Movies like Madame Sans-Gêne (1911)
The best movies like Madame Sans-Gêne (1911) are Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Désirée (1954) and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001). If Madame Sans-Gêne hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Madame Sans-Gêne
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVivre Sa Vie (1962)7.7/10 from 729 votes
- NewestLes Misérables (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchVivre Sa Vie (1962)Also in French
Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDésirée (1954)
In Marseilles, France in 1794, Desiree Clary, a young millinery clerk, becomes infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, but winds up wedding General Jean-Baptiste Berandotte, an aid to Napoleon who later joins the forces that bring about the Emperor's downfall. Josephine Beauharnais, a worldly courtesan marries Napoleon and becomes Empress of France, but is then cast aside by her spouse when she proves unable to produce an heir to the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLes Dames du bois de Boulogne (1945)
A love story that follows the maneuverings of a society lady as she connives to initiate a scandalous affair between her aristocratic ex-lover and a prostitute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Emperor's New Clothes (2001)
Napoleon, exiled, devises a plan to retake the throne. He'll swap places with commoner Eugene Lenormand, sneak into Paris, then Lenormand will reveal himself and Napoleon will regain his throne. Things don't go at all well; first, the journey proves more difficult than expected, but more disastrously, Lenormand enjoys himself too much to reveal the deception. Napoleon adjusts somewhat uneasily to the life of a commoner while waiting, while Lenormand gorges on rich food.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Women on the 6th Floor (2011)
Paris, in the early 1960s. Jean-Louis Joubert is a serious but uptight stockbroker, married to Suzanne, a starchy class-conscious woman and father of two arrogant teenage boys, currently in a boarding school. The affluent man lives a steady yet boring life. At least until, due to fortuitous circumstances, Maria, the charming new maid at the service of Jean-Louis' family, makes him discover the servants' quarter on the sixth floor of the luxury building he owns and lives in. There live a crowd of lively Spanish maids who will help Jean-Louis to open to a new civilization and a new approach of life. In their company - and more precisely in the company of beautiful Maria - Jean-Louis will gradually become another man, a better man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Misérables (2026)
After enduring 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean emerges a hardened man. He seeks redemption by reinventing himself as a respected dignitary under a new identity. He promises Fantine, a dying factory worker, to rescue and protect her daughter Cosette, who is being exploited and mistreated by the deceitful Thénardier family. As Valjean raises Cosette as his own, he is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert. Admist the social unrest shaking France, the fates of Valjean, Cosette, her lover Marius, and Javert become intertwined in a turbulent, revolutionary Paris. Through struggles, sacrifices, and a deep yearning for justice, Valjean strives to complete his journey of redemption and offer Cosette a future of love and freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Servant (1963)
An indolent aristocrat gets more than he bargained for when he hires a competent but silently devious manservant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIntimacy (2001)
Failed musician Jay abandoned his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day, Jay follows her and learns about her. This eventually disrupts their relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn of the Hero (2018)
France, 1809. Captain Neuville is called to the front, leaving his future bride heartbroken. Her sister decides to write letters on his behalf to cheer her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the White City (1983)
Fed up with the sea, Paul, a Swiss mechanic working in the noisy bowels of a merchant ship, lands in Lisbon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngelique and the Sultan (1968)
Angélique is in a North African Muslim kingdom where she is now part of the Sultan's harem. She refuses to be bedded as her captors try to beat sense into her. She finally decides to escape with the help of two Christian prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat Hamilton Woman (1941)
The story of courtesan and dance-hall girl Emma Hamilton, including her relationships with Sir William Hamilton and Admiral Horatio Nelson and her rise and fall, set during the Napoleonic Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPriceless (2006)
A beautiful young gold-digger mistakes a lowly hotel clerk as a rich and therefore worthwhile catch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Four Musketeers (1974)
The Four Musketeers defend the queen and her dressmaker from Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNapoleon (2023)
An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisModigliani (2004)
Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne's bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParty Girl (2014)
Angélique is a 60-year-old bar hostess. She still likes to party, she still likes men. At night, she makes them drink, in a cabaret by the French-German border. As time goes by, clients become rare. But Michel, her regular client, is still in love with her. One day, he asks Angélique to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaught (1949)
Wide-eyed and poor young Leonora weds an obsessive millionaire named Ohlrig, but the marriage is loveless. Even worse, Ohlrig seems to have manic, violent tendencies. Eventually, young Leonora escapes her unhappy life and begins working with New York City doctor Larry Quinada, who she soon falls for. Unfortunately, Ohlrig refuses to grant his wife a divorce, and things get even darker for Leonora when she realizes she's pregnant with his child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvenue Montaigne (2006)
A young woman arrives in Paris where she finds a job as a waitress in bar next on Avenue Montaigne that caters to the surrounding theaters and the wealthy inhabitants of the area. She will meet a pianist, a famous actress and a great art collector, and become acquainted with the "luxurious" world her grandmother has told her about since her childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Madame Sans-Gêne?
The closest matches to Madame Sans-Gêne are Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Désirée (1954) and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Madame Sans-Gêne?
Start with Vivre Sa Vie (1962), the closest match to Madame Sans-Gêne.
What is the highest-rated movie like Madame Sans-Gêne?
Vivre Sa Vie (1962), rated 7.7/10 by 729 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Madame Sans-Gêne?
Les Misérables (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Madame Sans-Gêne?
Yes: Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Les Dames du bois de Boulogne (1945) and The Women on the 6th Floor (2011).
How are movies similar to Madame Sans-Gêne chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Madame Sans-Gêne, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.