Films like Looks and Smiles.

Looks and Smiles (1981) reads as Heavy, steady, measured drama / social-realism, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, intimate, measured. Every film below is ranked by distance across the same twelve hand-scored axes — with what it keeps, and where it walks away. Not a genre dump.

A Hora da Estrela (1985) poster
1. A Hora da Estrela1985

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

36 Chowringhee Lane (1981) poster
2. 36 Chowringhee Lane1981

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Bazaar (1982) poster
3. Bazaar1982

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

When Joseph Returns (1976) poster
4. When Joseph Returns1976

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Provincial Actors (1979) poster
5. Provincial Actors1979

Keeps the heightened unreality and the grounded, familiar shape; trades toward a cold, bleak undertow.

The Friend (1974) poster
6. The Friend1974

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Relations (1982) poster
7. Relations1982

Keeps the patient, unhurried pace and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Fat City (1972) poster
8. Fat City1972

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

The Price of Love (1984) poster
9. The Price of Love1984

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Behind the Mosquito Net (1982) poster
10. Behind the Mosquito Net1982

Keeps the patient, unhurried pace and the heightened unreality — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Massey Sahib (1985) poster
11. Massey Sahib1985

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

Hôtel des Amériques (1981) poster
12. Hôtel des Amériques1981

Keeps the cold, bleak undertow and the patient, unhurried pace — one of the nearest reads in the catalogue.

These are Looks and Smiles’s neighbours — where are yours?

Rate five posters and the same twelve axes read you — then tonight’s pick comes from your own centre of taste.

Find my film for tonight — 60 sec →