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Movies that feel like La Dolce Vita (1960)

If you loved La Dolce Vita, the closest films we have are Nights of Cabiria (1957), La Strada (1954) and Good Bye, Lenin! (2003). All three share La Dolce Vita's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

πŸ… 95% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Federico Felliniwittyplayfulcontemplativemelancholyromantic

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If La Dolce Vita hit the spot, these will too

Nights of Cabiria poster
Nights of Cabiria
1957 Β· dir. Federico Fellini
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1drama Β· comedy

The same hand behind both of them: Federico Fellini

The difference: None of the melancholy La Dolce Vita is built on

Rome, 1957. A woman, Cabiria, is robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend, Giorgio. Rescued, she resumes her life and tries her best to find happiness in a cynical world. Even when she thinks her struggles are over and she has found happiness and contentment, things may not be what they seem.

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La Strada poster
La Strada
1954 Β· dir. Federico Fellini
πŸ… 97%β˜… 8drama

Both are Federico Fellini's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Missing the wit of La Dolce Vita

When Gelsomina, a naΓ―ve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman ZampanΓ² to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon ZampanΓ² must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving ZampanΓ².

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Good Bye, Lenin! poster
Good Bye, Lenin!
2003 Β· dir. Wolfgang Becker
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7comedy Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: grief

The difference: Made in the 2000s, in a different era of the craft

Alex Kerner's mother was in a coma while the Berlin wall fell. When she wakes up he must try to keep her from learning what happened (as she was an avid communist supporter) to avoid shocking her which could lead to another heart attack.

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I Vitelloni poster
I Vitelloni
1953 Β· dir. Federico Fellini
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· drama

The same mix in both: wit, then play

Five young men dream of success as they drift lazily through life in a small Italian village. Fausto, the group's leader, is a womanizer; Riccardo craves fame; Alberto is a hopeless dreamer; Moraldo fantasizes about life in the city; and Leopoldo is an aspiring playwright. As Fausto chases a string of women, to the horror of his pregnant wife, the other four blunder their way from one uneventful experience to the next.

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Cool Hand Luke poster
Cool Hand Luke
1967 Β· dir. Stuart Rosenberg
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8drama Β· crime

Common ground: mortality

The difference: Leans harder into crime than La Dolce Vita does

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

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Breathless poster
Breathless
1960 Β· dir. Jean-Luc Godard
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.6drama Β· crime Β· romance

Both are built on the same subject: newspaper

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

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Magnolia poster
Magnolia
1999 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 82%β˜… 8drama

The same preoccupation in both: unsociability

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 each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

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Charade poster
Charade
1963 Β· dir. Stanley Donen
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· mystery Β· romance

One thread runs through both: grief

After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.

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Places in the Heart poster
Places in the Heart
1984 Β· dir. Robert Benton
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4drama

Contemplative where it counts, melancholy underneath

In 1935 rural Texas, recently widowed Edna Spaulding struggles to survive with two small children, a farm to run, and very little money in the bank - not to mention a deadly tornado and the unwelcome presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Edna is aided by her beautician sister, Margaret; a blind boarder, Mr. Will; and a would-be thief, Moze, who decides to teach Edna how to plant and harvest cotton.

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Life Is Beautiful poster
Life Is Beautiful
1997 Β· dir. Roberto Benigni
πŸ… 80%β˜… 8.6comedy Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mortality

A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

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Happy Gilmore poster
Happy Gilmore
1996 Β· dir. Dennis Dugan
πŸ… 66%β˜… 7comedy

Romantic comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

Failed hockey player-turned-golf whiz Happy Gilmore β€” whose unconventional approach and antics on the green courts the ire of rival Shooter McGavin β€” is determined to win a PGA tournament so he can save his granny's house with the prize money. Meanwhile, an attractive tour publicist tries to soften Happy's image.

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American Graffiti poster
American Graffiti
1973 Β· dir. George Lucas
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· drama

Drama with a pulse of wit, in both cases

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

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The best-reviewed films that share La Dolce Vita’s defining feeling.