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Movies like Bulaqistan (2009)

The best movies like Bulaqistan (2009) are Kensuke's Kingdom (2024), The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) and A Map of the World (1999). If Bulaqistan hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Kensuke's Kingdom (2024)

    A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009)

    In 1986 Iran, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village, enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant ended in tragedy.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. A Map of the World (1999)

    School nurse Alice Goodwin lives with her husband and two daughters on a dairy farm in a small Wisconsin community. After an accident on her property involving a friend's child, the town turns against her and Alice finds herself fighting charges of child abuse.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. 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

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  5. Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)

    Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. Mr. Jones (2019)

    In 1933, Welsh journalist Gareth Jones travels to Ukraine, where he experiences the horrors of a famine. Everywhere he goes he meets henchmen of the Soviet secret service who are determined to prevent news about the catastrophe from getting out. Stalin’s forced collectivisation of agriculture has resulted in misery and ruin—the policy is tantamount to mass murder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. The Old Oak (2023)

    A pub landlord in a previously thriving mining community struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

    Against impossible odds, Spirit, a young mustang, sets out across the majestic wilderness to regain his freedom and save his homeland. Along the way, he forms a friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a squadron of soldiers, and ultimately, finds love.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. The Call of the Wild (1972)

    John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  10. Where 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

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Ordinary Angels (2024)

    Inspired by the incredible true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Heidi (2005)

    Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying young goatherd Peter. Grandpa refuses to send her to school in the city, but aunt Detie returns and forces him to give in. She's sent to a posh lady in Frankfurt, where she'll be a companion for crippled daughter Clara after school hours.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Since You Went Away (1944)

    In 1943, several people enter, re-enter, and exit the difficult life of a Midwestern family whose patriarch has been called up to war, leaving behind his wife and two teen daughters.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Dogville (2003)

    A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. The River (1984)

    Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. The Young One (1960)

    A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. Sand Castle (2017)

    Set during the occupation of Iraq, a squad of U.S. soldiers try to protect a small village.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. Fatima (2020)

    In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. As secularist government officials and Church leaders try to force the children to recant their story, word of the sighting spreads across the country, inspiring religious pilgrims to flock to the site in hopes of witnessing a miracle..

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The Poker House (2008)

    Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. Over the Top (1987)

    Lincoln Hawk a hard-luck big-rig trucker takes us under the glaring Las Vegas lights for all the boisterous action of the World Armwrestling Championship. Relying on wits and willpower, Hawk tries to rebuild his life by capturing the first-place prize money, and the love of the son he abandoned years earlier into the keeping of his rich, ruthless father-in-law.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. Don't Worry, I'm Fine (2006)

    A 19-year-old searches for her twin brother after he runs away from home, following a fight with their father.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. The Host (2006)

    A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Heidi (2005)

    Heidi is a happy, outgoing orphan who lives with her grandfather in the idyllic scenery of the Swiss Alps. Heidi makes friends quickly and people know they can always rely on her for help. She loves the freedom of life in the mountains, but she also learns how to take on responsibility. Her cheerful nature helps to show others how to handle the challenges of everyday life and still be happy. Heidi’s honesty and natural charm inspires both courage and a joy of life in everyone she meets.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  24. Apocalypto (2006)

    Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Him (2005)

    What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

    The true, harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  27. David (1997)

    A distinguished military leader whose reign was touched by great scandal, shocking betrayals and rousing victories. A simple shepherd boy chosen to be king, under the watchful eyes of prophet Samuel.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  28. Atash (2001)

    In southern Morocco in 1954, an old man and a young man cooperate to restore water to a wasteland.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. Yağlı boya ilə ailə portreti (2020)

    The film depicts the life of a man named Chingiz, a student-artist whose only son was martyred in the Karabakh War. His wife also died, unable to bear the loss of her son.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  30. Zorba the Greek (1964)

    An uptight English writer traveling to Crete on a matter of business finds his life changed forever when he meets the gregarious Alexis Zorba.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Bulaqistan and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Bulaqistan?

The closest matches to Bulaqistan are Kensuke's Kingdom (2024), The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) and A Map of the World (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Bulaqistan?

Start with Kensuke's Kingdom (2024), the closest match to Bulaqistan.

What is the highest-rated movie like Bulaqistan?

The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009), rated 7.7/10 by 271 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Bulaqistan?

Ordinary Angels (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

How are movies similar to Bulaqistan chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bulaqistan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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