Movies like A Common Story (2026)
The best movies like A Common Story (2026) are Things We Don't Say (2026), The Family (1987) and Bad Tales (2020). If A Common 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 ratedOut (2020)7.2/10 from 221 votes
- NewestHarceleurs (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianThings We Don't Say (2026)Also in Italian
Things We Don't Say (2026)
Carlo and Elisa are a successful couple. He’s a university professor and writer facing a creative block; she’s a brilliant, sharp-witted journalist, known for her internationally published editorials. They live in Rome, moving between accomplishments and routine, affection and something that might be fading. In search of new energy, they travel to Morocco with their lifelong friends, Anna and Paolo, and their thirteen-year-old daughter Vittoria—bright, curious, a little eccentric. Tensions soon rise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Family (1987)
Formal portraits, bookends in this 80-year saga, enclose the central story, which opens with the baptism of Carlo, a baby in his grandfather's lap, and ends with Carlo as a grandfather with a baby in his arms. And never once do we get out of the house, whose rooms provide structure. Comfort or passion? Carlo can't really decide until it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Tales (2020)
In a small suburb on the outskirts of Rome, the cheerful heat of summer camouflages a stifling atmosphere of alienation. From a distance, the families seem normal, but it’s an illusion: in the houses, courtyards and gardens, silence shrouds the subtle sadism of the fathers, the passivity of the mothers and the guilty indifference of adults. But it’s the desperation and repressed rage of the children that will explode and cut through this grotesque façade, with devastating consequences for the entire community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlong the Ridge (2006)
A young father and his two children struggle to find harmony after his wife leaves them for another man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nest (2020)
Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 thisMy Brother, My Sister (2021)
When their father's will forces them to live together, siblings Nik and Tesla — and Tesla's kids — try to overcome their differences to become a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Killing of Two Lovers (2021)
In a rural Utah town, David, a father of four, grapples with his separation from wife Nikki as she pursues a new relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverybody's Fine (1990)
Matteo Scuro is a retired Sicilian bureaucrat, a widower with five children, all of whom live on the mainland and hold responsible jobs. He decides to surprise each with a visit and finds none as he imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisTerraferma (2011)
A Sicilian family deals with the arrival of a group of immigrants on their island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChrist Stopped at Eboli (1979)
In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the peasants, and to overcome his isolation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Butcher (1998)
Alina is a brilliant and enterprising woman who runs a successful art gallery in Palermo. Her husband Daniele, a successful orchestra conductor, cultured and intelligent, is not a regular presence. One day, while accompanying Daniele to the airport, Alina feels a sense of emptiness. She will try to fill it with a butcher who is always joking and full of erotic allusions and who arouses a strong attraction in her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way We Laughed (1998)
Studying to become a teacher in 1950s Northern Italy, Sicilian immigrant Pietro is joined by his big brother Giovanni. Pietro shows considerable promise in his field, prompting illiterate Giovanni to take on even the toughest jobs in order to support his sibling's academic pursuits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hidden Child (2021)
Gabriele Santoro is a Professor of Pianoforte at the Music Conservatory San Pietro a Majella who lives in a working-class area of the city. One morning, while shaving his beard, the postman buzzes at the intercom to tell him he has a package. Gabriele opens the door and, before greeting him, runs to rinse his face. In that short space of time, a ten-year-old child slips into his apartment and hides away. “The maestro” – as he’s called in his neighbourhood – only notices the stowaway late at night. And when he sees him, he recognises the intruder as Ciro, a child who lives with his parents and siblings on the top floor of his building. When asked why he has fled his home, Ciro refuses to speak. Nevertheless, the maestro instinctively decides to hide him in his home, setting Ciro’s enemies a uniquely difficult challenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMisunderstood (2014)
Rome, 1984, Aria is nine-year-old girl. On the verge of divorce, Aria's infantile and selfish parents are too preoccupied with their careers and extra-marital affairs to properly tend to any of Aria's needs. While her two older sisters are pampered, Aria is treated with cold indifference. Yet she yearns to love and to be loved. At school, Aria excels academically but is considered a misfit by everyone. She is misunderstood. Aria finds comfort in her cat - Dac and in her best friend - Angelica. Thrown out of both parents' homes, abandoned by all, even her best friend, Aria finally reaches the limit of what she can bear. She makes an unexpected decision in her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPump Up the Volume (1990)
Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlourish (2006)
A tutor recounts a frantic night that culminated in a 16-year old girl's disappearance. Unfolding in front of a video camera direct from a psychiatric ward, Gaby Winters recalls a dreadful babysitting job that sent her on a frantic search for a missing teenager out into the heart of a mysterious city. Woven into the story are a multitude of subplots that add up to one chaotic night that Gaby will never forget.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Welcome Home Freckles (2025)
After four years away, Huiju returns home to South Korea. Exchanges with her loved ones are awkward and clumsy. Huiju turns once again to her familiar rituals: pruning the trees, preparing a sauce, tying a braid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Anything for Her (2008)
Lisa and Julien are married and lead a happy uneventful life with their son Oscar. But their life radically changes one morning, when the police comes to arrest Lisa on murder charges. She's sentenced to 20 years of prison. Convinced of his wife's innocence, Julien decides to act. How far will he be willing to go for her?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside (2006)
Alex has a disturbing hobby of following strangers...until one night he gets caught. Instead of calling the police, the couple--fascinated by Alex's resemblance to their dead son--asks him to stay, and Alex finds himself trapped in a horrifying existence of desperation, despair, and insanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ya Hanouni (2024)
While the Mom and the Dad try to put their baby to sleep, a competition arises between them: who will manage to get the baby to say the first word?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Crazy (2011)
A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut (2020)
On an average day, Greg's life is filled with family, love and a rambunctious little dog - but despite all of this, Greg has a secret. Today is different, though. With some help from his precocious pup, and a little bit of magic, Greg might learn that he has nothing to hide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Common Story?
The closest matches to A Common Story are Things We Don't Say (2026), The Family (1987) and Bad Tales (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Common Story?
Start with Things We Don't Say (2026), the closest match to A Common Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Common Story?
Out (2020), rated 7.2/10 by 221 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Common Story?
Harceleurs (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like A Common Story?
Yes: Things We Don't Say (2026), The Family (1987) and Bad Tales (2020).
How are movies similar to A Common Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Common Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.