Best movies like La Strada

Widowed shopkeeper Cesira and her 13-year-old daughter Rosetta flee from the allied bombs in Rome during the second World War; they travel to the remote village where Cesira was born. During their journey and in the village and onward, the mother does everything she can to protect Rosetta. Meanwhile, a sensitive young intellectual, Michele, falls in love with Cesira.

Three tales of very different women using their sexuality as a means to getting what they want.

Gorgeous IRA operative Marie flees the British authorities and finds herself somewhere in the American continent, where she meets a stunning woman also named Marie, a singer in a traveling circus. The new friends start a vaudeville act that grows exponentially more popular after they incorporate striptease into their routine. When the singer Maria falls for a charismatic rebel, the girls leave the circus behind and recreate themselves as wild-eyed revolutionaries.

Joan is loved by a young man of the village and they are married. In a few weeks the husband, a soldier, is sent to the war-front along with his three brothers. Word is received that her husband has been killed in battle and Joan's first impulse is suicide by she is pregnant and her prospective motherhood makes her realize her new responsibility. The military authorities start a movement to get the young women of the country to marry departing soldiers, so that the empire may have another generation of fighting men. Word is received that the King is to pass through their village and Joan organizes the women in a general protest against the war. She leads them all, dressed in black, in a long procession to meet the Monarch. The soldiers threaten to shoot her unless she turns the women back, buy Joan comes face-to-face with the ruler and kills herself, as her message from the women that they refuse to make another generation victims of a ruthless militarism.

A young couple become embroiled with the personal problems of another couple on a yacht moored off Sicily during a turbulent weekend of fun, games, sex games, betrayal, spouse abuse, and murder.

Lonely widow Joyce rents out a room in her house and becomes dangerously obsessed with one of her guests.

A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiralling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.

After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.

Jeff Wilson, the owner of a small circus, owes his partner Carter $10,000. Before Jeff can pay, Carter lets his accomplices steal the money, so he can take over the circus. Antonio Pirelli and Punchy, who work at the circus, together with lawyer Loophole try to find the thief and get the money back.

A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.

After the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.

Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.

When an overachieving high school student decides to travel around the country to choose the perfect college, her overprotective cop father also decides to accompany her in order to keep her on the straight and narrow.

Story of an inventor who, suffering betrayal in life, makes a career of it by becoming a clown whose act consists of getting slapped by all the other clowns. He falls in love with another circus performer, and those who betrayed him enter his life yet again.

The daughter of a circus owner fights to save her father from a takeover spearheaded by the man she loves.

A despairing clown suffering a broken heart and a self-indulgent count who uncontrollably laughs learn to help each other with their problems, but both fall in love with the same young woman.

Sixteen year-old Bobby is emotionally damaged by his mother's early death. He accidentally causes a nun's death, unleashing a chain of supernatural events that lead him into the pits of Hell.

Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.

Bathsheba Everdine, a willful, flirtatious, young woman, unexpectedly inherits a large farm and becomes romantically involved with three widely divergent men.

Two Greek children embark on a journey to search for their father, who supposedly live in Germany.

Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.

Deadbeat dad kidnaps his kids from the bus to an abusive foster home and they go on a run. The cops are after them, they bicker constantly and his idea of a way out is grim, yet this dangerous ride might just turn them into a family.

A naïve rookie in the Mexican highway patrol must adapt in order to survive as he contends with widespread corruption, dangerous drug runners and the consequences of his often morally gray actions.

Four women are given into the custody of the Magdalene sisterhood asylum to correct their sinful behavior: Crispina and Rose have given birth to a premarital child, Margaret got raped by her cousin and the orphan Bernadette had been repeatedly caught flirting with the boys. All have to work in a laundry under the strict supervision of the nuns, who break their wills through sadistic punishment.

A women's prison camp is located deep in the tropical rain forest. Sadistic guards and a warden from hell make life almost unbearable for the inmates, and any infraction of the rules is dealt with swiftly and savagely. The camp doctor is horrified at what he sees happening, and drinks heavily to push the horror away. Finally the inmates have had had enough, and they enlist the help of the doctor to try and escape.

A man and his son take an allegorical stroll through life with a talking bird that spouts social and political philosophy.

Motivational Speaker Jack Corcoran is determined to get his career off the ground, but the biggest gigs he can get are the ones nobody wants. Then one day, he receives a telegram that his circus clown father has passed away, and has left a "huge" inheritance. When he gets there, he finds that his inheritance has come in the form of an elephant that was his father's pride and joy in circus acts. His main intention is to sell the pachyderm off. Jack must choose between loud and rude zookeeper Mo or attractive animal show owner Terry. As the two treks through the country Jack and the elephant develop a bond, and it changes his approach on life for the better.

When eccentric English teacher Andrew Larabee needs a raise in order for his fiancée to marry him, his interest in archaeology leads him to an ancient statue's burial site. But when he finds a traveling circus directly above the statue's location, he accidentally becomes part of the act. With a newfound passion for performance and an attraction to the beautiful acrobat Selena, Andrew must decide what is truly important to him.

Anna flees her home, where she has been victimized for years by her spineless father’s mean-spirited second wife, to be with her lover, an honest businessman yet to make his fortune. When he is accused of a murder he didn’t commit, the couple’s domestic tranquillity is upended, and a desperate Anna must rely on her cruel stepmother to help support their child.

A master thief, just out of prison, concocts a risky final score that would net him over a million dollars.

Nola grew up living on a van with her father, Clint; two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past and her new destination.

A wealthy banker wants to tear down a tenement slum to build a factory, but a charming girl who lives there begins to persuade him otherwise.

A constant runaway is given over to the care of the state and finds herself in a remand centre for girls. She is soon caught between the uncaring bureaucracy, the sometimes brutal treatment from her peers and her own abusive family, and only one care worker sees her potential to rise above her tragic circumstances.

A circus owner tries to keep his financially troubled circus on the road, despite the efforts of a murderous saboteur who has decided that the show must not go on.

Glamour model Diane Shepherd is routinely being beaten by her husband Tim, who accuses her of infidelity. When she can't take it anymore, she finds shelter with photographer Mark and his girlfriend Carrie. They introduce Diane to Millie, who is in a similar situation. Meanwhile, Tim informs Diane that if she doesn't come back to him, he will see to it that he gains custody of their son, Timmy.

Itinerant Kurdish teachers, carrying blackboards on their backs, look for students in the hills and villages of Iran, near the Iraqi border during the Iran-Iraq war. Said falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village; he offers to guide them, and takes as his wife Halaleh, the clan's lone woman, a widow with a young son. Reeboir attaches himself to a dozen pre-teen boys weighed down by contraband they carry across the border; they're mules, always on the move. Said and Reeboir try to teach as their potential students keep walking. Danger is close; armed soldiers patrol the skies, the roads, and the border. Is there a role for a teacher? Is there hope?

Mystery writer Mickey Spillane tries to help Clyde Beatty deal with a plot to sabotage his circus.

It is about a loving couple which trying to make a living in 1951 Florida. When they are arrested, for a crime they didn't commit. The pair are given long jail terms and ripped from their children, so they begin a stunning fight for justice that has them facing the ruthless sheriff responsible for their incarceration.

Born in a village in Sudan, kidnapped by slavers, often beaten and abused, and later sold to Federico Marin, a Venetian merchant, Bakhita then came to Italy and became the nanny servant of Federico's daughter, Aurora, who had lost her mother at birth. She is treated as an outcast by the peasants and the other servants due to her black skin and African background, but Bakhita is kind and generous to others. Bakhita gradually comes closer to God with the help of the kind village priest, and embraces the Catholic faith. She requests to join the order of Canossian sisters, but Marin doesn't want to give her up as his servant, treating her almost as his property. This leads to a moving court case that raised an uproar which impacts Bakhita's freedom and ultimate decision to become a nun. Pope John Paul II declared her a saint in the year 2000.

The story is located in Los Angeles in the sixties. An energetic widow, Frances Lacey, with her six children try to make a dream of theirs come true: to have a home of their own. Therefore they leave Los Angeles and head for the countryside, while facing all kinds of difficulties during their journey.

A group of elite soldiers, including one woman, sign up for the ultimate training mission. The group parachutes onto a remote island, where their objective is to reach the safety zone before the "opposing force" captures them. Everything does not go as expected, and the training mission turns into the real thing.

Sister Cristina is a nun who takes teenage girls in her care at a remote beach house where they rehearse A Midsummer Night's Dream. When three thugs show up, brutally raping and terrorizing the girls, sister Cristina is forced to renounce her teachings and seek bloody revenge.

A lady ringmaster milks the publicity from a string of murders.

Mary Gillespie is restoring the Col. Gillespie Circus to its former splendor after her father's death. With the help of her publicist boyfriend Jim, the sell-out crowds are returning to the big top. Egotistical equestrian star Senor Martinet, however, holds $60,000 of notes signed by the Colonel and due in 24 hours. When a mysterious shadowy figure is seen on the circus lot, and Martinet is murdered in the center ring during his performance, there are suspects aplenty, including Vindecco, Martinet's badly abused hunchback assistant.

In the Lifetime® movie, THE FANTASIA BARRINO STORY: LIFE IS NOT A FAIRYTALE, a single teenage mother overcomes all odds - sexual abuse, poverty and illiteracy - by relying on her spectacular singing voice. She ultimately gains national prominence as the winner of a hit talent show. Fantasia Barrino plays herself in this modern true Cinderella story. Also starring Loretta Devine, Kadeem Hardison and Viola Davis.

When peasant girl Nives is deserted by smuggler Gino Lodi, she betrays him to the police. Police officer Enzo Cinti, who loves Nives, traces her to the Po River cane-fields, where she is working as a cutter to support herself and an infant son, and warns her that Gino has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge. She rejects his offer to protect her. Gino finds Nives, mourning the drowning death of their son. He surrenders himself to the police and then walks at Nives' side in the funeral procession.

Big cats are killing people... after being trained by a twisted lion tamer.

Lia and Tina are two beautiful girls who meet and realize that they have a lot in common. They are both young, beautiful and pissed off, so they decide to hitchhike their way to Rome to find Nazariota's commune, a place to stay for free and have all the sex they want... or so they think. Things don't go as they have planned though, and soon they become involved in prostitution, the police and an aggressive gang.

Giulia is an independent young woman who is prepared to offer her body and her spirit against all the religious taboos.

A young man takes a succession of odd jobs in order to save enough money to buy himself and his mother a house. He lands a position in a newspaper office and falls in love with the beautiful society editor, who is secretly having an affair with the married managing editor. She returns the young man's affections in order to make her lover jealous, but finds herself falling for him.