Best movies like Painted Angels
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The story centers on the life of a bordello in a midwestern prairie town in the 1870s. The whorehouse is run by pragmatic madam Annie Ryan and the film follows the life of several of her girls.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 230
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy
Best tv shows and movies like Painted Angels (1998):
Similar in 80%
Thousand Pieces of Gold (1990)
Plot Summary:
In 1880's China, young Lalu is sold into marriage by her impoverished father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in an Idaho gold-mining town, the property of a saloon owner who renames her China Polly and plans to sell her as entertainment for the locals. Refusing to become a whore, Lalu ultimately finds her own way in this strange country filled with white demons.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 712
Genere: Romance, Western
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: emotional, period piece, independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch (1982)
Plot Summary:
By the turn of the 20th century, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Billy the Kid and virtually all of the West's legendary outlaws are either dead or in jail pending execution. Well, all, except train robber and escape artist extraordinaire, Harry Tracy. As the last survivor of the Wild Bunch, Tracy pulls off a series of profitable robberies before making his way west to Portland, Oregon, in search of Catherine Tuttle -- a judge's daughter who has captured his heart. But on the way, Tracy is betrayed, arrested, and imprisoned. However, no jail can hold him for long and after making his escape, Tracy becomes the target of the largest manhunt in the history of North America.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 436
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Canada
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: funny, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, spaghetti western
Similar in 76%
Whity (1971)
Plot Summary:
"Whity" is the mulatto butler of the dysfunctional Nicholson family in the American southwest in 1878. The father, Ben Nicholson, has an attractive young wife Katherine, and two sons by a previous marriage; the homosexual Frank, and the retarded Davy. Whity tries to carry out all their orders, however demeaning, until various of the family members ask him to kill some of the others.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: West Germany
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: art house, thought provoking, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 76%
Made in Ash (2012)
Plot Summary:
A grittily realistic tale of prostitution at an Eastern European border town.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 85
Genere: Drama
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sexy, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 89%
Sauna on Moon (2011)
Plot Summary:
In Guangdong, the forefront of China's reform and opening-up, the business of a sauna is fairly flat. The boss, Wu, together with his team, pursuits his dream and constructs a entertainment kingdom persistently with their wisdom, effort and positive spirit. Eventually, after a special fashion show, Wu tears for his uneasy success. During the period, some of his employees leave hopelessly, some are imprisoned, some are still longing for a better tomorrow by his side.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 33
Genere: Drama
Country: China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, gloomy
Similar in 75%
The Baroness and the Pig (2002)
Plot Summary:
A rich American woman and her French husband start a Parisian salon.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, touching, witty, contemplative, cynical, biting, suspense
Similar in 81%
Linda and Abilene (1969)
Plot Summary:
In the 19th century, siblings Abilene and Tod, orphaned on their western farm, become attracted to each other, sexually. The confused Tod fleas to a nearby town where he meets Linda, a local bar girl, and begins a sexual relationship with her, while a rough cowboy, named Rawhide, sexually assaults Abilene leading Tod wanting revenge despite Linda's wariness and growing compassion for Abilene.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 327
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 76%
Hussy (1980)
Plot Summary:
Beaty, a prostitute, and Emory, a lighting/sound technician, fall in love while working at the same London cabaret, but their relationship isn't easy.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 617
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime, independent film, rough, serious, neo noir, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 80%
Hope (2014)
Plot Summary:
On his clandestine journey from Cameroon to Europe through the Sahara desert, Léonard meets Hope, a Nigerian girl who's following the same dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 187
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Morocco
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 81%
Once We Were Dreamers (1987)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Middle East in 1919, a group of European Jews planning on settling in the Sinai Desert are attacked by Bedouin tribesmen. As they fight for their lives they realize that they are beginning a struggle for a new Jewish nation. This film chronicles the beginning of the modern Jewish struggle for a homeland.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 83
Genere: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Blood Red (1989)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Napa Valley in 1895, an immigrant family struggles to keep their vineyards from industrialists.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 956
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, spaghetti western
Similar in 76%
The Man Who Came Back (2008)
Plot Summary:
Framed for murder and left for dead, a local legend comes back to make the guilty pay as he seeks revenge on those who killed his family, in this traditional Western about one man who stood against injustice.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Action, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic
Similar in 83%
The Shooter (1997)
Plot Summary:
The story is of a small town in the early west and of a 'shooter' of reputation that drifts into it and stands up to the controlling family that runs it. But far from a John Wayne, this hero is caught and brutally beaten and left to die, only to be saved by a prostitute that has also suffered under the hand of this group of desperados. The only one possible to stand up to the shooter is another solitary man who joins with the notorious family although he is deputized as the town's sherif.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 718
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, unusual plot structure, humorous, bloody, suspense
Similar in 80%
Strange Empire (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1869 Alberta-Montana border country, “Strange Empire” is a Western whose heroes are women. With most of their men gone, and those who remain battling for control, the women struggle to survive, to find their independence, and to build a life in which to thrive and raise families.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, suspenseful, realistic, period drama
Similar in 87%
Heaven with a Gun (1969)
Plot Summary:
Glenn Ford plays Jim Killian, a preacher who arrives in a town divided between cattlemen and sheep herders. But Killian isn't just any preacher. He is a former fast gun who has set upon a different path.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: retro, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, romantic drama
Similar in 75%
Buffalo Girls (1995)
Plot Summary:
Wild. Untamed. Legendary. In this made-for-tv movie, Buffalo Girls celebrates the bold escapades of tough-talking Calamity Jane Canary and her illustrious cohorts. It's the waning days of the Wild West and Jane, the rough 'n' rugged cowgirl, is searching not only for her long-lost daughter, but the Wild West she once knew. Jane traverses plains, mountains and continents until she finally discovers the answer to her problems: Dora, the vivacious, gold-hearted madam who's been her one true friend all along.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 922
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, exciting, sentimental, rough, suspenseful, historical drama
Similar in 83%
Princesses (2005)
Plot Summary:
Set in Spain, the story is about friendship and love in the world of prostitution.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, disturbing, erotic, captivating, social, hispanic, touching, realistic
Similar in 76%
Lana's Rain (2002)
Plot Summary:
This powerful, hard-edged crime drama explores the dark side of the American immigrant experience and dares to ask, "How far would you go to survive?" Lana’s only chance to escape the war-torn Balkans is her long-lost brother, Darko, a street-smart gangster with enemies intent on revenge. Isolated at first by her inability to speak English, Lana desperately hopes that she and her brother can achieve the American dream that she can only glimpse. But her illusions are shattered as she is forced to survive by any means possible on the mean streets of Chicago. As she gets pulled deeper and deeper into her brother’s criminal world while a steely determination grows in her heart, Lana must risk her own life to overcome Darko and his pursuers if she hopes to finally realize her dream.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, bleak, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 87%
Little Soldier (2008)
Plot Summary:
A soldier returning from war is hired by her own father to drive his prostitutes around town. She calls upon herself to help one of them.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 672
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, touching, serious, tense, realistic
Similar in 78%
The Life (2004)
Plot Summary:
An anthropology student exploring the nature of prostitution is drawn deeper into that profession than she ever expected.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: erotic, thought provoking, realistic, rough, serious, sexual, semi documentary, independent film, sexy, hot
Similar in 82%
She's Lost Control (2014)
Plot Summary:
Ronah's life unravels when she starts working with a new client, Johnny.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, tense, realistic, sexy, captivating, independent film, sexual
Similar in 86%
House of Tolerance (2011)
Plot Summary:
A young woman begins a new life at the Apollonide bordello, a high-class brothel in Paris.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: erotic, serious, emotional, realistic, sexual, rough, sexy, disturbing, eros, sensual
Similar in 79%
A Reason to Believe (1995)
Plot Summary:
Sorority gal Charlotte's innocence is lost after she is raped during a frat party. Confused, terrified and shunned by her peers, she finds solace and the courage to confront her attacker after she is befriended by the leader of a campus women's group.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 331
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, sexual, sexy
Similar in 76%
Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears (1973)
Plot Summary:
In this unusual spaghetti western departure for exploitation filmmaker Paolo Cavara (La Tarantola dal Ventre Nero), two friends help Sam Houston work for Texas statehood. Johnny Ears (Franco Nero) and his deaf-mute sidekick Erastus "Deaf" Smith (Anthony Quinn) go after a Mexican general (Franco Graziosi) under orders from Germany to agitate the populace. The film looks terrific, thanks to cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli (Once Upon a Time in America), but is often lacking in the story department. Perhaps part of the blame belongs to co-screenwriter Harry Essex, fresh off the dreadful sci-fi flop Octaman (1971). Pamela Tiffin appears as a prostitute, and the film co-stars Tom Felleghy and Renato Romano.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 737
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Italy
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, euro western, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, historical drama, period drama, cult film
Similar in 75%
The Claim (2000)
Plot Summary:
A prospector sells his wife and daughter to another gold miner for the rights to a gold mine. Twenty years later, the prospector is a wealthy man who owns much of the old west town named Kingdom Come. But changes are brewing and his past is coming back to haunt him. A surveyor and his crew scouts the town as a location for a new railroad line and a young woman suddenly appears in the town and is evidently the man's daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: UK, France, Canada, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, intense, serious, captivating, realistic, bleak, epic, contemplative, gloomy, erotic
Similar in 82%
Barquero (1970)
Plot Summary:
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 79%
The Keeping Room (2014)
Plot Summary:
In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, Southerner Augusta encounters two renegade, drunken soldiers who are on a mission of pillage and violence. After escaping an attempted assault, Augusta races back to the isolated farmhouse that she shares with her sister Louise and their female slave Mad. When the pair of soldiers track Augusta down intent on exacting revenge, the trio of women are forced to take up arms to fend off their assailants, finding ways to resourcefully defend their home––and themselves––as the escalating attacks become more unpredictable and relentless.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, bleak, historical drama, independent film, realistic
Similar in 78%
Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983)
Plot Summary:
Shunka Wakan (Richard Harris), formerly Lord John, helps his Dakota son (Michael Beck) defend their tribe against gold rushers.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 696
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Spain, Mexico, Canada, USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, realistic, saga, spaghetti western
Similar in 81%
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Plot Summary:
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, bleak, breathtaking, cynical, spaghetti western, visual, cult classic, mind blowing, historical drama, social
Similar in 76%
The Homesman (2014)
Plot Summary:
When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: France, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, tense, bleak, realistic, depressing, harsh, emotional, suspense, serious, road movie