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How I Fell in Love with a Gangster poster

Movies that feel likeHow I Fell in Love with a Gangster (2022)

A mysterious woman recounts the rise and fall of Nikodem "Nikoś" Skotarczak, one of the biggest gangsters in Poland's history. Inspired by a true story.

If you loved How I Fell in Love with a Gangster, the closest films we have are Enforcement (2020), Law of Tehran (2019) and True Romance (1993). All three share How I Fell in Love with a Gangster's gritty and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Unthinkable (2018).

🍅 60% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Maciej Kawulskigrittykineticcontemplativeromantic
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If How I Fell in Love with a Gangster hit the spot, these will too

Enforcement poster
Enforcement
2020 · dir. Anders Ølholm
🍅 82%★ 6.5action · crimeRent or buy

The same mix in both: grit, then momentum

The difference: Less contemplative, more its own thing

The exact details of what took place while Talib Ben Hassi was in police custody remain unclear. Police officers Jens and Mike are on routine patrol in Svalegården's ghetto when news of Talib's death comes in over the radio, igniting uncontrollable, pent-up rage in the ghetto's youth, who lust for revenge. Suddenly, the two officers find themselves fair game and must fight tooth and claw to find a way out.

Law of Tehran poster
Law of Tehran
2019 · dir. Saeed Roustaee
🍅 95%★ 7.7action · crime · dramaRent or buy

Crime with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: Reviewed even better

Samad is nobody’s fool. The narcotics officer has seen his share of a drug dealer’s lies and games, and his patience has come to run thin. While searching for the infamous drug baron Nasser Khakzad, he and his colleague Hamid scour the streets of Tehran, turning an overcrowded prison on its head. With his rough and dubious approach, Samad finally manages to find the criminal’s whereabouts – but things do not quite go according to plan...

True Romance poster
True Romance
1993 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 93%★ 7.9action · crime · romanceNetflix

One thread runs through both: love

The difference: Played as romance first

Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.

The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil poster
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
2019 · dir. Lee Won-tae
🍅 97%★ 7action · crime · thrillerPrime VideoPeacock

Two things both keep coming back to: gangster and a true story

The difference: Leans further into thriller

After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.

The Unthinkable poster
The Unthinkable
2018 · dir. Victor Danell
🍅 77%★ 6thriller · action · science fictionRent or buy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: love

Sweden faces a mysterious attack while Alex tries to reunite with his youth love, Anna.

Brother poster
Brother
1997 · dir. Aleksei Balabanov
🍅 100%★ 7.7crime · drama · action

Common ground: gangster

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

Danila goes to his successful brother, Victor, in Petersburg to start a new life. Unknown to Danila, Victor is a contract killer, but is in hiding after asking for too much money to assassinate a Chechen mob boss. To avoid exposure, Victor convinces Danila to kill the boss instead.

Furioza poster
Furioza
2021 · dir. Cyprian T. Olencki
★ 6.3action · crime · dramaNetflix

Both lean on grit more than on action

A policewoman makes her ex-boyfriend an offer he can't refuse: either he infiltrates and informs on a gang of hooligans, or his brother goes to jail.

Police Story: Lockdown poster
Police Story: Lockdown
2013 · dir. Ding Sheng
🍅 25%★ 5.9action · crime · dramaPrime Video

Kinetic drama in both cases

A man looking for the release of a long-time prisoner takes a police officer, his daughter, and a group of strangers hostage.

Transporter 3 poster
Transporter 3
2008 · dir. Olivier Megaton
🍅 40%★ 6.1action · thriller · crime

Romantic crime, and it commits to that

Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery and not let his personal feelings get in the way of his dangerous objective.

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy poster
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
2018 · dir. Yuen Woo-ping
★ 6.5action · crime · dramaPrime VideoHulu

Action built on stillness, twice over

Following his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi tries to make a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. But it's not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight.

Facing El Chapo poster
Facing El Chapo
2026 · dir. Chava Cartas
★ 6.7crime · action · thrillerNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: a true story

Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.

Chocolate poster
Chocolate
2008 · dir. Prachya Pinkaew
🍅 71%★ 6.9action · crime

Gritty drama, and it commits to that

Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.

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The best-reviewed films that share How I Fell in Love with a Gangster’s defining feeling.