Movies like Running to Stand Still (2023)
The best movies like Running to Stand Still (2023) are Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), Mammal (2016) and Being Flynn (2012). If Running to Stand Still hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Running to Stand Still
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStuart: A Life Backwards (2007)7.4/10 from 234 votes
- NewestBrave the Dark (2025)Released 2025
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing Flynn (2012)
Working in a Boston homeless shelter, Nick Flynn re-encounters his father, a con man and self-proclaimed poet. Sensing trouble in his own life, Nick wrestles with the notion of reaching out yet again to his dad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomers Town (2008)
Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek lives in the district of Somers Town, between King's Cross and Euston stations, where his dad is working on a new rail link.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRocks (2020)
15-year-old Rocks fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be taken into care and forced apart if anyone finds out that their mother has left them. Against all odds, and with the help of her loyal friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her young life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreetwise (1984)
This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWendy and Lucy (2008)
A near-penniless drifter's journey to Alaska in search of work is interrupted when she loses her dog while attempting to shoplift food for it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKidulthood (2006)
A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShelter (2014)
Hannah and Tahir fall in love while homeless on the streets of New York. Shelter explores how they got there, and as we learn about their pasts we realize they need each other to build a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStuart: A Life Backwards (2007)
Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJolene (2010)
A teenage orphan spends ten years traveling to experience life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Catherine (2024)
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMikey and Nicky (1976)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Running to Stand Still?
The closest matches to Running to Stand Still are Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), Mammal (2016) and Being Flynn (2012). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Running to Stand Still?
Start with Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), the closest match to Running to Stand Still.
What is the highest-rated movie like Running to Stand Still?
Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007), rated 7.4/10 by 234 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Running to Stand Still?
Brave the Dark (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Running to Stand Still?
Yes: Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003), Mammal (2016) and Being Flynn (2012).
How are movies similar to Running to Stand Still chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Running to Stand Still, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.