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La Dolce Vita poster

Movies that feel likeLa Dolce Vita (1960)

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.

If you loved La Dolce Vita, the closest films we have are 8½ (1963), The Apartment (1960) and Lolita (1962). All three share La Dolce Vita's contemplative and melancholy feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Meet John Doe (1941).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Federico Felliniwittyplayfulcontemplativemelancholyromantic
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If La Dolce Vita hit the spot, these will too

8½ poster
8½
1963 · dir. Federico Fellini
🍅 97%★ 8dramaMax

Federico Fellini working the same nerve twice

The difference: Easier on the wit than La Dolce Vita

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

The Apartment poster
The Apartment
1960 · dir. Billy Wilder
🍅 94%★ 8.3comedy · drama · romance

The same preoccupation in both: lovesickness

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

Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

Lolita poster
Lolita
1962 · dir. Stanley Kubrick
🍅 89%★ 7.5drama · comedy · romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: grief

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

Harold and Maude poster
Harold and Maude
1971 · dir. Hal Ashby
🍅 86%★ 7.8comedy · drama · romance

Common ground: mortality

A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.

Sleepless in Seattle poster
Sleepless in Seattle
1993 · dir. Nora Ephron
🍅 75%★ 6.8comedy · drama · romanceNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: unsociability

The difference: 33 years apart, and the 1990s show

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Across the country, an engaged woman becomes convinced that they belong together, despite their never having met. Will their paths collide despite the odds?

Nights of Cabiria poster
Nights of Cabiria
1957 · dir. Federico Fellini
🍅 100%★ 8.1drama · comedy

The same hand behind both of them: Federico Fellini

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.

Meet John Doe poster
Meet John Doe
1941 · dir. Frank Capra
🍅 92%★ 7.6drama · comedy · romancePrime Video

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

Life Is Beautiful poster
Life Is Beautiful
1997 · dir. Roberto Benigni
🍅 80%★ 8.6comedy · dramaParamount+

One thread runs through both: 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.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1958 · dir. Richard Brooks
🍅 97%★ 7.9drama

Contemplative and melancholy in the same breath

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

La Strada poster
La Strada
1954 · dir. Federico Fellini
🍅 97%★ 8dramaMax

Both keep coming back to the same thing: sadness

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò 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 Zampanò.

City Lights poster
City Lights
1931 · dir. Charlie Chaplin
🍅 95%★ 8.5comedy · drama · romancePrime VideoMax

Comedy built on romance, twice over

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.

Good Bye, Lenin! poster
Good Bye, Lenin!
2003 · dir. Wolfgang Becker
🍅 91%★ 7.7comedy · drama

Another one that scratches it

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