Movies like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends (2025)
The best movies like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends (2025) are The Limits of Control (2009), Suburbicon (2017) and Cleaner (2007). If Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends hooked you with its mystery, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Translators (2019)6.4/10 from 579 votes
- NewestAbsolution (2024)Released 2024
- In FrenchVidocq (2001)Also in French
The Limits of Control (2009)
A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisCleaner (2007)
Single father and former cop Tom Cutler has an unusual occupation: he cleans up death scenes. But when he's called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Cutler is shocked to learn he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVidocq (2001)
Paris, 1830. In the heart of the town, Vidocq, a famous detective, disappears as he fights the Alchemist, an assassin that he has been pursuing for a few months. His young biographer, Etienne Boisset, decides to avenge Vidocq's death and takes the investigation on...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInspector Lavardin (1986)
Inspector Lavardin is called to a provincial village to investigate a murder – only to find that one of his ex-lovers is the victim’s widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adversary (2002)
Based on the 2000 book of the same name by Emmanuel Carrère, it is inspired by the real-life story of Jean-Claude Romand. L'Adversaire's protagonist Jean-Marc Faure (Auteuil) pursues an imaginary career as a doctor of medicine in a plot more closely based on Romand's life and Carrère's book than was Laurent Cantet's 2001 film L'Emploi du Temps. The film was nominated for a Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted By Murder (2022)
A murder investigation is reignited in a house that is considered haunted by the Lawrenceton locals and where years ago Aurora and Sally, as teenagers, discovered a body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Locksmith (2023)
A thief fresh out of prison, tries to work his way back into the life of his daughter and ex-fiancé. Determined, he is forced to use the skills he has as a gifted locksmith. Things take a tumultuous turn after an unexpected disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrotherhood of Tears (2013)
Gabriel Chevalier, 45 years old, is an ex-policeman. Unemployed, lonely and depressed,he lives like a ghost and hardly takes care of his only teenage child Juliette. One day, by pure chance, he finds a suspicious but extremely well paid job: his daily mission consists of delivering a briefcase exactly where he is told. The only rule being to never open it. These deliveries will bring him to meet weird people in strange places. Gradually, his cop instinct resurfaces...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Mean Season (1985)
A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (2022)
A tenacious party girl fights to survive after three thieves commandeer her luxury yacht. Unable to escape and trapped on the yacht at high seas, the prey becomes the hunter as she turns the tables on the intruders and takes matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKept Woman (2015)
Jessica and her fiancé Evan have just moved from the city into their dream home on a quiet suburban street. Soon after, Jessica catches her seemingly friendly new neighbor, Simon, in a strange lie and can't let her suspicions rest. The danger escalates when Simon lures her inside his home and imprisons Jessica in his secret bunker, meticulously decorated in the idealized style of the 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Translators (2019)
Nine translators, hired to translate the eagerly awaited final book of a bestselling trilogy, are confined in a luxurious bunker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Second Wind (2007)
Gu, a famous gangster, has just escaped from jail. All french police is after him. Before leaving the country with Manouche, the woman he loves, Gu needs a final job to get some money. The job works, but a police's scheming makes Gu appear as a traitor to his own accomplices. Gu will do whatever it takes to clean his honor...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnon (2018)
Set in a near-future world where there is no privacy, ignorance or anonymity, our private memories are recorded and crime almost ceases to exist. In trying to solve a series of unsolved murders, Sal Frieland stumbles onto a young woman who appears to have subverted the system and disappeared. She has no identity, no history and no record. Sal realizes it may not be the end of crime but the beginning. Known only as 'The Girl', Sal must find her before he becomes the next victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWithout Apparent Motive (1971)
A series of murders is committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissaire Carella is in charge and tries to find a missing link between all these murders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Body of My Enemy (1976)
A man accused of murder discovers a trail of corruption leading to the powerful family of his former love. Going underground, he seeks allies in a town where trust is scarce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends?
The closest matches to Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends are The Limits of Control (2009), Suburbicon (2017) and Cleaner (2007). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends?
Start with The Limits of Control (2009), the closest match to Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends.
What is the highest-rated movie like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends?
The Translators (2019), rated 6.4/10 by 579 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends?
Absolution (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends?
Yes: Vidocq (2001), Inspector Lavardin (1986) and The Adversary (2002).
How are movies similar to Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Detective Smiley & the Lost Friends, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.