Best movies like Balzac: A Passionate Life
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
He burned with ambition. He lusted for life. He lived for passion. This is the sprawling saga of Honoré de Balzac (Gérard Depardieu), a man who created a great literary oeuvre from the dramas and adventures of his own life - a life that he shaped into one spectacular and unforgettable blaze of passion. At the heart of the story are the women in Balzac's life. Although gruff, unsophisticated, and far from handsome, Balzac exerts an irresistible fascination on women.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 648
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Italy, Germany
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, realistic, contemplative, stylized, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Balzac: A Passionate Life (1999):
Similar in 78%
Eva (1962)
Plot Summary:
Best-selling author Tyvian Jones has a life of leisure in Venice, Italy, until he has a chance encounter with sultry Frenchwoman Eva Olivier. He falls for her instantly, despite already having wedding plans with Francesca Ferrara. Winning Eva's affection proves elusive; she's more interested in money than in love. But Tyvian remain steadfast in his obsession, going after Eva with a fervor that threatens to destroy his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: noir, neo noir, psychological, atmospheric, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 76%
The Gambler (1997)
Plot Summary:
Under pressure from his publisher, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky gets work on his latest piece, 'Rouletenberg'. In the 27 days it takes for him to complete the novel reality and fiction become blurred; in this feverish atmosphere of excess Dostoyevsky's characters come to life as he struggles to complete his work.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 441
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: Netherlands, Hungary, UK
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: stylized, romantic drama, serious, realistic, independent film, light, sexy, enigmatic, depressing, breathtaking
Similar in 83%
Colonel Chabert (1994)
Plot Summary:
Colonel Chabert has been severely wounded in the French-Russian Napoleonic war to the point that the medical examiner has signed his death certificate. When he regains his health and memory, he goes back to Paris, where his "widow", Anne has married the Count Ferraud and is financing his rise to power using Chabert's money. Chabert hires a lawyer to help him get back his money and his honor.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: harsh, disturbing, talky, stylized, sentimental, serious, clever, bleak, romantic, psychological
Similar in 87%
Callas Forever (2002)
Plot Summary:
A fictionalized account of the last days of opera singer Maria Callas (Ardant).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Italy, France, Spain, UK, Romania
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, realistic, serious, crying
Similar in 88%
All the Mornings of the World (1991)
Plot Summary:
It's late 17th century. The viola da gamba player Monsieur de Sainte Colombe comes home to find that his wife died while he was away. In his grief he builds a small house in his garden into wich he moves to dedicate his life to music and his two young daughters Madeleine and Toinette, avoiding the outside world. Rumor about him and his music is widespread, and even reaches to the court of Louis XIV, who wants him at his court in Lully's orchestra, but Monsieur de Sainte Colombe refuses. One day a young man, Marin Marais, comes to see him with a request, he wants to be taught how to play the viol.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Music, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: visually stunning, emotional, stylized, romantic, gothic, spiritual, anthology, historical drama, mesmerizing, crying
Similar in 83%
Gabrielle (2005)
Plot Summary:
A seemingly ideal marriage is thrown into embarrassing turmoil in Patrice Chéreau's period drama, based on the short story The Return by Joseph Conrad.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Italy, Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, clever, emotional, realistic, contemplative, stylized, gloomy, crying, beautiful
Similar in 75%
Swann in Love (1984)
Plot Summary:
Swann (Jeremy Irons), an eligible bachelor in the best circles of fin-de-siècle Paris, has also some more vulgar but rich friends, the Verdurins. Through them he meets Odette (Ornella Muti), a courtesan, with whom he falls hopelessly in love. She seems to enjoy his company, for which he pays, but considers herself free to socialise and sleep where she pleases, particularly with a rival called de Forcheville. Swann’s passion turns to consuming jealousy, which leads him eventually to accept the social stigma of marrying her. One old friend, the overtly gay Charlus (Alain Delon), stays sympathetic.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, West Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, sexual, neurotic, sexy, period drama
Similar in 78%
Madame Bovary (1991)
Plot Summary:
Bored with the limited and tedious nature of provincial life in 19th-century France, the fierce and sensual Emma Bovary finds herself in calamitous debt and purses scandalous sexual liaisons with absolute abandon. However, when her volatile lifestyle catches up to her, the lives of everyone around her are endangered.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: realistic, melancholic, sexy, costume drama, intense, romantic, erotic, spiritual, art house, romantic drama
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Nathalie... (2003)
Plot Summary:
Paris doctor Catherine starts to think her husband, Bernard, is having an affair when she hears an unfamiliar woman's message on his voice mail. Hoping to learn more about his extramarital activities, Catherine heads to a strip club, where she hires call girl Nathalie to have a fling with Gerard. As the affair progresses, Nathalie gives Catherine regular status reports, and the relationship between the women evolves from business to personal.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Spain
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sexy, atmospheric, serious, psychological, realistic, anthology, surprise ending, sexual, erotic
Similar in 81%
Cousin Bette (1998)
Plot Summary:
Cousin Bette is a poor and lonely seamstress, who, after the death of her prominent and wealthy sister, tries to ingratiate herself into lives of her brother-in-law, Baron Hulot, and her niece, Hortense Hulot. Failing to do so, she instead finds solace and company in a handsome young sculptor she saves from starvation. But the aspiring artist soon finds love in the arms of another woman, Hortense, leaving Bette a bitter spinster. Bette plots to take revenge on the family who turned her away and stole her only love. With the help of famed courtesan Jenny Cadine she slowly destroys the lives of those who have scorned her. Written by [email protected].
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: light, humorous, talky, realistic, semi serious, witty, stylized, black comedy, erotic, gothic
Similar in 78%
Beyond the Clouds (1995)
Plot Summary:
Made of four short tales, linked by a story filmed by Wim Wenders. Taking place in Ferrara, Portofino, Aix en Provence and Paris, each story, which always a woman as the crux of the story, invites to an inner travel, as Antonioni says "towards the true image of that absolute and mysterious reality that nobody will ever see".
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France, Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: erotic, touching, emotional, colorful, atmospheric, psychological, serious, realistic, romantic, anthology
Similar in 83%
Angel (2007)
Plot Summary:
Edwardian England. A precocious girl from a poor background with aspirations to being a novelist finds herself swept to fame and fortune when her tasteless romances hit the best seller lists. Her life changes in unexpected ways when she encounters an aristocratic brother and sister, both of whom have cultural ambitions, and both of whom fall in love with her.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, realistic, witty, talky, period piece, romantic, costume drama, crying, period drama
Similar in 77%
Byron (2003)
Plot Summary:
Life and adventures of lord George Gordon Byron. BBC dramatization of the poet's final thirteen years.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, costume drama, crying, romantic drama, sexual, sexy, period drama
Similar in 82%
Germinal (1993)
Plot Summary:
It's mid 19th century, north of France. The story of a coal miner's town. They are exploited by the mine's owner. One day the decide to go on strike, and then the authorities repress them.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium, Italy
Duration: 160 min
Plot tags: political, emotional, realistic, philosophical, anthology, sincere, thought provoking, epic, serious, captivating
Similar in 78%
Vatel (2000)
Plot Summary:
In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth. The prince is craven in his longing for stature: no task is too menial or dishonorable for him to give Vatel. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity, he finds himself attracted to Anne de Montausier, the king's newest mistress. In Vatel, she finds someone who's authentic, living out his principles within the casual cruelties of court politics. Can the two of them escape unscathed?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, UK, Belgium
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: light, melancholic, tricky, captivating, visually appealing, period piece, costume drama, stylized, epic, political
Similar in 90%
Haunted Summer (1988)
Plot Summary:
Authors Lord Byron, Mary Shelley (née Godwin) and Percy Shelley get together for some philosophical discussions, but the situation soon deteriorates into mind games, drugs, and sex. It is a fictionalization of the summer that Lord Byron and the Shelleys, together with Lord Byron's ex-lover Claire Clairmont and his Doctor John Polidori, spent in the isolated Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva. It is there they devise a contest to adduce the best horror story to kill the dullness of summer. It is also there that one of the world's most famous books was given life—Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 568
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: intellectual, grindhouse, independent film, gothic, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 76%
The Children of the Century (1999)
Plot Summary:
True tale of the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons of the 19th Century, novelist George Sand and poet Alfred de Musset. But their affair falls apart during an excursion to Venice, Italy where Musset is distracted by drugs and Sand by a handsome doctor.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, sexy, captivating, stylized, erotic, romantic, visual, visually stunning, serious, emotional
Similar in 77%
Cet amour-l? (2001)
Plot Summary:
Cet Amour-là is an intimate portrait of a legendary love affair. Set against the beauty of the Breton seaside, it is also a film that revels in the insights that Marguerite Duras' writing affords.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 367
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, clever, realistic, talky, gloomy
Similar in 81%
Priest of Love (1981)
Plot Summary:
Following the banning and burning of his novel, "The Rainbow," D.H. Lawrence and his wife, Frieda, move to the United States, and then to Mexico. When Lawrence contracts tuberculosis, they return to England for a short time, then to Italy, where Lawrence writes "Lady Chatterley's Lover.".
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 505
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Mexico, Italy
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: intellectual, independent film, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, talky, romantic drama, historical drama
Similar in 85%
Summer in February (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Newlyn School of artists flourished at the beginning of the 20th Century and the film focuses on the wild and bohemian Lamorna Group, which included Alfred Munnings and Laura and Harold Knight. The incendiary anti-Modernist Munnings, now regarded as one of Britain's most sought-after artists, is at the centre of the complex love triangle, involving aspiring artist Florence Carter-Wood and Gilbert Evans, the land agent in charge of the Lamorna Valley estate. True - and deeply moving - the story is played out against the timeless beauty of the Cornish coast, in the approaching shadow of The Great War.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, retro, historical drama, realistic, stylized, costume drama, period drama
Similar in 77%
Nora (2000)
Plot Summary:
In 1904, in Dublin, James Joyce chats up Nora Barnacle, a hotel maid recently come from Galway. She enchants him with her frank, direct and uninhibited manner, and before long, he's convinced her to come with him to Trieste, where he has a job with Berlitz. Over time, Nora pulls him through phobias, tolerates his drinking, takes in his brother Stan, and bests Joyce at 'the writin' game' to bring him back to Italy from Dublin where he's gone to open a cinema. But his sexual jealousy threatens the relationship and sends her back to Galway with the children. Is there any way to tame Jim's green-eyed monster? And, will the lad ever get his stories published?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK, Italy, Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, sentimental, sincere, atmospheric, serious, sexual, sexy, period drama
Similar in 88%
Tom & Viv (1994)
Plot Summary:
The story of the marriage of the poet TS Eliot to socialite Vivienne Haigh-Wood, which had to cope with her gynaeological and emotional problems and his growing fame.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: romantic, psychological, romantic drama, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, independent film, light
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Bright Star (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: Australia, UK, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, period piece, romantic, touching, sad, costume drama, emotional, colorful, sentimental, witty
Similar in 83%
Surviving Picasso (1996)
Plot Summary:
The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, intense, romantic, heartbreaking, art film, romantic drama, historical drama, contemplative
Similar in 77%
Camille Claudel (1988)
Plot Summary:
The life of Camille Claudel, a french scupltor who becomes the apprentice of Auguste Rodin and later his lover. Her passion for her art and Rodin drive her further away from reason and rationality.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 175 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, intense, touching, heartbreaking, serious, captivating, disturbing, atmospheric, romantic
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Total Eclipse (1995)
Plot Summary:
Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lifestyle.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France, Belgium
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, erotic, costume drama, cult classic, psychological, sexual, thought provoking, lgbt cinema, artsy, historical drama
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Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Plot Summary:
This film, adapted from a work of fiction by author Tracy Chevalier, tells a story about the events surrounding the creation of the painting "Girl With A Pearl Earring" by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 82000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, period piece, costume drama, stylized, atmospheric, thought provoking, light, colorful, contemplative, serious
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The Heart of Me (2002)
Plot Summary:
Drama set in 1930s London with two sisters, Madeleine married to Rickie, and Dinah, who falls in love with him. Rickie and Dinah begin an affair which is to have repercussions throughout all their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, romantic drama, clever, erotic, romantic, spiritual, cult classic
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Miss Potter (2006)
Plot Summary:
The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness and success.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, period piece, costume drama, serious, realistic, sweet, romantic drama, motivational, intellectual
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Violette (2013)
Plot Summary:
Born out of wedlock early in the last century, Violette Leduc meets Simone de Beauvoir in postwar Saint-Germain-des-Près. An intense lifelong relationship develops between the two women authors, based on Violette's quest for freedom through writing and on Simone's conviction that she holds in her hands the destiny of an extraordinary writer.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, sincere, serious, psychological, intellectual, heartbreaking, existential, crying, queer cinema