JoylandMovies like Joyland
- Key Features:
- Transgender identity, Patriarchal society, Gender roles, Forbidden love, Cultural conflict, Family expectations, Social commentary, Indian cinema
- Tone:
- serious, dramatic, restrained
- Target Audience:
- Art house cinema enthusiasts, Viewers interested in social issues, LGBTQ+ audiences, Fans of international films
- Emotional Arc:
- Yearning → Conflict → Self-discovery
Joyland

As a patriarchal family yearns for the birth of a son to continue their family line, their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for its transgender starlet.
Joyland
A young artist tries to win the heart of his muse, while her mother hatches a scheme to end his quest for true love.

A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.

Sweety has to contend with her over-enthusiastic family that wants her to get married but the ultimate truth is that her love might not find acceptance in her family and society.

Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.

Seventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural, and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.

The neurotic Fikret and tavern singer Solmaz, whose 21 year long relationships end on the same day, meet through a funny coincidence. When Solmaz's daughter Zeynep decides to marry her lover from Adana, the ever-fearful Fikret ends up having to play the role of his life. Intended at first to be kept in the family, the wedding becomes a much bigger event upon the insistence of the groom's relatives. Can our heroes come to terms with the traditional Adana family who carry guns and own a kebab restaurant chain, and see the wedding through without mishaps?

Bauji resists his daughter's request to let her marry the man she loves as the neighbours incessantly shame him. However, his opinion changes after he meets him and he decides to change his viewpoint.

The story of Dylan Pettersson, a 23-year-old girl from a small island in the Swedish archipelago with big dancing aspirations.

A Serbian ballroom dancer experiences an unexpected and intense 24-hour romance with a friend's older brother.

A gay cop and a lesbian teacher enter a sham marriage to pacify their families but find that relationships — both real and fake — aren't all that easy.

Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.

While fighting for the political supremacy of their respective families, a Hindu man and a Muslim woman share a forbidden romance.

Ran and Leela are passionately in love with each other. The only problem is that their respective clans have been enemies for 500 years.

Dev and Maya are both married to different people. Settled into a life of domestic ritual, and convinced that they are happy in their respective relationships, they still yearn for something deeper and more meaningful, which is precisely what they find in each other.

Kishorilal wants an Indian bride for his westernised son. He gets him engaged to Ganga, his friend's daughter, and brings her to USA. But she shares a deeper bond with Arjun, Kishorilal's foster son.

Both Dhanraj Singh and Randhir Singh are two bitter and old time enemies. They faced a disastrous situation when their children, Raj and Rashmi fall deeply in love. They openly declare their hatred for one another and will do anything in their power, even kill - but they will not accept their children's choice. But Raj and Rashmi are dedicated to their love and are not willing to accept the fact that their fathers are mutual enemies.

Zahira, 18, is close to her family until her parents ask her to follow Pakistani tradition to choose a husband. Torn between family customs and her western lifestyle, the young woman turns for help to her brother and confidant Amir.

Upon returning to his industrial hometown, a young man must decide whether to follow his own dreams or acquiesce to his father's plans for his future.

A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.

In the 16th century, when Prince Salim falls in love with a beautiful courtesan named Anarkali, Emperor Akbar's disapproval leads to a battle between father and son.

A promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.

Partners Karthik and Aman don't have it easy in their road to achieving a happy ending, while Aman's family tries to get him married to someone else, Karthik doesn't step down unless he marries Aman. A sequel to the 2017 film, titled Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.

A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

A young woman's life is shattered into pieces when her husband slaps her at a party, causing her to question what this relationship stands for.

Bihter, who is desperate for love, sees Adnan, a wealthy and respected older guy, as a way out of the stereotype that society and her materialistic mother have given her. But she soon discovers that she is not satisfied with his attention and has other needs.

Radha and Suraj have been friends since childhood. Gopal has been in love with Radha ever since they spent a few years together as kids. Years later, Gopal's guardian proposes to Radha a marriage with Gopal, and she accepts.

An unconventional woman, gains immense success in her professional life but things take a turn when she meets a guy, who wants to be a house husband.

Raja, a taxi driver, falls in love with Aarti, a rich girl, and marries her against her parents' wishes. Later, her stepmother tries to create a rift betweenthe couple.

The troubled relationship between Gianni and Nino, set in the narrow-minded and prejudicial Sicily of 1982.

Alim is a gay man living in London to escape the domineering eye of his conservative Muslim mother, Nuru, back in Canada. Alim keeps his homosexuality secret from his mother, so when she comes for a surprise visit, he and his boyfriend, Giles, must put on a straight facade to hide the truth.

A man and woman from feuding families each pretend to fall in love, as part of a revenge plot. Chaos ensues when their fake romance becomes a reality.

Ten-year-old Laure isn't like most girls. She prefers football to dolls and sweaters to dresses. When Laure and her family move to a new neighbourhood, local girl Lisa mistakes Laure for a boy. Indulging in this exciting new identity, Laure becomes Mickaël, and so begins a summer of long sunny afternoons, playground games and first kisses. Yet with the school term fast approaching, and with suspicions arising amongst friends and family, Laure must face up to an uncertain future.

In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.

A young man upsets his Punjabi family when he falls in love with an Irish schoolteacher.

When a wife becomes the breadwinner of her family after her husband loses his job, adultery becomes part of her life.

A conservative church-choir director moves from Texas to San Francisco to run her deceased gay son's drag club.

Clara and Felice struggle to raise their three children in 1970s Rome. The eldest, Andrew, is transgender and yearns for another life where he gets to live as the boy he knows himself to be. Clara instinctively strives to protect her son by escaping into their imaginations to defuse family tensions.

A lonely 40-ish man, likely to remain a bachelor, has a chance to find the love of his life when he falls for a vivacious young woman.

When aspiring musician and student Deniz falls for a rough-hewn motorbike racer, tragedy and family opposition obstruct their path to love.

Zooni Ali Beg is a blind Kashmiri girl who travels without her parents for the first time with a dance troupe to Delhi to perform in a ceremony for independence day. On her journey, she meets Rehan Khan, a casanova and tour guide who flirts with her. Although her friends warn Zooni about him, she cannot resist falling in love with him and he takes her on a private tour of New Delhi. But there is more to Rehan than meets the eye and Zooni will have to make a heartbreaking decision.

A vibrant, hopelessly romantic physiotherapist meets a handsome young Rajput prince who is the complete opposite of her – and is engaged to someone else.

A privileged Delhi socialite hires a middle-class student to pose as her boyfriend to maintain her social status. Their pretense becomes complicated when genuine feelings develop between them.

A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest.

A man and a woman come from two very different cultural backgrounds, and decide that they won't get married until they convince their parents. As feared, differences between the families pose a hurdle.

Merab, a devoted dancer, has been training for years with his partner Mary for a spot in the National Georgian Ensemble. The arrival of another male dancer, Irakli, sparks both an intense rivalry and romantic desire that may cause Merab to risk his future in dance as well as his relationships.

The son of a wealthy businessman finds solace in drugs and alcohol when he breaks up with his childhood love.

Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities.

A small-town boy needs to break through the class divide to gain acceptance from his childhood sweetheart who is in love with big city ideals.

Gym-freak brat Rocky falls in love with Rani, who comes from a well-educated Bengali family. Being from polar opposite worlds, the two decide to switch their families to adjust to each other's cultures and backgrounds and to know if their marriage will survive. Rocky and Rani are trapped in a world where they are united by love but divided by families and the ultimate question is will they fit in?

Raj and Priya are newly married. Priya is heavy with children, but due to unexpected circumstances, she loses her child and is unable to conceive again. Enter Madhoo, a prostitute who is willing to become surrogate mother for the couple. Their relationship becomes entangled with love triangle when Madhoo falls in love with Raj.

Joris is trying to come to terms with his broken family relationships on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death when he meets the free-spirited, Yad. Also dealing with family issues, Yad has returned home to The Netherlands after living on his own. Joris and Yad spark an instant connection and decide they want to be more than “just friends,” but fear their families could threaten their relationship.

In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

A reclusive elderly poet feels the fire of his youth when gamine schoolgirl Eun-gyo enters his life, to the chagrin of the old man's assistant.

Desperate to find employment, Karam picks up a job as ‘Pooja’ at a call center for sex chats, keeping most people in his life in the dark about the nature of his work. How long can he keep it up before everyone including his girlfriend and father find out?

A man belongs to a middle-class family and is intent on pursuing his career with a music group, despite his dad's disapproval. He is also in love with the lead singer, but she sees him mainly as a friend.

Four lives intersect along the Ganges: a low caste boy in hopeless love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a hapless father with fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family, long to escape the moral constructs of a small-town.

After her stepdaughter is sexually assaulted at a party, a furious mother sets out to destroy the lives of the four perpetrators who walked free.

Dev Kumar Verma comes from a middle-class family and must find employment to support his dad and mom. Dev, however, has set his mind upon becoming a music sensation like Elvis Presley. He loses his job because of this, and refuses to work until and unless he gets a job to his liking, much to the dismay of his parents and his brother, Shiv Kumar. Dev does get employment at Charlie's Disco, where he meets with Maya and falls in love with her. When Charlie's Disco's competitor, Rana, finds out about Dev, he wants to hire Dev, but Dev decides to continue to work with Charlie's Disco, as a result Dev and Charlie get a beating by Rana's men, and Dev is unable to sing. After recuperating, Dev is devastated to find out that Maya and Shiv Kumar are in love with each other. What impact will this have on Dev and his brother on one hand, and what of his career in music?

In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.

When a bubbly American hip hop dancer goes to India with her family for a wedding, she is impressed by a new dance style and falls in love with the man who introduced her to it.

The story of Nathan, a young teenager who tries to flourish in a romantic relationship with neighbour Roy. The two young men will have to face the brutal reality of the rural south of the United States in the late 1970s.

When her father is killed in a road accident, Trishna's family expect her to provide for them. The rich son of an entrepreneur starts to restlessly pursue her affections, but are his intentions as pure as they seem?

Following a car accident, which kills her mother, 17-year-old Ida moves in with her estranged aunt and her aunt’s grown sons. The home is filled with physical tenderness and love, but outside of the home, the family leads a violent and criminal life.

Pressured by their immigrant parents to find spouses, two Indian-Americans pretend to date in order to survive a summer of weddings – but find themselves falling for each other as they struggle to balance who they are with who their parents want them to be.

In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld.

Archi, a local politician’s daughter, and Parshya, a fisherman’s son, fall in love resulting in violence between the families due to the stringent casteism in the village.

Troy and his young transgender son Joe are on the run from his conservative mother in the Montana wilderness, with a detective in hot pursuit.

A love story between a poor man and a rich girl. The rich girl's father tries to prevent their marriage and he declares a war against the poor boy's family.

A woman married to the brutal and infertile owner of a dye mill in rural China conceives a boy with her husband's nephew but is forced to raise her son as her husband's heir without revealing his parentage in this circular tragedy. Filmed in glowing technicolour, this tale of romantic and familial love in the face of unbreakable tradition is more universal than its setting.

A 50-year-old single father faces disapproval from his family and his ex-wife when he falls in love with a 26-year-old woman.

A wealthy businessman's traditional family celebrate their togetherness when his three sons get married, but slowly find themselves growing apart after a misunderstanding.

In an incendiary story of love, desire, and betrayal between siblings, the rebellious young Tadek returns to his half-sister Anka’s home in search of solace and affection. Bound together by a painful shared family history, brother and sister must find a way to break free in order to survive. This formidable debut fearlessly yet tenderly explores one of society’s last taboos.

When a capable dancer is provoked by the evil design of his employer, naturally he will be out to prove his mettle.

Three generations of a French family open up about their sexual experiences and desires after young Romain is caught masturbating in his biology class.

Ken Park focuses on several teenagers and their tormented home lives. Shawn seems to be the most conventional. Tate is brimming with psychotic rage; Claude is habitually harassed by his brutish father and coddled, rather uncomfortably, by his enormously pregnant mother. Peaches looks after her devoutly religious father, but yearns for freedom. They're all rather tight, or so they claim.

A developmentally disabled boy's life changes after he encounters an extraterrestrial being.

Two best friends being convinced that they are not in love search for each other's love.

After the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the restriction of women in public life, a preteen girl is forced to masquerade as a boy in order to find work to support her mother and grandmother.

A young man in 1981 South Africa must complete his brutal and racist two years of compulsory military service while desperately maintaining the secrecy of his homosexuality.

After failing to find love in Denmark, a painfully shy bodybuilder sets off for Thailand to escape from his overbearing mother and search for a bride.

Two gangs fight for control of the streets: the Scorpions, led by Prakash and the Eagles, fronted by Max. When Prakash's brother Rahul comes to visit, he meets and quickly falls in love with Shirley, not realizing she's the sister of his brother's rival, Max. Though Rahul tries to keep their relationship secret, it's only a matter of time before it brings the gang rivalry to a head.

A newly-wed man discovers that his wife is in love with another man and decides to unite them. Ignoring the ridicule he might have to face for this, he takes his wife to Italy in search of her love.

Set during a long, hot summer on the Thamesmead Estate in Southeast London, where three teenagers edge towards adulthood.

After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

In a small, poor village leaning over high rocky mountains, the villagers are simple and diligent people who struggle to cope with a harsh nature. They earn their living off the earth and a few animals they feed. Fathers always prefer one of their sons. Mothers command their daughters ruthlessly. Ömer, the son of the imam, wishes hopelessly for the death of his father. When he understands that wishful thinking does not have any concrete results, he begins to search for childish ways to kill his father. Yakup is in love with his teacher, and one day after seeing his father spying on the teacher he dreams too, like Ömer, of killing his father. Yıldız studies and tries to manage the household chores imposed by her mother. She learns with irritation about the secrets of the relationship between men and women.

A woman threatens to leave her husband unless he installs a toilet in their home. To win back her love and respect, he heads out on a journey to fight against the backward society.

Two couples are enjoying their summer at the beach, but when the grown son of one couple arrives, it surprisingly stirs something in the husband of the other couple, will the forbidden feelings end badly?

A young woman quietly unsatisfied in the bedroom by her boyfriend puts their relationship to the test when she proposes to open up their sex life to a third person.

Madhukar and Parthavi fall head over heels in love with each other, but the fact that they belong to different castes of society, becomes an obstacle in their romance. The lovers dare to go against societal norms and battle all odds for the sake of love.

A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door.

Ten-year-old Johnny stands out from his family and his tough neighborhood in Eastern France. He's sensitive, intelligent and interested in all kinds of things way beyond his years. With curiosity, he observes the ups and downs of his young single mother's turbulent love life. Things change when a new teacher, fresh from the big city, takes over Johnny's class. Mr. Adamski believes in Johnny and wants to open a new world to him. The sophisticated young teacher also intrigues the boy.

A 22 year-old Bangladeshi-Italian Muslim boy meets a beautiful, exciting Italian girl who makes him re-analyze his beliefs and culture.

Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try to conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancée and her parents come for dinner.

Kabir, a genius yet hostile medical student, falls in love with Preeti from his college. When Preeti's father spots the couple kissing, he opposes their relationship and decides to marry her off.

Paulete, the star of a daring theater group, is visited by his military brother-in-law, the young Fininha. A torrid relationship arises between the two, and now the soldier must deal with the prevailing repression during the Brazilian military dictatorship.

A couple who dreamed of having a son had five daughters in a row. When girls reach the age of marriage, there are moments that make them laugh and sometimes make them sad.

Ren MacCormack is transplanted from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont where loud music and dancing are prohibited. Not one to bow to the status quo, Ren challenges the ban, revitalizing the town and falling in love with the minister’s troubled daughter Ariel in the process.

