16. Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
Although Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy are two big stars these days, there was a time when they were still new kids on the block—and it’s totally possible that David Attwood’s indie dramaStuart: A Life Backwardsended up slipping under your radar.
In this film, Benedict Cumberbatch is a privileged Cambridge writer and Tom Hardy a homeless alcoholic named Stuart Shorter who fluctuates between sleeping on prison beds and pavements, frequently attempting suicide due to his traumatic past and mental instability.
After his eyes are opened to the social divide of rich and poor, Cumberbatch’s Alexander Masters wrote a biography about Stuart’s life, which HBO made into this direct-to-TV drama.
15. Oliver! (1968)
Charles Dickens was all about exposing the poverty, segregation, and child abuse that pervaded the Victorian era. FromGreat ExpectationstoA Christmas Carol, his books often went into stark detail about the class division of his society.
Dickens’s own experience working in a factory at age 12 fueled his desire to write social novels likeOliver Twist, one of his most well-known stories, which happens to be overtly against child labor.
In it, Oliver is a poor orphan who gets sold out of the workhouse before running away to London. There, he becomes a pickpocket.
Depressing as it sounds, Lionel Bart turned the dreary tale into a stage musical, which Carol Reed then adapted into this movie. Full of iconic songs, famous faces, and Cockney accents,Oliver!will make you tap along to a most tragic tale.
Related:The Best Movies and TV Shows Inspired by Charles Dickens
14. Les Misérables (2012)
Les Misérablesis another social novel turned stage musical turned movie, but this one’s slightly less upbeat thanOliver!. Based on the longest-running West End musical,Les Misérableshad a lot to live up to when it hit cinemas—and it came out swinging with a stacked cast.
A scarred-and-chained Hugh Jackman and head-shaved Anne Hathaway serve as symbols of 19th century France.
Poverty, prostitution, and prison make up the bulk of the scenery, leading up to the Paris Uprising of 1832 that Victor Hugo memorialized in the original novel.
It was a chaotic and radical period for France, andLes Misérablesrides on the heels of the infamous French Revolution, which took place only a few decades before and was caused by economic depression and widespread poverty.
Related:The Best Movies Adapted From Stage Plays and Musicals
13. Rosie (2018)
Rosiemay have slipped under your radar, but it’s certainly worth the watch. A hard-hitting drama that’s sure to break your heart,Rosiedelivers an important message about real homelessness for families and kids.
Rosie Davis (played by Sarah Greene) is kicked out of her house and forced to live in her car with her husband and four young children. While searching for a place to stay the night, the couple shield their kids from the situation—which is difficult, to say the least.
Paddy Breathnach’s impactful Irish drama is set in Dublin, where economic insecurity makesRosiehit home for many viewers.Rosiemight not have an all-star cast or flashy special effects, but there’s strength in its honesty to tell a story with no easy solutions.
12. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
The Pursuit of Happynessis so heart-breaking because it’s true. Gabriele Muccino’s biographical drama stars Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a salesman left homeless with his five-year-old son.
Not only does Chris have to balance finding shelter and food with raising a child, he’s also an unpaid intern hoping to become a stockbroker.
With the vague promise of a stable future, Chris refuses to give up on his impossibly stressful life, juggling every problem you can think of.
What makesThe Pursuit of Happynessso poignant is the fact Smith’s own son, Jaden Smith, plays young Christopher Jr. With impeccable performances from both actors, the core of this film is a father-son bond that pushes Chris through all adversity.
Related:The Best Movies About Father-Son Relationships
11. The White Tiger (2021)
“Here in India, there are only two kinds of people: those with big bellies and those with small bellies.” Balram Halwa (Adarsh Gourav) has a small belly, and like most of his kind, he’s bound to serve the food that makes his superiors have big ones.
Despite his intellect, Balram is a servant to the rich village landlord due to his own father’s debt. At first, it seems like no amount of face-slapping will hinder his loyalty to the Stork family—but then a car accident shakes him into changing his tune.
Aravind Adiga’s original debut novel compares the poverty line to living inside a chicken coop. His exploration of class and corruption in India won him the Man Booker Prize, and his story was eventually turned into this Oscar-nominated Netflix film, directed by Ramin Bahrani.
Related:The Best Foreign Movies on Netflix Worth Watching, Ranked
10. The Florida Project (2017)
What’s special aboutThe Florida Projectis that it’s told from the perspective of the mischievous-but-kind-hearted young Moonee (played by Brooklynn Prince).
Via low-angle camera shots, we experience the Magic Castle Motel in Florida through the eyes of a six-year-old.
Moonee’s mother, Halley (played by Bria Vinaite), is young, single, and poor, surviving in the week-by-week hotel using the scarce money she earns as an exotic dancer.
This leaves Moonee to run around the parking lot—unsupervised and pulling pranks—all summer long. This lifestyle isn’t sustainable, and Moonee becomes witness to things no child should see.
Sean Baker’s A24 flick is stunningly shot and beautifully told, painting an accurate and touching portrait of poverty in America.
Related:The Best Movies About Mother-Daughter Relationships
9. Precious (2009)
Poverty isn’t just a financial struggle. It reaches its claws into all kinds of problems like an environmental poison that seeps into every area of life, and that’s what we see inPrecious.
Sapphire—author of the 1996 novelPush—shows us an extreme case where the young Precious is subject to incestuous rape, domestic abuse, illiteracy, bullying, and eating disorders, which all come around as an indirect result of living on welfare.
Lee Daniels adapted the novel into this unflinching portrayal of urban poverty in America, where Gabourey Sidibe’s impressive acting debut as Precious will make you grateful for all the trivial problems in your life.
The saddest thing aboutPreciousis that this story is a reality for many. Lee Daniels was initially hesitant to submitPreciousto Cannes because “white French people [don’t want] to see our world.” When he did, the film earned a 15-minute standing ovation.
Related:The Best Movies About Eating Disorders That Are Must-Watches
8. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Joe Buck (played by Jon Voight) and Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo (played by Dustin Hoffman) form an unlikely duo in John Schlesinger’s buddy drama. Based on James Leo Herlihy’s novel,Midnight Cowboywon three Oscars and is the only X-rated movie to win Best Picture.
Joe is a sex worker with barely any clients, while Ratso is a conman whose health is failing. The two desperate men squat together in a condemned New York City apartment, forming a “business” relationship as hustlers.
Midnight Cowboyis particularly popular in the LGBTQ+ community for its implied homosexual themes, earning the film an X-rating for its “possible influence upon youngsters.”
Aside from this,Midnight Cowboyuses dramatic realism to portray the seedy underbelly of NYC, where beneath the glamour of Hollywood lies the underdogs—ones who will do anything for a paycheck.
Related:The Most Popular Movies of the 1960s, Ranked
7. Sorry We Missed You (2019)
Sorry We Missed Youboasts a realist tone, navigating the landscape of debt and poverty in modern day Britain.
Following the 2008 financial crash, Ricky (played by Kris Hitchen) is drowning in debt and struggling to provide for his wife and two kids.
The couple lack the support of a solid education yet work full-time, rarely having time to see their kids during their most pivotal ages.
Ricky’s job as a delievery van driver has tight time restrictions and pressures he never expected, while Abbie (played by Debbie Honeywood) has to sell the family car for money.
Everything’s a tousle in Ken Loach’s brittle British drama that brims with stress and tediousness.
Related:The Best British Movies Set on the Beach or Coast
6. Fish Tank (2009)
Before Michael Fassbender became a famous Hollywood star, he appeared in indie films likeFish Tank.
LikeSorry We Missed You,Fish Tankdepicts working class life in modern Britain. Directed by Andrea Arnold,Fish Tankwon the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, funded by the BBC and UK Film Council.
Told from the perspective of 15-year-old Mia Williams (played by Katie Jarvis), the film takes place on an East London council estate, where she lives with her single mother and little sister.
Mia is volatile, aggressive, and verbally abused by her mother, constantly arguing with her friends and family. When her mother’s new boyfriend arrives on scene, Conor (played by Michael Fassbender) begins flirting with Mia and manipulating her troubled, naïve youth.
Related:The Best Girlhood Movies About Being a Teenage Girl
5. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
After starring in the iconic British teen showSkins, Dev Patel went on to makeSlumdog Millionaire. Loosely based on the 2005 novelQ & Aby Vikas Swarup, this sleeper-hit centers on 18-year-old Jamal Malik’s appearance on the Hindi version ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Just before he’s about to hit the jackpot, Jamal (played by Dev Patel) is suspected of cheating and tortured by the police. Director Danny Boyle recounts Jamal’s life through a series of flashbacks from when he was growing up in the slums of Mumbai.
Unlike the council estates of other films on this list,Slumdog Millionairegives viewers a glimpse into poverty on the other side of the world. Jamal is picked up by gangsters as a young boy and trained as a beggar, all while witnessing the horrors of life on the streets of India.
4. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Unlike Hollywood’s Golden Age, Italy’s own Golden Age of cinema didn’t feature any gold or big studio budgets. Instead, it was made up of neorealist films and amateur actors—and one major work of the movement was Vittorio De Sica’s poignant dramaBicycle Thieves.
Originally a novel by Luigi Bartolini,Bicycle Thievesshows us how important and life-changing little things are to the poor.
Whereas rich people look down on the idea of riding a bike from limousine windows, a bike means the world to Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani). Without his pawned bicycle, Antonio is unable to carry out his job and feed his family.
Bicycle Thievesis set against the backdrop of post-WW2 Rome, where neorealist cinema flourished after the bombings of Italy’s major studios. The movement also helped shape the Iranian New Wave.
Related:The Most Emotionally Devastating Movies That Are Heavy and Impactful
3. City of God (2002)
If there’s one foreign-language film that most people have seen, it’s the brutal and bloodyCity of God(orCidade de Deusin Portuguese).
The film accurately—savagely—depicts the growth of organized crime in the slums of Cidade de Deus, Brazil. Specifically, the gang war that raged from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The impoverished neighborhood gives birth to three young thieves, introducing them to a world of crime, drugs, and warfare. The story is a blend of real events and work of Paulo Lins in his 1997 novel of the same name, told with merciless grit and melodrama.
The authenticity of Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s Brazilian crime drama comes from the fact that they cast everyday people and filmed in the real-life favelas of Rio. A risky move, but worth it for the universal acclaim thatCity of Godreceived.
Related:The Best Hood Movies That Are More Than Urban Stereotypes
2. I, Daniel Blake (2016)
Ken Loach loves a good dramatic social critique, andI, Daniel Blakeis undoubtedly his most famous work. It’s regarded as one of the most important British films of the 21st century, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2016 and a BAFTA for Outstanding British Film.
It follows 59-year-old widower Daniel (played by Dave Johns) whose heart attack makes him unfit for work. The strings and trials of the benefits system make getting money a near-impossible task, frustrating both Daniel and the audience.
Daniel befriends single mother Katie (played by Hayley Squires), who lives between homeless shelters while starving and selling herself to afford dinner for her children.
I, Daniel Blakeis a depressing but necessary watch to better understand the complex issues of unemployment, where many rely on food banks and benefits just to survive (but never really thrive).
1. Parasite (2019)
Pretty much everyone cheered whenParasitewon the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020. Why? Because it’s an incredible, unpredictable, socially relevant masterpiece for cinema.
Director Bong Joon-ho shocked us over and over again in this twisting South Korean thriller that’s injected with bouts of black comedy. Dark themes, bleak humor, and clever symbolism convey the state of poverty in modern South Korea, forcing the Kim family into extreme measures.
The four Kims live in a cramped basement in Seoul, surviving off temp jobs folding pizza boxes. When the opportunity arises for Ki-woo (played by Choi Woo-shik) to pose as a University student and tutor the daughter of a wealthy family, the whole family decide to get in on it.
The Kims hatch a plan to overtake the glossy Park family house, but end up with more than they bargained for.
Read next:The Best Movies About High Society and Rich People
