🏷 Discover The Best Immigrant Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

40 titles with this tag

Exploring the Human Experience: Best Movies and TV Shows about Immigrants

Immerse yourself in the stories of those who have left their homelands in search of a better life, as we curate a list of the most impactful movies and TV shows about immigrants. From heart-wrenching dramas to inspiring true stories, discover the emotional journeys of those who have risked everything for a chance at a new beginning.

Cast

Jean Reno

Natalie Portman

Gary Oldman

Danny Aiello

Léon: The Professional (1994)

8.3 16.2K votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Country: France

Duration: 111 min.

Audience: R

Story: Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Style: suspenseful, tense

Plot: hotel room, new york city, immigrant, assassin, police brutality, corruption, s.w.a.t., hitman, ...

Cast

Clint Eastwood

Christopher Carley

Bee Vang

Ahney Her

Gran Torino (2008)

8.0 11.6K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America, Germany

Duration: 116 min.

Audience: R

Story: Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.

Plot: rape, war veteran, gangster, immigration, racist, old man, priest, gang, ...

Pachinko (2022) TV Show

7.9 264 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 16

Audience: TV-MA

Story: This sweeping saga chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in an indomitable quest to survive and thrive.

Style: melancholy, nostalgic, intimate, intense

Plot: gambling, based on novel or book, immigrant, family history, osaka, japan, east asian lead, immigrant family, ...

Cast

Bju00f6rk

Catherine Deneuve

David Morse

Peter Stormare

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

7.8 2.0K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama

Country: Denmark, Finland

Duration: 140 min.

Audience: R

Story: Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

Plot: factory worker, individual, immigrant, blindness and impaired vision, dancing, eye operation, small town, naivety, ...

Cast

Daniel Craig

Chris Evans

Ana de Armas

Jamie Lee Curtis

Knives Out (2019)

7.8 14.2K votes

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Country: United States of America

Duration: 131 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

Style: suspenseful

Plot: immigrant, detective, massachusetts, investigation, big family, mansion, whodunit, family home, ...

Cast

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Leslie Odom Jr.

Renu00e9e Elise Goldsberry

Phillipa Soo

Hamilton (2025)

7.8 125 votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 160 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Presenting the tale of American founding father Alexander Hamilton, this filmed version of the original Broadway smash hit is the story of America then, told by America now.

Plot: adultery, immigrant, corruption, upper class, presidential election, blackmail, musical, biography, ...

Time: 18th century, 19th century

Past Lives (2023)

7.7 2.4K votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America, South Korea

Duration: 106 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.

Plot: new york city, immigrant, friendship, nostalgia, woman between two men, interracial marriage, fate, playwright, ...

Cast

Stephanie Beatriz

Maru00eda Cecilia Botero

John Leguizamo

Diane Guerrero

Encanto (2021)

7.6 10.3K votes

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family

Country: United States of America

Duration: 102 min.

Audience: PG

Story: The tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.

Plot: strong woman, magic, sadness, immigration, supernatural, beauty, musical, big family, ...

Place: colombia

Bob Hearts Abishola (2019) TV Show

7.5 71 votes

Genre: Comedy

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 5

Episodes: 95

Audience: TV-14

Story: A love story about a middle-aged compression sock businessman from Detroit who unexpectedly falls for his cardiac nurse, a Nigerian immigrant, while recovering from a heart attack and sets his sights on winning her over.

Plot: nurse, bus, heart attack, immigrant, interracial relationship, interracial marriage, interracial romance, cultural difference, ...

Place: nigeria

Cast

Emily Beecham

Andreas Pietschmann

Aneurin Barnard

Isabella Wei

1899 (2022) TV Show

7.5 1.5K votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Country: Germany

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-MA

Story: When mysterious events change the course of an immigrant ship headed for New York in 1899, a mind-bending riddle unfolds for its bewildered passengers.

Style: psychological

Plot: sea, immigration, atlantic ocean, ship, dystopia, bermuda triangle, triangle, mind game, ...

Time: 19th century

Cast

Ha Jung-woo

Kim Yun-seok

Cho Seong-ha

Lee Cheol-min

The Yellow Sea (2010)

7.4 589 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Country: South Korea

Duration: 156 min.

Audience: R

Story: A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

Style: shocking

Plot: immigrant, police, taxi driver, gang war, beaten to death, murder, knife fight, mahjong, ...

Cast

Kumail Nanjiani

Zoe Kazan

Holly Hunter

Ray Romano

The Big Sick (2017)

7.3 2.7K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 120 min.

Audience: R

Story: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani and grad student Emily Gardner fall in love but struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail finds himself forced to face her feisty parents, his family's expectations, and his true feelings.

Plot: chicago, illinois, new york city, immigrant, muslim, roommates, sadness, sarcasm, ...

Place: pakistan

Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)

7.3 2.2K votes

Genre: Action, Drama, History

Country: China, Hong Kong

Duration: 105 min.

Audience: NR

Story: Following the death of his wife, Ip Man travels to San Francisco to ease tensions between the local kung fu masters and his star student, Bruce Lee, while searching for a better future for his son.

Plot: immigrant, martial arts, kung fu, fight, san francisco, california, chinatown, karate, ...

Time: 1960s

Place: california

Cast

Javier Bardem

Maricel u00c1lvarez

👤

Hanaa Bouchaib

Guillermo Estrella

Biutiful (2010)

7.3 1.2K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: Mexico, Spain

Duration: 148 min.

Audience: R

Story: This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.

Style: nostalgic, tense

Plot: immigrant, barcelona, spain, undocumented immigrant, chinese, single father, terminal cancer, harsh

Cast

Natalie Wood

Richard Beymer

Russ Tamblyn

Rita Moreno

West Side Story (1961)

7.2 2.0K votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 153 min.

Audience: NR

Story: In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall dangerously in love.

Style: romantic

Plot: new york city, immigrant, showdown, street gang, slum, love at first sight, highway, forbidden love, ...

Cast

Emilia Clarke

Henry Golding

Michelle Yeoh

Emma Thompson

Last Christmas (2019)

7.2 2.7K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Country: United Kingdom

Duration: 103 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Kate is a young woman who has a habit of making bad decisions, and her last date with disaster occurs after she accepts work as Santa's elf for a department store. However, after she meets Tom there, her life takes a new turn.

Style: intimate, intense

Plot: london, england, holiday, romcom, singing, homeless shelter, holiday season, angry, ...

Cast

John Lurie

Eszter Balint

Richard Edson

👤

Cecillia Stark

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

7.2 611 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: United States of America, Germany

Duration: 90 min.

Audience: R

Story: New York layabout Willie forms an unexpected bond with his young Hungarian cousin Eva when she pays him a surprise visit. Later, Eva moves in with their aunt in Cleveland, and Willie takes his best friend Eddie to see her—a visit that culminates in a strange, eventful trip to Florida.

Plot: bet, new york city, immigrant, friendship, card game, horse race, american dream, road movie, ...

Place: florida, hungary

Cast

Richard Jenkins

Haaz Sleiman

Danai Gurira

Hiam Abbass

The Visitor (2008)

7.1 508 votes

Genre: Crime, Drama, Music

Country: United States of America

Duration: 104 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.

Plot: michigan, immigration, illegal immigration, drum, search for meaning, meaning of life, meaningless existence, college professor, ...

Cast

Anthony Ramos

Corey Hawkins

Leslie Grace

Melissa Barrera

In the Heights (2021)

7.1 800 votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: United States of America

Duration: 143 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: The story of Usnavi, a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic or staying in Washington Heights.

Plot: new york city, immigration, illegal immigration, blackout, graffiti, aunt niece relationship, lottery, musical, ...

The Disaster Artist (2017)

7.1 3.8K votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 104 min.

Audience: R

Story: An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.

Plot: immigrant, jealousy, based on novel or book, ambition, biography, based on true story, behind the scenes, disaster, ...

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