The World of Apu (1959), Children of Paradise (1945), Ugetsu (1953), Regular Lovers (2005), The Rules of the Game (1939), La Strada (1954), Days of Heaven (1978), Three Seasons (1999) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Poetic Realism movies.
Storyline: Liberated from any form of attachment that was holding him back from immersing himself into Kolkata's urban lifestyle after Sarbojaya's death in Aparajito (1956), Apu, now an optimistic, 23-year-old idealist and struggling author, has no other choice but to give up his degree for lack of financial resources. Being no longer accountable to anyone, Apu barely manages to scrape by, content with a meagre income and a humble roof over his head, until an unforeseen complication during the wedding of Aparna, the delicate sister of his university friend, Pulu, leads to an act of kindness and a wonderful, youthful romance. All his life, death, and the sense of loss, have been accompanying Apu in his perpetual odyssey of spirituality and knowledge, and now, a lifetime of joys, hopes, sadness, and tragedies culminate in the most momentous decision of his life. But, life's mysterious duality cannot be defined by tragedy. What more could one ask for than a child's charming, wide-eyed smile?—Nick Riganas
Plot Keywords: indian cinema, drama, coming of age, realism, black and white, 1950s, family ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Strolling indolently around the 1830s vibrant Parisian avenue called the Boulevard du Crime, the graceful and elusive courtesan, Garance, finds herself wrongfully accused of pickpocketing. But, amid a sea of jugglers, sideshow performers, streetwalkers, and crooks, the silently eloquent mime, Baptiste, comes to her rescue, only to hopelessly fall for her. And just like that, love's sweet torture befalls the delicate pantomimist, as the insufferable burden of knowing that the object of his desire can never belong to anyone, will heartlessly haunt him for years to come. Many have tried to seize her heart--the flamboyant thespian, Frédérick Lemaître; the criminal dandy, Pierre-François Lacenaire, and the imperious but loveless Count, Édouard de Montray--however, Garance, after so many barren years, now seems to need only one man. In the end, trusting a frail and modest rose is beautiful but cruel. Is there anyone who can accept the naked truth of an unrequited love?
Plot Keywords: french cinema, classic film, romanticism, theater, paris, 19th century, love ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In the beginning of the springtime in the period of the Japanese Civil Wars of the Sixteenth Century in Lake Biwa in the Province of Omi, the family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels to Nagahama to sell his wares and makes a small fortune. His neighbor Tobei that is a fool man dreams on becoming a samurai, but he can not afford to buy the necessary outfit. The greedy Genjurô and Tobei work together manufacturing clay potteries, expecting to sell the pieces and enrich; however, their wives Miyage and Ohama are worried about the army of the cruel Shibata that is coming to their village and they warn their ambitious husbands. Their village is looted but the families flee and survive; Genjurô and Tobei decide to travel by boat with their wives and baby to sell the wares in a bigger town. When they meet another boat that was attacked by pirates, Genjurô decides to leave his wife and son on the bank of the river, promising to return in ten days. Genjurô, Tobei and Ohama raise a large...
Plot Keywords: classic film, period drama, ghost story, black and white, tragedy, fantasy, historical drama ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In 1968 a young Parisian (Louis Garrel) embraces revolutionary ideals and begins a romance with an art student (Clotilde Hesme).
Plot Keywords: french cinema, black and white film, art film, paris, youth culture, love story, rebellion ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: On the brink of WWII, the record-breaking aviator, André Jurieux, safely lands at a small airport crammed with reporters, only to come face to face with his worst fear: the object of his desire, Christine--a blonde noblewoman and wife of the affluent Marquis de la Cheyniest, Robert--is not there to greet him. Intent on winning her back, André accepts his friend Octave's invitation for a lavish hunting weekend at the aristocrat's palatial country estate at La Coliniere, among hand-picked guests and the mansion's servants; however, intrigue, rivalries, and human weaknesses threaten to expose both royalty and paupers alike. Who will breach the unwritten rules of the game?
Plot Keywords: french film, classic film, satire, high society, social commentary, dark comedy, ensemble cast ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Sad story of a waif, Gelsomina, who is sold by her mother to Zampano for 10,000 lire and a few kilos of food. Zampano is a traveling showman who exhibits feats of strength by breaking a chain wrapped around his chest. He performs in village squares and then passes the hat for whatever the normally small crowd is prepared to give. He teaches Gelsomina a drum roll as part of his introduction. He doesn't treat her well and when she tries to run away, he beats her. They eventually join a small traveling circus where they meet a tight-rope walker who convinces Gelsomina to question her choices.
Plot Keywords: drama, romance, tragedy, italian cinema, circus, underclass, loneliness ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Bill and Abby, a young couple who to the outside world pretend to be brother and sister are living and working in Chicago at the beginning of the century. They want to escape the poverty and hard labor of the city and travel south. Together with the girl Linda (who acts as the narrator in the movie) they find employment on a farm in the Texas panhandle. When the harvest is over the young, rich and handsome farmer invites them to stay because he has fallen in love with Abby. When Bill and Abby discover that the farmer is seriously ill and has only got a year left to live they decide that Abby will accept his wedding proposal in order to make some benefit out of the situation. When the expected death fails to come, jealousy and impatience are slowly setting in and accidents become eventually inevitable.
Plot Keywords: drama, romance, rural, american, classic, poetic, nature ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A woman (Nguyen Ngoc Hiep) harvests flowers for a leper (Tran Manh Cuong), a cyclo driver (Don Duong) loves a prostitute, and an ex-Marine seeks an unknown daughter in Saigon.
Plot Keywords: drama, vietnam, independent film, multi-narrative, social realism, cultural clash, poetic ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: 'Devi' focuses on a young woman who is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: indian cinema, classic film, drama, family drama, psychological drama, social critique, crisis of faith ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Life's a rotten business, says Jean, a deserter who arrives at night in Le Havre, looking to leave the country. He lucks into civilian clothes, a little bit of money, a passport, and a dog, and he also meets Nelly, a 17-year-old who's grown up too fast. She's the object of lust of men: including a boyfriend Maurice, her putative protector Zabel, and Lucien, a local hood. Jean falls for her, faces down Lucien, and gives her courage to stand on her own feet. A ship is leaving for Venezuela; can at least one of them be on it, or is that just a dream?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: french film, film noir, 1930s, crime film, social outcasts, fatalism, atmospheric ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: When Juliette marries Jean, she comes to live with him as he captains a river barge. Besides the two of them, are a cabin boy and the strange old second mate Pere Jules. Soon bored by life on the river, she slips off to see the nightlife when they come to Paris. Angered by this, Jean sets off, leaving Juliette behind. Overcome by grief and longing for his wife, Jean falls into a depression and Pere Jules goes and tries to find Juliette.
Plot Keywords: french film, classic film, black and white film, love story, working class, realism, sexual undertones ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In a bleak rundown industrial area a young woman, Giuliana, tries to cope with life. She's married to Ugo the manager of a local plant but is soon having an affair with one of his co-workers, Corrado Zeller, who is visiting. Giuliana is unstable, not quite knowing anymore just what her role is, whether that be a wife, a mother or just another person. Her escape from life is short-lived however as Zeller is simply using her to satisfy his own needs and desires.—garykmcd
Plot Keywords: art film, existentialism, psychological drama, alienation, modernity, female protagonist, visual storytelling ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Glasgow, summer, 1973. Dustmen are striking; bags of garbage add to the blight of council flats and a fetid canal. Ryan, who's about 12, drowns during a play fight with his neighbor, the jug-eared James. James runs home, a flat where he lives with his often-drunk da, his ma, and sisters, who live in hope of moving to newly-built council flats. The slice-of-life, coming-of-age story follows James as he tags along with the older lads; has a friendship with his quirky wee rodent-loving neighbor, Kenny; spends time with Margaret Anne, myopic, slightly older, the local sexual punching bag; and, has a moment or two of joy. The strike may end, but is there any way out for James?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords: drama, coming of age, social realism, poverty, scotland, glasgow, 1970s ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A down-on-his-luck farmer makes a deal with the devil for seven years of prosperity. When Mr. Scratch comes to collect, orator and hero of the common man Daniel Webster comes to the rescue.—Little Pine Weasel <kristinat@cerritos.edu>
Plot Keywords: allegory, classic film, moral dilemma, supernatural, film noir, stage adaptation, new england ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: A study of minor events in the adolescence of a boy growing up in small towns. Daniel lives with his grandmother and, after one year of high school, has to go to live with his mother in the south of France. She is a seamstress living in a tiny apartment with her lover Jose, a Spanish farm worker. Daniel would like to continue school, but his mother cannot afford it, so she sends him to work as an apprentice in a moped repair shop. Daniel wiles away his time in the shop, and learns about girls from the other boys in town. When he returns to visit his grandmother next year, it is obvious that he has grown up faster than his old friends.—Will Gilbert
Plot Keywords: french film, 1970s, adolescence, first love, rural life, autobiographical, sexual awakening ...
Movie Details Click Here !