Movies like Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton

2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025)

Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & war

Father Soldier Son (2020)

When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & war

City of Ghosts (2017)

With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS—as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & documentary

For Sama (2019)

A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & war

As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)

A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Naqoyqatsi (2002)

A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Walk with Me (2017)

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Walk With Me is a cinematic journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Baraka (1992)

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Fuck (2006)

A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell (2021)

Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)

After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)

Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)

In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (2015)

A documentary directed by Winding Refn's wife, Liv Corfixen, and it follows the Danish-born filmmaker during the making of his 2013 film Only God Forgives.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)

Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Seduced and Abandoned (2013)

SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)

A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

After We Are Born (2027)

A New Psychological Documentary About Children

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & war

The Beaches of Agnès (2008)

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

A fleur d'eau (2025)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Controlling Britney Spears (2021)

Britney Spears has said that her conservatorship had become “an oppressive and controlling tool against her”. This New York Times investigation reveals much of how it worked, including an intense surveillance apparatus that monitored every move she made.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Pleasure in Pain (2022)

A short film that follows key figures of the London kink scene on an exploration into BDSM and the notorious fetish event Klub Verboten. The film touches upon themes of psychology, trauma, LGBTQ+ rights and black representation.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Christian Weston Chandler...Yep, I'm on TV :) (2007)

Christian Weston Chandler...Yep, I'm on TV is a independent documentary produced by Christine Weston Chandler, prior to her internet fame, and released on DVD in celebration of her 25th birthday. The film mostly exists as a compilation of home movies and previous short films.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Cannabis : Une enquête de Mathieu Kassovitz et Antoine Robin (2024)

In many countries, cannabis legislation is becoming more relaxed, whether for therapeutic reasons or to combat illegal trafficking. In France, the country with the highest number of cannabis users in Europe, this issue is still a subject of debate. To understand why some countries are legalizing it and how they regulate its use, Mathieu Kassovitz and Antoine Robin spent a year investigating ten different countries. This documentary explores the organization, successes, and failures of this legislation and questions the adaptability of these different models to France.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Tchernobyl : nuage radioactif sur la France (2026)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic (2026)

Featuring interviews from members of the casting, production design, costume design, and creature effects teams, follow the behind-the-scenes journey of bringing the Harry Potter books to the small screen. Find out how the new Golden Trio were found, and celebrate the commitment to detail of the artists, craftspeople, and technicians who have come together to bring the wizarding world to life.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Celso: a portrait, a place (TBA)

"Celso: a portrait, a place" is a documentary that emerges from a year of sporadic visits by the documentary filmmaker (until then a convinced agnostic) to the Capuchin complex, a block that is, among other things, a place to preserve the memory of the Capuchin friars in the Serra Gaúcha, southern Brazil. The daily life of the space and the ramblings of the charismatic friar and artist Celso Bordignon are interspersed in an attempt to contemplate aspects of religious life, art, and the awareness of the nuances of the action of time on matter, body and spirit.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary