Movies like In the Arms of the Tree (2024)
The best movies like In the Arms of the Tree (2024) are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Children of Heaven (1997). If In the Arms of the Tree hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChildren of Heaven (1997)7.9/10 from 764 votes
- NewestTake Me Drunk I'm Home (2025)Released 2025
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChildren of Heaven (1997)
Zohre's shoes are gone; her older brother Ali lost them. They are poor, there are no shoes for Zohre until they come up with an idea: they will share one pair of shoes. School awaits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAngels in the Snow (2015)
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'll Be Home for Christmas (2016)
Jackie Foster, a dynamic Assistant District Attorney and single mom, is looking forward to wrapping up her latest case and spending Christmas with Gracie, her adorable and precocious, eight-year old daughter. But when Jackie’s estranged dad, Jack , a gruff retired police officer, unexpectedly shows up at her door, they will be forced to confront old wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorse Sense (1999)
After treating his rancher cousin shoddily in L.A. Michael Woods is sentenced by his parents to spending a month on the ranch with his cousin and aunt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLeila's Brothers (2022)
At the age of 40, Leila has spent her entire life caring for her parents and four brothers. A family that is constantly arguing and under pressure from various debts in the face of sanctions against Iran. While her brothers are struggling to make ends meet, Leila makes a plan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
In a rural Utah town, David, a father of four, grapples with his separation from wife Nikki as she pursues a new relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirstborn (1984)
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass House (2001)
When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Streams (1984)
Two closely-bound, emotionally wounded siblings reunite after years apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrothers (2009)
When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSister Cities (2016)
Based on the internationally-acclaimed play by Colette Freedman, the story of 4 estranged sisters who reunite for their mother’s alleged suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove Suspicion (1995)
Dempsey Cain is an honored cop, a loving husband and father, and mentor to his handsome younger brother. Then a drug dealer's bullet paralyzes him for life and Dempsey's world is shattered. Suddenly, his wife and brother seem to care less about him than for each other, and a million-dollar insurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellion (2014)
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisShotgun Stories (2007)
Shotgun Stories tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father. Set against the cotton fields and back roads of Southeast Arkansas, these brothers discover the lengths to which each will go to protect their family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNeds (2010)
NEDs (Non Educated Delinquents) is the story of a young man’s journey from prize-winning schoolboy to knife-carrying teenager. Struggling against the low expectations of those around him, John McGill changes from victim to avenger, scholar to NED, altar boy to glue sniffer. When he attempts to change back again, his new reality and recent past make conformity near impossible and violent self determination near inevitable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheck-Up (TBA)
Two brothers united by the game, and broken by the passion
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Better Than I Was (2024)
After six years of estrangement, Gene returns home for Thanksgiving. In the events leading up to dinner, Gene attempts to reconnect with their sister and brother, both resentful of Gene's long absence, while the unwavering conservatism of their parents poses a challenge to Gene's authenticity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Take Me Drunk I'm Home (2025)
It's 5 o'clock here. As a town descends deeper into their cups, one man tries desperately to ascend his stairs to bed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008)
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Family (1995)
Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930s. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the '50s. As the second generation become adults in the '60s, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShouting Secrets (2011)
Shouting Secrets is a hopeful and heartwarming, universal story taking place in a present day Native American family. It's a story that is at once about the constancy and the fragility of love, as well as the importance of family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Melvin and Howard (1980)
The story of hard-luck Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes. Inspired by real events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWith Six You Get Eggroll (1968)
Abby McClure, a widow with three sons, and Jake Iverson, a widower with a teenage daughter, begin dating and eventually decide to get married. But they're not prepared for the hostile reactions from their children, who are not very excited about the new union between the two families.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Statue (2011)
Little Statue" directed by Bahram Baryal, is a crime drama film. The story revolves around a gang of criminals who are hired for a mission to steal a golden statue recently discovered in Afghanistan. When their initial plan fails, they resort to kidnapping the daughter of the archaeologist who found the statue. Their goal is to force him to hand over the statue to them instead of the government. But things don’t go as planned…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In the Arms of the Tree?
The closest matches to In the Arms of the Tree are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) and Children of Heaven (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In the Arms of the Tree?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the closest match to In the Arms of the Tree.
What is the highest-rated movie like In the Arms of the Tree?
Children of Heaven (1997), rated 7.9/10 by 764 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In the Arms of the Tree?
Take Me Drunk I'm Home (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to In the Arms of the Tree chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In the Arms of the Tree, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.