Movies Like Mamma Roma

If you liked Mamma Roma (1962), a drama movie directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, 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
Accattone (1961)
★ 7.7/10Also drama
A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.
2
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…
3
Satyricon (1969)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
After his young lover, Gitone, leaves him for another man, Encolpio decides to kill himself, but a sudden earthquake destroys his home before he has a chance to do so. Now wandering around Rome in the time of Nero…
4
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
★ 7/10Also drama
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and…
5
Pimp (2018)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and…
6
The Unknown Woman (2006)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
A Ukrainian woman named Irena calculatedly insinuates herself into the lives of a young, affluent Italian family. Stopping at nothing to become the couple's trusted maid and the beloved nanny to their fragile young…
7
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.
8
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…
9
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.
10
Mean Streets (1973)
★ 7/10Also drama
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
11
The Hand of God (2021)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.
12
Red Desert (1964)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
In an industrializing Italian town, a married woman, rendered mentally unstable after a traffic accident, drifts into an affair with a friend of her husband.
13
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…
14
Lorelei (2020)
★ 6/10Also drama
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
15
The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
When a young man learns that his overbearing father is having an affair, he tries to stop it, only to be seduced by the older woman as well.
16
The Big Fake (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Toni Chichiarelli arrives in Rome with the dream of becoming a painter, but his talent leads him elsewhere — from art galleries to state secrets. Between art, crime, and power, his signature ends up everywhere — even…
17
Pretty Baby (1978)
★ 7/10Also drama
In 1917 New Orleans, a 12-year-old girl is raised in a brothel by her prostitute mother.
18
Heatwave (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
19
Things We Don't Say (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Carlo and Elisa are a successful couple. He’s a university professor and writer facing a creative block; she’s a brilliant, sharp-witted journalist, known for her internationally published editorials. They live in…
20
Trafficked (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
In this story inspired by real characters, three girls from America, Nigeria and India are trafficked through an elaborate global network and enslaved in a Texas brothel, and must together attempt a daring escape to…