Movies like Air Maine (1997)
The best movies like Air Maine (1997) are Naqoyqatsi (2002), Powaqqatsi (1988) and In the Realms of the Unreal (2004). If Air Maine hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKoyaanisqatsi (1983)7.9/10 from 814 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Naqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKoyaanisqatsi (1983)
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOur Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019)
Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Class of ‘92 (2013)
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man (2018)
One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSherman's March (1986)
Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFastest (2011)
What does it take to be the fastest? From award-winning filmmaker Mark Neale, comes Fastest, a spectacular maximum-speed, full-length documentary delving deep into the world of MotoGP™. This thrilling documentary, narrated by Ewan McGregor, highlights the thrills, spills and incredible commitment and courage the sport demands of it stars. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and never before seen angles, interviews and insight, this truly cinematic experience charts the exhilarating highs, crushing lows, career-threatening crashes and spectacular comebacks, including Rossi’s 41 days turn around to race following a leg shattering crash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBurma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)
Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAir Disasters (1996)
Air Disasters exposes some painful truths behind the world of flight, using actual footage of real incidents to look at why planes crash; in aerodynamic and technical terms and in the way the industry is run.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Legends of the Sky: The Liberty Plane (2022)
When the United States entered World War I, its Army Air Service lacked a combat-ready aircraft – a liability that prompted a search to find an aircraft suitable for production at home and combat operations abroad. This documentary from Bowling Green filmmakers tells the story behind the single-engine DH-4 plane dubbed The Liberty Plane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Serengeti Shall Not Die (1959)
The film tells of the beginnings of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. At the end of the 1950s, the Tanzanian National Park Administration wanted to fence in the protected area around the Ngorongoro Crater. Bernhard and Michael Grzimek were invited by the national park administration in 1957 to get a precise picture of the animal migrations and to provide the national park administration with the values they needed for their project. Using a new counting method with two airplanes, the Grzimeks found out that the migration of the herds was different than assumed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Legends of Flight (2010)
A film that will not only delight and entertain the aviation enthusiast but also educate and inspired renewed interest in aviation by the traveling public.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lunar America (1963)
This short film is a metaphore for the destruction of the indian culture by the 'white man'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Der Kampf um die Riesenflieger (2022)
Hardly noticed by the public, the largest aircraft parking lot in Europe has been built in a semi-desert in Spain. Close to the city of Teruel in the east of the country, aircraft from a wide variety of airlines have been mothballed. Their future is uncertain. Since the coronavirus crisis, these include the largest and most expensive aircraft in the world. For example, the Airbus A380 and the jumbo jet, the Boeing 747: two symbols of a decades-long "air war" between Airbus and Boeing. Four-jet airplanes are considered fuel guzzlers and CO2 sinners. Even the modern A380, which is approved for up to 853 passengers, was withdrawn from service by many airlines after just a few years of operation. Never before in the history of aviation has such an expensive series aircraft been taken out of service after such a short time. But its end is far from certain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Blow: The True Story of Cocaine, a Bear, and a Crooked Kentucky Cop (2023)
Andrew Thornton’s drug operation was one of the largest Kentucky and Tennessee had ever seen. Thornton would perish while attempting to parachute carrying African gold coins, weapons, thousands in cash and 75 pounds of cocaine. From the CIA to secret parties, Thornton is described as the James Bond of Kentucky by those who knew him. The documentary uncovers the true story behind the drug-sniffing bear and its rise to stardom. The film dissects the myths surrounding the ultimate party animal. Did Country Music legend Waylon Jennings buy the taxidermied bear? How much cocaine did it eat? And is the actual drug-eating bear now on display in a Kentucky store?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I Want to Be a Pilot (2006)
Omondi lives in the biggest slum in East Africa. Everyday he sees airplanes fly over him. He dreams of becoming an airline pilot and flying far away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hitler's Supergun (2015)
Historians and engineers investigate how Allied forces conspired to destroy Hitler's "supergun".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like Air Maine and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Air Maine?
The closest matches to Air Maine are Naqoyqatsi (2002), Powaqqatsi (1988) and In the Realms of the Unreal (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Air Maine?
Start with Naqoyqatsi (2002), the closest match to Air Maine.
What is the highest-rated movie like Air Maine?
Koyaanisqatsi (1983), rated 7.9/10 by 814 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Air Maine?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Air Maine?
Yes: Naqoyqatsi (2002), Powaqqatsi (1988) and In the Realms of the Unreal (2004).
How are movies similar to Air Maine chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Air Maine, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.