Movies like When There Were Trees (2023)
The best movies like When There Were Trees (2023) are The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Secret Scripture (2017). If When There Were Trees hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCasablanca (1943)8.1/10 from 6,325 votes
- NewestHot Milk (2025)Released 2025
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
Kate is secretly betrothed to a struggling journalist, Merton Densher. But she knows her Aunt Maude will never approve of the match, since Kate's deceased mother has lost all her money in a marriage to a degenerate opium addict. When Kate meets a terminally ill American heiress named Millie traveling through Europe, she comes up with a conniving plan to have both love and wealth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Scripture (2017)
The hidden memoir of an elderly woman confined to a mental hospital reveals the history of her passionate yet tortured life, and of the religious and political upheavals in Ireland during the 1920s and 30s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Age of Adaline (2015)
After 29-year-old Adaline recovers from a nearly lethal accident, she inexplicably stops growing older. As the years stretch on and on, Adaline keeps her secret to herself until she meets a man who changes her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRuby Sparks (2012)
Calvin is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing – as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRebecca (1940)
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHallam Foe (2007)
Hallam's talent for spying on people reveals his darkest fears-and his most peculiar desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother's death, he instead finds himself searching the rooftops of the city for love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing Julia (2004)
Julia Lambert is a true diva: beautiful, talented, weathly and famous. She has it all - including a devoted husband who has mastermined her brilliant career - but after years of shining in the spotlight she begins to suffer from a severe case of boredom and longs for something new and exciting to put the twinkle back in her eye. Julia finds exactly what she's looking for in a handsome young American fan, but it isn't long before the novelty fling adds a few more sparks than she was hoping for. Fortuately for her, this surprise twist in the plot will thrust her back into the greatest role of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky (2017)
Follows the journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off-the-map desert town. He finds himself at the precipice of life, thrust into a journey of self-exploration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll of Us Strangers (2023)
One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor, which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOpening Night (1977)
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHot Milk (2025)
Rose and her daughter Sofia travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to consult with the shamanic Dr. Gomez, a physician who could possibly hold the cure to Rose’s mystery illness, which has left her bound to a wheelchair. But in the sultry atmosphere of this sun-bleached town Sofia, who has been trapped by her mother’s illness all her life, finally starts to shed her inhibitions, enticed by the persuasive charms of enigmatic traveller Ingrid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOrlando (1992)
England, 1600. Queen Elizabeth I promises Orlando, a young nobleman obsessed with poetry, that she will grant him land and fortune if he agrees to satisfy a very particular request.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisA Love Song (2022)
Two childhood sweethearts, now both widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sleeping Dictionary (2003)
In the 1930s, British officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population. There, he's introduced to the lovely Selima. In keeping with tradition, Selima is assigned to sleep with Truscott and teach him the native language and customs. But when they fall in love, both colonists and natives object to their plans to marry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinding Neverland (2004)
During a writing slump, playwright J.M. Barrie meets a widow and her four children, all young boys—who soon become an important part of Barrie’s life and the inspiration that lead him to create his masterpiece. Peter Pan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCasablanca (1943)
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When There Were Trees?
The closest matches to When There Were Trees are The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and The Secret Scripture (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When There Were Trees?
Start with The Wings of the Dove (1997), the closest match to When There Were Trees.
What is the highest-rated movie like When There Were Trees?
Casablanca (1943), rated 8.1/10 by 6,325 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When There Were Trees?
Hot Milk (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to When There Were Trees chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When There Were Trees, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.