Movies like Shiny Island (2023)
The best movies like Shiny Island (2023) are This Is Not Berlin (2019), Tremors (2019) and Hands of Stone (2016). If Shiny Island hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Enforcer (2022)7.0/10 from 533 votes
- NewestUntil the End of the World (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThis Is Not Berlin (2019)Also in Spanish
This Is Not Berlin (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere, not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground LGBTQ nightlife scene: punk, sexual liberty and drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTremors (2019)
A family man torn between the love for his family, the boundaries of religion and the freedom to choose whom to love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisma ma (2015)
After finding a lump in one of her breasts, Magda goes to visit her doctor who gives her bad news: she needs a mastectomy, preceded by severe chemo treatments. While she ponders this ill fortune at a soccer game where her son Dani participates, she attracts the attention of talent scout Arturo, who is looking for talented young players to enroll them in the junior leagues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChinas (2023)
In Madrid, Spain, Lucía and Xiang, two nine-year-old Chinese girls, meet at the beginning of the school year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartin (Hache) (1997)
After having a nearly fatal drug overdose, 19-year-old Argentine Martin is sent to Madrid, where his film director father lives with his new, younger lover, Alicia, and his bisexual actor friend, Dante.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUntil the End of the World (2026)
Manuel's life is upended when Esmeralda, his lost love from 15 years ago, calls unexpectedly. Despite being set to marry another, he rediscovers Esmeralda, and they realize their love transcends time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemories of a Teenager (2019)
After the suicide of his best friend and the fire of a local dance called Cromañón, including recitals, illegal parties in an abandoned warehouse and high school, a year passes by in the life of Zabo who writes everything he feels and lives in his blog, "Memories of a teenager".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisNaked as We Came (2013)
After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find their mother, Lilly, gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 thisJungleland (2020)
Stanley manages his boxer brother Lion but when a devastating loss in the ring leaves the pair in debt, an opportunity to recoup the cash leads to a series of misadventures that threaten to break the bond between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cut (2025)
A retired boxer intends to return to the ring for one last shot at the title, but first he must make the weight. Holed up in a room in Las Vegas with an unscrupulous trainer, he embarks on an intensive and illegal weight-cutting program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Neighbors' Window (2019)
The story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBend It Like Beckham (2002)
Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Private Idaho (1991)
Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummer Storm (2004)
Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMala Noche (1987)
Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNobody's Watching (2017)
Nico is a famous actor in Argentina, but in New York, nobody takes notice. He needs to juggle bartending, babysitting and odd jobs to keep himself afloat. But when old friends from Buenos Aires come to visit, he needs to juggle the image of his old life with the reality of the struggling actor in New York City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Faggot (2017)
This short film tells the story of Alexis, a 16-years-old hockey player who, after discovering he is gay, must face a heartbreaking dilemma: come out to his homophobic friends at the risk of being rejected and ridiculed, or stay in the closet even if that would mean abandoning Elliot, the only person who really loves him for what he is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Desert Hearts (1985)
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBenedetta (2021)
A 17th-century nun becomes entangled in a forbidden lesbian affair with a novice. But it is Benedetta's shocking religious visions that threaten to shake the Church to its core.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPepper (2014)
The painful awakening of a couple after an evening of fantasies ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shadowlands (2025)
Shadowlands is an anthology series that explores love in three distinct stories: a couple renegotiating a relationship, a narcissist seeking to understand it, and star-crossed lovers mourning its loss.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shiny Island?
The closest matches to Shiny Island are This Is Not Berlin (2019), Tremors (2019) and Hands of Stone (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shiny Island?
Start with This Is Not Berlin (2019), the closest match to Shiny Island.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shiny Island?
The Enforcer (2022), rated 7.0/10 by 533 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shiny Island?
Until the End of the World (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Shiny Island?
Yes: This Is Not Berlin (2019), Tremors (2019) and ma ma (2015).
How are movies similar to Shiny Island chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shiny Island, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.