Best movies like From the Edge of the City
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Minority-group Greeks from an outer suburb of Athens struggle with their life on society's fringe and exploitation of one another.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, neo noir, lgbt cinema, disgusting, queer cinema, gay cinema
Best tv shows and movies like From the Edge of the City (1998):
Similar in 88%
Jimmy Zip (1999)
Plot Summary:
An abused runaway with pyromaniac tendencies teams up with a metal sculptor. Together they blow away the art world and a local crime boss.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 192
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, grunge
Similar in 81%
Rodrigo D: No Future (1990)
Plot Summary:
"Rodrigo D: No futuro" explores the bleak and precarious lives of working class street kids in Medellín. So dangerous is this world that three of its nonprofessional actors have been killed violently since production wrapped in 1988. Rodrigo has headaches and thinks about his mother, who died sometime previous to the film's story. He is also looking for a drum kit so he can start a punk band with his friends, who sell cocaine to school kids, and steal cars to survive.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music
Country: Colombia
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Chronically Unfeasible (2000)
Plot Summary:
Filmed over a five-year period, Chronically Unfeasible dissects Brazilian problems, using six people who meet in a restaurant in São Paulo as models to illustrate political, sociological and economic disparities between Brazil's upper and lower classes.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 672
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, biting, suspense
Similar in 79%
Speedway Junky (1999)
Plot Summary:
A naive drifter runs away from his army father in hopes of making it on the car racing circuit. In Las Vegas, he meets a young scam artist, who develops a crush on him. He is then introduced to a whole gang led by a young hustler. The racer-to-be then gets a lesson in the wild side, getting involved in one situation after another. Patsy Kensit makes a cameo as another hustler and Daryl Hannah appears as the scam artist's surrogate mom.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Israel
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: talky, serious, realistic, slang, feel good, light, independent film, gloomy, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 75%
Cyclo (1995)
Plot Summary:
Follows a young cyclo (bicycle cab) driver on his poverty-driven descent into criminality in modern-day Ho Chi Minh City. The boy's struggles to scratch out a living for his two sisters and grandfather in the mean streets of the city lead to petty crime on behalf of a mysterious Madame from whom he rents his cyclo.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Vietnam, France, Hong Kong
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, stylized, intellectual, neo noir, controversial, rough, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 79%
Ethan Mao (2004)
Plot Summary:
Kicked out of his house because he's gay, Ethan Mao returns home to steal and ends up holding his family hostage on a fateful Thanksgiving Day.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 623
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, disturbing, tense, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, crying, independent film
Similar in 80%
Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes (1998)
Plot Summary:
A couple of friends work for a taxi driver to rob his passengers, but they feel like they're getting ripped off. They decide to plan their own robberies, but they are amateurs and things don't go too well. One of the youths, Cordoba, whose girlfriend Sandra is pregnant, just wants to get enough cash so they can leave Argentina and get to Uruguay to start a new life. He and his friends plan one last robbery, but things don't go as planned.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: social, hispanic, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 84%
City of M (2000)
Plot Summary:
After exhausting all legal channels in his search for a job, "M" struggles with the decision of whether or not to enter a life of crime by helping his friends deliver drugs to Miami.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 295
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Peru
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, bleak
Similar in 86%
My Brother the Devil (2012)
Plot Summary:
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, realistic, rough, serious, multicultural, gloomy, independent film, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Flawless (1999)
Plot Summary:
An ultraconservative police officer suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons - with the drag queen next door.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: talky, independent film, light, thinking, cult classic, comedy drama, sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Twist (2003)
Plot Summary:
In a gritty retelling of the Dickens's classic, Twist takes Oliver and the Artful Dodger out of the poorhouse and onto the streets, where junk is the currency and hustling is the game.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Midnight Dancers (1994)
Plot Summary:
Brothers Joel (Alex Del Rosario), Dennis (Grandong Cervantes) and Sonny (Lawrence David) work together as dancers at a low-rent gay bar in downtown Manila, in the Philippines. Despite his mother's pleas, Sonny decides to quit college to work full-time at the bar, while Dennis has moved beyond dancing into prostitution at the urging of the manipulative club manager. Joel, the eldest, tries to balance his secret gay life with his socially respectable role as a husband and father.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 308
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Philippines
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tagalog, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, sexual, neorealism, sexy, thought provoking, enigmatic
Similar in 83%
The Wounded Man (1983)
Plot Summary:
Henri is a lonely, isolated young man who lets no one get close to him. He meets a street hustler and comes out of his shell, going 180 degrees into gay obsession. Though he has yet to physically approach the object of his affection, Henri builds up so much unrequited lust that it explodes with horrible results.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: erotic, psychological, serious, realistic, disturbing, gloomy, sexual, neorealism, homoerotic, sexy
Similar in 77%
Hurricane Streets (1997)
Plot Summary:
Marcus is a kid on Manhattan's mean streets. He's turning 15, his father is dead, his mother is in prison for smuggling undocumented aliens. His grandmother is raising him. He has four close buddies who have a basement clubhouse; they shoplift and sell the wares to kids. One is moving toward selling drugs. Marcus wants to take a breather from the city and visit family in New Mexico. He also meets Melena, 14, a sweet kid who dreams of going to Alaska; her father is not just protective but angry and uncommunicative. The gang pressures Marcus to move up to burglary and car theft. He just wants to breathe open air. Can anything go right?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: independent film, realistic, rough, bleak, serious, disturbing, clever, bad ending, sad, harsh
Similar in 84%
Tough Enough (2006)
Plot Summary:
From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, tense, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Hostage (2005)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the real-life story of a bus hijacking in Northern Greece, HOSTAGE explores the sensitive issue of Greek-Albanian relations through a young Albanian who takes over an intercity bus. Upon hijacking the bus, he takes the seven passengers hostage and demands a ransom of half and million euro, and safe passage to his homeland of Albania. Surrounded by police, the bus trundles towards the Albanian border and the tension mounts until the final harrowing conclusion.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 583
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Greece, Turkey, Austria
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, tense, serious, bleak, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
The Ambitious Lover (1982)
Plot Summary:
A husband and his lover plan the killing of his wife.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 86
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Greece
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: teen sex comedy, detective
Similar in 76%
Joe the King (1999)
Plot Summary:
A destitute 14 year old struggles to keep his life together despite harsh abuse at his mother's hands, harsher abuse at his father's, and a growing separation from his slightly older brother. Petty thefts for food grow into more major takes until he steals a cash box from the diner where he works. Although Joe uses the money to pay off some of his father's debts and to replace his mother's records that his father smashed in a fit of temper, Joe gets no thanks.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: emotional, harsh, tense, rough, grim, realistic, art house, semi autobiographical, serious, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Plot Summary:
World-weary arthur Fernando has returned to his native Colombia to live out his days in peace. But Fernando's once-quiet hometown has become a hotbed of violence, drugs and corruption. On the brink of despair, Fernando meets Alexis, a beautiful but hardened street kid who lives by the rule of the gun. Together, they forge an unlikely relationship.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Spain, France, Colombia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: disturbing, meditative, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, crying, sexy, enigmatic
Similar in 83%
Pianese Nunzio, Fourteen in May (1996)
Plot Summary:
A young priest crusades against organized crime in his Naples neighbourhood but falls in love with a 13-year old boy. It's the chance the gangsters were waiting for to get rid of the thorn in their side. Will they be able to force the boy to accuse the priest of sexual harassment and have his reputation destroyed?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 424
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sexual, crying, sexy, gay cinema, baroque
Similar in 76%
Less Than Zero (1987)
Plot Summary:
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, inspirational, retro, sad, art house, cerebral, cult classic, visually stunning, erotic drama
Similar in 84%
The Child I Never Was (2002)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer dispassionately discusses the nuts and bolts of his grisly avocation, as well as the youthful traumas which helped to mold him into a psychopath, in this disturbing independent drama from Germany, based on the true story of of Germany's most famous child murderer Juergen Bartsch who, between the ages of 15 and 19, abused, tortured and killed four schoolboys in the Ruhr region of Germany from 1962 to 1966.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 638
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, serious, bleak, art house, realistic, gloomy, crying
Similar in 87%
L.I.E. (2001)
Plot Summary:
In this biting and disturbing coming-of-age tale from writer-director Michael Cuesta, life is bittersweet along the L.I.E., also known as the Long Island Expressway, as suburban teen Howie Blitzer learns all too clearly. In the space of a week, he loses nearly everything and everyone he knows and is left to navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, controversial, brutal, enigmatic, touching, realistic, sexy, stylized, independent film
Similar in 84%
Mandragora (1997)
Plot Summary:
Marek is a 15-year-old from a provincial village who runs away to Prague when he begins to fail at school. He is mugged shortly after arriving in the city and is rescued by Honza with the promise of work. Marek is taken to an apartment, drugged, and becomes a male prostitute. He is a bit smarter than his colleagues and teams up with a friend, David, in order to go after bigger scores – to cash in and get out. They manage to stash away a bit of money, but when it comes time to return home, Marek loses his nerve and is soon back in the city.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, gloomy, semi documentary, controversial, gay cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
Head On (1998)
Plot Summary:
Nineteen-year-old Ari confronts both his sexuality and his Greek family. Ari despises his once-beloved parents, former radical activists, for having entombed themselves in insular tradition. Ari is obsessed with gay sex, although he does make an unenthusiastic attempt to satisfy the sister of one of his best friends. While all of this is going on, he's facing problems with his traditional Greek parents, who have no clue about his sexual activities.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: independent film, lgbt cinema, terrifying, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, erotic, rough, sexy
Similar in 85%
Pixote (1980)
Plot Summary:
Pixote, a 10-year-old runaway boy, is arrested on the streets of Sao Paulo during a police round-up homeless people. Pixote endures torture, degradation and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of the runaways are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old transvesite hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape where they make their living by the life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: disturbing, depressing, bleak, realistic, rough, atmospheric, serious, political, controversial, hood
Similar in 88%
Tsotsi (2005)
Plot Summary:
The South African multi-award winning film about a young South African boy from the ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster. Tsotsi, who left home as a child to get away from helpless parents, finds a baby in the back seat of a car that he has just stolen. He decides that it his responsibility to take care of the baby and in the process learns that maybe the gangster life isn’t the best way.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, emotional, harsh, rough, captivating, dramatic, art house, realistic, inspirational
Similar in 75%
Kidulthood (2006)
Plot Summary:
A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: hood, serious, tense, rough, teen, emotional, cult classic, bleak, captivating, realistic
Similar in 75%
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%
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Plot Summary:
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: road movie, cult classic, surreal, art house, lgbt cinema, touching, serious, captivating, melancholic, independent film