Movies Like Padre Padrone

If you liked Padre Padrone (1977), a drama movie directed by Vittorio Taviani and Paolo Taviani, 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
Shoeshine (1946)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.
2
Dogman (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Marcello, a small and gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer who terrorizes the entire neighborhood. In an effort to reaffirm his…
3
Johnny Belinda (1948)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A small-town doctor helps a deaf-mute farm girl learn to communicate.
4
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)
★ 8.2/10Also drama
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.
5
The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the…
6
Embattled (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
7
Home Run (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
8
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
9
The Conspiracy of Torture (1969)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
In 1599 Italy, Beatrice Cenci is the teenage daughter of the crazed landowner and nobleman Francesco Cenci who keeps her locked up in the dungeon of his castle where he sexually abuses her. Beatrice plots with her…
10
Misunderstood (2014)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Rome, 1984, Aria is nine-year-old girl. On the verge of divorce, Aria's infantile and selfish parents are too preoccupied with their careers and extra-marital affairs to properly tend to any of Aria's needs. While her…
11
Malena (2000)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of…
12
The Stolen Children (1992)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Antonio, a policeman (carabiniere), has an order to take two children (Rosetta and her brother Luciano) from Milan to Sicily to an orphanage. Their mother has been arrested for forcing Rosetta (11 years old) to work as…
13
The Consequences of Love (2004)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
Lugano, Switzerland. Titta Di Girolamo is a discreet and sullen man who has been living for almost a decade in a modest hotel room, a prisoner of an atrocious routine, apparently without purpose. His past is a mystery…
14
Bad Tales (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
In a small suburb on the outskirts of Rome, the cheerful heat of summer camouflages a stifling atmosphere of alienation. From a distance, the families seem normal, but it’s an illusion: in the houses, courtyards and…
15
William Tell (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
The narrative unfolds in the 14th Century, when the European nations vie for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire. The ambitious Austrian Empire, desiring more land, invades neighbouring Switzerland, a serene and…
16
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…
17
Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
18
The Color Purple (1985)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing…
19
5 Is the Perfect Number (2019)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Peppino, a retired hitman for the Camorra, has now fully passed on his job and know-how to his single son, Nino. But when Nino is brutally assassinated, the old man is back in business to take revenge. Aside his…
20
The Ciambra (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
Pio Amato, a 14 year-old member of a small Romani community in southern Italian town of Gioia Tauro in Calabria, is in a hurry to grow up. Pio follows his older brother Cosimo everywhere and from him he learns how to…