Best movies like Joy in the World

When Edna—the elderly and widowed matriarch of the family—goes missing, her daughter and granddaughter travel to their remote family home to find her. Soon after her return, they start to discover a sinister presence haunting the house and taking control of Edna.

What does it mean to be awake in a world that seems satisfied to be asleep? Kris and Michal push their experiences of life and love to a breaking point as they restlessly roam the city streets in search of answers, adrift in the euphoria and uncertainty of youth.

A British crime novelist travels to her publisher's upmarket summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. However, the unexpected arrival of the publisher's daughter induces complications and a subsequent crime.

Gwynplaine, son of Lord Clancharlie, has a permanent smile carved on his face by the King, in revenge for Gwynplaine's father's treachery. Gwynplaine is adopted by a travelling showman and becomes a popular idol. He falls in love with the blind Dea. The king dies, and his evil jester tries to destroy or corrupt Gwynplaine.

A young couple go on an adventurous vacation to Thailand only to find themselves haunted by a malevolent spirit after naively disrespecting a Ghost House.

Norman Bates is still running his little motel, and he has kept the dressed skeleton he calls 'mother'. One day a nosey journalist comes to see him to ask questions about his past.

This Polish historical drama film traces the fascinating saga of a wealthy, princely Polish dynasty in years 1900-1935.

Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.

A comedy. The story follows a young scientist in the contemporary world, who actually came from the world of dwarves, thanks to a magic potion, held by the Big Eater, ruler of the dwarves. The dwarf kingdom, Shuflandia, exists in a cellar of a library, and only the most obedient get the chance to grow to king size and inhabit the larger world. Once there, nobody wants to return to Shuflandia. Also, there are no women in Shuflandia.

An acute case of Mondayitis in Warsaw. Interwoven stories of a few inhabitants of Warsaw, including one very unlucky Italian on a governmental mission and a charitable Polish American.

Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.

The life of Ryszard Riedel, former leader of cult Polish rock-blues band Dzem, including the history of his family relationships, music career and addiction to alcohol and drugs.

The film is set in a small town near Warsaw, to which a young and coming director comes to produce a classic play (Wyspianski "Wyzwolenie") with a modern vein. Everyone in the production gets his usual stereotypical role, but the aging idol of the ensemble senses opportunity to give the performance of his life. For young director everything is already set. The leading man, however, is not giving up and is trying to restore the role according to his view. His wife listens to his fears, complaints and frustrations, while resigning herself to a fading career in a puppet theatre.

An investment banker travels to Louisiana to snag the account of an eccentric millionaire but gets involved with his lusty wife, Mardi Gras, and (possibly) a satanic cult. The events in and around New Orleans change him forever and give a new slant on The American Dream.

A traveling girl stumbles into prostitution, only to become a high priced Madam.

Jack is a real scum-bag who is going to marry Kristy. He has a bad habit of sleeping with other women and stealing all of their money. Two weeks before their marriage, Kristy sees Jack having sex with their maid, Rosa. It turns out that he was threatening Rosa into having sex as well as his secretary, Diane. When he goes away on business, Kristy, Rosa, and Diane devise a way to get him back for all of the things he has put them through. They also decide to turn his house into a special massage parlor for a few nights so Kristy can try to make some of the money back that Jack stole from her.

In Nazi-occupied Warsaw, an investigator tries to unravel the mysterious murder of a prominent attorney's wife.

The wealthy patriarch of the Sinclair family lives in mortal fear of being buried alive because he suffers from a rare condition that causes him, at times, to appear lifeless. So, when he dies, his relatives learn that his will stipulates that nobody will see a penny unless they follow a strict set of orders which would allow for him to "return from the dead." When the relations refuse to comply with his wishes, he returns from the grave and proceeds to exact his revenge on his insubordinate kin, killing each of them in precisely the ways they most fear.

After moving into a boardinghouse, a young woman becomes the object of her lonely neighbor's obsessions.

Disappointed with being a housewife and annoyed by her cheating husband, Maria decides to abandon her family, move to Warsaw and get a well-paid job.

In the winter of 1943 two young Jews, Alek and Fryda, escape, via sewer tunnels, from the atrocities underway in Warsaw ghetto. Alek, entrusted with undeveloped photos of the horrors within, makes his way to a supposedly safe apartment only to find it occupied by Germans. Another tenant, a pole Stephania, abruptly offers to shelter him in her spacious apartment. She comforts him and they make love that very night. Stefania is uncommonly generous and willing to jeopardize her own safety by hiding a Jew. She even goes to a nearby church and rescues Fryda. But Fryda is ungrateful and proceeds to sabotage the trio's safety in insidious ways.

A fictionalised portrait of Polish artists W. Bąkowski and Z. Bartoszek.

Arne buys a house in suburban Los Angeles, only to discover that the previous owner died in a grisly manner. Then he gets a visit from the dead woman's best friend, who is convinced that she didn't commit suicide. Together, they investigate what Tilly is sure must be a murder, and come up against the toughest moral dilemma of their lives.

A young photographer moves to Praga, the most notorious district of Warsaw, known for common crime and alcoholism as well as unique folklore. This experience will have much impact on both his personal and professional life.

A dramatization of the ripped from the headlines true crime story of a rebellious teen and her boyfriend who murdered her single mother.

Do-gyeong jumped in to save his student Jiyong from drowning. After the two pass away, Myeongji, Do-gyeong's wife, and Jieun, Jiyong's sister, are left alone in the world, having to cope with the loss of their loved ones. Myeongji travels to Warsaw, Poland, to avoid her harsh reality. She meets an old friend and hides her husband's death as if trying to reject the tragedy.

Set during the German occupation of Warsaw during WWII, this musical tells the story of several inhabitants of the same tenement house.

Two apartment house dwellers, although unrelated, share the same name. One is an older man with an appreciation for and love of classical music, while the other is a younger man addicted to swing music. The niece of the older man arrives for a visit and gets into the wrong apartment. Complications arise.

The Italian soldier Giuseppe Santucci, on his way home from the Russian front, during World War II (in 1943), has his machine gun stolen in Warsaw. Afraid of consequences, he stays in Warsaw and occupies a flat of the Polish girl Maria, whom he suspects of stealing weapon. Maria indeed is an active member of the Polish resistance, contrary to her brother, Staszek, a painter, who only wants a calm living. In a course of funny events, Giuseppe falls in love, and, along with Staszek, becomes a hero of the Polish resistance.

The authorities in favor of the Nazis are trying to restore order in a small town in Silesia. Their actions are fiercely resisted by a small group of residents.

After his grandmother's death, 24-year-old Mike Hillary sets off in search of who he thinks is his real father. Little does he suspect the real scenario: his late mother was impregnated by aliens, and now they've sent someone down to bring back their "specimen"--dead or alive.

Four friends take a cottage vacation in the dead of winter, seeking refuge from their busy urban lives, if only for one weekend. However, the few residents who remain in the secluded cottage town of Rideau Ferry don’t seem to take kindly to strangers… From the moment they reach their destination, the visitors, a group of twenty-something artist types, are confronted by the ominous gaze of neighbouring cottagers, all of whom have no choice but to tough out the cold winter in this small, rural town. Over the course of their stay, the friends begin to uncover dark details about the inhabitants of the houses around them. After one of the friends is found mutilated on the front porch of a nearby cottage, the friends quickly discover that nothing is what it seems.

In this taut thriller, newlyweds Jen and Mitch find that three's company and four's a crowd when they ask their friend Danny to move in with them to share expenses. But a sweet situation turns sour when Danny invites a new person into the mix.

Kieslowski’s later film Dworzec (Station, 1980) portrays the atmosphere at Central Station in Warsaw after the rush hour.