Movies like The Literate Man (1987)
The best movies like The Literate Man (1987) are Earth (1930), F.I.S.T. (1978) and Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998). If The Literate Man hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Uprising (2026)7.8/10 from 412 votes
- NewestThe Uprising (2026)Released 2026
Earth (1930)
During the agrarian collectivization process in the Soviet Union, Vasyl, a peasant member of the youth division of the Communist Party, gets a tractor with the help of a local party organization and plows private boundaries on kulak fields. However, this enthusiasm will cost him dearly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInferno (1999)
Eddie Lomax is a drifter who has been in a suicidal funk since the death of his close friend Johnny. Riding his motorcycle into a small desert town where Johnny once lived, Lomax is confronted by a gang of toughs, who beat him and steal his bike. However, Lomax is not a man to take an injustice lying down, and soon he begins exacting a violent revenge on the men who stole his motorcycle, with local handyman Jubal Early lending a hand and several area ladies offering aid and comfort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Uprising (2026)
As war and plague devastate 14th-century England, a humble peasant ignites a rebellion, uniting an army of commoners to defy the King’s might in a desperate fight for justice and survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood and Bone (2009)
In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCasualties of War (1989)
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBring Them Down (2025)
When the ongoing rivalry between farmers Michael and Jack suddenly escalates, it triggers a chain of events that take increasingly violent and devastating turns, leaving both families permanently altered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk in the Clouds (1995)
World War II vet Paul Sutton falls for a pregnant and unwed woman who persuades him -- during their first encounter -- to pose as her husband so she can face her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
A by-the-book Captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are willing to surrender, if they can have a festival first. The lieutenant convinces the Captain this is the only way. Because of aerial reconnaissance, they must look like they are fighting. To sort this out an intelligence officer is sent in. Meanwhile the festival gets complicated with the Mayors daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024)
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHot Fuzz (2007)
Former London constable Nicholas Angel finds it difficult to adapt to his new assignment in the sleepy British village of Sandford. Not only does he miss the excitement of the big city, but he also has a well-meaning oaf for a partner. However, when a series of grisly accidents rocks Sandford, Angel smells something rotten in the idyllic village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Survivors (2014)
In the near future, society collapses and water becomes scarce. When a greedy water baron starts violently clearing out survivors, Kendal, a 17-year-old teenager, fights the baron's henchman to keep a well open.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrumpy Old Men (1993)
For decades, next-door neighbors and former friends John and Max have feuded, trading insults and wicked pranks. When an attractive widow moves in nearby, their bad blood erupts into a high-stakes rivalry full of naughty jokes and adolescent hijinks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasket Case (1982)
A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed, formerly conjoined twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJudge Dredd (1995)
In a dystopian future where Judges maintain law and order by acting as judge, jury, and executioner, Dredd fights to prove his innocence after being falsely accused of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDoctor Who: The Runaway Bride (2006)
A young bride in the midst of her wedding finds herself mysteriously transported to the TARDIS. The Doctor must discover what her connection is with the Empress of the Racnoss's plan to destroy the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blood of Heroes (1989)
Set in a futuristic world where the only sport that has survived in a wasted society is the brutal game known as jugging. Sallow, the leader of a rag-tag team, has played in the main Leagues before, but was cast out because of indiscretions with a lady. Now joined by a talented newcomer, Kidda, an ambitious young peasant girl, he and his team find they have one last chance for glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAvatar (2009)
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Literate Man?
The closest matches to The Literate Man are Earth (1930), F.I.S.T. (1978) and Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Literate Man?
Start with Earth (1930), the closest match to The Literate Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Literate Man?
The Uprising (2026), rated 7.8/10 by 412 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Literate Man?
The Uprising (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Literate Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Literate Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.