Movies Like The Balloon Vendor

If you liked The Balloon Vendor (1974), a drama movie directed by Mario Gariazzo, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
'night, Mother (1986)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
A mother and daughter spend a night together after the daughter reveals that she will kill herself by the end of it.
2
Big Fish (2003)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will…
3
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act (2026)
★ 8.8/10Also drama
With Caine gone and the circus dark, the cast are left with only the mistakes and traumas of their pasts to keep them company. As the prospect of eternity closes in around them, they discover the truth about the…
4
The Beaver (2011)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Suffering from a severe case of depression, toy company CEO Walter Black begins using a beaver hand puppet to help him open up to his family. With his father seemingly going insane, adolescent son Porter pushes for his…
5
Cowboys (2020)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Troy and his young transgender son Joe are on the run from his conservative mother in the Montana wilderness, with a detective in hot pursuit.
6
The Children Are Watching Us (1943)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
In his first collaboration with renowned screenwriter and longtime partner Cesare Zavattini, Vittorio De Sica examines the cataclysmic consequences of adult folly on an innocent child. Heralding the pair’s subsequent…
7
Tornado (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
When her father's puppet samurai show gets ambushed by a notorious gang, Tornado vows to seek vengeance and forge her own destiny by stealing their ill-gotten gold.
8
Sweet Dreams (2016)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Turin, 1969. Nine-year-old Massimo’s idyllic childhood is shattered by the mysterious death of his mother. The young boy refuses to accept this brutal loss, even if the priest says she is now in Heaven. Years later in…
9
Magnolia (1999)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will…
10
The Lion King (1994)
★ 8.3/10Also drama
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid…
11
Saving Flora (2019)
★ 7/10Also drama
Flora is a circus elephant who can no longer perform her tricks. The night before she's scheduled to be euthanized, the circus owner's 14-year old daughter, Dawn, sneaks Flora from the circus. All that stands between…
12
A Daughter (2025)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A middle-aged man, Pietro, becomes a widower and must take care of his daughter. He will never have the time to delve into his own pain, committing himself to raising his daughter with love and dedication, in an…
13
Last Ride (2009)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
A young boy travels across Australia with his father, who's wanted by the law.
14
Bird (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.
15
Bambi II (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
Return to the forest and join Bambi as he reunites with his father, The Great Prince, who must now raise the young fawn on his own. But in the adventure of a lifetime, the proud parent discovers there is much he can…
16
Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
A despairing clown suffering a broken heart and a self-indulgent count who uncontrollably laughs learn to help each other with their problems, but both fall in love with the same young woman.
17
A Thousand and One (2023)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so…
18
Circus World (1964)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.
19
The Glass House (2001)
★ 6/10Also drama
When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the…
20
Hesher (2010)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.