Movies like Lea's Story (1998)
The best movies like Lea's Story (1998) are The Pumpkin Eater (1964), Hounddog (2008) and Holy Lands (2019). If Lea's Story hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Maisie Knew (2013)7.1/10 from 466 votes
- NewestWhere Ever You Are (2026)Released 2026
The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHoly Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex of Venice (2015)
After her stay-at-home husband leaves her, a workaholic lawyer finds that she is not completely up to the tasks of caring for her young son, ailing father and household all by herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta Santita (2004)
After taking up with a charming cab driver, a wild and hedonistic teenage girl returns home to succeed her mother as a prayer woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Plus. Minus. (2019)
Told in reverse chronological order, an aspiring drag queen creates a world out of desolated motel rooms with the guy he met online.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
When the Waves Are Gone (2023)
One of the Philippines' top investigators, Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, faces a deep moral crossroads. As a firsthand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign conducted by his force, his anxiety and guilt triggers a severe skin disease, and his healing process is fraught by his dark past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pisil (1998)
Tomboyish Zsa Zsa (Klaudia) has just taken over a big business where Federico is a part-owner. Federico wants to buy Zsazsa out but she refuses. So he loses control of the company and hires Bobby to win Zsazsa's heart and later sell her stocks to him
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sisid (2001)
“Sisid” is the story of a videographer, played by Raymond Bagatsing, who was betrayed by women in the past and swears never to be betrayed again. He meets a nightclub performer played by de Rossi. The two have an affair, perhaps even fall in love, but Bagatsing hesitates to commit himself to her. De Rossi tells Bagatsing the story of one of her lovers, played by Rodel Velayo; Velayo was once chauffeur to the beautiful but spoiled daughter (again, de Rossi) of a wealthy fishpond operator. De Rossi is kidnapped, Velayo helps her escape; when she learns of his involvement in the plot, she leaves him. Velayo wanders about, until he meets de Rossi in the nightclub; he insists that nightclub de Rossi is really his long-lost de Rossi, and pursues her with fierce intensity. Bagatsing feels threatened by Velayo’s presence, even jealous, and the two struggle over the woman they both think they love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Rapture of Fe (2009)
Fe returns home to the Philippines after several years of working overseas, her job a victim of global economic shifts. Fe is initially greeted with affection by her husband Dante, but he has a long history of domestic violence fueled by rage and long-term impotence, and Fe quickly discovers her time away has not changed him. Dante works in a factory making baskets, and Fe soon joins him there; she becomes the lover of Arturo, the man who manages the basket company, but while Arturo treats her well, he's still under the thumb of his father who owns the factory. Meanwhile, an unknown admirer sends her parcels of strange black fruit on a regular basis. Torn between two men who cannot give her what she needs and wants, Fe's frustration leads to take desperate steps to establish her independence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dahas (1995)
Luisa is raped by an unknown assailant a few nights before she is wed to Jake. When Jake discovers Luisa's prenuptial chastity is in question on their first night, violent events unfold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Only Ü (2008)
Winona, a sassy and spunky girl is just diagnosed with lupus, Bong, a guy who secretly loves her, will do everything for her to live to the fullest before she expires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Where Ever You Are (2026)
After living in Denmark for 38 years, Francisco has decided to move back to his homeland, the Philippines—a country he feels he has never really left. So, on a cold winter evening, he meets with his daughter, who was born and raised in Denmark, to tell her that he plans to leave just a few days later.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pintakasi (2011)
About a young painter who arrives at an island made of garbage. He uses the island and its denizens as his canvas and fights to protect the island from forces that threaten it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lea's Story?
The closest matches to Lea's Story are The Pumpkin Eater (1964), Hounddog (2008) and Holy Lands (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lea's Story?
Start with The Pumpkin Eater (1964), the closest match to Lea's Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lea's Story?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lea's Story?
Where Ever You Are (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lea's Story?
Yes: The Pumpkin Eater (1964), Hounddog (2008) and Holy Lands (2019).
How are movies similar to Lea's Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lea's Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.