Movies like Desiré
If you like "Desiré" you are looking for grim, noir and intense movies about / with coming of age, juvenile detention, character study, survival, loneliness, drug traffic and isolation themes of Drama genre shot in Italy.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
Desiré (2023)
25
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Desiré is a Neapolitan girl of Senegalese origins, she is sixteen years old and lives day by day. She has no friends, no interests, no great passions, her world appears as empty as the gaze of her mother, a drug addict who can't stand upright. The only thing that has value about her is the affection she feels for Emanuele, a boy a few years older who seeks a rapid rise in the local underworld. It's their fault that Desiré is in the wrong place at the wrong time: she is arrested by the police and sent to a juvenile penitentiary. In her long detention, Desiré begins a slow path of identity growth that she did not believe possible.
Style:
grim, noir, intense, art house
Plot:
coming of age, juvenile detention, character study, survival, loneliness, drug traffic, isolation, female protagonist, resilience, moral ambiguity, slice of life, toxic relationship, violence, friendship, racial tension, hopes, drug trafficking
Time:
contemporary
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Desiré
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out melancholic, intense, art house and independent film films with plots about isolation, character study, coming of age, loneliness, moral ambiguity, survival and female protagonist mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like Desiré: Beyond the Ocean (2000), Princess (2022), Unconformity (2022), Bad Boy (2023), Miracle (2013). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Russia, USA, Austria
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A young pregnant woman arrives in New York City from Russia, and her mind drifts to the past when she was coming of age in a coal mining town in Russia.
Style:
melancholic, emotional, intercultural, realistic, grim ...
Plot:
immigrant, pregnancy, coming of age, flashback, outsider, trauma, loneliness, search for father, character study, dark past, isolation, identity ...
Place:
new york, russia
Similarity:
95%
205
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Princess is a young illegal immigrant from Nigeria who sells her body on the outskirts of a big city. Like an Amazon on the hunt, protected by her friends, she moves through a pinewood that stretches as far as the sea, an enchanted forest in which ...
Style:
suspenseful, captivating, psychological, thrilling, bleak ...
Plot:
sex trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, female protagonist, illegal immigrant, african, exploitation, resilience, street life, illegal immigration, trauma, poverty ...
Place:
italy
Similarity:
94%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
A rock-climbing geologist who finds an unexpected friendship in the high desert.
Style:
contemplative, independent film, art house
Plot:
friendship, rock climbing, isolation, geology, solitude, self discovery, character study, loneliness, tenderness, intimate, slow burn, male friendship ...
Similarity:
77%
Genre: Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 40 min.
TV show
Story:
Dean, a young teen living with his mother and younger brother, prepares to turn in for the night when a knock on the door changes his life forever. Correctional officers storm into his room and haul him, barely clothed, out of the house.
Style:
intense, realistic, dark
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
juvenile detention, troubled youth, survival, psychological trauma, abuse, coming of age, friendship, corruption, resilience, isolation, mother son relationship, violence ...
Similarity:
74%
Movie in collections
139
Genre: Drama
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Duration: 78 min.
Story:
Ela, 15, has a love affair, which results in her being sent to a re-education center.
Style:
tension, intense, realistic
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
female protagonist, teenager, coming of age, young love, forbidden romance, resilience, loss of innocence, teen angst, hopes, empathy, character study, rebellion ...
Similarity:
72%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Carmela is thirty, beautiful and as untamed as an horsewoman. She is jobless and struggles to get by on her own, doing small day-to-day tasks. She makes ends meet by making use of the immigrants who populate the maze of alleyways of Naples' old ...
Style:
serious, dramatic, captivating, suspenseful, independent film ...
Plot:
female protagonist, character study, immigration, poverty, survival, thirtysomething life, life is a bitch, woman, illegal immigrant, 30 year old, life, immigrant ...
Place:
naples italy
Similarity:
65%
Genre: Drama
Country: Romania
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
When young Daria enters rehab to kick the drug habit her first love left her with, her perceived innocence saves her from the sexual advances of the mostly male junkies inside and gains her their protection. Suddenly thrown into the spotlight and ...
Style:
intense, emotional, dark, disturbing, realistic ...
Plot:
drug rehab, addiction, trauma, female protagonist, recovery, manipulation, survival, abuse of power, sexual content, sexual manipulation, character study, moral ambiguity ...
Similarity:
60%
839
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Greece, France, UK, China, Singapore
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Jacqueline, a young refugee, lands alone and penniless on a Greek island where she tries to survive, then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with a rootless tour guide and together they find the resilience ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, realistic, melancholic ...
Plot:
hopes, friendship, refugee, connection, character study, love story, male female relationship, lifestyle change, changing lives, relationships, love interest, couples ...
Place:
greece, liberia
Similarity:
59%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Set amongst the backdrop of the towering, concrete-clad estates of south London ‘Zebra Crossings’ blends a diverse mixture of characters that all share one thing in common: The incredible loneliness of living alongside 7 million other people.
Style:
atmospheric, tense, intense, melancholic, bleak ...
Plot:
loneliness, coming of age, friendship, urban, social commentary, drug addiction, alienation, realism, character study, social realism, father figure, mentor ...
Place:
england
Similarity:
55%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Ong-nye had a world of men wrapped around her finger, until, one day, a horrific injury leaves her handicapped, and she retreats to the mountains. But one man may break her loneliness.
Style:
psychological, captivating, thrilling, erotic, dramatic ...
Plot:
female protagonist, loneliness, eroticism, character study, relationship problems, loner, lifestyle, seductress, social problems, male female relationship, relationships, couple relations ...
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A coming of age story about two orphaned brothers who travel cross country to the Alberta oil sands in search of a new life. Along the way, they learn to depend on one another, but tensions grow as money gets tight. On the brink of giving up, Alex, ...
Style:
melancholic, grim
Plot:
brotherhood, coming of age, family bonds, road trip, resilience, isolation, desperation, social realism, real world, survival, machismo, small town life ...
Place:
canada
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Lou and her best friend Chantal plan to get out of their isolated, run-down town and move to a city far, far away. When Chantal’s unstable and possessive ex violates her during a night of partying, the girls decide to exact their revenge on him ...
Style:
intense, tense, noir, f word
Plot:
coming of age, female friendship, toxic masculinity, small town, escape, sexual assault, loss of innocence, rebellion, violence, moral ambiguity, revenge, desperation ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
canada
Similarity:
48%
113
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Heidi M. is in her late forties and has a small store in the pulsating center of Berlin. She goes out in the evenings with her friend Jacqui, but when she is unexpectedly confronted with romantic love, old wounds are opened.
Style:
poignant, melancholic, art house, contemplative
Plot:
character study, female protagonist, longing, introspection, city life, urban, bittersweet, loneliness, desire, self discovery, confrontation, realism ...
Place:
berlin germany
Similarity:
48%
Genre: Drama
Country: Austria, Germany, Italy
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
When Andreas arrives in the remote valley in the Austrian Alps, he is only about four years old - nobody knows for sure. He grows up to become a skilled farmhand and, as a young man, joins a work crew that builds one of the first mountain railroads, ...
Style:
captivating, psychological, thrilling, reflective, melancholic ...
Plot:
mountain, lifestyle, orphan, hardship, village life, poverty, bittersweet, tragic romance, resilience, isolation, coming of age, loneliness ...
Time:
turn of the century
Similarity:
46%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
The people of this remote village in the Black Forest don't talk much, but when they do, it's in the Alemannic dialect. Hanna, 21 has traveled far to work here. She shovels manure, milks cows and tries to cope with the farmer, Uwe Kiefer, ...
Style:
art house, atmospheric, melancholic, independent film, bleak ...
Plot:
female protagonist, loneliness, character study, intimate, isolation, social realism, alienation, male protagonist, moral dilemma, secrets, financial ruin, mistrust ...
Place:
germany
Similarity:
44%
34
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
L stopped enjoying life as a little girl. She flees abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents and heads for the big city. There, L's life is wrecked by a string of bad relationships, and she takes the fall for a friend who commits murder and ...
Style:
emotional, thrilling, captivating, psychological, melancholic ...
Plot:
female protagonist, love, loneliness, character study, psychological trauma, relationships, love story, love affair, love interest, mature, city life, alienation ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
japan
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Drama
Country: Australia
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
A young man in a depressed satellite city, meets a woman who offers him love and hope.
Style:
melancholic, emotional
Plot:
urban decay, desperation, social commentary, working class, poverty, alienation, longing, character study, hopes, social realism, isolation, loneliness ...
Time:
80s
Place:
australia
Similarity:
43%
Genre: Drama
Country: Argentina, France
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Valdivia is a notorious drunk in a Patagonian dead-end town. His current job is to deliver a golden sheep for the mysterios Sr. Ramenfort.
Style:
melancholic, art house, dark comedy, road movie
Plot:
loneliness, isolation, alcoholism, existentialism, abandoned city, character study, winter, hopelessness, bittersweet, moral ambiguity, small town life, absurdism ...
Place:
argentina, patagonia
Similarity:
43%
Movie in collections
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Sarah, a free spirited young girl looking to surgically reassign her gender and Antony, a once exuberant but now a dejected and dispirited young man. What will happen when they meet?
Style:
thrilling, captivating, psychological, emotional, art house ...
Plot:
self discovery, transgender, lgbtq, desire for fame, relationship problems, male female relationship, life is a bitch, relationships, coming of age, identity crisis, character study, acceptance ...
Place:
india
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Do-yeon, a 6th grade elementary school student, meets her cousin Sang-jun at her grandmother's funeral. On the last day of the funeral Do-yeon and Sang-jun go into an empty classroom near the funeral. There they have their first sexual ...
Style:
disturbing, psychological, bleak, grim, intense ...
Plot:
sexual awakening, rape, rape victim, coming of age, abuse, dysfunctional family, trauma, unsettling, incest, violence, violent, child abuse ...
Similarity:
39%
588
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
On the outskirts of Austin, 10-year-old Annie tears around on her BMX bike, hurls dough at cars, and smashes things up with her baseball bat. Her father, a goat-farmer-cum-demolition-derby driver, does little parenting. Annie has no friends her age, ...
Style:
independent film, atmospheric, bleak, poignant, grim ...
Plot:
childhood, coming of age, female protagonist, dysfunctional family, loneliness, isolation, moral ambiguity, preteen, character study, neglect, small town, unhappiness ...
Place:
texas, austin texas
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
When Praveenah arrives at a boarding school in Ooty, she discovers that her classmate Sabari is haunted by the crushing weight of survivor's guilt. Years later, their paths converge again on a thrilling Himalayan biking adventure, where ...
Style:
emotional, intense
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
guilt, redemption, regret, coming of age, empathy, loss, reconciliation, resilience, moral dilemma, friendship, memory, isolation ...
Place:
himalaya
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
So-young, an elderly prostitute working in Seoul, tries to take care of a young Korean-Filipino child she meets in a hospital and make ends meet. So-young's life takes a dark turn when several of her old clients try to reconnect with her.
Style:
suspense, psychological, disturbing, grim, melancholic ...
Plot:
prostitution, prostitute, social realism, social problems, life philosophy, society, social relations, elderly, elderly woman, aging, moral ambiguity, loneliness ...
Place:
seoul
Similarity:
38%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Drama - Richard Clayton is a maintenance man at the local police station of the small town of Montauk, Arizona. He spends his days keeping the offices clean and the equipment running. He spends his nights drinking and killing the occasional ...
Style:
crime drama, bleak, noir, tense, suspense ...
Plot:
murder, loneliness, small town, isolation, character study, violence, alcoholism, moral ambiguity, serial killer, male protagonist, desperation, criminal psychology ...
Similarity:
37%
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
A once thriving reception hall has been reduced to catering to the funeral business and the somber rituals of death. The owner, Soleimani, is a sour, lonely and unloved old man who treats his workers with contempt, inflicting small cruelties ...
Style:
realistic, psychological
Plot:
empathy, character study, humanism, working class, resilience, slice of life, social realism, dignity, mortality, solidarity, hopes, melancholy ...
Place:
iran
Similarity:
36%
Genre: Drama
Country: Iran
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
A young girl leaves her hometown in south of Iran for a half day trip without permission of his strict father to attend a close friend's goodbye party. In her way back home hazy weather changes all she planned.
Style:
melancholic, atmospheric, independent film
Plot:
female protagonist, road trip, gender roles, family conflict, coming of age, strict father, realism, friendship, small town, uncertainty, minimalism, patriarchy ...
Place:
iran
Similarity:
35%
1K
Genre: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 145 min.
Story:
Stranded on her way home, Sruthi hitches a long ride with KK who turns out to be her dad's buddy. Sruthi's mother seems to be reassured hearing that KK is with her daughter now. However her husband is troubled on hearing the news. ...
Style:
tense, dread, suspense, intense, psychological ...
Plot:
family drama, social commentary, moral ambiguity, confrontation, character study, ethical dilemma, mistrust, unsettling, coming of age, family honor, road trip, small town ...
Similarity:
35%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 127 min.
Story:
Wandering around the streets, Sejin, a pregnant teen, gets to know Juyeong and reunites with Jaepil and Sinji. The four musketeers go through a series of misfortunes, bumping into masochistic/sadistic characters and experiencing the brutality and ...
Style:
disturbing, suspense, tense, psychological, captivating ...
Plot:
homeless teenager, pregnant teenager, troubled teen, poverty, teenager, social problems, life is a bitch, teenage pregnancy, coming of age, teenage life, social misfits, relationship problems ...
Similarity:
35%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min.
Story:
A look at the lives and trauma surrounding three people living in a southern town.
Style:
intense, tension, ambiguous ending, suspense, southern gothic
Plot:
trauma, small town, character study, coming of age, teen angst, mental health, loss, grief, moral ambiguity, violence, teen violence, family conflict ...
Place:
georgia
Similarity:
35%
121
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
One year after the tragic death of his best friend, an eighteen-year-old machinist struggles with the split of his parents and the violent way of life surrounding him.
Style:
emotional, tension, intense, realistic, psychological ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, grief, teenager, trauma, loss, mourning, family drama, family conflict, young adult, confrontation, friendship, anger ...
Place:
oklahoma city, oklahoma
Similarity:
35%
Related movie lists
