Movies Like Paganini

If you liked Paganini (1990), a drama and music movie directed by Klaus Kinski, 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
Caligula (1979)
★ 6/10Also drama
After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.
3
1900 (1976)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.
4
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…
5
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
6
The Chronology of Water (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
Plagued by an abusive childhood, a woman finds escape in competitive swimming, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction before ultimately finding her voice through writing.
7
Don't Be Bad (2015)
★ 7.8/10Also drama
A story set in the 90s and in the outskirts of Rome to Ostia. A world where money, luxury cars, night clubs, cocaine and synthetic drugs are easy to run. A world in which Vittorio and Cesare, in their early twenties…
8
The Boys of St. Vincent (1994)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.
9
Crossroads (1986)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and music
A wanna-be blues guitar virtuoso seeks a long-lost song by legendary musician, Robert Johnson.
10
Shame (2011)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up…
11
Cop (1988)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.
12
To Write Love on Her Arms (2015)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
The story follows 19-year-old Renee who has always loved fairy tales: the idea of a princess, a hero and a happily ever after. But Renee’s life is that of a darker tale: she’s a young woman battling addiction…
13
A Good Woman Is Hard to Find (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
The recently widowed mother of two, Sarah, is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of her young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping a low-life drug dealer stash narcotics stolen from the local…
14
The Devil's Double (2011)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.
15
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…
16
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…
17
The Conformist (1971)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
18
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
19
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
★ 7/10Also drama
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.
20
Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A successful woman in New York City finds her life upended when she is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.