Movies like Search for Hamlet (2002)
The best movies like Search for Hamlet (2002) are Rotting in the Sun (2023), Lan Yu (2001) and Totally F***ed Up (1994). If Search for Hamlet hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cameraman (1928)7.8/10 from 459 votes
- NewestA Friend of Dorothy (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseLan Yu (2001)Also in Chinese
Rotting in the Sun (2023)
A filmmaker facing an existential crisis goes on a vacation to a Mexican gay nudist beach, where he meets a social media celebrity who convinces him to collaborate with him on his new TV show. But one disappears and another embarks on a wild journey through Mexico City to find him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLan Yu (2001)
A love story between a country boy in Beijing to study and a wealthy businessman set against the backdrop of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTotally F***ed Up (1994)
Gay, alienated Los Angeles teens have a hard time as their parents kick them out of their homes, they don’t have money, their lovers cheat, and they are harassed by gay-bashers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Heat of the Sun (1994)
Beijing, 1970s. The Cultural Revolution has driven most adults to the provinces leaving 14-year-old Monkey and his pals with free rein over the city. They hang around, get up to no good, and discover that unsolvable mystery known as "girls."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Perfect Ending (2012)
This intimate drama follows Rebecca, a woman who has kept her sexuality a secret from her friends but chooses to reveal it to a stranger. While Rebecca's revelations may not yield the results she expects, a perfect ending is still in reach.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLooking: The Movie (2016)
Patrick returns to San Francisco for the first time in almost a year to celebrate a momentous event with his old friends. In the process, he must face the unresolved relationships he left behind and make difficult choices about what’s important to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost and Delirious (2001)
After starting at an upmarket boarding school, a teenage girl forms close friendships with her two older roommates. However, when she discovers that her new friends are lovers she finds herself caught in a complicated situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAm I OK? (2024)
Lucy and Jane have been best friends for most of their lives and think they know everything there is to know about each other. But when Jane announces she's moving to London, Lucy reveals a long-held secret. As Jane tries to help Lucy, their friendship is thrown into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Object of My Affection (1998)
A pregnant New York social worker begins to develop romantic feelings for her gay best friend, and decides she'd rather raise her child with him, much to the dismay of her overbearing boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Little Prince(ss) (2021)
When Gabriel, a 7-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel's feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Pigs (2018)
A pig farmer, a busboy, a salon owner, an expat architect and a jaded rich girl cross paths as thousands of dead pigs float down the Yangtze River toward Shanghai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. As he tells his girlfriend, Clara, he feels like a fraud: he hasn’t really tasted life, and yet he’s offering advice to patients who are just not getting any happier. So Hector decides to break out of his deluded and routine driven life. Armed with buckets of courage and child-like curiosity, he embarks on a global quest in hopes of uncovering the elusive secret formula for true happiness. And so begins a larger than life adventure with riotously funny results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Friend of Dorothy (2025)
Dorothy is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy's daily routine of pills, prunes, and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDo Revenge (2022)
A dethroned queen bee at a posh private high school strikes a secret deal with an unassuming new student to enact revenge on one another’s enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWill & Harper (2024)
When Will Ferrell's good friend Harper comes out as a trans woman, they take a road trip to bond and reintroduce Harper to the country as her true self.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cameraman (1928)
A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Rascals (1994)
When nine-year-old Alfalfa falls for Darla, his "He-Man-Woman-Hating" friends attempt to sabotage their relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBehind the Candelabra (2013)
Based on the autobiographical novel, the tempestuous 6-year relationship between Liberace and his (much younger) lover, Scott Thorson, is recounted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Liaisons (2012)
Dangerous Liaisons is a Chinese film by Hur Jin-ho based on the novel with the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Search for Hamlet?
The closest matches to Search for Hamlet are Rotting in the Sun (2023), Lan Yu (2001) and Totally F***ed Up (1994). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Search for Hamlet?
Start with Rotting in the Sun (2023), the closest match to Search for Hamlet.
What is the highest-rated movie like Search for Hamlet?
The Cameraman (1928), rated 7.8/10 by 459 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Search for Hamlet?
A Friend of Dorothy (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Search for Hamlet?
Yes: Lan Yu (2001), In the Heat of the Sun (1994) and Dead Pigs (2018).
How are movies similar to Search for Hamlet chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Search for Hamlet, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.