Movies like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir (2003)
The best movies like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir (2003) are At Work (2026), Every Man for Himself (1980) and The Public Woman (1984). If Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPolisse (2011)7.7/10 from 1,338 votes
- NewestAt Work (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchAt Work (2026)Also in French
At Work (2026)
A successful photographer gives up everything to devote himself to writing and discovers poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvery Man for Himself (1980)
A look at the sexual and professional lives of three people — a television director, his ex-girlfriend, and a sex worker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Public Woman (1984)
An inexperienced young actress is invited to play a role in a film based on Dostoyevsky's 'The Possessed'. The film director, a Czech immigrant in Paris, takes over her life, and in a short time she is unable to draw the line between acting and reality. She winds up playing a real-life role posing as the dead wife of another Czech immigrant, who is manipulated by the filmmaker into commiting a political assassination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Days, One Night (2014)
Sandra is a young woman who has only one weekend to convince her colleagues they must give up their bonuses in order for her to keep her job — not an easy task in this economy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolisse (2011)
Paris, France. Fred and his colleagues, members of the BPM, the Police Child Protection Unit, dedicated to pursuing all sorts of offenses committed against the weakest, must endure the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer commissioned to graphically document the daily routine of the team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Measure of a Man (2015)
At the age of 51 and after 20 months on unemployment, Thierry starts a new job that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma. How much is he willing to accept to keep his job?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFidelity (2000)
A talented photographer who lands a lucrative job in Paris with a scandal-mongering tabloid and becomes romantically involved with an eccentric children's book publisher while resisting the sexual advances of another photographer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSecret Things (2002)
Two young women find themselves struggling to survive in Paris, street-wise Nathalie, a stripper, and naïve Sandrine, a barmaid. Together, they discover that sex can be used to their advantage, and pleasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDogville (2003)
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoller (2021)
In a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories by night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family she would leave behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assistant (2020)
A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Cérémonie (1995)
Sophie, a quiet and shy maid working for an upper-class French family, finds a friend in the energetic and uncompromising postmaster Jeanne, who encourages her to stand up against her bourgeois employers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Belle Équipe (1936)
Five unemployed workers win 100,000 Francs in the national lottery. Instead of sharing the money, they buy a ruin and build an open-air cafe. But difficulties come to split their friendly group apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShame (2011)
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHer Way (2021)
Marie, an independent and militant woman, has never needed anyone's help, including when it comes to raising her son. When the latter is expelled from his certificate of professional competence training class, Marie cannot accept it. Dreaming of a brighter future for him, she decides to enrol him in one of the best cooking schools in France.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Nights a Week (2022)
When young Baptiste meets Cookie Kunty, a young Parisian drag queen, he feels compelled to start a new photographic project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Single Girl (1995)
A young Parisian must make major decisions about pregnancy, a job, and her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFor a Woman (2013)
After the death of her mother, Anne makes a shocking discovery: an old photograph casts doubt on her origins and leads her to discover a mysterious uncle who lived with her parents after the war. As she lifts the lid on a long forgotten family secret, the young woman learns that her mother once succumbed to an amorous passion that was as intense as it was short-lived...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNomadland (2021)
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOf Mice and Men (1992)
Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTough Enough (2006)
From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Were Warriors (1994)
In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnatomy of Hell (2004)
A woman employs a gay man to spend four nights at her house to watch her when she's "unwatchable".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLightrapping (2016)
Gustave is a photographer who makes pictures of nude male bodies in public spaces in São Paulo. One night, Pedro goes with him, without yet knowing whether he will be part of the project. This vast city will be witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
College Sex Project (2008)
Three college students who are working on a thesis together debate whether physical attraction or emotional connection is more important for the success of a long-term relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aderyn Papur... and Pigs Might Fly (1984)
A boy living in underdeveloped Welsh village hopes for a better time of his homeland when seeing the two Japaneese businessmen with the apparent intentions to build a factory there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Secret Desires of a Housewife (2004)
Cindy, a newlywed who's determined to do her part to contribute to the household income, together with her ultra-hot friend Heather, set up a web cam site in Heather's front room. As Heather tests the site, Cindy watches the hot action from her house. When Cindy's husband returns, things really get steamy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Thug Love (2009)
A divorced advertising executive finds her career in jeopardy when she begins a passionate relationship with a much younger man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Climax (1972)
Monika feels unused and misunderstood. The young wife of the busy and successful civil engineer Kai is often alone because he is hunted and plagued by appointments. Increasingly sexually frustrated, Monika tries masturbating. On the advice of a friend, Monika looks for male acquaintances and becomes a nymphomaniac. What she did not find with Kai - tenderness, refuge and understanding - Monika finally finds with one of her lovers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Dreamers (2003)
When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and everything is possible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir?
The closest matches to Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir are At Work (2026), Every Man for Himself (1980) and The Public Woman (1984). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir?
Start with At Work (2026), the closest match to Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir.
What is the highest-rated movie like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir?
Polisse (2011), rated 7.7/10 by 1,338 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir?
At Work (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir?
Yes: At Work (2026), Every Man for Himself (1980) and The Public Woman (1984).
How are movies similar to Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Manuela ou l'impossible plaisir, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.