Best movies & TV Shows like Monasteries of Europe

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.

In the autumn of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

As the denizens of a Tibetan village prepare for their arduous annual trek to exchange salt for grain, the community's allegiances are split between aging chieftain Tinle (Thilen Lhondup) and rebellious young Karma (Gurgon Kyap). Tinle tries to maintain his clout and preserve obedience to ancient customs when Karma challenges the old man's power.

A woman who was promised to a powerful family's son at birth falls in love with another man, refuses to renounce him, and is sent to a nunnery by her shocked parents. Once there, she first undergoes degradation to acclimatize her to convent life; then she experiences rampant lesbianism by the repressed nuns, and becomes pregnant by her lover. Finally, her refusal to accede to one nun's lascivious lesbian advances leads to plotting and treachery, and her lover being murdered out of jealousy. Her life now ruined, she further scandalises her family by refusing to take her vows, and leaves the convent, devoting her existence to those in need. Claims to be based on a true story!

The story follows the life of a regular German women Leni Gruyten during the 1930s and 1940s. Through her interactions with friends, family and other people she knows, the regular folks' perception of the Nazi era is shown.

Buddhist monks open up about the joys and challenges of living out the precepts of the Buddha as a full-time vocation. Controversies swirling within modern monastic Buddhism are examined, from celibacy and the role of women to racism and concerns about the environment.

The romantic story of Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt, whose scandalous love affair forced him to abandon his adoring audiences.

A biopic of Martin Luther, covering his life between 1505 and 1530, and the birth of the Protestant Reformation movement.

Final entry in Adrian Țofei and Duru Yücel's trilogy which includes Be My Cat: A Film for Anne and We Put the World to Sleep.

The oldest Quebecois Benedictine convent open its gates to a documentary filmmaker for the first time. Observed up close, life behind its walls is busier than one would expect. About twenty cloistered nuns, most of them over 70, share their daily life with diligence and humor. A contemplative portrait of a community of sisterhood and solidarity emerges, punctuated by prayer, work and games evenings.

This documentary presents an awakening inspired by the life of the Benedictine monk Henri Le Saux. After living in a monastery in Brittany for 20 years, he left for South India with the objective of bringing the best of Christian monastic life with him. To achieve his goal, he believed it important to first open himself to the spiritual heart of India. In doing so he encountered Ramana Maharshi, one of the great sages of his time, at the foot of the sacred mountain Arunachala. The impact of this meeting on him was so powerful that Le Saux’s initial plan was turned upside down. In the presence of this mystical mountain, and its Sage, Le Saux began a spiritual adventure that would lead to his own rebirth.

Learn how one man reluctantly took on the most powerful institution of his day and won. Martin Luther is credited with expounding a new vision of man's relationship with God and, by extension, a redefinition of man's relationship with authority. Filmed across Europe -- from the rustic rural Germany to the opulence of the Vatican City -- you'll witness the collapse of the medieval world and the birth of the modern age.

Three close friends who have never left the outskirts of Dublin (much less Ireland) get the journey of a lifetime — a visit to Lourdes, the picturesque French town and place of miracles.

Avril is a novice in a convent of "Baptistine" sisters, a monastic order which was officially dissolved by the end of the nineteenth century but that is kept alive by Mère Marie Joseph, the sadistic superior. While Avril is on retreat, locked in for a fortnight in a chapel prior to taking her vows, Soeur Bernadette, a sympathetic sister, discloses a secret to her: she has a twin brother...

February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

Philippa Talbot is a talented London businesswoman who has decided to give up her position and power to become a nun. The man who loves her is in shock over her departure from his life. When Philippa arrives at Brede, a cloistered Benedictine monastery, the abbess who was responsible for convincing her to enter this vocation suddenly dies. Her successor is Catherine, a sensitive leader who's the first to tell the newcomer to the community that all nuns are to love without a preference for one over another. This becomes very difficult when Joanna, a young nun, singles Sister Philippa out and grows very attached to her.

Investigates the life a young man who has decided to enter a Jesuit monastery in Venice, but is then overcome by agonizing doubts before his ordination.

In a monastery set on the top of sandstone pillars young monk Theodoros and nun Urania find themselves physically drawn to one and other after devoting their lives to the strict rituals and practises of the monasteries. Below them the eternal cycle of farm-life provides a strong contrast to their lives and they are forced to choose between human desire and spiritual devotion

Story of four young monks left alone in their remote monastery in Myanmar. Shot entirely in newly-opened Myanmar with non-actors, the film bridges spirit, cinema, and traditional Burmese storytelling to open a view onto an unseen world.

Father Adrien had taken the vows of eternal silence, prayer and, of course, celibacy, when he entered the Trappist Monastry of Notre Dame d'Afrique in Algeria. One day, he chopped down a tree that blocked a part of the Monastery wall, but as it fell it knocked a young girl senseless. As Father Adrien bathes her face she regains consciousness and in a mischievous mood embraces him. The embrace was seen by another monk but the Monastic discipline imposed is as nothing compared to the torturing penances of mind and body which the contrite Father Adrien has imposed upon himself. In the end it is all too much for poor Father Adrien and he abandons his vows and escapes into the desert, resuming his secular name Androvsky. On the way to the oasis of Beni-Mora he encounters Domini Enfilden who has been brought up as a Catholic. Androvsky rescues Domini from a rioting crowd and she finds herself deeply attracted to him.

Vicenta Bravo is a woman with a special gift for reading cards and fortelling people's future. Every day folk flock to her home looking for solutions to their problems. Vicenta lives happily with her son, until he decides to leave Cuba and everything starts to fall apart. Thrown into a crisis that prevents her from seeing what's happening around her, Vicenta will embark on a journey taking her inland to a country where everyone seems to have lost their faith.

In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the profound harm it causes.

In a powerful exploration of her Greek Canadian heritage, Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos embarks on an introspective journey through the depths of her heart, akin to traversing a black hole, in search of the gifts hidden within her wounds. Guided by the presence of the plantain, a resilient plant often referred to as "white man's footprints" due to its association with European settlers, she unravels the fragmented threads of an ancient myth and pre-Hellenic ceremony. Through this profound exploration, she seeks to rediscover the art of navigating the loss of identity and the cyclical nature of life's transitions.

Two hundred years after the construction of the great cathedral, the medieval town of Kingsbridge is taken under siege by Queen Isabella. Caris, a visionary young woman, inspires her people to stand up for their rights and revolt against to the most powerful forces of her time, the Church and the Crown.

Arn has to endure so much before he can get the love of his life Cecilie, who has been put away in a monastery.

Reggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia, exploring what it's like for young people there, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.

A terrifying, intimate, epic portrait of the biggest movement of people that Europe has seen since World War II.

One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, Simon Reeve embarks on an extraordinary three-part journey across Russia.

Sue Perkins undertakes an epic, personal journey to the source of India's Ganges river in the Himalayas, meeting hermits and holy men to understand the sacred nature of this river.

The trees that are featured across Europe - from Greece to Sweden - stand as references to time, witnesses of collective life and sources of spirituality. Others represent, quite simply, aesthetic encounters. From the ends of their roots to the tips of their crowns, ten trees recount stories and converse among themselves, in this beautiful blending of nature and culture.

The first permanent European settlement in the United States was founded two generations before the Pilgrims arrived in 1565—not by English Protestants, but by a melting pot of Spanish, Africans, Italians, Germans, Irish and converted Jews, who integrated almost immediately with the indigenous tribes. America’s Untold Story, from Secrets of the Dead, uncovers the story of America’s past that never made it into textbooks.

In interviews and rare home video footage, ex-FLDS members share the truth about their isolated community — and the events that pushed them to leave.

Each week, ABC News’ correspondents will leave the anchor desk and studios behind, taking viewers on a journey straight to the source of the stories everyone is talking about, plus the ones no one has even heard of yet. The program’s timely reporting will dive deep into the issues driving the conversations across America and spotlight real people affected by current events featuring hard-hitting investigative reports and profiles of newsmakers from around the globe.

Perpetually disturbed by the world around them, two twenty-somethings navigate their lives as underdogs in Toronto’s queer community. As a chubby gay man and misanthropic trans girl, they don’t exactly adhere to the “ideal gay image,” While the pair have their share of grievances with fellow queers AND society at large this jaded and judgmental duo aren’t completely innocent either.