Movies like St. John in Exile (1986)
The best movies like St. John in Exile (1986) are Cardboard Boxer (2016), National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015) and Vanya on 42nd Street (1994). If St. John in Exile hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGran Torino (2008)8.0/10 from 11,985 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
Cardboard Boxer (2016)
Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMindwalk (1991)
On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Christs (2017)
Dr. Alan Stone breaks new ground for treatment of the mentally ill through an experiment on three paranoid schizophrenic patients who believe they are Jesus Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Movie Star (2018)
An aging screen icon gets lured into accepting an award at a rinky-dink film festival in Nashville, Tenn., sending him on a hilarious fish-out-of-water adventure and an unexpectedly poignant journey into his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome (2021)
An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThat Evening Sun (2009)
An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
Actor William Hartnell felt trapped by a succession of hard-man roles while wannabe producer Verity Lambert was frustrated by the TV industry's glass ceiling. Both of them were to find unlikely hope and unexpected challenges in the form of a Saturday tea-time drama. Allied with a team of unusual but brilliant people, they went on to create the longest running science fiction series ever made.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLive and Become (2005)
In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nativity Story (2006)
Mary and Joseph make the hard journey to Bethlehem for a blessed event in this retelling of the Nativity story. This meticulously researched and visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale follows the pair on their arduous path to their arrival in a small village, where they find shelter in a quiet manger and Jesus is born.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExiled in America (1992)
A Central American revolutionary is captured and tortured by government forces. He escapes and flees to the US, hiding out in a rural area where he is sheltered by a Christian sanctuary movement. His wife gets a job at a local diner run by one of the town's shadier women, and soon a CIA assassination team shows up, looking for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Journey to the Sky (1977)
This is the powerful drama of Sadhu Sundar Singh, missionary to India. Being raised a Sikh and miraculously meeting Jesus, then facing death by his own family, this man lived a life that can influence anyone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gran Torino (2008)
Disgruntled Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, Thao Lor, a Hmong teenager who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: a 1972 Gran Torino.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStranger Things: The First Shadow (TBA)
In 1959 Hawkins, Indiana, Henry Creel hopes for a fresh start. His romance with outsider Patty Newby brings newfound hope, until local crimes force him to question if he's connected to the town's unfolding horrors. Filmed live from the Marquis Theatre in New York City between February 10–14, 2026.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Enemy (1974)
Christians Betsy and Tim grapple with demons who have possessed a pair of young brothers. Based on the novel by Jim Grant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Assassination of Trotsky (1972)
A Stalinist assassin tracks exiled revolutionary Leon Trotsky to Mexico in 1940.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Prodigal Planet (1983)
About to executed by the forces of the Antichrist, a fundamentalist Christian guerrilla is rescued by an Antichrist agent pretending to be a double agent for the Believers' Underground. The agent hopes to trick the Christian into leading her to the dissidents' hidden base. Meanwhile, Armageddon and the Second Coming draw nigh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Breathless Synphony (TBA)
Running away form his afflictions, Oscar lives isolated with his little bird, Pituco
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like St. John in Exile?
The closest matches to St. John in Exile are Cardboard Boxer (2016), National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015) and Vanya on 42nd Street (1994). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after St. John in Exile?
Start with Cardboard Boxer (2016), the closest match to St. John in Exile.
What is the highest-rated movie like St. John in Exile?
Gran Torino (2008), rated 8.0/10 by 11,985 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like St. John in Exile?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like St. John in Exile?
Yes: Cardboard Boxer (2016), National Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015) and Vanya on 42nd Street (1994).
How are movies similar to St. John in Exile chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside St. John in Exile, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.