Movies like De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal (2025)
The best movies like De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal (2025) are I Am Heath Ledger (2017), Directed by John Ford (1971) and 35 Up (1991). If De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am Heath Ledger (2017)7.4/10 from 233 votes
- NewestLyrical Vengeance (2026)Released 2026
I Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove, Marilyn (2013)
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
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 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 thisMea 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
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 thisLooking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHeart 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 thisKaty Perry: Part of Me (2012)
Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 this21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoger Waters: Us + Them (2019)
Filmed in Amsterdam on the European leg of his 2017 – 2018 Us + Them tour which saw Waters perform to over two million people worldwide, the film features songs from his legendary Pink Floyd albums (The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here) and from his last album, Is This The Life We Really Want?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRotterdam 2040 (2013)
Rotterdam 2040 is a film about the city’s future, departing from the principle of Gyz La Rivière that you can’t look ahead without considering your past (something that hasn’t always been Rotterdam’s strongest feature). At high speed, La Rivière reconstructs the history of Rotterdam from the time before the bombings until now, and expands the developments to the year 2040 (100 years after the bombing and the 700th anniversary of the city). La Rivière made a specific choice to expose his personal vision, which is sometimes radical or a little absurd. So no experts and no talking heads, but an assault of old and new imagery, held together by La Rivière as the narrator of the film. Although Rotterdam 2040 deals with architecture and urban renewal, it is actually a film about people. The subjective experience of the city by its (future) occupants mainly determines the parade of architectural blunders and suggestions for the future. All tongue-in-cheek of course.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Goeie mensen (2025)
Sjaak and Clara founded the very first food bank in the Netherlands in 2002. Since handing over their responsibilities at the food bank, they have continued their mission unabated. They still run a soup kitchen and the Social Café Onder de Oranjeboom (Under the Orange Tree), where vulnerable members of society can find a hot meal, support, and a good conversation. For many years, this dedicated couple has been committed to helping people in Rotterdam living in poverty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
De Sparta Marsch (2017)
A look at the traditions of the oldest club in the Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
"A Good Man" (2026)
An exploration of masculinity through a close-knit Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community built on brotherhood and faith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Three Days with Monica (1956)
A journalist in Rotterdam has to show the city to an important foreign relation. He shows her the Rotterdam port.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lyrical Vengeance (2026)
On crowded dance floors at queer club nights in Tokyo, Yogyakarta and Rotterdam, ravers celebrate the lives and works of Japanese author Fumiko Hayashi, Indonesian author Suwarsih Djojopuspito and Dutch-Indonesian author Beb Vuyk. These women challenged patriarchal and nationalist politics from the 1930s to the 1950s, a turbulent period marked by violence, war and decolonization. They wrote openly about sensitive subjects such as women’s labour, sex work and resistance to colonial and patriarchal oppression. Contemporary activists, artists and researchers engage with the authors’ literary legacies through collective reading, and performance. These local actors quote from the writers’ work and, through improvisation, enact how these women might have responded to complex situations. The writers’ artistic practice, activism and feminism resonate with the creative practices of today’s transnational queer community, connecting different ways of creating and claiming space.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Yannick (2017)
At 41 years old, the Quebecois conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has established himself as one of the most gifted maestros of his generation, with numerous prestigious posts with some of the world’s greatest orchestras already under his belt, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (music director), London Philharmonic Orchestra (principal guest conductor), and the Orchestre métropolitain de Montréal. One week before Nézet-Séguin's official nomination as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, filmmaker Christiaan van Schermbeek met the maestro for the first time. The once-in-a-lifetime event inspired Schermbeek to begin this documentary project, giving us a fascinating glimpse into the life of a truly extraordinary individual.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
100 jaar Het Kasteel (2016)
A celebration of 100 years of Sparta Rotterdam's classic stadium.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Het Ding (untitled, 1957) (2018)
Next to the Bijenkorf on the Coolsingel stands one of Rotterdam’s most famous sculptures, an untitled structure created by Russian modernist artist Naum Gabo, that has been simply called Het Ding (The Thing). This documentary about the restoration of Naum Gabo’s nameless sculpture from 1957 combines awe-inspiring shots of this artwork with audio fragments from Gabo’s fiery Russian manifests.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Secret of Hotel New York (2026)
Few buildings tell the story of a city as vividly as Hotel New York does for Rotterdam. Originally constructed in 1901 as the headquarters of the Holland-America Line, this landmark building has witnessed over a century of commerce, migration, war, decline, and urban renewal. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and a diverse range of interviews, the film weaves together the personal accounts of those who knew the building from the inside with the historical evolution of Rotterdam as a port city. From an office building and squatted property to its eventual transformation into a hotel, "The Secret of Hotel New York" presents the story of an enduring symbol of Rotterdam’s capacity for reinvention.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal?
The closest matches to De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal are I Am Heath Ledger (2017), Directed by John Ford (1971) and 35 Up (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal?
Start with I Am Heath Ledger (2017), the closest match to De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal.
What is the highest-rated movie like De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal?
I Am Heath Ledger (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal?
Lyrical Vengeance (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside De Sparta-jaren van Van Gaal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.