After running away from her abusive mother, a streetwise teen seeks refuge with her father, but he rejects her when he learns that she's pregnant.

The best italian film of the 90's, the most extreme and radical work since SALO', a ruthless representation, in a surreal-metaphorical key, of a civilization condemned to worshipping its own blindness. The two sicilian directors use a language free from compromise and from the traditional storyline rules: the movie is photographed in a sharp and very contrasting black & white, with no beautiful pimp music, and lacks a logical story. There are no women (the ones we see are actually men), and the language is strict sicilian dialect. The directing style is characterized by long fixed shots on a post-atomic world, which is really present-day Palermo, inhabited by fat people in socks and underwear who burp and fart while roaming around smelly alleyways and waste dumps.

Martin, who believes himself to be a vampire, goes to live with his elderly and hostile cousin in a small Pennsylvania town where he tries to redeem his blood-craving urges.

A celebrated painter receives a visit from a cardinal's assistant, who informs him that his mother could become a saint.

Giulia De Martino is a pilot. At seventeen she participates in the GT Championship, under the guidance of her father Mario. But one day everything changes and Giulia has to face alone both the track and her own life.

An introverted teenager tells his parents he is going on a ski trip, but instead spends his time alone in a basement.

Pete, an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1970s, attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of the Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven - by trying to convert a Jew to Catholicism.

1965, a train with a variety of passengers is heading north when it makes an unexpected stop. On the other track, heading south, a train passes with the same passengers 20 years later.

A father left in charge of his three children while mum goes away on a 10-day holiday… What could possibly go wrong?

June 1982, Sicily. While Italians dream of winning the World Cup, two adolescents dream of living their love story without fear. Gianni, 17, is bullied because of his homosexuality but his life changes when he meets by accident Nino, 16, a captivating and innocent boy. The profound friendship they develop will without embarrassment turn into love, as they start working together for Nino's father, shooting fireworks. When their bond is discovered by their families, the consequences are as violent as the times and mores are conservative. The two teenagers are separated by force but ready to challenge everything and everyone, convinced their love can defeat death.

Tommaso is the youngest son of the Cantones, a large, traditional southern Italian family operating a pasta-making business since the 1960s. On a trip home from Rome, where he studies literature and lives with his boyfriend, Tommaso decides to tell his parents the truth about himself. But when he is finally ready to come out in front of the entire family, his older brother Antonio ruins his plans.

A young father and his two children struggle to find harmony after his wife leaves them for another man.

When a New York lawyer returns to his Boston hometown to reunite his dying friend with his young son, he is forced to finally confront a childhood trauma.

In this Southern Gothic coming-of-age tale, an isolated and troubled young man, Moss, meets a mysterious and beautiful hiker on the banks of the river near his home on his eighteenth birthday. She guides him on a journey of self-discovery and helps him overcome the tragic death of his mother and the shadow it has cast on his relationship with his detached father.

An intimate portrait of Matthew Shepard, the gay young man murdered in one of the most notorious hate crimes in U.S. history. Framed through a personal lens, it's the story of loss, love, and courage in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

It's the story of a day spent by Dino, separated by his wife, who sees his son Robertino after five years. Dino has not contributed anything in life and to win the affection of his son, invents a story about his past. At the end of the day however, he will succeed in establishing a positive relationship with his son and telling the truth about himself.

Stefano is a shy and sensitive teenager who has just completed his studies in Switzerland and is considering becoming a monk. But his father, a rich Milanese publisher, who had the ambition to see his son succeed him, refuses and takes him on a cruise with a young woman to take this idea out of his mind...

In 1867, with Garibaldi's forces close to bringing Rome into the Italian kingdom, Monsignor Colombo da Priverno, a world-weary judge on the papal court, wants to resign, disgusted by the violence to which the papacy resorts to hold secular power.

The film begins when Eugenio, a 14 year old child, is conduced from his grandparents home outside Rome, to Giancarlo (his father) in the city, by Giancarlo's friend (called "Moustache"). As Eugenio is bothering Moustache, he threatens Eugenio with leaving him in the middle of the country. He finally does it. When Giancarlo finds out, they return for Eugenio, but he is now lost. Meanwhile we're told the story of the child and his relation with the family, and why he feels unwanted.

Giorgio and Tito, father and son. A successful journalist and a lazy teenager apparently impossible to understand. Giorgio's dream is to take Tito to the Nasca Hill in Liguria, but Tito prefers to spend his entire day with his group of friends, eating, talking about nothing and playing video games. Until one day when he suddenly informs his father that he would join him in this trip. After a series of accidents and misunderstandings, at the end, somehow father and son will find the way to communicate … or at least they will try.

Two back-to-back stories that deals with two "taboo" themes, the celibacy of the clergy in the episode of Renato Pozzetto and the homosexuality in the one with Nino Manfredi.

The adolescence of Mozart is chronicled in this Italian biopic. Here, young Wolfgang is seen as a prodigy who aspires to a normal life. He is studying music in Bologna when he falls in love with a local girl and makes friends with a boy his own age. Mozart is so elated that he fails a music exam on purpose so he can stay a little longer. Unfortunately, a priest rigs his test and the young composer is forced to move on.

A nightmarish accident that leads to an elderly man’s death one night after getting drunk with his best friend Yves. Neither chooses to confess just yet. Yves, the brasher member of the duo, succeeds in living on with his life, but Gabriel, more shy and honest, feels the guilt choking him as days turn into weeks and weeks become months...

After coming in contact with radioactive waste, small-time crook Enzo Ceccotti gains super-strength. A misanthropic, introverted brute, he uses his new powers for personal gain until he meets Alessia, a mentally ill girl who believes Enzo is the hero from her favorite anime Steel Jeeg.

A wounded, bloodied man takes a priest hostage, hell-bent on confessing a vengeful truth before it is too late. The seemingly random encounter is soon revealed to be anything but as the two men’s lives are inextricably linked.

Based on true events (mostly), Freddie, a 15-year-old runaway becomes intimately acquainted with California’s “Murder City” after being released from jail, just shy of midnight. Absurdly self-reliant, completely broke and 120 miles away from her friends she has nothing to depend on but her wit and youthful charm.

Perennial university student Eva, who is still having difficulties at adjusting to big city life, takes up a job as dog sitter. After visiting the owner, she finds out the dog—Spotty—is actually Matteo, an introverted young man who copes with modern life by dressing up as a giant puppy.

Gheni and Gherti, two young Albanian immigrants who live in Rome and work in a restaurant, settle in the home of the photographer Corrado, who makes friends with the first. In a torrid and empty city for the summer holidays Gherti, more restless, binds with Lino, an old Sardinian who every day accompanies his mentally ill wife to the city. Gheni instead continues his little "climb" in the restaurant and strengthens his friendship with Corrado.

When Deborah's ex-husband, a popular neomelodic singer, loses his life in a stage dive, Deborah worries for her eleven-year-old son, Ciro, who is exhibiting signs of depression. Searching for a solution, Deborah takes Ciro to see Tommaso, a shy child psychologist. During the course of their visits, Ciro confesses that it's not his father's death that has got him down, it's his love for his classmate, the beautiful Ludovica. The two make a deal: Tomasso will help Ciro to win the affections of Ludovica, while Ciro gives Tomasso a hand at having a chance with his mother.

In their village of Puglia (Southern part of Italy on the Adriatic side) Federico and Riccardo have been best friends since childhood. Federico is a penniless playboy, while Riccardo is a young fashion designer. To pursue his dream, Riccardo trades his home for Milan. When Frederick discovers that the Puglia Region provides funding in support of business activities, he convinces Riccardo to come back and open a fashion house. But there is a problem: funding is only available to common law couples, and so Federico and Riccardo must pretend to be a gay couple, and enlist the help of the local newspaper editor, a journalist and Richard’s despotic girlfriend ..

Gabriele returns home in southern Italy to bid farewell to his father Ernesto, a former stationmaster in a small town not far from Bari. The old man reawakens in Gabriele memories of his childhood, of his loving mother, his uncle, his friends... but also of his father's rage and bitterness over his failure in achieving his artistic ambitions: Ernesto was convinced he was destined to be a famous painter, and was willing to sacrifice everything for this belief, even his own dignity – and this made his son swear that he wouldn't turn out like him. Only now, many years later, through chance and circumstances, Gabriele begins to understand Ernesto and to see what sort of person his father really was.

In Milan, Matteo is an underemployed physicist, giving the occasional lecture at a university while working at a PR firm where he knows he'll be fired. Without his really trying, two women are attracted to him, a blond and a brunette. The blond is Angelica; they meet smoking on the office rooftop. To his surprise, she has clout in the company and soon has him flying off (with her) to make presentations. The brunette is Beatrice, a new flatmate, hoping for a teaching job in the national service. Angelica dangles a posting with her in Barcelona; Beatrice is simply Beatrice. Will Matteo figure out what he wants - and decide before opportunity passes him by?

Mario and the new kid Franco gradually become the best of friends, but their friendship is tested when one of them wins a competition.

Depiction of the life of St. Anthony, beginning with his initial calling to the priesthood as a young Portugese nobleman, and following him as he becomes a Franciscan monk and preaches across Africa and Europe.

The story takes place in the summer of 1980 in Brindisi, Italy. Martino is a young man whose father isn't giving him enough attention. His older brother and his friends, including Silvia, a young northern Italian who spends her holidays in the south of the country and has a romance with Martino. Young people tend to enter an American military base north, and Martino ends up finding a US military officer, Captain Clark, a good friend who teaches him how to surf.

A contract killer, after being diagnosed with a fast-moving form of dementia, is presented with the opportunity to redeem himself by saving the life of his estranged adult son. But to do so, he must race against the police closing in on him as well as the ticking clock of his own rapidly deteriorating mind.