Movies like Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution (2011)
The best movies like Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution (2011) are For Sama (2019), South of the Border (2009) and We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012). If Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor Sama (2019)8.2/10 from 323 votes
- NewestMini Lizard (2026)Released 2026
For Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSouth of the Border (2009)
A road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media's misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)
Takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe White Helmets (2016)
As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dogs of War (1980)
Mercenary soldiers Jamie and Drew are hired by a large corporation to liberate Zangaro, a small African nation, from an despot. Havoc ensues.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Private War (2018)
One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988)
A short movie, made for Comic Relief, in which Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and Baldrick (Tony Robinson) must help protect King Charles I (Stephen Fry) from the machinations of Oliver Cromwell and his Roundheads
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Square (2013)
The Square looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarak’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Weather Underground (2002)
The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisif.... (1968)
In an English boys' boarding school, social hierarchy reigns supreme and power remains in the hands of distanced and ineffectual teachers and callously vicious prefects in the Upper Sixth. Three Lower Sixth students, Wallace, Johnny and leader Mick Travis decide on a shocking course of action to redress the balance of privilege once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFinal Score (2018)
When a stadium is seized by a group of heavily armed criminals during a major sporting event, an ex-soldier must use all his military skills to save both the daughter of a fallen comrade and the huge crowd unaware of the danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBananas (1971)
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)
Morgan Spurlock tours the Middle East to discuss the war on terror with Arabic people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998)
Acting Lieutenant Hornblower attempts to study for his promotion examination, but becomes distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSirocco (1951)
A mysterious American gets mixed up with gunrunners in Syria.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand and Freedom (1995)
Summer 1936: young unemployed communist David Carr leaves Liverpool to join the fight against fascism in Spain. He joins an international group of Militia-men and women, the POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista). After being wounded, he goes to Barcelona, where he joins another group of fighters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVera Cruz (1954)
After the American Civil War, mercenaries travel to Mexico to fight in their revolution for money. The former soldier and gentleman Benjamin Trane meets the gunman and killer Joe Erin and his men, and together they are hired by the Emperor Maximillian and the Marquis Henri de Labordere to escort the Countess Marie Duvarre to the harbor of Vera Cruz.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn in Flames (1983)
In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter We Are Born (2027)
A New Psychological Documentary About Children
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Coming SoonMovies like thisMini Lizard (2026)
At Elbit System's office in Göteborg Emma is worried about a new sickness causing deaths in the weapon industry, but soon her workplace is faced with another direct threat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Spähtrupp Hallgarten (1941)
Two German soldiers in the Norwegian Campaign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
7 Days in Syria (2015)
In the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, Newsweek Middle East editor, Janine di Giovanni, risks it all to bear witness, ensuring that the world knows about the suffering of the Syrian people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Patch of Sky (1975)
Two pilots and their beloveds, all of whom are close friends, try to navigate their lives separate from one another as the men transition to combat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Yanuni (2026)
Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia fights to protect tribal lands despite assassination attempts. Her struggle intensifies after learning she's pregnant, while her husband, Special Forces ranger Hugo Loss, stands by her side.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Game Over (2019)
A war vet with severe PTSD is threatened by a online video gamer crew for being too good at beating them. He finds out about a personal connection to him that makes him snap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Resistance (2020)
The story of mime Marcel Marceau as he works with a group of Jewish boy scouts and the French Resistance to save the lives of ten thousand orphans during World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOur Hero, Balthazar (2026)
Eager to impress his activist crush, a wealthy New York teenager follows an online connection to Texas, where he's convinced he can stop an act of extreme violence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Sunflowers in the Rain (2024)
In 2023, during the second year of full scale war, civilians in Ukraine endure constant hardships and terrorist attacks, yet rather than cower or give up hope and leave, many civilians in Ukraine tirelessly volunteer, work, collaborate, and create in support of Ukraine's people, army, animals, and future. "Sunflowers in the Rain" weaves together 10 vignettes from volunteers and civilians working across Ukraine show us the realities of civilian life in a country at war, the inspiring and the tragic moments, and the ways ordinary people have stepped up to face new challenges on their personal quests to help the country persevere.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution?
The closest matches to Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution are For Sama (2019), South of the Border (2009) and We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution?
Start with For Sama (2019), the closest match to Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution.
What is the highest-rated movie like Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution?
For Sama (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution?
Mini Lizard (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smuggling 23 Minutes of Revolution, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.