Movies like The Witness (2023)
The best movies like The Witness (2023) are 9th Company (2005), Kalashnikov AK-47 (2020) and Behold a Pale Horse (1964). If The Witness hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest rated20 Days in Mariupol (2023)8.1/10 from 328 votes
- NewestKillhouse (2026)Released 2026
9th Company (2005)
Russian army recruits complete training and take their posting in late 1980s Afghanistan, where the insurgents are slowly gaining the upper hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKalashnikov AK-47 (2020)
A Russian military propaganda film about the tank commander Kalashnikov, severely injured in battle in 1941. The accident leaves him incapacitated and unable to return to the front line. While recovering in the hospital, he begins creating the initial sketches of what will become one of the world’s most legendary weapons. A self-taught inventor is only 29 when he develops the now iconic assault riffle — the AK-47. Shot in occupied Crimea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen in War (1957)
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pilot: A Battle for Survival (2021)
December of 1941, Northwestern Front. A German tank column is moving towards Moscow. During a mission to stop the enemy advance, Nikolai Komlev's IL-2 is shot down. Komlev manages to crash-land his plane in a remote forest clearing. He's alive, but far from friendly territory. Ahead of him is a relentless trial of severe physical and mental endurance. After battling hunger and extreme cold, evading packs of wolves and detachments of Nazi soldiers, the wounded Komlev finally makes it back to safety. But there he faces another challenge, the most life-changing of them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kill Team (2019)
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Star (2002)
In the summer of 1944, the Nazi Armies prepare a massive Tank Division named 'Viking" for the offensive on occupied Russian land. The Russian Army's special group of seven snipers named "Zvezda" is sent for a reconnaissance operation behind the enemy lines in the back of the Nazi Tank Division. Two previous Russian groups never came back. The seven Russians know that they are going to an almost certain Death for the sake of Victory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking with the Enemy (2014)
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Ordinary Man (2017)
A war criminal in hiding forms a relationship with his only connection to the outside world - his maid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beast of War (1988)
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBastards (2006)
A "Hitlerjugend" kind of story, set in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, based on a fictitious story from the eponymous book by Vladimir Kunin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Battalion (2015)
Russia, 1917, WWI. This is the story of the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, formed as part of an ill-conceived propaganda ploy by the Russian Provisional Government in late May of 1917.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best in Hell (2022)
Movie about units of the "whites" (PMC "Wagner") who perform an assault operation to capture buildings. They are opposed by the "yellow" units, which have dug in these buildings and are also ready to fight to the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParadise (2016)
The historical drama set during the Second World War centres on three people whose paths cross: a Russian aristocratic emigrant and member of the French resistance, a French collaborator and a high-ranking German SS officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax (2002)
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHotsunlight (2021)
Lugansk region, May 2014. The Novozhilov family, by chance, finds itself in the thick of events in Lugansk. Vlad Novozhilov is a former participant in the war in Afghanistan. He knows firsthand what war is. Having seen enough of the horrors of war in his time, in principle he does not even want to touch a weapon. In a situation, he sees only one way out - to leave the country. But you can't run away from the war, the border is already closed. To save his family, he will have to make difficult moral choices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Region of Heroes (2022)
Film reconstruction of five real stories about the heroic deeds of the residents of Kyiv region during the Russian occupation. A story about those who heroically and selflessly saved tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Klondike (2022)
The story of a Ukrainian family living on the border of Russia and Ukraine during the start of the war. Irka refuses to leave her house even as the village gets captured by armed forces. Shortly after they find themselves at the center of an international air crash catastrophe on July 17, 2014.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKillhouse (2026)
After a civilian couple ventures out to exhange their POW daughter for money, they're surrounded by Russian forces and the husband is mortally wounded. But, rescue comes when they're quickly noticed by a Ukrainian platoon, who plan on using drones to rescue the couple.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
The Worst Person in the World (2021)
The chronicles of four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTurn in the Wound (2024)
Abel Ferrara explores human conflict and the search for peace and balance through the music and words of Patti Smith and the experiences of people at war in Ukraine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
We Will Not Fade Away (2023)
For five teenagers living in the conflict-ridden Donbas region of Ukraine, a Himalayan expedition provides a brief escape from reality. A portrait of a generation that, in spite of everything, is able to recognise and celebrate the fragile beauty of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Zero Line: Inside Russia's War (2026)
BBC exposes the horror unfolding on the Russian side of the war in Ukraine. Soldiers being tortured and even executed at the hands of their brothers in arms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Me, Dad, Niu-York (2024)
A young Ukrainian street photographer reflects on his feelings of longing and connection to his father as he explores the streets of New York City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Witness?
The closest matches to The Witness are 9th Company (2005), Kalashnikov AK-47 (2020) and Behold a Pale Horse (1964). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Witness?
Start with 9th Company (2005), the closest match to The Witness.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Witness?
20 Days in Mariupol (2023), rated 8.1/10 by 328 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Witness?
Killhouse (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Witness chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Witness, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.