Movies like What I Live For
The best movies like What I Live For are Hard Luck (1921), Inner Workings (2016) and The Fabelmans (2022). If What I Live For hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInner Workings (2016)7.8/10 from 314 votes
- NewestOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)Released 2025
Hard Luck (1921)
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInner Workings (2016)
This is the story of the internal struggle between a man's Brain—a pragmatic protector who calculates his every move, and his Heart—a free-spirited adventurer who wants to let loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fabelmans (2022)
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJodorowsky's Dune (2013)
In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStardust Memories (1980)
While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThicker Than Water (1935)
Oliver's in trouble with his wife after missing a payment on their furniture, having given the money to Stanley, who used it instead to pay Mrs. Hardy for his room and board. At Stan's suggestion Ollie then withdraws the couple's savings from the bank to pay for the furniture and inadvertently pays virtually the whole amount at an auction for a grandfather clock which is soon crushed under a passing truck. Mrs Hardy then unintentionally causes serious injuries to Ollie requiring him to be rushed to hospital for a blood transfusion. The doctor conscripts Stan to be the unwilling blood donor. Problems occur with the transfusion and when Stan and Ollie leave the hospital they appear to have morphed into each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJobs (2013)
The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaving Mr. Banks (2013)
Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHitchcock/Truffaut (2015)
Filmmakers discuss the legacy of Alfred Hitchcock and the book “Hitchcock/Truffaut” (“Le cinéma selon Hitchcock”), written by François Truffaut and published in 1966.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOvernight (2003)
Alternately hilarious and horrifying, Overnight chronicles one man's misadventures of making a Hollywood movie. It starts out as a rags to riches story as Troy Duffy, a Boston-bred bartender, sells his first screenplay for The Boondock Saints.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)
Ozzy Osbourne faces his identity and mortality after his world stops. Dealing with health issues and Parkinson's, he questions if he can perform again while music remains his life's cornerstone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Invisible (2007)
After an attack leaves him in limbo -- invisible to the living and also near death -- a teenager discovers the only person who might be able help him is his attacker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle (2019)
Jordan Sanders, a take-no-prisoners tech mogul, wakes up one morning in the body of her 13-year-old self right before a do-or-die presentation. Her beleaguered assistant April is the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body, just as everything is on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSullivan's Travels (1941)
Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007)
The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
Through the lens of his stunningly immersive performance as Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey ponders the meaning of life, reality, identity and career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTowed in a Hole (1932)
Although they are successful fishmongers, Stan convinces Ollie that they should become fishermen too, but making a boat seaworthy isn't an easy task.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHollywood Ending (2002)
Woody Allen stars as Val Waxman, a two-time Oscar winner turned washed-up, neurotic director in desperate need of a comeback. When it comes, Waxman finds himself backed into a corner: Work for his ex-wife Ellie or forfeit his last shot. Is Val blinded by love when he opts for the reconnect? Is love blind when it comes to Ellie's staunch support? Literally and figuratively, the proof is the picture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like What I Live For?
The closest matches to What I Live For are Hard Luck (1921), Inner Workings (2016) and The Fabelmans (2022). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after What I Live For?
Start with Hard Luck (1921), the closest match to What I Live For.
What is the highest-rated movie like What I Live For?
Inner Workings (2016), rated 7.8/10 by 314 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like What I Live For?
Ozzy: No Escape from Now (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like What I Live For?
Yes: Hard Luck (1921), Inner Workings (2016) and The Fabelmans (2022).
How are movies similar to What I Live For chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside What I Live For, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.