Movies like My Friend Bety (2012)
The best movies like My Friend Bety (2012) are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If My Friend Bety hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Mole Agent (2020)7.8/10 from 271 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishThe Mole Agent (2020)Also in Spanish
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mole Agent (2020)
When a daughter becomes concerned about her mother's well-being in a retirement home, private investigator Romulo hires Sergio, an 83-year-old man who becomes a new resident—and a mole inside the home, who struggles to balance his assignment with becoming increasingly involved in the lives of several residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Moments (2008)
Is the story of women that were guerrilleras in Uruguay at the beginning of the 70's. Under an intimate focus, the film shows the moments of decision and the personal crossroads that it involve. The documentary search the experience and the look of common individuals in exceptional situations and goes to the bottom of the load of tensions, fears, contradictions and personal costs that those labor instants of the History have.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Pulque Song (2003)
Portrait of daily life and its inhabitants at the pulquería “La Pirata”. A homage to all those who drink pulque, to ranchera music, to the “barrio” and to pulque.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies (2009)
Documentary about a lodging house, owned by Rosa Carbajal, at the corner of Shakespare and Víctor Hugo streets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Tiniest Place (2011)
Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tales from the Inside (2004)
Tales from the Inside Women inmates of Puente Grande Federal Prison in the state of Jalisco give testimonies of their lives and convey the emotional experience of their confinement. Speaking from their own experience, they reflect upon the human condition, survival, and the concept of freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Wild Gang (2006)
José Alfredo Jiménez is a cab driver. His friend Reinaldo Cruz (a fascinating, most endearing, one-of-a-kind character) is a shoeshiner. Both live on the outskirts of Mexico City and share a dream: participating in the “jaripeos”, this is, in those rodeos where bulls are ridden. The experience they have in these matters is non-existent and, nevertheless, they challenge some scary pros.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hidden Memory (2014)
We follow the filmmaker's struggle to reconstruct a period of her life when she lost her memory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Good Christian (2016)
In 1979 José Efraín Ríos Montt became a reborn Christian. He was offering a sermon when a group of soldiers burst into his Christian school, and asked him to lead a military coup in 1982. Francisco Chavez Raymundo and his sister were small children when Rios' political actions annihilated their community. In March, 2013 the lives of Francisco Chavez and Rios Montt converge in the same space. Rios is called upon to testify before Guatemalan justice and is confronted by a group of Mayan Ixiles, orphans and widows of the war, Francisco is one of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Benny (2015)
Benny is a man who has decided to live alone in a one-bedroom place, alone with his memory, where time fades away. A free spirit and a passionate musician, his life was filled with excesses, but Benny believes that music is philosophy, and that thought makes him leave everything to become the man he wants to be, without any regard for the consequences of his autonomy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Bath of Life (2019)
Immersive documentary which takes us n an intimate journey to the inner life of public baths through the voices of three characters: Felipe, the main clerk since 1984; Juana, a street sweeper in Mexico City's downtown; and Jose, a frequent client of more than forty years. Bath of Life becomes a confessionary for those who gather around the same place: the sauna.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like My Friend Bety and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like My Friend Bety?
The closest matches to My Friend Bety are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after My Friend Bety?
Start with As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), the closest match to My Friend Bety.
What is the highest-rated movie like My Friend Bety?
The Mole Agent (2020), rated 7.8/10 by 271 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like My Friend Bety?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like My Friend Bety?
Yes: The Mole Agent (2020), Seven Moments (2008) and Pulque Song (2003).
How are movies similar to My Friend Bety chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside My Friend Bety, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.