Best movies like Cousin Bette
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like Cousin Bette (1998):
Similar in 78%
Elective Affinities (1996)
Plot Summary:
After an architect (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) is invited to the home of his associate, the harmony of the place comes undone with the visitor's attraction to someone.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 663
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
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 86%
The Europeans (1979)
Plot Summary:
Based on Henry James' novel with the same title. It's the fall of 1850, a few miles outside Boston. The household of the dour Mr. Wentworth receives two unannounced visitors from Europe, Eugenia and Felix, the daughter and son of his half sister. Gertrude, one of Wentworth's two daughters, is instantly infatuated with her cousins, thinking them sophisticated and worldly. She turns her back on the local Unitarian minister, Mr. Brand, who has been calling on her, to delight in the pleasure and amusement Felix offers. Another wealthy neighbor, Mr. Acton, is attracted to Eugenia, who is going through a divorce with a European aristocrat. Are the Americans being used by the penniless Europeans? Or is there real affection?.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: romantic drama, historical drama, realistic, stylized, semi serious, biting, independent film, costume drama, suspense, period drama
Similar in 75%
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
Similar in 83%
The Divorce (2003)
Plot Summary:
While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sexy, talky, light, realistic, witty, semi serious, art house, anamorphic, clever, humorous
Similar in 76%
Being Julia (2004)
Plot Summary:
Julia Lambert is a true diva: beautiful, talented, weathly and famous. She has it all - including a devoted husband who has mastermined her brilliant career - but after years of shining in the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young American fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortuately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, USA, Hungary, UK
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: period piece, emotional, entertaining, stylized, sincere, witty, touching, romantic, historical drama, feel good
Similar in 81%
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)
Plot Summary:
A penniless middle-aged spinster scrapes by giving piano lessons in the Dublin of the 1950s. She makes a sad last bid for love with a fellow resident of her rundown boarding house, who imagines she has the money to bankroll the business he hopes to open.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy, crying, independent film
Similar in 81%
Ham Ham (1992)
Plot Summary:
Jose Luis is an executive at his parents underwear factory where his girlfriend Sylvia works on the shop floor. When Sylvia becomes pregnant, Jose Luis promises her that he will marry her, most likely against the wishes of his parents. Jose Luis' mother is determined to break her son's engagement to a girl from a lower-class family, and hires Raul, a potential underwear model and would-be bullfighter to seduce Sylvia.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Spain
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: erotic, humorous, dark comedy, sensual, disturbing, talky, touching, sex comedy, sexy, manga
Similar in 87%
Washington Square (1997)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1870's New York, a spinster heiress is courted by a much younger, penniless man, much to the chagrin of her over-protective father, and must decide whether to spend the rest of her life alone, or marry a man who is interested in her only because of her inheritence.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: costume drama, romantic, stylized, sex comedy, romantic drama, historical drama, psychological, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Valmont (1989)
Plot Summary:
Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he will. However, in the process of seducing the married woman, Valmont falls in love. Based on the same novel as "Dangerous Liaisons.".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: France, UK
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: stylized, period piece, sensual, costume drama, sexy, realistic, erotic, historical drama, independent film, captivating
Similar in 80%
My Man (1996)
Plot Summary:
In Lyon, where many are unemployed, Marie is a prostitute who loves her work: she's thoughtful and exuberant toward clients old and young, slim or flabby. One night, a homeless man sleeps in the foyer of her apartment house; she gives him a hot meal, then a place on the floor to sleep by her radiator, then she offers herself. She falls in love, giving him new life, clothes, a place to live. When he grouses that he must bar hop while she uses the flat for her work, she finds them a larger flat. He grows restless, seducing a manicurist and pressing her to prostitution. He's arrested for procuring, so Marie must decide what to do; he, too, must face the consequences of his choices.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sexy, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, semi serious, biting, sexual
Similar in 82%
Cheri (2009)
Plot Summary:
A sumptuous dramatic comedy set in late 19th Century France, during the Belle Epoque, a period of social and cultural excess in European upper classes which ended only as the First World War erupted.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sexual, sexy, period piece, romantic, costume drama, sincere, humorous, captivating, erotic, offbeat
Similar in 86%
A Good Woman (2004)
Plot Summary:
Fleeing 1930s New York and leaving behind a chequered past, the giltzy divorcee Mrs Stella Erlynne travels to Italy's sun-dappled Amalfi coast. Mrs Erlynne's appearance causes a stir amongst the visiting aristocracy. Based on the Oscar Wilde play Lady Windemere's Fan.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Country: UK, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: stylized, light, period piece, semi serious, witty, clever, retro, cult classic, romantic drama, realistic
Similar in 76%
An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
Plot Summary:
Liverpool. 1947. A star-struck young girl learns about the grown-up world of the theater.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: bleak, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, biting, crying, independent film
Similar in 90%
Enemies: A Love Story (1989)
Plot Summary:
A ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sad, gloomy, independent film, black comedy
Similar in 87%
My Wife Is an Actress (2001)
Plot Summary:
My Wife is an Actress is a French Romantic Comedy/Drama film starring real life couple Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Attal plays a journalist who becomes obsessively jealous when his actress wife gets a part in a movie with an attractive co-star. Attal also wrote and directed the film.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: melancholic, disturbing, stylized, touching, semi serious, humorous, witty, erotic, romantic comedy, clever
Similar in 85%
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
Plot Summary:
Eccentric 70-year-old widow purchases the Windmill Theatre in London as a post-widowhood hobby. After starting an innovative continuous variety review, which is copied by other theaters, they begin to lose money. Mrs Henderson suggests they add female nudity similar to the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, touching, emotional, period piece, talky, intense, humorous, realistic, exciting
Similar in 76%
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012)
Plot Summary:
England, 1932. Today is Dolly Thatcham's wedding day, and her family is arriving at the manor house with all the cheerfulness, chaos and grievances that accompany such gatherings. Trouble soon appears in the shape of Joseph, Dolly's lover from the previous summer, who throws her feelings into turmoil. But Dolly's mother will not allow her carefully laid plans for her daughter's future to be threatened.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: feel good, realistic, semi serious, sweet, captivating, entertaining, heartbreaking, period piece, humorous, stylized
Similar in 82%
Basil (1998)
Plot Summary:
A lonely young aristocrat in turn-of the century England struggles to meet the approval of his over-bearing, class-conscious father while trying to please the selfish woman he loves.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, light, sincere, period piece, gothic, crying, independent film, period drama
Similar in 90%
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
Plot Summary:
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sexy, atmospheric, period piece, serious, costume drama, romantic, visual, visually stunning, stylized, retro
Similar in 79%
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Mexico, UK, Colombia
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: psychological, sexy, romantic, costume drama, emotional, serious, sentimental, atmospheric, realistic, erotic
Similar in 90%
A Month by the Lake (1995)
Plot Summary:
For 16 years Miss Bentley has been spending April at an elegant hillside villa on Lake Como. This year, 1937, her London society artist father has recently died and the only other English-speaking guests are brash Americans. Then Major Wilshaw arrives. He suggests they meet for cocktails and Miss Bentley stands him up -- not even thinking about it -- as she helps the new nanny of an Italian family settle in. Miss Beaumont, a tall, young American who has dropped out of finishing school in Switzerland, is bored and finds some amusement in flirting with the major, whose libido is awakened for the first time since before the great war. And Miss Bentley now finds more about the major to admire than his ears.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sexy, romantic, touching, witty, sentimental, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 82%
Firelight (1997)
Plot Summary:
Firelight is a period romance/drama film written and directed by William Nicholson. It was Nicholson's first, and to date only, film as director.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, touching, feel good, sexy, erotic, romantic, emotional, melancholic, realistic
Similar in 84%
Mansfield Park (1999)
Plot Summary:
This fun and sexy comedy tells a timelessly entertaining story where wealthy, secret passions and mischievous women put love to the test.. When a spirited young woman, Fanny Price, is sent away to live on the great country estate of her rich cousins, she's meant to learn the ways of proper society. But while Fanny learns "their" ways, she also enlightens them with a wit and sparkle all her own!.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: period piece, witty, costume drama, romantic, sexy, atmospheric, breathtaking, educational, happy, romantic drama
Similar in 79%
The Governess (1998)
Plot Summary:
When the father of privileged Rosina da Silva violently dies, she decides to pass herself off as a gentile and finds employment with a family in faraway Scotland. Soon she and the family father, Charles, start a passionate secret affair.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, emotional, colorful, period piece, costume drama, atmospheric, scenic, serious, historical drama, realistic
Similar in 81%
Too Beautiful for You (1989)
Plot Summary:
A car dealer, well-to-do and with a beautiful wife, finds himself attracted to his rather plain new temporary secretary. Despite her own commitments she feels the same and the two soon embark on an affair. Though it would seem it has happened before his wife finds this particular entanglement of her husband's very difficult to accept.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: talky, cynical, clever, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying, erotic, psychological, atmospheric
Similar in 81%
The Taste of Others (2000)
Plot Summary:
Agnès Jaoui co-writes and directs this romantic comedy of manners set in France's rustic Provence. Unpolished and ultra-pragmatic industrialist Jean-Jacques Castella (co-scripter Jean-Pierre Bacri) reluctantly attends Racine's tragedy "Berenice" in order to see his niece play a bit part. He is taken with the play's strangely familiar-looking leading lady Clara Devaux (Anne Alvaro). During the course of the show, Castella soon remembers that he once hired and then promptly fired the actress as an English language tutor. He immediately goes out and signs up for language lessons. Thinking that he is nothing but an ill-tempered philistine with bad taste, Clara rejects him until Castella charms her off her feet.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: biting, meditative, sincere, touching, art house, clever, witty, talky, powerful, humorous
Similar in 79%
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
Similar in 87%
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Plot Summary:
Dangerous Liaisons is the film based on the novel of the same name by Choderlos de Laclos set in 18th century France. Marquise de Merteuil’s asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned in this love triangle drama.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 74000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: sexy, costume drama, period piece, sexual, erotic, historical drama, sensual, romantic, atmospheric, suspense
Similar in 90%
Friends with Money (2006)
Plot Summary:
After she quits her lucrative job, Olivia finds herself unsure about her future and her relationships with her successful and wealthy friends.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sexy, melancholic, stylized, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, independent film, realistic, talky, light