Best movies like By Design
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Angie and Helen are in love and they live and work together - they design women's clothes and run their own fashion business in Vancouver. Helen wants to be a mother. Angie loves Helen and if Helen can't feel fulfilled without a child she is willing for them to become parents.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film
Best tv shows and movies like By Design (1981):
Similar in 86%
Demain (2009)
Plot Summary:
A young woman taking care of her diabetic father gets involved in a one way relationship. Portrait of a generation about to replace another, Demain is a film based on an inertia marked youth, and on it's precursors confronted to their own disappearance.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 66
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: erotic
Similar in 79%
Recommendation for Mercy (1975)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by true events, a 14 year-old boy is accused of raping and murdering a little girl.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 86
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 90%
Claude et Greta (1970)
Plot Summary:
A stylish sensual sample of European erotica about an aspiring model in Paris who becomes a participant in a relationship with a lesbian.Her female lover becomes too possessive, the model takes a job with an homosexual painter.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 135
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sensual, erotic
Similar in 83%
Permissive (1970)
Plot Summary:
When Suzy arrives in London to visit an old school friend, she is unwittingly plunged into the ruthless world of the 'groupie'. Fuelled by sex, drugs and jealousy, her new lifestyle fosters in her a cold, cynical instinct for survival. But tragedy is never far away. With its effective blend of gritty location work, brooding flash-forward devices, and a soundtrack by cult acid folk and prog rock legends Comus, Forever More - who also star - and Titus Groan, Permissive is a dark British counter-cultural artefact that's shot through with grim authenticity. As a bonus, this release also includes Stanley Long's ultra-rare Bread, a film which, whilst exploring the same cultural milieu as Permissive (and featuring its own bona fide cult British rock band, Juicy Lucy), takes a somewhat more lighthearted approach to its subject.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 313
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: offbeat, independent film
Similar in 79%
Out of the Blue (2007)
Plot Summary:
Marion, a 50 year old woman, suddenly ups and leaves the man with whom she has been living for the past 20 years; she has found herself, midlife, in love with her friend Claude, another woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 87
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Who's Child Am I? (1976)
Plot Summary:
Paul Freeman (of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK fame) and Kate O'Mara plays a couple who can't have a baby, so they go to the doctor to have an artificial insemination...blackmail, dark secrets and drama ensue.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 43
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 76%
Dandelions (1974)
Plot Summary:
no overview.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Drama
Country: West Germany
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
La mia preda (1990)
Plot Summary:
An eighteen year old beautiful and restless girl runs away from home to find freedom which she much dreamed of. She come across, instead, is the unsavory characters that start on the road to prostitution.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 23
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
House of 1000 Pleasures (1974)
Plot Summary:
Marcel is a taxi driver who luckily pickups a gorgeous woman who begins to undress herself while in the back seat. Soon she leads him to a Private Club where he can pick any woman he wants to satisfy his sexual fantasies. After he enjoys a few exciting moments with 2 lovely ladies he is introduced to the many characters that make up the Private Club and begins enjoying the sexual games. The Private Club isn't all that's on Marcel's mind though as he is madly in love with Lisa who he met in Paris.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 87
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Submission (1969)
Plot Summary:
A psycho sex-fiend keeps his infantile girlfriend Vicky in Submission with candy bars, toys and, yes, hot wax. But when they plan on killing a wealthy lesbian, Vicky discovers she likes a woman's touch and plans a nasty surprise for her boneheaded boyfriend!.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 81
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Love in the Mirror (1999)
Plot Summary:
In 17th century France, a theater troupe is allowed by its patron to go to Paris to produce an erotic play. The head of the troupe dreams of fame while his wife, the leading actress, and a new leading girl fall for each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 107
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Ciudad de Ciegos (1991)
Plot Summary:
Over more than thirty years, a department of the Condesa in Mexico City, is the setting in which they are carried out ten stories, mixed, form one whose only constant is the rupture. The passage of time and the outside world only guess through the windows and objects that come with the characters. The set is a great solitude, possible in a city of the blind.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 132
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
The Reject (2007)
Plot Summary:
A man whose life is on the verge of collapse looks for new inspiration in this drama from Serbian filmmaker Milos Radivojevic. On was once a reporter, but now makes his living working as a public relations man for a banking firm. On is in his forties and has started to sink into a mid-life depression. On's wife has left him and while he tries to keep in touch with her and his daughter, he feels they're drifting away from him. On often finds himself retreating into a world of daydreams, which becomes all the more common after he loses his job. On struggles to drown in ennui with alcohol, gambling and meaningless sex, but matters only get worse as he learns that his elderly mother's health is failing, and he can no longer keep up with the bills for her medical care. When On discovers some forgotten savings, he sets out on a vacation in hopes of recapturing his muse, with his beautiful and loyal secretary in tow. Film received its American premiere at the 2008 Palm Springs Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 123
Genere: Drama
Country: Serbia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
The Two Faces of Love (1972)
Plot Summary:
Eleana (played by Anna Fonsou) is a prostitute who appears to have been abused when she was younger. During her daily encounters with various clients, she meets a young labourer called Christos whom she momentarily tries to develop a normal relationship with. Old habits die hard and she soon hits the streets again but it's too late, Christos has become infatuated with Eleana and plans to marry her. Gradually, the pressure and stress of the situation starts to take it's toll on Eleana's sanity and leads to a surreal, nightmarish climax!.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Siren's Kiss (1995)
Plot Summary:
A painter has serious creative block. He decides that two nude models living in his house might help. His wife objects, or does she?.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 179
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 82%
The Zone (2011)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious visitor spends the night at an apartment belonging to a young engaged couple and their friend. Over the course of the night and the following day he sleeps with all three roommates and then disappears, leading to conversations about God, life and filmmaking.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 298
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, sexy, psychological, tense, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, heartfelt, experimental
Similar in 81%
Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid (1981)
Plot Summary:
Set within the super-rich jet-set society of Paris, Richard Harris portrays a man whose life is gradually being destroyed. From sexual trauma to financial disaster, he slowly descends into a world of insanity, perversion and finally the bottomless pit!.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 89%
Chinese Chocolate (1995)
Plot Summary:
Searching for love abroad, two very different Chinese women, a dancer and a doctor, follow their dreams and journey west to Canada. They quickly learn that the paths of heart are rocky as the men in their lives reveal dark, unsettling secrets which change the lives of everyone forever. Intimately and honestly exploring for the first time the sexuality of Chinese women living in a foreign culture, this award-winning study of love and relationship makes for a unforgettable treat.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 128
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 77%
Sadness and Beauty (1985)
Plot Summary:
Hugo is a writer whose one great book was based on an affair he had with Lea, a sculptor. Bereft of inspiration for a follow-up, Hugo returns years later to rekindle the flame of romance and creativity. Lea soundly rejects him, and her student Prudence feels a burning hatred for the man who deserted the teacher she admires.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 93
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tragic
Similar in 77%
My Rabbit is the Best (1982)
Plot Summary:
A young girl interned in reformatory lives the lesbian relationship with another partner, which makes her an object of desire.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 78
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: erotic
Similar in 77%
Summer Temptations (1988)
Plot Summary:
In a villa on an island (St. Peter) a little out of season, inhabit Vanessa, a young widow, and stepdaughters Kikki and alive. Vanessa had married their father above all because it was very rich. After her husband's death, Vanessa decided to keep him Alive and Kikki and also call Roberto, her former lover, now a professor with the aim of preparing the two girls to the maturity examination. Shortly after his arrival, he establishes an atmosphere heavy with half-empty Island the villa that seems almost a luxury prison do understand immediately that the stepmother and stepdaughters will hate and despise each other.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexploitation film
Similar in 81%
A Fit of Rage (1999)
Plot Summary:
The torrid love affair between a 40-year-old man who lives isolated from the world, in his small farm nearby São Paulo and a politically engaged 30-year-old journalist. One morning, after a night of wild lovemaking, he notices a hole made by sauba ants in his fence. This simple fact raises accusations and discord between the two lovers.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 555
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: sexual, erotic, sexy, weird
Similar in 89%
Tick Tock Lullaby (2007)
Plot Summary:
A wry interweave film about baby making and how as time marches on the decision gets more intense and less romantic.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, talky, independent film
Similar in 77%
Kamikaze Hearts (1986)
Plot Summary:
Alternately distressing, instructive, contestable, and fascinating, Juliet Bashore's 1986 documentary about a lesbian couple working in the porn industry—a cynical older woman (Sharon “Mitch” Mitchell), who is a seasoned porn star, and her lover (known as Tigr), who is an uneasy newcomer to this world, where drugs play a significant role—offers a disturbing glimpse of the modification of bodies, feelings, and lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 299
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: retro, sensual, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Chorus (2015)
Plot Summary:
A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 511
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, touching, realistic, bleak, serious, black and white, gloomy, crying
Similar in 85%
I Love You (1981)
Plot Summary:
Man meets woman, and invites her home. The two start an intense relationship in order to shield themselves from loneliness.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 670
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: pornochanchada, psychological, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy, weird
Similar in 81%
Two Mothers (2013)
Plot Summary:
The unexpected difficulty of becoming mothers through the means of artificial insemination slowly erodes the relationship between Katja and Isabella.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 599
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: captivating, lgbt cinema, independent film, entertaining, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
United States of Love (2016)
Plot Summary:
Poland, 1990. The first euphoric year of freedom, but also of uncertainty for the future. Four apparently happy women of different ages decide it's time to change their lives, and fulfill their desires.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, Sweden
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, touching, contemplative, social, visually appealing
Similar in 77%
Nuit #1 (2011)
Plot Summary:
Clara and Nikolai meet at a sweat-soaked rave and end their night at his apartment. The first part of the film is an erotic and candid portrait of their lovemaking. When Clara tries to sneak out without saying goodbye, this typical hookup takes an unexpected turn.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 886
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, talky, emotional, realistic, erotic, sexy, contemplative, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 90%
Testing the Limits (1998)
Plot Summary:
Mike and Toni are on their way to the mountains for a romantic weekend, when their car breaks down. The couple take shelter in an empty cabin, unaware that it is being used by bisexual photographer Jan who is on an erotic shoot with model Kristin. Things get more complicated when Glen, a fashion editor, arrives. Soon inhibitions (and underwear) are being freely cast aside. But the lovers' reverie is broken when Kristin's psychotic boyfriend breaks in, seeking vengeance.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 401
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy, sexual, sensual, explicit, independent film, hot, sexploitation film