Best movies like Virsa

For over 130 years till 1996, more than 100,000 of Canada's First Nations children were legally required to attend government-funded schools run by various Christian faiths. There were 80 of these 'residential schools' across the country. Most children were sent to faraway schools that separated them from their families and traditional land. These children endured brutality, physical hardship, mental degradation, and the complete erasure of their culture. The schools were part of a wider program of assimilation designed to integrate the native population into 'Canadian society.' These schools were established with the express purpose 'To kill the Indian in the child.' Told through their own voices, 'We Were Children' is the shocking true story of two such children: Glen Anaquod and Lyna Hart.

An ancient Indian warrior who has reached the end of his life is brought back from his 'death' to save his family from a raiding party of enemy Indians in this unique story of 'Indians without a single cowboy.

Based on the book by anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff, this Academy Award-winning short documentary offers a tender portrait of a community of elderly yet resilient Jews living, loving, and at times struggling, in Venice, California. From everyday trials to traditional celebrations, this compassionate portrayal of Eastern European survivors cuts straight to the heart of every viewer and reminds us of the joys and realities of long life.

Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower, have lived next to each other for years. The pair have almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbour.

A Film Journey to the Soul of India documents the life of sitar master Ravi Shankar in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following him on his return to India to revisit his guru, Bengali multi-instrumentalist and composer, Baba Ustad Allauddin Khan. It further explores Shankar's life as a musician and teacher in the United States and Europe, initiating those in the West to the exceptional world that is Indian classical music and culture. Through rare and candid footage shot in both India and the United States, Raga sheds light on Shankar's influences and collaborations, from Allauddin Khan to his famed dancer brother Uday Shankar, to his associations with Western musicians Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. Fully narrated by Shankar himself, the film reveals music as the soul of India and of Shankar's life.

86-year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion: his 8 year-old grandson, Billy.

Frankie is dying. Irene hasn't forgiven him. And they are racing against time to find their way home. Frankie needs help and Irene is the one he turns to. He must go home one last time. And, like so many times before, Irene is extending herself beyond her common sense. The two set out on a journey that becomes more than getting home; confronting the past, love, understanding, and self discovery. Barking Water is a tale of great love that looks at what brings us all together. It's a tale of home...and what it takes to get there.

Carrie Watts begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie and pretentious daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. No longer able to drive and forbidden to travel alone, she wishes for freedom from the confines of the house.

A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940s Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish – just once before she dies – is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home."

All but abandoned by her family in a London retirement hotel, an elderly woman strikes up a curious friendship with a young writer.

A widowed professor living in Paris develops a special relationship with a younger French woman.

Ottilie Van Zandt is forced to wed her cousin, despite her love for Richard Wayne, the gardener's son. Richard leaves, vowing to return a wealthy man and eligible suitor for her. He returns to find she has already married and, in turn, marries another girl on impulse. Two generations later, the grandchildren of Ottilie and Richard, who both have inherited their names as well, meet and develop a close friendship that culminates in the romance that their grandparents began but could not consummate years before.

H.D. Dalton is a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He returns home to discover things have drastically changed -- the family farm has been abandoned, his old girlfriend Jolie is a now a widowed mother, and his sister Cheryl has put his father in a nursing home.

An elderly widow must find meaning and activity in her life when her son suggests she is no longer capable of handling her own affairs.

Nobody likes self-centered realtor Oren Little, and he prefers it that way. He's deliberately mean to anyone who crosses his path and wants nothing more than to sell one final house and retire. His life turns upside-down when his estranged son drops off a granddaughter he never knew existed. Suddenly left in charge of her and with no idea how to take care of a child, he pawns the girl off on his neighbor, Leah -- but he eventually learns how to open his heart.

A Chickasaw man survives great hardships and tragedy to establish a vast ranching empire along the famous cattle highway of the American West.

Manchester, North of England, 1975. The now much diminished, but still dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan is deep in pubescent crisis under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. So, in a last, desperate attempt to 'sort him out', his father decides to pack him off to Mrs Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 35 years earlier.

Well-acted family drama has Khanna's retired elderly widower connecting with Patil's elderly widow after realizing that both of them are suffering abuse from their families.

Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes taken with Jessie, the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.

Arthur is a grumpy pensioner who can't understand why his wife Marion would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth sees something special in the reluctant Arthur and refuses to give up on him. As she coaxes him out of his shell, Arthur realizes that it is never too late to change.

Mickey Rooney plays a weary old thief who befriends a young child. Home for Christmas is a 1990 Canadian made film about a young girl (Chantellese Kent) who wants a grandfather for Christmas. She chooses an elderly, homeless ex-con (Mickey Rooney) as her pseudo-grandfather and he teaches her - and her family - the true meaning of Christmas. Somewhat predictable.. but has a good plot twist about half way through that keeps it interesting. A solid, low-key performance by Mickey Rooney as the seemingly broken down homeless man saves this one from drowning in it's own mushiness.

A comic caper about Happy Singh, a Punjabi villager who goes through a series of misadventures and eventually becomes the King of the Australian underworld.

Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another.

Fact-based story about a Pasadena cab driver who picks up what he believes is a routine fare, an elderly woman on her way to a funeral. However, the wealthy woman is soon is insisting that the cabbie drive her on a cross-country trip that ends up entailing 3100 miles and ending in Vancouver. Initially contentious, the two eventually find a reluctant friendship growing.

An elderly war veteran feels lonely and unwanted while living with his son and daughter-in-law, but he learns his life still has purpose when he befriends a neighborhood child with a troubled family life.

As the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has only a single remaining vacancy - posing a rooming predicament for two fresh arrivals - Sonny pursues his expansionist dream of opening a second hotel.

Kamalpur-based Khular family make a lot of sacrifices to get their daughter and eldest son married; as well as ensure their youngest, Himmat, gets a good education in Patiala's Punjabi University. After Himmat completes his education and returns home, the family even arrange his marriage with an America-based wealthy bride so that he can re-locate abroad and live a better life. The family's peace and harmony is shattered, the house gets divided, after Himmat refuses to marry the bride, and instead sets off with his friends to open a lowly Dhaba. He also starts wooing Resham, the wealthy daughter of Deep Singh, the President of Punjab Hotel Association - who will never permit her to marry a lowly Dhaba owner, and is already making plans to get her married to someone very wealthy.

"Assisted Living" chronicles a day in the life of Todd, a janitor who spends his days smoking pot and interacting with the residents for his own entertainment. Todd's detachment from his surroundings is compromised only by his unlikely friendship with Mrs. Pearlman, a resident who begins to confuse him with her son. On this particular day, Todd must choose whether or not to play the part. "Assisted Living" is shot and staged in a real nursing home and gains much of its unique effect and style from the participation of actual residents and staff members. During much of the film, it is impossible to distinguish between what is real and what is fiction.

Dharti' is a family drama set in Punjab on the backdrop of Punjab Politics. Prem Chopra plays the character of Baljit Singh Wadala, the head of ruling party in Punjab and he has two sons. The elder son Vikramjit Singh Wadala played by Randeep Arya is following his father's footsteps and is a prominent Political leader, while the younger son Jasdeep Singh Wadala played by "Jimmy Sheirgill" is a Squadron Leader in the Indian Air Force. The younger son has a conflict with his father and had left his father's legacy to join the Indian Air Force. Due to certain circumstance Jimmy's character is forced to come to Punjab and then after lots of emotional turmoils the son unites with his father.

Sam is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. When a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with her heritage in order to defeat it.

This is the story of a mother and her missing son set in the backdrop of 1984 Punjab, when the state was going through a terrible time of terrorism. The film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son, who is labelled a terrorist because of the bad times in Punjab.

An Indian jewel merchant goes from penniless to wealthy in this story about gratitude.

Dhol Ratti is a period film set in the Punjab of 1970's. The theme of the movie encapsulates an emergency situation on the Punjab - Pakistan Border and how people live through it. The movie highlights the importance of family relations and moral values, with an important message for today's youth.

When Naveen brings his fiancé Jay home to meet his traditional Indian family, they must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist boyfriend and helping them plan the Indian wedding of their dreams.