Movies like In retrospect (2025)
The best movies like In retrospect (2025) are Heart of a Dog (2015), Deliver Us from Evil (2006) and 9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021). If In retrospect hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhitney (2018)7.3/10 from 212 votes
- NewestMy motherland is checkered (2026)Released 2026
Heart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeliver 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
Worth the HypeMovies like this9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021)
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSidney (2022)
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCameraperson (2016)
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Named Me Malala (2015)
A look at the events leading up to the Taliban's attack on the young Pakistani school girl, Malala Yousafzai, for speaking out on girls' education and the aftermath, including her speech to the United Nations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Class of ‘92 (2013)
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014)
James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, not just through his music, but also as a social activist. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN features rare and previously unseen footage, photographs and interviews, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956, to his iconic performances at the Apollo Theater, the T.A.M.I. Show, the Paris Olympia and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what's next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhitney (2018)
Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013)
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChuy, The Wolf Man (2015)
Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves and a dozen living members of his extended family suffer from the very rare condition of congenital hypertrichosis, meaning they were born with excessive hair on their faces and bodies. Due to their appearance, they suffer from discrimination in all areas of their lives: the children are made fun of at school and abandoned by their 'non-hairy' parents, and the adults cannot find work unless they choose to exhibit themselves as freaks in circuses. This moving and visually arresting documentary is a portrait of Chuy and his family members. It examines their day-to-day lives and their struggle to find love, acceptance and employment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mid-Century Moderns: The Homes That Define Palm Springs (2013)
This documentary film goes beyond the walls and hedges of Mid-Century homes that were built in neighborhoods like Twin Palms, Vista Las Palmas and Racquet Club Estates. The film features interviews with noted architects James Harlan, author of The Alexanders. Watch as home owners in various Palm Springs neighborhoods speak directly to the pride that goes beyond home ownership as they tour us through their homes. They gladly accept that they are the stewards of these mid-Century monuments that they live with everyday.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
They Won't Call It Murder (2021)
Police have been killing people in Columbus, Ohio, with near impunity for more than two decades, leaving behind a community bound together by grief – and a system that refuses to call these killings murder. In a searing indictment of the police and justice system at large, educator and curator Ingrid Raphael and journalist Melissa Gira Grant have collaborated in this short film, which spotlights the testimonies and resistance strategies of the loved ones of Henry Green, Tyre King, Donna Dalton and Julius Tate. These are the mothers, sisters, and grandmothers of those who were killed by Columbus police, women seeking justice for their family members, despite knowing that it is unlikely to be found within the system that caused their wrongful deaths.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Color of Fear 2: Walking Each Other Home (1997)
In THE COLOR OF FEAR, eight American men participated in emotionally charged discussions of racism. In this sequel, we hear and see more from those discussions, in which the men talk about about how racism has affected their lives in the United States. We also learn more about the relationships between them, and about their reactions during some of the most intense moments of that discussion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Documents on Giuseppe Pinelli (1970)
The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, after being stopped following the Piazza Fontana bombing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
De Quoi J'Me Mêle ! Banlieues, Guerre Et Paix (1995)
From the “integration model” to the “Islamist fanatic”, France fantasizes about these children of immigrants who grew up with it. Like every month “What I’m Meddling With!” presents portraits, the result of an in-depth investigation, to give a face to today's questions. The program, broadcast in the thematic evening of the Franco-German channel Arte, is made up of 2 ambivalent documentaries: "Les Lumières De La Zone" and "Les Soldats De Dieu" followed by debates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Postmodernism: The Substance of Style (2011)
This film features some of the most important living Postmodern practitioners, Charles Jencks, Robert A M Stern and Sir Terry Farrell among them, and asks them how and why Postmodernism came about, and what it means to be Postmodern. This film was originally made for the V&A exhibition 'Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970 - 1990'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
My motherland is checkered (2026)
In a mix of 2D animation and live action, through their voices and acting, two actresses recount the lives of imprisoned women that opposed the Russian Regime and their emotional stories of suffering and anguish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Quien dice patria dice muerte (2021)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Frei Otto: Spanning the Future (2016)
The life and works of Frei Otto told in his own words and by those he inspired. An in-depth look at the rise of lightweight architecture, form finding, and its continued relevance for the future of architecture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In retrospect?
The closest matches to In retrospect are Heart of a Dog (2015), Deliver Us from Evil (2006) and 9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In retrospect?
Start with Heart of a Dog (2015), the closest match to In retrospect.
What is the highest-rated movie like In retrospect?
Whitney (2018), rated 7.3/10 by 212 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In retrospect?
My motherland is checkered (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like In retrospect?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to In retrospect chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In retrospect, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.