Movies like Porcelain War (2024)
The best movies like Porcelain War (2024) are The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020), Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017) and Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015). If Porcelain War hooked you with its documentary, 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
- NewestLove+War (2025)Released 2025
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020)
Single mother Anna and her four children live in the front-line war zone of Donbas, Ukraine. While the outside world is made up of bombings and chaos, the family is managing to keep their home a safe haven, full of life and full of light. Every member of the family has a passion for cinema, motivating them to shoot a film inspired by their own life during a time of war. The creative process raises the question of what kind of power the magical world of cinema could have during times of disaster. How to picture war through fiction? For Anna and the children, transforming trauma into a work of art is the ultimate way to stay human.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017)
The film looks at people transformed by a democratic revolution, who give up their normal lives to fight a Russian invasion, in a war which has killed 10,000 and displaced 1.9 million Ukrainians.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015)
Over 93 days in Ukraine, what started as peaceful student demonstrations became a violent revolution and full-fledged civil rights movement.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Cave (2019)
Deep beneath the surface in the Syrian province of Ghouta, a group of female doctors have established an underground field hospital. Under the supervision of paediatrician Dr. Amani and her staff of doctors and nurses, hope is restored for some of the thousands of children and civilian victims of the ruthless Syrian civil war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Wire (2018)
On 12 February 2012, two journalists entered war-ravaged Syria. One of them was celebrated Sunday Times war correspondent, Marie Colvin. The other was photographer, Paul Conroy. Their aim was to cover the plight of Syrian civilians trapped in Homs, a city under siege and relentless military attack from the Syrian army. Only one of them returned.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Painter and the Thief (2020)
When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, the cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiss the Future (2024)
An exploration of the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. Explore how art and music sustained hope, thanks in part to humanitarians and the band U2.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (2025)
On March 13, 2022, filmmaker Brent Renaud was killed by Russian soldiers, the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine. His younger brother and collaborator, Craig Renaud, recovered Brent’s body and his final recordings from Ukraine and brought them back to their childhood home in Arkansas. As Brent’s journey to his final resting place unfolds, the film chronicles the years he and his brother spent covering some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A Revolution on Canvas (2023)
In this hybrid political thriller and verité portrait documentary, Sara Nodjoumi, working with co-director and husband, Till Schauder, makes her directorial debut with this personal film, diving into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 “treasonous” paintings by her father, seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad Nodjoumi.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Convergence: Courage in a Crisis (2021)
Activists and volunteers work through the darkest days of 2020, galvanizing social change amidst chaos as governments start to fail local communities. This epic, globally spanning and deeply passionate documentary serves as a clarion call that great change can be born of crisis.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Last Men in Aleppo (2017)
A searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives. Incorporating moments of both heart-pounding suspense and improbable beauty, the documentary draws us into the lives of three of its founders — Khaled, Subhi, and Mahmoud — as they grapple with the chaos around them and struggle with an ever-present dilemma: do they flee or stay and fight for their country?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll the Empty Rooms (2025)
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last of the Sea Women (2024)
On the shores of Jeju Island, a fierce group of South Korean divers fight to save their vanishing culture from looming threats.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A House Made of Splinters (2023)
A temporary house for abandoned children near the front line in eastern Ukraine is run by a small group of social workers determined to provide comfort and safety. It may be humble and somewhat run-down, but this house is filled with love and offers up to nine months of refuge to kids whose fate will be determined by the system. During this short time, the caretakers try to nurture within them a sense of stability and normalcy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Dissident (2020)
When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world are left to piece together the clues to a brutal murder and expose a global cover up perpetrated by the very country he loved.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost Lives (2019)
This poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
National Bird (2016)
Sonia Kennebeck takes on the controversial tactic of drone warfare, and demands accountability through the personal accounts—recollections, traumas, and responses—of three American military veterans whose lives have been shaken by the roles they played in this controversial method of attack.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Sugarcane (2024)
An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school in Canada ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMidnight Traveler (2019)
In 2015, the Taliban put a price on the head of Hassan, a filmmaker, who was forced to flee Afghanistan with his wife and two young daughters. Using their camera phones, the fugitives show first-hand the many dangers refugees face when seeking asylum in a safe place.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Letter from Masanjia (2019)
Damascus, Oregon, United States. Julie Keith finds a baffling message hidden in a pack of decorative items, a desperate plea for help, written by someone imprisoned in a Chinese labor camp called Masanjia…
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Love+War (2025)
Pulitzer Prize-winning conflict photojournalist Lynsey Addario reflects on a career working in some of the world's most dangerous war zones, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
To Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Eternal Memory (2023)
Augusto and Paulina have been together for 25 years. Eight years ago, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Both fear the day he no longer recognizes her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Distant Barking of Dogs (2017)
Hnutove, Donbass, eastern Ukraine, 2015. Young Oleg lives in a war zone where anti-aircraft gunshots and missile attacks often resonate dangerously near. Although many inhabitants have already left this dangerous area, he remains with his grandmother, who has cared for him since his mother's death, because they have nowhere to go. They are just waiting for the war to end.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Wildcat (2022)
Back from war in Afghanistan, a young British soldier struggling with depression and PTSD finds a second chance in the Amazon rainforest when he meets an American scientist, and together they foster an orphaned baby ocelot.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Citizenfour (2014)
In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWar Photographer (2001)
Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this20 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: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Russian Woodpecker (2015)
As his country is gripped by revolution and war, a Ukrainian victim of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life and play his part in the revolution by revealing it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Stories We Tell (2012)
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending on their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Porcelain War and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Porcelain War?
The closest matches to Porcelain War are The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020), Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017) and Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Porcelain War?
People who watched Porcelain War most often go on to The Earth Is Blue as an Orange (2020), Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017) and Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like Porcelain War?
20 Days in Mariupol (2023), rated 8.1/10 by 328 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Porcelain War?
Love+War (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Porcelain War?
Yes: Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine (2017), Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom (2015) and The Cave (2019).
How are movies similar to Porcelain War chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Porcelain War, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.