Movies like Cyclo
If you like "Cyclo" you are looking for disturbing, bleak and stylized movies about / with poverty, poet, rickshaw, vietnam war, prostitution, gang and coming of age themes of Crime and Drama genre shot in Vietnam or France.
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1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
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Cyclo (1995)
6K
Original name: Xích lô
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Vietnam, France, Hong Kong
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
disturbing, bleak, stylized, neo noir, controversial, rough, serious, realistic, psychological thriller, crying ...
Plot:
poverty, poet, rickshaw, vietnam war, prostitution, gang, coming of age, gangster, youth, minimal dialogue, mafia, loneliness, violence, boy, taxi, corruption, poetry, drug, prostitute, money, tennis, helicopter, goldfish, existential loneliness, driver ...
Time:
year 1995, 90s
Place:
saigon, vietnam, asia, hong kong
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to Cyclo
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out serious, realistic, rough and bleak films with plots about death, drinking alcohol, cigarette smoking, drinking, friendship, beating and police mostly in Crime, Drama and Romance genres. Some movies like Cyclo: Our Lady of the Assassins (2000), Pixote (1980), From the Edge of the City (1998), Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes (1997), City of Men (2007). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Spain, France, Colombia
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
meditative, thought provoking, rough, contemplative, serious ...
Plot:
gay, murder, man boy relationship, poverty, vengeance, gang, lgbt, homosexual, drug dealing, teenage life, fall in love, love affair ...
Time:
90s
Place:
colombia, los angeles, south america, usa, tokyo ...
Similarity:
100%
11K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
depressing, rough, atmospheric, serious, political ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
prostitution, street kid, child abuse, boy, sex with a minor, coming of age, 10 year old, child rape, children, nude boy, violent, loneliness ...
Time:
20th century, 80s, year 1981
Place:
brazil, south america, latin america, rio de janeiro, sao paulo brazil ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Greece
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Minority-group Greeks from an outer suburb of Athens struggle with their life on society's fringe and exploitation of one another.
Style:
lgbt cinema, realistic, serious, bleak, gloomy ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
lgbt, greek, nude young male, male pubic hair, russian mafia, male prostitute, gay sex, homosexuality, teenage boy, male nudity, rent boy, migration ...
Time:
90s
Place:
greece, geneva switzerland, europe, kazakhstan, italy ...
Similarity:
47%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Argentina
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
social, hispanic, realistic, serious, suspenseful ...
Plot:
heist, tragic romance, street gang, worker, mobster, teenager, gang, pregnancy, urban ghetto, kids in trouble, youth, life is a bitch ...
Time:
90s
Place:
argentina, latin america, uruguay, buenos aires argentina
Similarity:
46%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil, USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
Best buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.
Style:
tense, bleak, harsh, suspense, rough ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
friendship, street gang, favela, slum, coming of age, betrayal, brutality, relationships, drug lord, society, gang war, best friend ...
Time:
year 2008, year 2007, future, 70s, 21st century
Place:
rio de janeiro, brazil, south america, latin america
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
emotional, harsh, tense, rough, grim ...
Audience:
kids
Plot:
redemption, child abuse, children, coming of age, boy, dysfunctional family, working class, juvenile detention, youth, corporal punishment, childhood, poverty ...
Time:
year 1999, 70s, 90s
Place:
usa, new york, california
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Spain
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
sentimental, sexy, disturbing, touching, sincere ...
Audience:
teens, toddlers, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, innocence lost, heroin, juvenile delinquency, prison, downfall, teenager, dysfunctional family, drug dealing, family problems, adolescence vs adulthood, siblings relations ...
Time:
90s, 2000s, year 2002, 80s, 21st century
Place:
scotland, glasgow scotland, europe, united kingdom
Similarity:
44%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
sexual, serious, realistic, touching, crying ...
Plot:
gay, sex with a priest, altar boy, coming of age, lgbt, older man younger man relationship, cartel, youth, religion, rape, sexuality, temptation ...
Time:
90s
Place:
italy, europe, naples italy, milan italy, rome italy
Similarity:
44%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
A group of high school friends discover that they are in the presence of a killer. One of them, Samson, has murdered his girlfriend Jamie. He brags to his friends about killing her, and when they discover he is telling the truth, their reactions ...
Style:
independent film, creepy, retro, cult classic, dark ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
high school, coming of age, murder, strong sexual content, teenager, drug abuse, violence, death, marijuana, drug, serial killer, small town ...
Time:
80s, year 1986, 20th century
Place:
oregon, california, usa, portland oregon
Similarity:
43%
32K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
sincere, harsh, captivating, rough, art house ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
redemption, baby, urban ghetto life, poverty, criminal, slum, gang, childhood, friendship, street life, murder, coming of age ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
south africa, africa, johannesburg south africa, boston
Similarity:
43%
53K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, Belgium
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
An inside look at Italy's modern-day crime families, the Camorra in Naples and Caserta. Based on a book by Roberto Saviano. Power, money and blood: these are the "values" that the residents of the Province of Naples and Caserta have ...
Style:
tense, harsh, realistic, serious, depressing ...
Plot:
juvenile delinquency, gang war, mafia, camorra, gangster, death, danger, organized crime, italian mafia, gang, power, character study ...
Time:
year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
italy, napoli italy, europe, venice, miami ...
Similarity:
42%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia, France
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
In 1946, a soldier fathers a child then dies before its birth. Jump to 1952: on a train, the child and his mother meet a handsome soldier who makes a play for her. She accepts. Posing as a married family, the soldier finds them a rooming house where ...
Style:
bleak, realistic, sincere, serious, gloomy ...
Plot:
coming of age, death, betrayal, soldier, family relations, cons and scams, parents and children, hospital, drinking, orphanage, thief, passion ...
Time:
50s, post world war two, year 1997, 1940s, 20th century ...
Place:
russia, soviet union, black sea, siberia, new jersey
Similarity:
41%
223K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Aimlessly whiling away their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz, Hubert, and Said -- a Jew, African, and an Arab -- give human faces to France's immigrant populations, their bristling resentment at their social ...
Style:
bleak, art house, disturbing, cult classic, thought provoking ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
racism, rebel, poverty, skinhead, youth, ghetto, brutality, police brutality, friendship, rebellion, urban ghetto life, misfit ...
Time:
20th century, year 1995, 90s
Place:
paris france, france, middle east, europe
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
disturbing, serious, rough, biting, realistic ...
Plot:
politics, social differences, social decay, rich and poor, fighting the system, injustice, working class, society, juvenile delinquency, life is a bitch, downfall, state affairs ...
Time:
90s
Place:
brazil, latin america, sao paulo brazil, rio de janeiro
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.
Style:
political, depressing, cult classic, stylized, harsh ...
Audience:
teens, pre-teens
Plot:
skinhead, racism, childhood, friendship, coming of age, neo nazi, adolescence, nationalism, boy, children, youth, violent ...
Time:
80s, year 1983, year 2006, 2000s, 20th century
Place:
england, britain, northern england, united kingdom, europe ...
Similarity:
41%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.
Style:
serious, tense, rough, hood, teen ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
bullying, gang, urban ghetto life, ghetto, juvenile delinquency, coming of age, urban, teenage life, social decay, gangster, friendship, teenage love ...
Time:
2000s, 21st century
Place:
london, england, united kingdom, britain, europe
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: India, USA, France, UK
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
Before Slumdog Millionaire came Salaam Bombay!, Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated drama tells the moving story of life on the streets of Bombay as seen through the eyes of Chaipu, a twelve-year-old boy living rough in the city.
Style:
realistic, touching, social, art house, offbeat ...
Plot:
kids in trouble, drug addiction, coming of age, homeless, red light district, drug, sex, childhood, youth, corruption, betrayal, friendship ...
Time:
year 1988, 20th century, 80s
Place:
india, mumbai india, asia, bombay india
Similarity:
40%
108K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
When two poor greasers, Johnny, and Ponyboy are assaulted by a vicious gang, the socs, and Johnny kills one of the attackers, tension begins to mount between the two rival gangs, setting off a turbulent chain of events.
Style:
teen, homoerotic, melancholic, intense, hood ...
Audience:
teens, family outing, pre-teens, kids, girls' night ...
Plot:
coming of age, gang, teen angst, dysfunctional family, street gang, teenager, book, brother brother relationship, small town, friendship, juvenile delinquent, rebellious teenager ...
Time:
60s, year 1964, 1900s, 1950s, future ...
Place:
oklahoma, oklahoma city, usa, north america
Similarity:
40%
Movie in collections
107K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 155 min.
Story:
Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of ...
Style:
tense, harsh, rough, breathtaking, atmospheric ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night
Plot:
prison, mafia, prison life, gangster, cruelty, male nudity, organized crime, male objectification, convict, prison gang, prison escape, coming of age ...
Time:
year 2009, 2000s, 90s, year 2010, 21st century
Place:
france, marseille, europe, paris france, california
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
Style:
tense, realistic, bleak, cult classic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
friendship, prison, violence, gang, murder, transvestite, prison gang, marijuana, survival, prison rape, drug, mentor protege relationship ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa, philadelphia, pennsylvania, paris france, puerto rico ...
Similarity:
40%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 102 min.
Story:
Two parallel stories of Wah caught in the mist of a love affair with his beloved cousin, Ngor and his relationship with his triad brother, Fly, who seems to never fall out of trouble.
Style:
neo noir, surreal, mind bending, psychedelic, crime drama ...
Plot:
triad, gang, brother brother relationship, criminal underworld, mob hit, friendship, bloody violence, gang leader, love, thug, brother sister sex, heroic bloodshed ...
Time:
80s
Place:
hong kong, china, asia
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
The story of teenager, Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
Style:
suspense, hood, disturbing, retro, rough ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
fbi, informant, father son relationship, drug traffic, buddies, culture clash, drug crime, fbi agent, teenager, uncle nephew relationship, teenage boy, father daughter relationship ...
Time:
80s, 90s, year 1986, year 2014, year 2017 ...
Place:
las vegas, ohio, michigan, detroit
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Young gangster Chas Devlin seeks refuge from the mob in a basement belonging to a reclusive, fading rock star Turner.
Style:
sexy, surreal, atmospheric, psychedelic, erotic ...
Plot:
gangster, rock star, surrealism, organized crime, sex, violence, male nudity, basement, heroin, rock and roll, music, rock ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1970, 60s
Place:
london, england, europe, dover england, hamburg germany ...
Similarity:
39%
Movie in collections
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Germany
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Two Chinese miners, who make money by killing fellow miners and then extorting money from the mine owner to keep quiet about the "accident", happen upon their latest victim. But one of them begins to have second thoughts.
Style:
realistic, psychological, suspenseful, tense, serious ...
Plot:
miner, murder, disaster, teenage life, rich and poor, cons and scams, dishonesty, hidden identity, investigation, serial killer, father son relationship, teenage boy ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
china, asia
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star (Gellar) falls prey to a ...
Style:
emotional, touching, non-linear, stylized, intense ...
Plot:
true love, love, supernatural ability, doctors and patients, dishonesty, hitman, power relations, philosophy, justice, dark hero, thief, violence ...
Time:
year 2007, future, 21st century
Similarity:
39%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, N.J., history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle ...
Style:
captivating, tense, disturbing, suspense, dramatic ...
Plot:
mafia, criminal, gang, gangster, gang war, mobster, bandit, organized crime, criminal underworld, crime boss, mafioso, fight for supremacy ...
Time:
60s, year 1967, 70s, year 1972, year 1971
Place:
new york, new jersey, usa
Similarity:
39%
43K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, France, UK
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
After finding himself at the constant abuse of his best friend Bobby, Marty has become fed up with his friend's twisted ways. His girlfriend, a victim of Bobby's often cruel ways, couldn't agree more and they strategize murdering ...
Style:
disturbing, sexy, bleak, erotic drama, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama, adult
Plot:
bullying, sexual abuse, teenager, nudity, murder, violent, rivalry, bully comeuppance, revenge, sex, social decay, drug ...
Time:
year 2001, 90s, 20th century, 2000s
Place:
usa, bronx new york city, florida
Similarity:
39%
1.0M
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.
Style:
psychological, neo noir, bleak, atmospheric, cult classic ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
loner, vigilante, character study, alienation, vigilantism, violence, obsession, loneliness, psychology, lone wolves, taxi, social decay ...
Time:
70s, year 1976, 20th century, year 1975
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa, america, harlem ...
Similarity:
38%
195
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
An abused runaway with pyromaniac tendencies teams up with a metal sculptor. Together they blow away the art world and a local crime boss.
Style:
independent film, serious, realistic, rough, grunge
Plot:
youth, child abuse, oral sex, hollywood, friendship, coming of age, best friend, performer's life, kids in trouble, friends, teenage life, urban ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, los angeles
Similarity:
38%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: Italy, Brazil, Germany, France, Sweden, USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
Pio Amato, a 14 year-old member of a small Romani community in Calabria, is in a hurry to grow up. Pio follows his older brother Cosimo everywhere and from him he learns how to hustle and how to navigate the streets of his hometown. One night Pio ...
Style:
neorealism, psychological, suspense, contemplative, tense ...
Plot:
gypsy, coming of age, male female relationship, friendship, chase, brother sister relationship, betrayal, petty criminal, father son relationship, teenager, family relations, twists and turns ...
Time:
year 2017
Place:
southern italy, italy, rome italy
Similarity:
38%
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