THEME EXPLORATION

poverty and class

12 films · 3 directors
FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Black God White Devil
Black God White Devil
1964 · Glauber Rocha
The Sin
The Sin
1965 · Henry Barakat
The Marginal Ones
The Marginal Ones
1978 · Mrinal Sen
A Baby’s Shoe
A Baby’s Shoe
1909 · D.W. Griffith
Dead End
Dead End
1937 · William Wyler
Flunky, Work Hard
Flunky, Work Hard
1931 · Mikio Naruse
Los olvidados
Los olvidados
1950 · Luis Buñuel
Les Bas-fonds
Les Bas-fonds
1936 · Jacques Becker & Jean Renoir
Mannequin
Mannequin
1938 · Frank Borzage
Plácido
Plácido
1961 · Luis García Berlanga
Ningen moyo
Ningen moyo
1949 · Kon Ichikawa
The Wagoner
The Wagoner
1963 · Ousmane Sembène
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Satyajit Ray British India [now India] · Calcutta

Cinema of quiet observation where meaning emerges from stillness and the unspoken weight of ordinary life.

 Ken Loach United Kingdom

His films consistently depict the struggles of working-class individuals against systemic poverty and social inequality with unflinching realism.

 Hirokazu Kore-eda Japan

He explores poverty and class division through intimate family narratives, revealing how economic hardship shapes relationships and dignity.