Best movies like The Specials

A socially awkward teenage math prodigy finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

When David Wilson's young wife falls victim to cancer, he is left a single working dad with the sole responsibility of caring for his sixth grade son with autism. Patrick, who prefers to be called 'Po,' is a gifted but challenged child who was very close to his mother and unable to communicate his own sense of loss. As father and son struggle to deal with life after mom, they each begin to withdraw into their own worlds. David into the high pressure job he's close to losing and Po drifting away from the school where he's bullied into his magical fantasy world, the Land of Color, where he's just a typical carefree boy with a rich cast of other worldly companions. The growing divide between father and son and the challenges of single parenthood of a special needs child threaten to separate David and Po permanently. Based on a true story, the bonds of love between a grieving father and son are tested in the most real way in Po.

Nora Wilder is freaking out. Everyone around her is either in a relationship, married, or has children. Nora is in her thirties, alone with job she's outgrown and a mother who constantly reminds her of it all. Not to mention her best friend Audrey's "perfect marriage". But after a series of disastrous dates, Nora unexpectedly meets Julien, a quirky Frenchman who opens her eyes to a lot more than love.

An outer suburb of Paris, 1972. Gilles and Christine, both sixteen, are classmates and lovers who have become frustrated with the aloofness of their families and the general monotony of their lives. When the pair are caught shoplifting, Christine's father ships her off to a home for emotionally disturbed children, temporarily putting space between her and Gilles. Luckily for them, though, she escapes and the couple contemplate running away together.

A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

Teenager David Clemens develops a hysterical fear that he will die if he comes into physical contact with another person. Perturbed, David's overbearing mother places him in a home for mentally disturbed young people, but David remains withdrawn from the other patients and his psychiatrist. Over time, however, David grows interested in 15-year-old Lisa, who suffers from multiple personalities – one who can only speak in rhyme, and the other, a mute.

Patti (Lili Taylor) and her posse, Angela (Bruklin Harris), Emma (Anna Grace), and Nikki (Aunjanue Ellis) have only a few weeks left of the senior year before they graduate and go their separate ways. It's a bittersweet time for these unlikely best friends, who together have shared the many challenges of growing up female. Suddenly, an unforeseen tragedy shatters their already fragile world, hurling them into a soul-wrenching struggle over loyalty, love, betrayal, and identity in this funny, raw, exciting slice of real life.

Oppressed by her family setting, dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.

A working woman, mother a three children, realizes that, when her youngest one is about to go to Canada to continue her education, she will end up out of her most precious goal, being a mother.

A French illusionist travels to Scotland to work. He meets a young woman in a small village. Their ensuing adventure in Edinburgh changes both their lives forever.

Follows the fate of Lyle, a violent adolescent who, in lieu of prison, is placed in a juvenile mental institution where he encounters a group of equally troubled teens. This motley crew - abused, sexually confused, violent, and yet hanging on by their grit and anger - becomes Lyle's last lifeline as he fights to find meaning in a world that seems to defy understanding.

Zu, a free spirit estranged from her family, suddenly finds herself the sole guardian of her half-sister, Music, a teenager on the autism spectrum whose whole world order has been beautifully crafted by her late grandmother. The film soon challenges whether it is Zu or Music who has a better view of the world, and that love, trust, and being able to be there for each other is everything.

Paris, 1977. Eleven year old Stella knows poker better than grammar when she starts the year at a prestigious new school. There, she discovers the possibilities of a whole new world outside her parents' bar.

Delphine is the author of an autobiographical novel that has become a bestseller. Exhausted by the promotional tour, just when she feels out of place, paralyzed by the idea of having to start writing again, she meets Elle, a young, attractive, intelligent, intuitive woman who seems to understand her better than anyone.

Rémy and Mélanie live next door to each other in Paris but have never met. The two thirty-year-old Parisians search for connections online, but never have much success. Falling deeper into loneliness and depression, both decide to start attending regular therapy. With the help of their therapists, they uncover the real roots of their issues, and find that the connection they were both searching for is much closer than they thought.

Beatrice celebrates with her family the release of her book: she tells about the accident of her husband Frederic. He became blind and without filter - always so funny and seductive, he is totally unpredictable. But this book, hymn-to-life, will turn into a joyful fist because if Beatrice changed the names, each of his friends seeks to find his character. The book awakens secret jealousies, while the group of friends and family pitch.

Antoine is about to start his first year of medical school… for the third time. Benjamin, just out of high school, will make his first try. He soon realizes it's not exactly a walk in the park. In a fiercely competitive environment, with nights dedicated to hard studying rather than hard partying, the two freshmen will have to adapt and find a middle ground between despair for the present and hope for the future.

Benjamin is meant to be a great doctor, he’s certain of it. But his first experience as a junior doctor in the hospital ward where his father works doesn’t turn out the way he hoped it would. Responsibility is overwhelming, his father is all but present, and his co-junior partner, a foreign doctor, is far more experimented than he is. This internship will force Benjamin to confront his limits… and start his way to adulthood.

Long married 50-somethings Brigitte and Xavier are prize cattle breeders in regional France. Life is good, but the departure of their children from home has thrown Brigitte’s world into flux, as she finds herself locked into routine. She keeps hoping for something else, something more. A party held by students on the adjoining property accelerates this latent crisis and Brigitte impulsively sets off for Paris under the guise of a doctor’s appointment. The city immediately invigorates her, and when she meets a charming Danish gentleman, she impulsively allows herself to be flattered by his attentions…

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.

At 33, Arman has decided to change his life. He starts by running. It’s a good start. Amélie carries on with her life. She runs, as well. The first encounter is a shock. The second is a stab in the heart.

Julien and Nina sign a pact with the universe: they must enjoy life, whatever the cost. Will that decision lead them to happiness, or to their disappearance?

Jean-Étienne Fougerole is an intellectual bohemian who released his new novel "In Open Arms" and calling the wealthiest people to welcome home the families in need. While he promotes his book during a televised debate, his opponent criticized him for not applying what he himself advocates. While stuck, Jean-Étienne Fougerole accepts the challenge, for fear of being discredited. The same evening, a family of Roma rings the door of his Marnes-la-Coquette villa and the writer feels obliged to house them.

David, who gets by doing odd jobs, meets Léna, who has just moved up to Paris, and falls in love. But soon after, his life is brutally interrupted by the sudden death of his sister. Beyond the shock, and the pain, David now finds himself alone with his young niece Amanda to care for.

Do we really know our parents? Fourteen-year-old Anouk suddenly discovers another side to her mother during an observation workshop that she carries out in the insurance company where her mother works. An immersion week in the company's adult world, with its little compromises and many cowardly acts, which soon put a seal on her young life. Between an initiation, rift, and assuming responsibility for the first time, the experience is a form of adieu to childhood.

Gabrielle is a "statue" for tourists, much to the chagrin of her teenage son. Elsa is in angry at the world and desperate to become pregnant. Mao is a chronically depressed video game designer who drowns his melancholy in alcohol and psychoanalysis. They are brother and sisters but do not hang out. Ever. Their parents Pierre and Claudine, separated for a long time, have really done nothing to strengthen the bonds of the family - yet, at their grandfather's funeral, they are going to have to meet, and together answer the question: "What to do with grandma?"

Samba migrated to France 10 years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs. Alice is a senior executive who has recently undergone a burnout. Both struggle to get out of their dead-end lives. Samba's willing to do whatever it takes to get working papers, while Alice tries to get her life back on track until fate draws them together.

Young Claudia works in a supermarket where she promotes various types of products. One night, she ends up in the emergency room with severe appendicitis and meets Martha, a patient, laying in the bed next to hers.

Following a huge misunderstanding, two friends always decide to tackle everything to make up for lost time.

The story of an aspiring young filmmaker's encounter with a grumpy fount of movie lore.

Revolves around the relationship between a gambling addict and a young woman who falls madly in love with him and will stop at nothing to win his heart.

At thirteen-years-old, with an unusually high IQ and a knack for observing things about other people, Lou Bertignac is not only the youngest in her class at school; she is also the most unusual. Painfully shy, she has few friends, save for Lucas, whose company helps her get through each day. At home, Lou's life is also difficult: Her mother hasn't left the house in years and her father spends his days crying in the bathroom. Lou's world is dark and sad... That is, until she meets No.

A troubled young woman is thrown out of a convent and forms a relationship with a radical Muslim.

David, a professor of dermatology, has been treating 13-year-old Romain since he was a baby. Afflicted with a rare skin condition, Romain must avoid sunlight and is condemned to live in the shade. David and Romain have become the closest of friends and nothing can separate them. But then David learns that he is about to be transferred to another clinic in another town. How will he be able to break the news to Romain? And how will Romain cope with this new crisis in his life?

Paris. Winter. One night, Antoine, a 22 year-old boy, decides to go to the seaside. All night long, dealing with drug and love, he will try to buy his train ticket, which will leave at the crack of dawn.