Best movies like The Brass Ring

Documentary about rock pioneer Roky Erickson, detailing his rise as a psychedelic hero, his lengthy institutionalization, his descent into poverty and filth, and his brother's struggle with their religious mother to improve Roky's care.

After the death of his fiancée's daughter while in his care, a deaf man shuts himself off from the world. Haunted by memories, it is only through new friendship that he can learn to forgive, love, and reconnect.

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Despite loving another man, a young woman is talked into marrying a wealthy and boorish prince in order to help her financially-strapped father.

On a secluded family farm, a mother suffers a psychotic break due to postpartum depression, forcing the eldest son to protect his sibling from the mother they have always known and loved.

Gifted 18-year-old Meg has been abandoned by her father and neglected by her hardworking mother. Left to care for her emotionally disturbed younger sister, her world begins to unravel. She finds an outlet in writing poetry and support from her English teacher, Mr. Auster. But what started out as a mentoring relationship begins to get a bit more complex.

Kate and Joe have longed to be parents and are considering in vitro options... when Danica, a child Kate gave up 17 years ago, appears on Facebook. Danica comes to live with them, but she's not their real child. She's an impostor who will do anything, even kill, to get the mother's love she never had.

In the 1970s, television reporter Christine Chubbuck struggles with depression and professional frustrations as she tries to advance her career.

A successful lawyer, with a new wife and infant, agrees to care for his teenage son from a previous marriage after his ex-wife becomes concerned about the boy's wayward behavior.

A young woman, Janice, is living with her restrictive and conservative parents, who lead a dull working-class life and consider their daughter to be “misbehaving” whenever she’s trying to find her own way in life.

A middle aged carpenter, who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.

When Sophie's son, Garrett, develops a mysterious illness, she embarks on a search for answers. This leads her into the controversial world of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) where a sociopolitical battle rages between organic farmers and big biotech corporations. As her desperation grows, so too does her quest for knowledge. And the deeper she goes, a more heightened sense of danger develops that preys on her state of mind, as she attempts to discover the root cause of her son's illness.

Inside the dramatic search for a cure to ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 17 million people around the world suffer from what ME/CFS has been known as a mystery illness, delegated to the psychological realm, until now. A scientist in the only neuro immune institute in the world may have come up with the answer. An important human drama, plays out on the quest for the truth.

On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.

When an acclaimed music producer goes off his medication for schizophrenia, his friends chase him though the LA music scene to help commit him to a psychiatric hospital, revealing the troubling inadequacies of the mental health care system.

Shelby Coles (Halle Berry) is engaged to marry talented white jazz musician Meade Howell, but the pair face opposition from both Meade's family, who object to an inter-racial marriage, and Shelby's parents, who want her to marry a professional. As Shelby is afflicted by pre-marital doubts, handsome Lute McNeil arrives on the scene, determined to make Shelby his at any cost.

Based on writer Maya Angelou's eloquent reminiscences of her days as a gifted youngster growing up in the South during the Depression years where she and her older brother were raised by their grandmother after the divorce of their parents.

A peculiar and disturbing case catches the attention of the police when a young mother and her children, all severely injured, show up in a hospital's emergency room.

A girl discovers her father's secret, changing their lives forever.

Documentary - After her father suffers a debilitating stroke, documentary filmmaker Linda Brown bravely turns the camera on her family's struggle to understand the legacy left by an emotionally conflicted man. Drawing on home movies, family photos and interviews, she uncovers lies, reveals secrets, and discovers a treasure in a lost family video. You See Me is a touching and poignant exploration of grief, forgiveness and loss as a catalyst for growth. -

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

A significant number of American children and teenagers - from all social backgrounds - suffer from mental disorders, schizophrenia, autism and emotional problems, leading them to isolation from society while treating their issues in mental health facilities. But there's no end in sight for those young individuals when they face obstacles and mistreatment in inadequate places under the supervision of careless and inexperienced professionals. The documentary follows some of those public mental institutions and another private center dealing with troubled kids and reveals what's wrong with their procedures, and the irreparable harm they cause in those patients.

An ice skater sues Kildare (Lew Ayres) for malpractice after his roadside first aid leaves her paralyzed.

Lucy, a former child actor, seeks enlightenment at a retreat led by spiritual leader Elon while she navigates her close yet turbulent relationship with her stunt-performer daughter, Dylan.

Abandoned by her dreamer single mom, a teenage loner becomes obsessed with ecological disaster, forcing her and her grandmother, a functioning alcoholic, to rethink their futures.

A young, unwed, pregnant girl is made an offer she can't refuse. Marry a rich young man with a wealthy estate to please his dying mother, and she'll be well taken care of. What she doesn't know is the family has plans to sacrifice her baby!

A documentary about a 10-year-old transgender girl who finds acceptance and empowerment in the company of a queer roller derby collective.

A world class ice skater eager to take the top prize in the biggest competition around finds his dreams going up in flames after his partner suffers a debilitating injury in this romantic sports drama starring Matt Lanter, Francia Rosa, and Christy Carlson Romano. Zack (Lanter) was headed for the gold when his partner suffered an injury that made competing impossible, but could a feisty female hockey player prove the key to keeping his illustrious career on track? Alexandra is an amateur Latina hockey player who has never skated professionally and doesn't much care for Zack, though a little determination goes a long way in helping Zack convince her to join him on the ice. Now, as this unlikely pair begins the arduous training process that could make them both bona-fide superstars, the girl with the icy attitude finds her handsome partner's warmth and charm bringing about a most unexpected thaw.

The parents of an anorexic woman fight to save her life.

Western culture treats mental disorders primarily through biomedical psychiatry, but filmmakers Phil Borges and Kevin Tomlinson reveal a growing movement of professionals and survivors who are forging alternative treatments that focus on recovery and turning mental “illness” into a positive transformative experience.

Karen Cooper wants to domineer her family and believes she's its pillar. In fact she does everything wrong. Thus she messes up all their lives and futures, rather then help her loved-ones.

We follow a young woman named Evie as she struggles to help her sister Tris with an ever-worsening case of depression - a condition that has already marked their family with tragic death.

The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.

In Margate, England, life is not easy for teenager Sarah Taylor, between being bullied at school, being exploited by a dominant boss and having to take care of her depressive mother and her two siblings. But Sarah finds a way to channel her growing despair and fight adversity when her drama teacher gives her a new purpose.

Fact-based drama about the life of Marie Balter, who spent most of her young life in mental institutions. At age 16, she first attempted suicide and the next 20 years she spent in and out of the institutions. At last, a caring doctor started treating her for extreme depression and panic disorder. Weened from strong medications she had taken all her life, at age 36, she emerged for the last time and started a rehabilitation program in the home of a volunteer married couple. There she met a fellow patient with whom she developed a romantic relationship. She also started a college degree. This followed with a long-term professional success in the field of mental health.