Movies Like Bessie (2015)

Bessie is a 2015 drama, music, tv movie film from Dee Rees with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Pariah and The Watermelon Woman.

Drama Music TV Movie

Pariah

2011

A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

6.8

MagicScore

The Watermelon Woman

1997

A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.

6.8

MagicScore

Paris Is Burning

1991

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

8.0

MagicScore

Portrait of Jason

1967

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

6.4

MagicScore

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

2020

Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

6.6

MagicScore

Saturday Church

2018

Ulysses is a shy and effeminate boy who finds himself coping with new responsibilities as man of the house after the death of his father. Living alongside his mother, younger brother, and conservative aunt, Ulysses is also struggling with questions about his gender identity. He finds an escape by creating a world of fantasy filled with dance and music. Ulysses' journey takes a turn for the better when he finds a vibrant transgender community.

6.3

MagicScore

Young Soul Rebels

1991

Two disc jockeys have a friend's murder to solve in the fringe-group melting pot of 1977 London.

4.9

MagicScore

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

2019

On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

8.1

MagicScore

My First Summer

2020

Isolated on a remote property, 16-year-old Claudia finds her world transformed when a spirited girl named Grace wanders into her garden.

8.0

MagicScore

#10

Tell It to the Bees

2019

Dr. Jean Markham returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father's medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the bee keeper brings his mother Lydia into Jean's world.

7.5

MagicScore

#11

I Can't Think Straight

2008

Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

Saving Face

2004

A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

Mädchen in Uniform

1931

A sensitive girl is sent to an all-girls boarding school and develops a romantic attachment to one of her teachers.

7.1

MagicScore

#14

Desert Hearts

1985

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Blue Jean

2023

Jean, a PE teacher, is forced to live a double life. When a new student arrives and threatens to expose her sexuality, Jean is pushed to extreme lengths to keep her job and her integrity.

6.8

MagicScore

#16

Below Her Mouth

2017

An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Nina's Heavenly Delights

2006

A feisty young woman returns to Glasgow to run her deceased father's curry house.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

Summertime

2015

In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

Entre Nous

1983

In 1942 in occupied France, a Jewish refugee marries a soldier to escape deportation to Germany. Meanwhile a wealthy art student loses her first husband to a stray Resistance bullet; at the Liberation she meets an actor, gets pregnant, and marries him. Lena and Madeleine meet at their children's school in Lyon in 1952 and the intensity of their relationship strains both their marriages to the breaking point.

6.6

MagicScore

#20

Circumstance

2011

A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.

6.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Bessie?

The top films similar to Bessie by MovieMagicScore are Pariah (6.8), The Watermelon Woman (6.8), Paris Is Burning (8.0). Each shares drama/music/tv movie themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Bessie worth watching?

Bessie holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 124 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Bessie?

Bessie (2015) is a drama, music, tv movie film directed by Dee Rees, starring Queen Latifah, Kamryn Johnson, Rikki McKinney.

Where can I find more recommendations like Bessie?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Pariah Movies like The Watermelon Woman Movies like Paris Is Burning Movies like Portrait of Jason Movies like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Movies like Saturday Church

About movies like Bessie

This ranked list pairs Bessie (2015), a drama and music and tv movie film from Dee Rees, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Queen Latifah take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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