Movies like Desiderando Giulia (1995)
The best movies like Desiderando Giulia (1995) are Gioia (2026), Death in Venice (1971) and Malena (2000). If Desiderando Giulia hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCinema Paradiso (1988)8.4/10 from 5,047 votes
- NewestGioia (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianGioia (2026)Also in Italian
Gioia (2026)
Gioia is a high school teacher who has never known any other love than the oppressive bond with her own parents, with whom she still lives. One of the students at her school, Alessio, is cashing in on his own body to make a couple of hundred euros to help his mother, a cashier in a supermarket. The relationship that dawns between Gioia and Alessio is forbidden fruit, fragile yet, inexplicably, one they can’t do without. Still, Alessio’s desire to improve his social standing is a silent killer that prevents him from ultimately accepting Gioia’s surprising affection for him. He goes and destroys it all, cancelling the only person who has ever loved him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath in Venice (1971)
Composer Gustav von Aschenbach travels to Venice for health reasons. There, he becomes obsessed with the stunning beauty of an adolescent Polish boy named Tadzio who is staying with his family at the same Grand Hôtel des Bains on the Lido as Aschenbach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMalena (2000)
12-year-old Renato experiences three significant events on the same day: the beginning of the Second World War, getting a bike, and witnessing the arrival of the gorgeous Malèna. Through his eyes, we see the curse of beauty and loneliness of Malena, whose husband is presumed dead, and, through his soul, we see his love for her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crush (1993)
A precocious and obsessive teenager develops a crush on a naive writer with harrowing consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelow Her Mouth (2017)
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStealing Beauty (1996)
Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummertime (1955)
Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she does, she uses her savings to finance a summer in romantic Venice, where she finally meets the man of her dreams, the elegant Renato Di Rossi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Friends (1975)
Four inseparable friends try to face their midlife crisis with daytrips and pranks at the expense of their families and the people around them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Chiara (2021)
The Guerrasio family and friends gather to celebrate Claudio and Carmela’s oldest daughter’s 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 15-year-old sister Chiara as they compete on the dancefloor. It is a happy occasion, and the close-knit family are on top form. However, everything changes the next day when the father disappears. Chiara, unconvinced by the cover story, starts to investigate. As she gets closer to the truth, she is forced to decide what kind of future she wants for herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasanova (2005)
With a reputation for seducing members of the opposite sex, regardless of their marital status, a notorious womanizer discovers a beauty who seems impervious to his charms. However, as he continues to pursue the indifferent lady, he finds himself falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Moon Junction (1988)
A young Southern débutante temporarily abandons her posh lifestyle and upcoming, semi-arranged marriage to have a lustful and erotic fling with a rugged drifter who works at a local carnival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinema Paradiso (1988)
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhite Nights (1957)
A middle-aged man meets a young woman who is waiting on a canal bridge for her lover's return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hand of God (2021)
In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Comfort of Strangers (1990)
An Italian diplomat's son follows and seduces English lovers in Venice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHouse of Gucci (2021)
When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately… murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)
Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she’s sleeping with her mother’s boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLicorice Pizza (2021)
The story of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Date with Drew (2005)
Ever since the second grade when he first saw her in E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on Drew Barrymore. Now, 20 years later he's decided to try to fulfill his lifelong dream by asking her for a date. There's one small problem: She's Drew Barrymore and he's, well, Brian Herzlinger, a broke 27-year-old aspiring filmmaker from New Jersey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEva (1962)
Best-selling author Tyvian Jones has a life of leisure in Venice, Italy, until he has a chance encounter with sultry Frenchwoman Eva Olivier. He falls for her instantly, despite already having wedding plans with Francesca Ferrara. Winning Eva's affection proves elusive; she's more interested in money than in love. But Tyvian remain steadfast in his obsession, going after Eva with a fervor that threatens to destroy his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desiderando Giulia?
The closest matches to Desiderando Giulia are Gioia (2026), Death in Venice (1971) and Malena (2000). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desiderando Giulia?
Start with Gioia (2026), the closest match to Desiderando Giulia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desiderando Giulia?
Cinema Paradiso (1988), rated 8.4/10 by 5,047 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desiderando Giulia?
Gioia (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Desiderando Giulia?
Yes: Gioia (2026), Death in Venice (1971) and Malena (2000).
How are movies similar to Desiderando Giulia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desiderando Giulia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.