Movies like Passing Time (2023)
The best movies like Passing Time (2023) are A (2017), Taurus (2022) and Too Late Blues (1961). If Passing Time hooked you with its drama and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAll Too Well: The Short Film (2021)8.0/10 from 303 votes
- NewestObserving as the World Burns (2026)Released 2026
A (2017)
A young alcoholic ambient musician locks himself in his apartment on a dangerous seven day bender as he attempts to finish his upcoming album.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaurus (2022)
A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMo' Better Blues (1990)
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrace Unplugged (2013)
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mambo Kings (1992)
The Mambo Kings tells the story of César and Nestor Castillo, brothers and aspiring musicians who flee from Cuba to America in search of the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStomp the Yard (2007)
After the death of his younger brother, a troubled 19-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles is able to bypass juvenile hall by enrolling in the historically black, Truth University in Atlanta, Georgia. But his efforts to get an education and woo the girl he likes are sidelined when he is courted by the top two campus fraternities, both of which want and need his fierce street-style dance moves to win the highly coveted national step show competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
A collection of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the life, work, and character of the acclaimed Canadian classical pianist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Vibrations (2012)
The story of music legend Terri Hooley, a key figure in Belfast's punk rock scene. Hooley founded the Good Vibrations store from which a record label sprung, representing bands such as The Undertones, Rudi and The Outcasts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClika (2026)
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoney: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Too Well: The Short Film (2021)
Short film featuring the extended version of the song “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift. A troubled couple's romance blossoms before it eventually falls apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHoneydripper (2007)
In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric guitarist in a last ditch effort to draw crowds during harvest time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisCoda (2020)
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Sides (2002)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond the Sea (2004)
Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMake Mine Music (1946)
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
SnoozefestMovies like thisTough Spot (2025)
Based loosely on a true story. Grieving his father, Mark is determined to power on and build his future, transforming his pain into song. In Loving Memory of Andrew Chappell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Rangga & Cinta (2025)
After a popular girl loses a poetry contest to an outcast, they develop an unexpected interest in each other – but is their young love meant to be?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Stealing Beauty (1996)
Lucy Harmon, an American teenager is arriving in the lush Tuscan countryside to be sculpted by a family friend who lives in a beautiful villa. Lucy visited there four years earlier and exchanged a kiss with an Italian boy with whom she hopes to become reacquainted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Notebook (2004)
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDiamanda Galas: The Litanies of Satan (1986)
Live performance of Diamanda Galas in 1985, released by Target Video. The performance, based on a poem by Charles Baudelaire, devotes itself to the emaraldine perversity of the life struggle in hell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The bread which once was dough (2024)
The main morality is the chronic desire for rest Within the historians, filmmakers, astronomers and the bread Which once was dough front to back Relationship stops along the way You are not a wax-work in a glass Become the concept of freedom Freedom exists and must bring fruit The universe glancing for purchase reasoned
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Afterword (2017)
Approaching the microphone in a small room, a young woman prepares to make the speech of her life. Desperate to find her voice in the wake of an ended relationship, she resorts to sharing any piece of advice she can muster. Her reflection on their differences strikes up an imaginary conversation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Observing as the World Burns (2026)
Observing as the World Burns: Poems is an evocative, introspective short film that transforms lines of verse into raw visual poetry—confronting the dual forces of personal introspection and outward chaos. Anchored by cinematic performances, layered voice-over, and an emotive soundscape, the film embodies the tension between witnessing life’s unraveling and finding meaning within it. Rather than dramatizing action, this film immerses the viewer in the experience of attention—the act of watching, contemplating, and articulating what it means to be alive. At the same time, everything feels like it’s burning. It is both a cinematic poem and a visual diary—an invitation to witness, feel, and reflect alongside the narrator.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Onde Foi Que Se Perdeu O Calor? (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
For Colored Girls (2010)
A film about existence from the perspective of 20 nameless black females. Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Passing Time?
The closest matches to Passing Time are A (2017), Taurus (2022) and Too Late Blues (1961). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Passing Time?
Start with A (2017), the closest match to Passing Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like Passing Time?
All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), rated 8.0/10 by 303 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Passing Time?
Observing as the World Burns (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Passing Time?
Yes: A (2017), Taurus (2022) and Too Late Blues (1961).
How are movies similar to Passing Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Passing Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.