Movies like Dreams of Violets (2026)
The best movies like Dreams of Violets (2026) are Septembers of Shiraz (2015), Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024) and The Operative (2019). If Dreams of Violets hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Best of Youth (2003)8.0/10 from 625 votes
- NewestDaniel and the Fiery Furnace (2026)Released 2026
Septembers of Shiraz (2015)
In this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, a secular Jewish family is caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisReading Lolita in Tehran (2024)
In 1979, amidst censorship and religious extremism, a revolutionary literature professor in Tehran gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Operative (2019)
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisArgo (2012)
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTatami (2024)
Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake, Leila is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or fight on, for the gold.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fifth Estate (2013)
A look at the relationship between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his early supporter and eventual colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and how the website's growth and influence led to an irreparable rift between the two friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGracie (2007)
A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Road Dance (2022)
A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.
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
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand of the Blind (2006)
A soldier recounts his relationship with a famous political prisoner attempting to overthrow their country's authoritarian government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMindwalk (1991)
On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLorelei (2020)
A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a lyrical take on love, regret and second chances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesert Dancer (2014)
Inspirational true story of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who risked his life for his dream to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Youth (2003)
After a fateful encounter in the summer of 1966, the lifepaths of two brothers from a middle-class Roman family diverge, intersecting with some of the most significant events of postwar Italian history in the following decades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTo Die For (2022)
Frustrated by the liberal left and what he deems the destruction of the country he risked his life for, reclusive veteran Quint North (Schneider) is ordered by the court to keep his distance from the local high school with the American flag on the back of his El Camino or face a fine and jail time. In an ultimate exhibition of patriotism, he sets forth a series of events that just may get him killed in his own front yard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Brasil, Vermelho-Amarelo (2022)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Close-Up (1990)
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTaste of Cherry (1997)
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemingly well-to-do Badii meets with numerous people, including a Muslim student, asking them to take on the job, but initially he has little luck. Eventually, Badii finds a man who is up for the task because he needs the money, but his new associate soon tries to talk him out of committing suicide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisComrade Pedersen (2006)
A drama focused on Norwegian society in the 1970s, an era politically influenced by Marxism and Leninism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Circumstance (2011)
A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Separation (2011)
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision – to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDaniel and the Fiery Furnace (2026)
During the Jewish exile to Babylon, Daniel and his friends face trials as Babylon's armies conquer Jerusalem. Under King Nebuchadnezzar, they gain royal favor but make enemies. Their faith is tested at the fiery furnace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dreams of Violets?
The closest matches to Dreams of Violets are Septembers of Shiraz (2015), Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024) and The Operative (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dreams of Violets?
Start with Septembers of Shiraz (2015), the closest match to Dreams of Violets.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dreams of Violets?
The Best of Youth (2003), rated 8.0/10 by 625 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dreams of Violets?
Daniel and the Fiery Furnace (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dreams of Violets?
Yes: Septembers of Shiraz (2015), Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024) and The Operative (2019).
How are movies similar to Dreams of Violets chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dreams of Violets, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.