Best movies like Bach in Brazil

Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike, only to be confronted with the Pulitzer's hard-ball tactics.

After being released from prison, Dr. Nise da Silveira is back at work in a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro where she refuses to employ the new and violent electroshock in the treatment of schizophrenics. Ridiculed by doctors, she is forced to take on the abandoned Sector for Occupational Therapy, where she would start a revolution through paintings, animals and love.

Brazil is perhaps the best of the handful of US films made by Brazilian singing sensation Tito Guizar. In typical screwball-comedy fashion, the plot is set in motion by authoress Nicky Henderson, who has hit the best-seller charts with her latest tome, Why Marry a Latin? While researching her next book in Rio De Janeiro, she finds out "why" when she meets handsome songwriter Miguel Soares. Upon learning about Nicky's book, Miguel decides to teach her a few lessons in the affairs of the heart. Edward Everett Horton is also on hand, twittering his way through the role of a well-meaning buttinsky. Thanks to the "Good Neighbor" policy of the 1940s, South American musicals were a glut on the market, but Brazil was good enough on its own merits to pay its way at the box office.

Little kids, big dreams and smashingly good music – Dixieland follows the amazing progress of four members of a Ukrainian children’s brass band from Kherson. Through steady practice under the wildest of conditions, Roman (12, trumpet), Polina (10, trombone, drums and many other instruments), Nikita (12, drums) and Nikita (14, piano) produce magical music with ancient, wobbly instruments. Not least due to their wit and good humor, they persevere together, helped along by their 80+-year-old conductor and a young teacher. These children of the post-Soviet provinces use American tunes to achieve their dream – to become someone in the world and make something of their lives, no matter how dire the circumstances. From the authors of an awards winning documentary film Ukrainian Sheriffs.

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

A former professional dancer volunteers to teach dance in the New York public school system and, while his background first clashes with his students' tastes, together they create a completely new style of dance. Based on the story of ballroom dancer, Pierre Dulane.

A man, Milan (played by Johnny Hallyday) steps off a train, into a small French village. As he waits for the day when he will rob the town bank, he runs into an old retired poetry teacher named M. Manesquier (Jean Rochefort). The two men strike up a strange friendship and explore the road not taken, each wanting to live the other's life.

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

An aspiring opera singer from Harlem teams up with a charismatic busker and a kindhearted hustler to share his voice with the world, and teaches his two newfound friends the importance of taking your destiny into your own hands. Anton (Gabriel Casseus) lives in Harlem with his aunt. He dreams of moving to Italy and becoming a famous opera singer, and though he's been blessed with a magnificent singing voice, his passion has made him an outsider in his neighborhood. Running away from home, Anton meets passionate street pianist Matthew (Christian Carmago) and together the two begin drawing large, appreciate crowds on the street. Working the crowd as they do their thing is Wes (Damon Wayans), whose natural charm always gets the cash flowing. And while life on the streets is never easy, Anton, Matthew, and Wes soon discover that by following their dreams, they may find a means of transforming their lives forever.

When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart.

Bossa Nova is a romantic comedy that enfolds many love convergences and divergences, in today’s Rio de Janeiro. It’s in the city’s “useless landscape” that the lonely hearts of nine characters will cross destinies and they’ll discover new passions. The meeting place for these journeys is a charming English teacher, Mary Ann Simpson, former airline stewardess, who’s been living in Rio for two years, since she became a widow, and the newly separated Pedro Paulo. They approach each other without a hint that their lives will be linked by many characters and incidents.

17-year-old Cyril is funny, smart and an all-round good guy. Just his somewhat overlarge nose spoils the picture. On a school trip to Berlin with Roxy, a stunning new classmate, Cyril is not the only one taken with her. Benno, the class Casanova has his eye on the girl too and makes a nasty wager. Roxy is more interested in the introverted Rick, who is not only shy but also slow. Cyril hastens with his spoken word skills to Rick's aid, and falls head over heels in love with Roxy himself. So whose brave heart will win the fair lady?

A teenage boy is sent to a juvenile reform facility in the wilderness. As we learn about the tragic events that sent him there, his struggle becomes one for survival with the inmates, counselors, and the retired war colonel in charge.

Anna teaches violin at a music school, her husband is an instrument-maker. They have a 10-year-old son, Jonas. At school, Anna champions young Alexander, in whom she alone sees great talent. She devotes much energy and attention preparing him for the next stage exam to prove she was right. Soon Anna devotes more time to him than to Jonas, bringing the two boys into rivalry. At the same time her marriage is collapsing, she withdraws increasingly from her own family and starts an affair with her colleague Christian, who is encouraging her to join a quartet. When she fails during their joint concert, the pressure mounts. With Alexander now her vehicle, she drives him ever onwards and upwards. Come the day of the exam, events take a tragic turn...

The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.

About the life and adventures of a gang of abandoned street kids known as "Capitães da Areia" (Captains of the Sands), in Salvador, Bahia, during the 1950s.

Sandro was a boy who loved to sing rap, to kiss, to stare the statue of Christ the Redeemer and dreamed to go visit Copacabana. Growing up on streets, the story culminates at the infamous episode of 12th June 2000, when Sandro hijacked bus 174.

BIRD IN THE SKY is a gritty, poetic tale of a young man’s spiritual struggle on the streets of New York City. Rob has been given a second chance to right the wrongs of his street-wise past; he must perform a miracle to be saved. His fate lies in his love for a young woman, Kay, who is coping with the loss of her child.

With death getting near, a retired officer remembers the most important passages in his life and his participation in historical events in Brazil, such as the Lieutenants' Movement, and the 1964 coup.

Malarek is a film directed by Roger Cardinal in 1989. Ex-juvenile offender Victor Malarek catches a break when he's hired as a cub reporter for the Montreal Star. After witnessing a cop murder a street kid, Malarek dedicates himself to exposing corruption in the social welfare system.

Crash Kids - trust no one Mike Camber is a good kid who lives with his uncle in Germany. But things go very bad for him when his buddy Werner offers to take him for a ride in his new car... which is stolen. Werner crashes the car and flees, leaving Mike behind, trapped in the car. Mike is arrested by the police and sent to a juvenile detention center. While imprisoned, Mike meets Miu, a beautiful young woman being held for crimes she won't talk about. Together, they inadvertently discover that the warden is running a drug ring out of the detention center...and now the warden wants them dead because of what they know. Mike and Miu escape, only to learn that the local police, and even Mike's buddy Werner, are involved with drug ring. On the run, with no where to go, Mike turns to the only person he feels he can trust, a mysterious stranger he hardly knows: his father.

John Eliot Gardiner goes in search of Bach the man and the musician. The famous portrait of Bach portrays a grumpy 62-year-old man in a wig and formal coat, yet his greatest works were composed 20 years earlier in an almost unrivalled blaze of creativity. We reveal a complex and passionate artist; a warm and convivial family man at the same time a rebellious spirit struggling with the hierarchies of state and church who wrote timeless music that is today known world-wide. Gardiner undertakes a 'Bach Tour' of Germany, and sifts the relatively few clues we have - some newly-found. Most of all, he uses the music to reveal the real Bach.

Ian Folivor, a depressed and reclusive 30-something, finds himself taking advice from a growth in his bathroom after a failed suicide attempt. The Mold, a smooth talking fungus who was born of the filth collecting in a corner of Ian's neglected bathroom, works to win Ian's trust by helping him clean himself up and remodel his lifestyle. With The Mold's help, Ian attracts the attention of a neighbor he's been ogling through his peephole, Leah, and he manages to find a slice of happiness despite his unnatural circumstances. But Ian starts to receive strange messages from his old and broken down TV set that make him realize that The Mold may not be as helpful as it seems to be, and strange characters combined with stranger events cast Ian's life in the shadow of an epic battle between good and evil that Ian is only partially aware of.

So what's so bad about being a common caterpillar? Just ask Hermie-or his friend, Wormie-and they'll tell you. No splashy stripes. No stand-out spots. Not even a cool house like the snail or super-strength like the ant. Compared to the rest of God's beautiful creation, they just feel ordinary. Unimportant. A little out of place. But God sees past their plainness, and plans an incredible surprise to show them just how special they are.Featuring the voices of Tim Conway as Hermie and Don Knotts as Wormie, these caterpillars encounter a host of delightful characters and quickly wriggle their way into the hearts of young and old alike. But as the animation engages young minds, the truth of God's purpose and plan for His people touches their souls. It's a message of hope you'll want your kids to hear, and a fun-filled adventure that will keep them crawling back for more.

After studying in the capital, the young Cate, 18, returns to her small town in Minas Gerais, to teach in elementary school. Enthusiastic, free and communicative, she conquers the students in the act, but its leading behavior does not appeal to conservative teachers of the 40s. Every day she brings new ideas. While they discover the pleasure of learning, the school friends also have the first lessons about love, friendship and freedom. And the schoolmistress not only winning students: the most beautiful boys in town fall in love with her. Created by Tia Cida and niece of Bishop Aristides, Cate grew up with his uncle's godson, Beto, who became a priest and return to the city after studying outside.

Sabô (Giselle Itié) marries Lindolfo Ezequiel (José Dumont) in exchange for the life of his brother, who was sworn to death by the captain. The brunette is known as the most desired woman in the region and her husband is reputed to be a killer. One day, Ubaldo Capadócio (Fernando Pavão) arrives in the city of Cachoeira, in Bahia, and takes away hearts. The poet is a handsome man, has nine children and is married to three women: Rosecler (Aline Nepomuceno), Romilda (Luciana Fernandes) and Valdelice (Cristiana Ferreira). Rosecler is the most fiery and spendthrift, Romilda abandoned her butcher husband for Ubaldo and Valdelice is the most daring. In Cachoeira, Ubaldo sees Sabô and is attracted by so much beauty. The captain's wife surrenders to the poet's charms, but they are caught by Lindolfo Ezequiel. Then begins the saga of Ubaldo to escape death. That's where the miracle of birds happens.

Two teenagers from opposite sides of town, with very little in common except for their passion for music meet in 1970's Rio de Janeiro, at the height of the military dictatorship _ and of Brazil's booming underground rock scene.

In northern England around 1900, the worker John O'Brien lives near poverty in a small house in the worker's district. He falls in love with Mary, the teacher of his highly intelligent younger sister Kathy and daughter of a rich family. Their love is doomed by the social difference, but the vigorous Mary refuses to allow outer circumstances destroying their love.

Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?

A modern love story set in Sao Paulo about Heitor, a writer and literature professor, and Julia, a theatre student turned veterinarian. A fight over the telephone propels Heitor into a journey through the chaotic city streets to reconcile with Julia. Their personal history unfolds against the backdrop of the city and its people in a series of events representing the struggle between poetry and science.

In this drama, an ex-vaudevillian dancer opens up a dance band agency and help street kids at the same time by hiring them to help out. Unfortunately, the local gang of hood's leader resists his attempts. More trouble ensues when the dancer helps a convict gain parole by hiring him. It later turns out that the ex-con is only interested in trying to use the agency as a front for extortion. Songs include the Oscar nominated "When There's a Breeze on Lake Louise," "Your Face Looks Familiar," "Heavenly, Isn't He?" "Let's Forget It," "You're Bad For Me," and "A Million Miles From Manhattan."

To the beat of his avant-garde and eclectic rhythms, Brazilian rapper Emicida performs hits from his album AmarElo at the São Paulo Municipal Theater.

18-year-old Rosie Kaplan O'Grady was found as an abandoned baby by O'Grady, an Irish policeman, and Kaplan, a Jewish pawnbroker, and raised by them as their own. She is being courted by two men; prizefighter Terry Callahan and a rich socialite, Tommy Sinclair and has to choose between them.

When his estranged daughter Miranda tragically dies, a retired musician sets out to complete the last song she wrote.