Movies like Fading Colors (2025)
The best movies like Fading Colors (2025) are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Mammal (2016) and Basquiat (1996). If Fading Colors hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPalmer (2021)8.1/10 from 2,029 votes
- NewestThe Street Photographer (2026)Released 2026
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasquiat (1996)
The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998)
In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCardboard Boxer (2016)
Gentle and broken, a homeless man fights others on video for money but soon finds comfort in an unlikely friend and the lost diary of a young girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoad to Paloma (2014)
While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharm City Kings (2020)
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Church (2016)
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Without Hope (2025)
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSame Kind of Different as Me (2017)
International art dealer Ron Hall must befriend a dangerous homeless man in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the journey of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Human Voice (2020)
A woman watches time pass beside the suitcases of her ex-lover (who is supposed to come pick them up but never arrives) and a restless dog who doesn't understand that his master has abandoned him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Came Out & Everything is Worse Now (2024)
Two childhood friends make an attempt to leave home after an unfortunate coming out the closet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
JAPA (2025)
Two young lovers, Emeka and Fola, who dream of leaving Nigeria for a better life abroad. Their parents have warned them not to share their plans with anyone, including each other, for spiritual reasons. Both keep their intentions hidden.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The EDEN Project (2023)
A girl, her father, and an AI system work to preserve the remnants of plant life in a post-apocalyptic ice age.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dust-Man (2021)
A young homeless man happens to draw a series of illustrations over dusty surfaces, gradually recovering from the pains of his past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Falls (TBA)
Two old college friends reconnect in East Falls Philadelphia, testing their friendship, artistic integrity, and patience with each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Everyone but Me (TBA)
A vulnerable coming-of-age drama about friendship, rejection, and learning to choose yourself when no one else does.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Street Photographer (2026)
Matthijs is a street photographer in Amsterdam, aiming to succeed and grow within his profession. A new client gives him a unique photography assignment: create a photo that captures the spirit of art in Amsterdam. Matthijs travels the city in search of the best photo, ultimately learning not only what he considers the essence of true art, but also how he can become a better artist himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Leaving Ikorodu In 1999 (2024)
During a road trip to the airport, Fade questions whether her niece’s departure from Nigeria is truly for the best.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Fading Colors?
The closest matches to Fading Colors are The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Mammal (2016) and Basquiat (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Fading Colors?
Start with The Truth About Emanuel (2013), the closest match to Fading Colors.
What is the highest-rated movie like Fading Colors?
Palmer (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 2,029 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Fading Colors?
The Street Photographer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Fading Colors?
Yes: The Truth About Emanuel (2013), Mammal (2016) and Basquiat (1996).
How are movies similar to Fading Colors chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Fading Colors, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.