Movies like Roda da Vida (2026)
The best movies like Roda da Vida (2026) are The River (1984), The Girl in the Book (2015) and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972). If Roda da Vida 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
- NewestInto the Blue (2026)Released 2026
The 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 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 thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
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 thisThe Dreamseller (2016)
A disillusioned psychologist tries to commit suicide until he strikes up a friendship with an unlikely saviour who teaches him a new way of living.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSky (2016)
A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
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 thisVanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle Worker (2000)
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamlet (2009)
David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play. Director Gregory Doran's modern-dress production was hailed by the critics as thrilling, fast-moving and, in parts, very funny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRosie (2019)
A mother strives to shield her young family from their new reality when their landlord sells the property and renders them homeless.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisInto the Blue (2026)
Philippe Croizon, a 26-year-old metal worker at Fonderies du Poitou, had no idea that his life would be turned upside down on March 5, 1994. On that day, the young father received three 20,000 V shocks while trying to dismantle the TV antenna hanging from the chimney of his house in Saint-Rémy-sur-Creuse. After two months in a coma, he woke up with all four limbs amputated. Thus began what he calls his "second life", which has enabled him to overcome his disability, meet his partner, Suzanna Sabino, and achieve some incredible sporting feats, including a swim across the English Channel in less than 24 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Haachi (TBA)
A young couple and a married pair, both suffering from colds, argue over trivial matters, leading to a major ego clash by the end of the day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
מלאכים באמריקה- בנייה מחדש (2024)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
She Asked for It (2026)
After a night out, a young woman chooses to walk home alone, turning an ordinary journey into a tense confrontation with the fear many women experience daily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Street Flow 3 (2026)
Grieving and facing the consequences of their crimes, the Traoré brothers get one last chance to forge a new path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPasamontaña Quemado (2021)
The story of a girl, after a breakup, removing her makeup and finding herself again in grief. About life, places, being yourself wherever you are, in love, and not losing yourself, moving through things. "Balaclava Quemado is about not ceasing to be yourself no matter what situation you find yourself in; with or without wearing it, it's the strength to keep going, it's a bit of a symbol of taking the freedom that one can and carries within." Daniela.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Change-Up Kid (TBA)
Baseball pitching phenom Dean Fosh has a dream - he wants to play the game like no one's ever played it before. Who says some wishes don't come true?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sahasi Chori (Brave Girl) (2013)
A 13-year-old Nepali girl leaves her Himalayan village seeking employment in the city with trusted friend Krishna, but becomes increasingly suspicious of his intentions when he asks her to cross the border with him to India. At a life-changing crossroads, she is forced to choose what she's willing to sacrifice for the good of both her family, and his.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Indra (2002)
A man embarks on a quest to make peace between two families fighting over the water problem in their district. In a bid to solve this crisis, he agrees to marry a girl from the rival family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Roda da Vida?
The closest matches to Roda da Vida are The River (1984), The Girl in the Book (2015) and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Roda da Vida?
Start with The River (1984), the closest match to Roda da Vida.
What is the highest-rated movie like Roda da Vida?
What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Roda da Vida?
Into the Blue (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Roda da Vida chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Roda da Vida, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.