Movies like Lia (2025)
The best movies like Lia (2025) are Black God, White Devil (1964), Burden of Dreams (1982) and Lost in La Mancha (2002). If Lia hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJodorowsky's Dune (2013)7.8/10 from 789 votes
- NewestShadows Of You (2026)Released 2026
Black God, White Devil (1964)
Wanted for killing his boss, Manuel flees with his wife Rosa to the sertão, the barren landscape of Northern Brazil. Thrust into a primordial violent region, Manuel and Rosa come under the influence and control of a series of frightening figures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBurden of Dreams (1982)
The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost in La Mancha (2002)
Fulton and Pepe's 2000 documentary captures Terry Gilliam's attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote off the ground. Back injuries, freakish storms, and more zoom in to sabotage the project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVisions of Light (1992)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
Toby, a cynical film director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote. In the course of their comic and increasingly surreal adventures, Toby is forced to confront the tragic repercussions of a film he made in his idealistic youth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow High (2001)
Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDjango & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained (2021)
A tribute to Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci (1926-90), presented by American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJodorowsky's Dune (2013)
In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeduced 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwenty Years Later (1984)
Eduardo Coutinho was filming a movie with the same name in the Northeast of Brazil, in 1964, when there came the military coup. He had to interrupt the project, and came back to it in 1981, looking for the same places and people, showing what had ocurred since then, and trying to gather a family whose patriarch, a political leader fighting for rights of country people, had been murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAttack of the Hollywood Clichés! (2021)
One-man armies, meet-cutes, casual strolls away from huge explosions — stars and industry insiders toast and roast these cinematic chestnuts and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Tasty Was My Little Frenchman (1971)
In 1594 Brazil, a frenchman becomes a prisoner of the Tupinambás. While waiting to be executed, the foreigner learns the habits of the indigenous people and joins a woman who tries to help him escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQuay (2015)
In 2015, Christopher Nolan curated a selection of short films by the surrealist animators the Quay Brothers to be distributed as a touring 35mm presentation. The three films—"In Absentia" (2000), "The Comb" (1991) and "Street of Crocodiles" (1986)—were accompanied by this brief portrait of the brothers at work in their London studio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolid Serenade (1946)
Tom ties up Spike and sneaks into the courtyard of the glamorous Toodles Galore with his bass, hoping to woo her with his song, much to the annoyance of a sleeping Jerry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTowed in a Hole (1932)
Although they are successful fishmongers, Stan convinces Ollie that they should become fishermen too, but making a boat seaworthy isn't an easy task.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLos Angeles Plays Itself (2004)
From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMeu Passado Me Condena: O Filme (2013)
The immature and cheap douche bag Fábio Clóvis marries the pseudo-intellectual Miá and they travel in a cruise to Europe on board of a fancy passenger vessel. Fabio and Miá are invited to have dinner with the wealthy Beto Assunção and his gorgeous wife Laura in a VIP restaurant on the vessel. Soon Fábio discovers that Beto was Miá's boyfriend and Miá learns that Fábio had a crush on Laura that was his classmate. Meanwhile the cynical chamber maid Suzana Mello and her estranged husband, the entertainer Wilson, make a bet that Fábio and Miá will split before the end of the trip and poison their relationship. When the ship arrives in Casablanca, Fábio meets his bothersome childhood friend Cabeça that affects their honeymoon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Soup (1992)
An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShadows Of You (2026)
In the hallways of a university in Belém, Emmanuelle, a shy and observant photography student, silently falls in love with Lenore. Lacking the courage to confess her feelings, she begins leaving anonymous notes inspired by Edgar Allan Poe in the places Lenore frequents. Intrigued and captivated by Lenore, Emmanuelle starts secretly following the clues from this admirer, drawing the two closer to an inevitable encounter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Claves, 2: We will return younger (1984)
Documentary in four parts on Latin American cinema. Second episode, evoking the border between fiction and documentary. With his film Tire dié (1960), the Argentinian Fernando Birri proposed this manifesto: to create a realistic and critical national cinema, closer to society without falling into populism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Claves, 4: Memories of Cuban cinema (1984)
Documentary in four parts on Latin American cinema. Fourth episode: in Cuba, the ICAIC, created in the aftermath of the Castro revolution, is at once a film school, a production company and a state cultural branch. Cuban filmmakers testify to the situation and themes specific to their national cinema.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Claves, 1: How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman (1984)
Documentary in four parts on Latin American cinema. First episode: the influences of Cahiers du cinéma, the New Wave, Italian neorealism. In Brazil, Cinema Novo draws inspiration from these models while drawing on the historical and cultural singularity of the country. The documentary was awarded the Prix Makhila d’or at the Festival de Biarritz, France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Claves, 3: Small mother country, great mother country (1984)
Documentary in four parts on Latin American cinema. Third episode: from the 1960s, France and Europe showed a real enthusiasm for Latin American cinema, but the latter remained hampered by numerous economic and political obstacles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
La Perra (2023)
In Bogota, a bird-girl leaves behind the family home, her domineering mother and faithful dog to go and explore her sexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Valores Familiares (2026)
Jimena admires the perfection of her parents marriage. However, an unexpected gesture from her mother awakens a doubt in her that begins to unsettle the idealized image she has always had of her family. Jimena confronts the hidden side of morality and comes to understand that nothing is as it seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
O Sol Sempre Está (2025)
Two friends, a boat, and a sun that always is.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lia?
The closest matches to Lia are Black God, White Devil (1964), Burden of Dreams (1982) and Lost in La Mancha (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lia?
Start with Black God, White Devil (1964), the closest match to Lia.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lia?
Jodorowsky's Dune (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 789 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lia?
Shadows Of You (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Lia chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lia, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.