Best movies like Black Venus
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The story of Saartjes Baartman, a Black domestic who, in 1808, left Southern Africa, then ruled by Dutch settlers, for Europe, following her boss Hendrick Caesar , hoping to find fame and fortune there. Once in London her master turned manager does nothing but exhibit her as a freak in a phony and humiliating carnival show. After a series of troubles caused by their act, Caesar, Saartje and their new friend, bear-tamer Réaux, head for Paris where once again, and against her will, she has to mimic savagery and expose her body, first in carnivals, then in the aristocratic salons of Paris, later on among the libertines and finally in brothels where she ends up being a prostitute. In the meantime, French anatomists will have taken an interest in her unusual anatomy (enormous buttocks and labia) only to declare her the missing link from ape to man. In 1815, aged only 27, she dies alone, of a combination of pneumonia and venereal disease.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, thought provoking, realistic, erotic, existential horror, gloomy, iconic, tragic
Best tv shows and movies like Black Venus (2010):
Similar in 83%
Black Girl (1966)
Plot Summary:
Eager to find a better life abroad, a Senegalese woman becomes a mere governess to a family in southern France, suffering from discrimination and marginalization.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Senegal, France
Duration: 65 min
Plot tags: black and white, sincere, thought provoking, bleak, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, black cinema, cult film
Similar in 84%
The Royal Exchange (2017)
Plot Summary:
In 1721, the Regent of France, wanting to seal the peace with Spain, offers to the Spanish King, a marriage between their respective heirs: Louis XV, age 11, and Maria Anna Victoria, the 4-year-old Spanish infanta. The Regent of France also offers to marry his daughter, Mademoiselle de Montpensier, 12, to the Prince of Asturias, the 14-year-old heir apparent to the Spanish throne. Madrid responds enthusiastically to both proposals, and the ceremonies are promptly organized. The exchange of the princesses is to take place with great pomp on a small island, in the river bordering the two countries. Everything has been done to expect the best of the children, but nothing will proceed as planned.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, captivating, scenic, thought provoking, art house
Similar in 84%
The Last Supper (1976)
Plot Summary:
A pious plantation owner attempts to teach Christianity to 12 of his slaves by inviting them to participate in a reenactment of the Last Supper.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 680
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Cuba
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, witty, disturbing, cynical
Similar in 88%
Stories of Our Lives (2014)
Plot Summary:
Created by the members of a Nairobi-based arts collective — who have removed their names from the film for fear of reprisal — this anthology film that dramatizes true-life stories from Kenya’s oppressed LGBTQ community is both a labour of love and a bold act of militancy.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 103
Genere: Drama
Country: Kenya, South Africa
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, stylized, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Black Shack Alley (1983)
Plot Summary:
Martinique, in the early 1930s. Young José and his grandmother live in a small village. Nearly everyone works cutting cane and barely earning a living. The overseer can fine a worker for the smallest infraction. The way to advance is to do well in school. José studies hard and succeeds in an exam allowing him to attend school in the capital. With only a partial scholarship, the tuition is very costly. José and his grandmother move to Fort-de-France to make José's studies easier.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Martinique
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Secret of the Grain (2007)
Plot Summary:
At the port of Sète, Mr. Slimani, a tired 60-year-old, drags himself toward a shipyard job that has become more and more difficult to cope with as the years go by. He is a divorced father who forces himself to stay close to his family despite the schisms and tensions that are easily sparked off and that financial difficulties make even more intense. He is going through a delicate period in his life and, recently, everything seems to make him feel useless: a failure. He wants to escape from it all and set up his own restaurant. However, it appears to be an unreachable dream given his meager, irregular salary that is not anywhere near enough to supply what he needs to realize his ambition. But he can still dream and talk about it with his family in particular. A family that gradually gives its support to this project, which comes to symbolize the means to a better life. Thanks to its ingeniousness and hard work, this dream soon becomes a reality...or almost.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 151 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, touching, realistic, culinary, clever, contemplative, talky, beautiful
Similar in 79%
The Gate (2014)
Plot Summary:
Two decades after forging an unlikely alliance in Pol Pot's Cambodia, a French ethnologist and a former Khmer Rouge official meet again after the latter is arrested for crimes against humanity.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 371
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Cambodia, Belgium
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, serious, captivating, thought provoking, bleak, realistic
Similar in 86%
The 13 Roses (2007)
Plot Summary:
True story of thirteen totally normal young women that suffered harsh questioning and were put in prison under made up charges of helping the rebellion against Franco back in the 1940s. Despite of their innocence, the thirteen were soon executed without even a trace of evidence of any wrong doing.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Spain, Italy
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: disturbing, thought provoking, touching, emotional, political, social, hispanic, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 83%
Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad (1994)
Plot Summary:
A number of slaves risk their lives to escape their masters with their only help coming from the famous secret slave escape network.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 185
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: political, edutainment, sincere, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Marchers (2013)
Plot Summary:
In 1983, in France experiencing intolerance and racial violence , three young teens and the priest Minguettes launching a largely peaceful march for equality and against racism, over 1,000 km between Marseille and Paris . Despite the difficulties and resistance encountered, their movement will bring about a real boost of hope in the way of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. They unite with their arrival more than 100 000 people from all walks of life and give France its new face.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 404
Genere: Comedy, Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, thought provoking, biting, suspense
Similar in 79%
The Organizer (1963)
Plot Summary:
Professor Sinigaglia (Marcello Mastroianni) is the title character in this darkly comedic Italian drama about mistreated factory workers in the city of Turin. Toiling away in appalling conditions in a textile mill, these employees have no one to stand up for them until Sinigaglia puts his academic career on the line by helping them to start a strike. Although the teacher comes under scrutiny by unsympathetic authorities, he maintains his dedication to the workers' cause.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Italy, France, Yugoslavia
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, odd
Similar in 82%
Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the events that led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, factual, banned
Similar in 85%
The Supper (1992)
Plot Summary:
France, 1815. After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon heads for exile. Royalists occupy Paris and attempt to restore the monarchy. However, the battle doesn't seem to be over. On July 6, Talleyrand, a shrewd politician of flexible convictions, invites chief of police and zealous revolutionary Fouché to supper and tries to convince him to serve the king. Over the meal they insult each other, accuse each other, and, at first sight, look like mortal enemies. But they definitely have one thing in common: they are both power-hungry.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: political, thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, talky, cynical, biting
Similar in 83%
One Nation, One King (2018)
Plot Summary:
Un peuple et son roi crosses the destinies of the men and women of the population, and those of historical figures. Their meeting place is the newly founded National Assembly. At the heart of the story lie the fate of the king and the birth of the French Republic….
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: realistic, factual, tense, captivating, political
Similar in 85%
That Night in Varennes (1982)
Plot Summary:
In June of 1791, a group of passengers in a stagecoach find themselves caught up in the events of the French Revolution, when they find themselves in the city of Varennes when revolutionists arrest the fleeing King Louis.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: historical drama, road movie, costume drama, serious, realistic, surprise ending, period drama, baroque, eighties, masterpiece
Similar in 87%
The Radicals (1989)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Anabaptist movement and two of its first leaders, Michael and Margaretha Sattler.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: biblical, independent film, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Anton Chekhov 1890 (2015)
Plot Summary:
Summer 1890. In order to make some money to feed his family, Anton Chekhov, modest physician, wrote short stories for newspapers to sign Antosha Tchékhonté. Important characters, writer and editor, just make him aware of his talent. His situation is improving and Anton Chekhov gets the Pushkin prices and admiration of Tolstoy. But when one of his brothers died of tuberculosis, Anton saw it as a personal failure and wants to escape his fame and his love.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 297
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, captivating, gloomy, costume drama
Similar in 86%
Death of a Prophet (1981)
Plot Summary:
After breaking ties with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X became a man marked for death...and it was just a matter of time before his enemies closed in. Despite death threats and intimidation, Malcolm marched on - continuing to spread the word of equality and brotherhood right up until the moment of his brutal and untimely assassination. Highlighted by newsreel footage and interviews, this is the story of the last twenty-four hours of Malcolm X. Featuring the music of jazz percussionist Max Roach.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 294
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, controversial
Similar in 86%
Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events, The Lena Baker Story recounts one African-American womans struggle to rise above the challenges of her life, to face the choices she makes, and to ultimately triumph over her...Lena Baker was the first and only woman to be sentenced to death by the electric chair in the state of Georgia and was executed in 1945. She was pardoned posthumously in 2005.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 405
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008)
Plot Summary:
Religious and cultural reawakening inspires rebellion in a 19th century Norwegian village.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: epic, serious, captivating, realistic, esoteric, bleak
Similar in 82%
The Minister (2011)
Plot Summary:
Transport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean is awoken in the middle of the night by his head of staff. A bus has gone off the road into a gully. He has no choice but to go to the scene of the accident. Thus begins the odyssey of a politician in a world that is increasingly more complex and hostile.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, realistic, serious, captivating, contemplative, stylized, political, clever
Similar in 89%
The Long Walk Home (1990)
Plot Summary:
Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott lead by Martin Luther King.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: inspirational, independent film, touching, realistic, political, gothic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 90%
Miral (2010)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: France, Israel, Italy, India, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, emotional, stylized, inspirational, breathtaking, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 89%
Bless You, Prison (2002)
Plot Summary:
Based on Nicole Valery-Grossu's European best seller autobiographic novel "Bless you, prison", the film is a true story, with real events and characters. A young intellectual woman, Nicole is arrested. There follow three months of exhausting interrogation and isolation. Alone in a cell, she undergoes a spiritual experience similar to that of the great mystics.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 543
Genere: Drama
Country: Romania
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: uplifting, thought provoking, disturbing, captivating, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Winnie Mandela (2011)
Plot Summary:
A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 880
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: South Africa, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, political
Similar in 90%
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, France, South Africa
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, realistic, political, inspirational, educational, social, novela, cult classic, informative
Similar in 90%
Cry Freedom (1987)
Plot Summary:
A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko, a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, Zimbabwe, USA
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: inspirational, political, cult classic, political thriller, edutainment, tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating
Similar in 90%
Endgame (2009)
Plot Summary:
The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, sincere, serious, captivating, exciting, thought provoking, epic, realistic, political, contemplative
Similar in 76%
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Plot Summary:
Ghosts of Mississippi is a drama covering the final trial of the assassin, Bryon De La Beckwith, of the 60s civil rights leader Medgar Evers. It begins with the murder and the events surrounding the two initial trials which both ended in a hung jury. The movie then covers District Attorney, Bobby DeLaughters transformation and alliance with Myrlie Evers, wife of Medgar Evers, of the, as he becomes more involved with bringing Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. Some of the characters are played by the actual participants in this story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: inspirational, talky, factual, intense, compassionate, sincere, thought provoking, serious, political, political thriller
Similar in 81%
Suffragette (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement who were forced underground to evade the State.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: captivating, inspirational, political, factual, educational, bleak, period piece, costume drama, historical drama, thought provoking