Here’s a list of impactful movies that explore poverty, featuring both characters living in poverty and themes centered around economic hardship, including international films:
1. **Slumdog Millionaire** (2008, UK/India)
A gripping story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who competes on a game show, revealing the harsh realities of poverty and survival.
2. **The Pursuit of Happyness** (2006, USA)
Based on a true story, it follows a struggling salesman and single father’s journey from homelessness to success.
3. **Parasite** (2019, South Korea)
A darkly comedic and thrilling film that delves into class disparity and the lengths people go to escape poverty.
4. **City of God** (2002, Brazil)
A powerful portrayal of life in the violent favelas of Rio de Janeiro, depicting poverty, crime, and hope.
5. **The Bicycle Thieves** (1948, Italy)
A classic neorealist film about a poor father searching for his stolen bicycle, essential for his job and family’s survival.
6. **Beasts of the Southern Wild** (2012, USA)
A poetic film about a young girl living in a poor, isolated community facing environmental and social challenges.
7. **Shoplifters** (2018, Japan)
An intimate look at a makeshift family surviving through petty crime while confronting poverty and social alienation.
8. **The Grapes of Wrath** (1940, USA)
Based on John Steinbeck’s novel, it follows a family displaced by the Great Depression as they seek a better life.
9. **Fish Tank** (2009, UK)
A raw depiction of a teenage girl growing up in a struggling working-class environment.
10. **Pather Panchali** (1955, India)
Satyajit Ray’s masterpiece about a poor rural family’s daily hardships and small joys.
11. **4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days** (2007, Romania) – Though primarily about abortion, it portrays life under harsh economic conditions in communist Romania.
12. **Roma** (2018, Mexico) – Chronicles the life of a domestic worker in a middle-class household in Mexico City during the 1970s.
13. **Gomorrah** (2008, Italy) – An unflinching look at the influence of the Mafia in Naples and its impact on impoverished communities.
14. **Precious* (2009, USA) – A gripping drama about a teenage girl growing up in poverty and abuse in Harlem.
15.**Do the Right Thing* (1989, USA) – Though set in a Brooklyn neighborhood, it deeply explores racial tensions and economic struggles.
16.**The Florida Project* (2017, USA) – Centers on a young girl living in a budget motel near Disney World, highlighting the struggles of poverty in America.
17. **The White Ribbon* (*Das weiße Band*, 2009, Germany/Austria) – Though more about social dynamics, it reflects on poverty and its psychological effects in a pre-WWI village.
These films provide powerful, often poignant perspectives on poverty and its effects on individuals and communities worldwide.
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