20 best movies like Exotica (1994)

An aspiring actress makes a pact with her fiancé to take a job as an exotic dancer to care for her cancer stricken father. Once the pact the couple made is broken, their lives are changed forever.

Survivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.

A young med student struggling with her tuition fees is drawn into the shady world of underground body modification.

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound (Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner), and is an interpretation of the particular aria.

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.

A sharp-witted comedy that follows a group of apparent strangers in interlocking stories taking place in ten different bars during the course of one evening throughout Los Angeles.

An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.

On these streets everyone is fighting for a way out, but after a lifetime of hard knocks, a down-on-his-luck cage fighter gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is chosen to compete against the MMA world champion during a massive competition. The stakes are high and the reward great...but should he lose, it will cost him his life.

Imaginaerum tells the story of an elderly composer, Tom, who suffers from severe dementia. As he has had the disease for years and has regressed into childhood, he remembers practically nothing from his adult life. His music, friends, all his past including the memory of his daughter are a blur in his fragile mind. All he has left is the imagination of a ten year old boy. As he drifts away into coma, it seems impossible to get back what he has lost. Or is it?

Two estranged brothers reunite at their childhood home in the Alaskan wild. They set out on a two-day hike and are stalked by an unrelenting grizzly bear.

The story of the awakening of the painter, Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit for her works in the 1960s.

A former Weather Underground activist goes on the run from a journalist who discovers his identity.

Too shy to make a proper introduction, a recent college grad devises to shoot a documentary about the NYC nightlife scene in order to meet the go-go guy he’s cyber-obsessed with.

Dr. Kate Lawrence, a celebrity relationship expert, plans to publicly announce her engagement to Bryan, a handsome and perfectly polished businessman. As Kate prepares to share the news, Bryan shocks her by breaking up with her and calling off the wedding. Wanting to save her from humiliation and protect her public image, Lucas Wright, Kate's childhood friend steps in and pretends to be Kate's fiancé.

Daniel, a successful TV journalist living life in the fast lane, has fallen into a deep depression. His seemingly perfect life suddenly collapses under him when panic attacks force him to deal with himself and his past.

A simple yet proud rancher conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to participate.

In November 2009, French security van driver Toni Musulin makes off with nearly 12 million euros, then turns himself over to the authorities a week later.

In the throes of a zombie apocalypse, a troubled woman from Las Vegas with a dark past, finds herself stranded in the desert with a lone and ravenous zombie on her tail.

The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.

Troubled psychotherapist Peter Bowers is suffering from nightmares and eerie visions. When he uncovers a horrifying secret that all of his patients share, he is put on a course that takes him back to the small hometown he fled years ago. There he confronts his demons and unravels a mystery 20 years in the making.

1979: Cousins Carole and Jérôme go on an organized trip to Odessa, behind the Iron Curtain. During the day, posing as tourists celebrating their engagement, they visit monuments and museums. In the evening they slip away from the group and meet “refuseniks”, Jews persecuted by the Soviet regime for wanting to leave the country. While Carole is motivated by political commitment and a taste for risk, Jérôme’s motivation is Carole.

The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.

The plan was easy; the job was not. On a snowy night a tight crew of four criminals plan to pull off a routine heist. When things go horribly wrong, friendship, loyalty and trust are pushed to the limit.

The true story of Soldier’s Girl, which takes place in Fort Campbell, KY, tells the heart-wrenching story of the life and tragic death of soldier Barry Winchell. His love for Calpernia Addams, a beautiful transgendered nightclub performer was misunderstood by fellow soldiers and eventually leads to his brutal death.

The separation of a long married couple goes awry when they fall for each other again.

Chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.

A small village in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain, 1936. Higinio and Rosa have been married only for a few months when the Civil War breaks out. Higinio, being afraid of possible reprisals from the rebel faction, decides to use a hole dug in his own house as a temporary hideout.

At Phoenix Progressive School, students take notes lying on parlor couches and are encouraged to explore their gifts through electives like break-dancing and graphic-novel writing. In the midst of all this liberal pedagogy and budding talent, Molly Maxwell feels unexceptional, until she embarks on a photography independent study under the tutelage of her attractive English teacher, Ben. Their relationship quickly evolves beyond the darkroom, introducing Molly to the throes of a first love, and putting Ben’s job in jeopardy.

Unable, due to the seal of the confessional, to be forthcoming with information that would serve to clear himself during a murder investigation, a priest becomes the prime suspect.

A mistaken delivery in Mumbai's famously efficient lunchbox delivery system (Mumbai's Dabbawallahs) connects a young housewife to a stranger in the dusk of his life. They build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Gradually, this fantasy threatens to overwhelm their reality.

Equal parts Goodfellas and Dusk till Dawn, Sicilian Vampire tells the story of reputed mobster Sonny Traficante who was hoping to get away to the family hunt lodge for a little rest and relaxation and create some memories. Instead, what he got was a night he will never forget. Once there, Sonny is bitten by a bat released from a container of bananas they brought up to the lodge. The bat takes a vicious bite of Sonny's neck and then flies off into the night. From that moment on Sonny is entrusted with powers beyond that of any mortal - supersonic hearing, enhanced sight, and superhuman strength - even the ability to speak to the dead. Because of these heightened senses Sonny now feels a responsibility to right the wrongs in his life, and protect those he loves. At first, he resists these new found powers but in the end he welcomes his fate.

Teenager Lexi Archer moves to Chicago with her newly divorced mother and befriends a popular girl at her new school, Jennifer. After Lexi's volleyball coach suggests that she lose weight, Jennifer reveals she is bulimic and the two girls decide to help each other, leading to disastrous consequences.

A woman on the brink of a marriage proposal is told by a friend that she should date other men before spending the rest of her life with her boyfriend.

Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.

Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.

Crystal, a rich party girl, finds a little girl's letter to Santa asking for a new mother, and she vows to win over the father and daughter before the holidays.

Revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment. Based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino.

Polina is a young dancer from a modest family. After years of ballet academy, she is accepted by the Bolshoi; still, she decides to try and audition of a modern dance company in France. She makes it, but her journey will not end there...

In a valley, with a dense growth of trees, a baby is killed. The baby's mother Satomi is arrested as the prime suspect. The police also learn that Satomi is involved in a romantic relationship with her next door neighbor Ozaki. The information was provided by the neighbor's lover Kanako. Meanwhile, magazine reporter Watanabe, who is covering the story, discovers the shocking fact that Ozaki was involved in a rape case 15 years ago. Even more shocking, the victim in the rape case is Kanako.

Molly Bloom, a young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur (and a target of an FBI investigation) when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.

In Cold War Moscow, a female spy steals secrets from an idealistic politician – and falls in love with him. Moscow, 1959: Katya (Rebecca Ferguson, Mission Impossible- Rogue Nation, The Girl on the Train, The White Queen), is young, beautiful – and a spy for the Americans. When she and Mischa (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Emerald City), begin spying on Alexander ( Sam Reid, Anonymous), an idealistic Communist politician, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. Her choice between love and duty leads to a nail-biting conclusion that Alexander (Charles Dance, The Imitation Game) can only unravel decades later in 1990s New York. His journey back to the snowbound streets of Moscow uncovers a love triangle and betrayals from those he trusted most.

Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.

Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend, Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy’s wedding.

With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille and Ida – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair's love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public

Four girlfriends take a trip to New Orleans for an annual festival and, along the way, rediscover their wild sides and strengthen the bonds of sisterhood.

A young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be a transgender writer named JT Leroy, the made-up literary persona of her sister-in-law.

The film spans from Hepburn's early childhood to the 1950s which details her life as a Dutch ballerina, coming to grips with her parents' divorce, and enduring life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II. She then settles in the U.S. where she succeeds in making it big as a movie actress, in such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany's.

A strange and destructive relationship develops between a chef and her neighbor, a former child actress.

When a woman tries to outwit her husband's sexy young mistress, the unexpected consequences include starring as King Lear in a very amateur production - with the mistress, an aspiring actress, playing The Fool.

The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.