Best movies like Bread and Roses
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Maya is a quick-witted young woman who comes over the Mexican border without papers and makes her way to the LA home of her older sister Rosa. Rosa gets Maya a job as a janitor: a non-union janitorial service has the contract, the foul-mouthed supervisor can fire workers on a whim, and the service-workers' union has assigned organizer Sam Shapiro to bring its "justice for janitors" campaign to the building. Sam finds Maya a willing listener, she's also attracted to him. Rosa resists, she has an ailing husband to consider. The workers try for public support; management intimidates workers to divide and conquer. Rosa and Maya as well as workers and management may be set to collide.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, political, melancholic, disturbing, sincere, independent film, social, intense, cult classic, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Bread and Roses (2000):
Similar in 82%
Illegal (2010)
Plot Summary:
Tania, a young Russian woman who lives illegally in Belgium with her 13-year-old son Ivan. Constantly on her guard, she dreads police checks until the day she is arrested.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 936
Genere: Drama
Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, captivating, emotional, political, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
I, Daniel Blake (2016)
Plot Summary:
A middle aged carpenter, who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France, Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: political, disturbing, touching, emotional, realistic, compassionate, bleak, social, independent film, sad
Similar in 86%
It's a Free World... (2007)
Plot Summary:
The film focuses on Angie (Kierston Wareing), a working class woman who, after being fired by the agency that she works for, decides to set up a recruitment agency of her own, running it from her kitchen with her friend Rose (Juliet Ellis). Taking advantage of the desperation of immigrants, Angie is able to build a successful business extremely quickly.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, epic, political, social, bleak
Similar in 77%
Drifters (2003)
Plot Summary:
The young adult life of Hong Yunsheng, nicknamed Little Brother, is seen as somewhat of a failure by those that know him. A Chinese national, he stowed away on a boat to the United States, where he worked as a dishwasher in the restaurant of a family from his hometown back in Fujian province. After two years in the States and after fathering an illegitimate child there named Fusheng, the child's mother Xuhui who is the restaurateur's daughter, he was deported back to China. Since, he has been floundering in life, which has caused a rift between himself and his older brother, who, with his wife, operate a street front diner and can't have children of their own. Little Brother relies on his new girlfriend, a woman he barely knows named Wu Ruifang who is a performer in a touring opera troupe, for emotional support. Despite Little Brother being the local poster boy for not stowing away, his friend named Monkey tried to do the same, but died on the voyage over due to exposure to toxic.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, sincere, crying
Similar in 78%
Just Great (1972)
Plot Summary:
Godard examines the structure of movies, relationships and revolutions through the life of a couple in Paris.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: political, surreal, sincere, thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, witty, contemplative, talky
Similar in 86%
Ladybird Ladybird (1994)
Plot Summary:
Maggie has had four children, by four different fathers, removed by social services because of a previous violent relationship. When she meets Jorge, a gentle Latin American refugee, she gradually sees her chance for happiness, but her history still haunts her.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sad, disturbing, realistic, biting, independent film, social, detective, sincere, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 88%
Chasing Freedom (2004)
Plot Summary:
New York attorney Libby (Juliette Lewis) is a go-getter who won't let anyone stand in the way of her success. But when she accepts a pro bono case involving young Afghan dissident Meena (Layla Alizada), Libby finds her corporate dreams replaced by a growing sense of idealism. Seeking asylum in the United States after years of oppression under the Taliban, Meena desperately wants freedom, and Libby is her only hope. But can Libby deliver?.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 415
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, emotional, disturbing, inspirational, informative, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating
Similar in 81%
Lulu the Tool (1971)
Plot Summary:
A conscientious factory worker gets his finger cut off by a machine. The accident causes him to become more involved in political and revolutionary groups.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, realistic, serious, political, philosophical, surreal, grindhouse, contemplative
Similar in 84%
The City (1998)
Plot Summary:
The stories of four Hispanic immigrants living in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 375
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: black and white, independent film, anthology, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, neorealism, crying
Similar in 90%
The Scrounger (1961)
Plot Summary:
A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: neorealism, realistic, serious, disturbing, talky, sentimental, atmospheric, psychological, rough, erotic
Similar in 83%
Katie Tippel (1975)
Plot Summary:
In the late 19th century, a young woman moves to Amsterdam with her family and tries to make a living. Preyed upon by various men, she nonetheless rises in society.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: cult classic, touching, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, sexual, sexy, cult film
Similar in 77%
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
Plot Summary:
A gritty Brooklyn story about union corruption, violence, taboos and social norms. The stories told are of the sailors, the prostitute, the union bosses, the hooligans and the gay community set in the early 50s.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, rough, intense, social, tense, period piece, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 78%
In This World (2002)
Plot Summary:
Torn straight from the headlines, Michael Winterbottom's compelling and prescient 'In This World' follows young Afghan Jamal and his older cousin Enayat as they embark on a hazardous overland trip from their refugee camp at Peshawar, north-west Pakistan. Entering Turkey on foot through a snowy, Kurdish-controlled pass, the pair again take their lives into their hands and face suffocation when they are locked in a freight container on a ship bound for Italy. From there they plan to travel on to Paris, the Sangatte refuge centre and ultimately asylum in London.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: bleak, road movie, inspirational, disturbing, sincere, suspenseful, political, realistic, tense, thought provoking
Similar in 78%
Sorry We Missed You (2019)
Plot Summary:
A story exploring the issue of hardship in modern-day Britain through a young couple scraping to get by in a casual jobs market. A hard-up delivery driver and his carer wife are pushed to breaking point as they struggle to keep their family afloat in a world of zero-hour contracts and gig work.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France, Belgium
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: political, social, psychological, sincere, realistic, disturbing, inspirational, road movie, educational, independent film
Similar in 80%
All or Nothing (2002)
Plot Summary:
Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy, and she works on the checkout at a supermarket.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, bleak, serious, realistic, meditative, sentimental, sincere, talky, offbeat
Similar in 87%
The Circle (2000)
Plot Summary:
Various women struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: Iran, Italy, Switzerland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: bleak, disturbing, harsh, atmospheric, sincere, contemplative, thought provoking, spiritual, avant garde, art house
Similar in 77%
Strike (2006)
Plot Summary:
In poverty, she found strength. In oppression, she found courage. In solidarity, she found a reason to believe again. Acclaimed German actress Katharina Thalbach (THE TIN DRUM, SOPHIES CHOICE) stars in this hard-hitting historical drama set during the rise of Polands Solidarity movement. An illiterate single mother, Agnieszka Kowalska is a Socialist "heroine of labor" for working long hours as a shipyard welder until her superiors deny compensation to the widows of 21 workers killed in an industrial disaster. Risking her job, her life, and the love of her son to defy the bureacracy, Agnieszka inspires the largest labor strike in world history and becomes a national hero. Volker Schlöndorff adapted this "ballad based on historical events" from the biography of Anna Walentynowicz, the free trade activist who mobilized a million Poles for Solidarity and helped hasten the fall of Communism. Filmed entirely on location at Polands Lenin Shipyard, where history was made.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 490
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, Poland
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, sincere, captivating
Similar in 77%
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1920s Ireland young doctor Damien O'Donovan prepares to depart for a new job in a London hospital. As he says his goodbyes at a friend's farm, British Black and Tans arrive, and a young man is killed. Damien joins his brother Teddy in the Irish Republican Army, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Ireland, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, bleak, brutal, factual, bloody, captivating, dramatic, period piece, realistic, sexy
Similar in 78%
Carla's Song (1996)
Plot Summary:
A Glasgow man (Robert Carlyle) visits war-torn Nicaragua with a refugee (Oyanka Cabezas) tormented by her memories.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, Spain, Germany
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, independent film, tense, sincere, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspense, crying
Similar in 78%
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 83%
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Plot Summary:
Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Spain
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sentimental, bleak, realistic, depressing, heartbreaking, compassionate, touching, sincere, emotional
Similar in 84%
Walkout (2006)
Plot Summary:
Walkout is the true story of a young Mexican American high school teacher, Sal Castro. He mentors a group of students in East Los Angeles, when the students decide to stage a peaceful walkout to protest the injustices of the public school system. Set against the background of the civil rights movement of 1968, it is a story of courage and the fight for justice and empowerment.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating, political, informative, thought provoking, freeze frame
Similar in 79%
Blame it on Fidel (2006)
Plot Summary:
A 9-year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, political, epic, historical drama, sincere, crying
Similar in 79%
Liam (2000)
Plot Summary:
A morality tale of xenophobia, religious prejudice, mob violence, poverty, and their effect on two children in Liverpool during the Depression. When a shipyard closes, Liam and Teresa's dad loses his job. Liam, who's about 8, making his first Holy Communion, gets a regular dose of fire and brimstone at church. Teresa, about 13, has a job as a maid to the Jewish family that owns the closed shipyard. The lady of that house is having an affair, and Teresa becomes an accomplice. Liam stutters terribly, especially when troubled. Dad comes under the sway of the Fascists, who blame cheap Irish labor and Jewish owners. A Molotov cocktail brings things to a head.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, Germany, France, Italy
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, emotional, sincere, depressing, intense, tense, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 77%
North Country (2005)
Plot Summary:
A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States -- Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: dramatic, sincere, emotional, factual, disturbing, inspirational, realistic, educational, rough, touching
Similar in 85%
Norma Rae (1979)
Plot Summary:
Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: inspirational, political, touching, philosophical, feel good, sad, aesthetic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking
Similar in 77%
The Deputy and the Congressman (1978)
Plot Summary:
Madrid, Roberto Orbea is a member of the Spanish communist party. He is married to Carmen, and he has been elected as Deputy in the first democratic elections in Spain. But his enemies, the fascist, know his double life. Roberto likes boys, and they hire Juanito to seduce the politician. They fall in love.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 720
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: political, social, sensual, sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, crying, independent film
Similar in 81%
Harlan County War (2000)
Plot Summary:
A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly dying of black lung disease, joins the picket lines for a long, violent strike.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 604
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, disturbing, rough, realistic, independent film, captivating, political, sincere, bleak, serious
Similar in 78%
Babel (2006)
Plot Summary:
Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 314000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico, France
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: emotional, atmospheric, non-linear, sincere, bleak, depressing, art house, touching, breathtaking, melancholic
Similar in 88%
Detachment (2011)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of three weeks in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of substitute teacher, Henry Barthes. Henry roams from school to school, imparting modes of knowledge, but never staying long enough to form any semblance of sentient attachment.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: depressing, psychological, bleak, thought provoking, touching, sad, independent film, serious, inspirational, emotional