Movies like Abuelita's Puzzle (2021)
The best movies like Abuelita's Puzzle (2021) are God Grew Tired of Us (2006), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Raging Grace (2023). If Abuelita's Puzzle hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Million Miles Away (2023)7.6/10 from 564 votes
- NewestMy Mom Jayne (2025)Released 2025
God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRaging Grace (2023)
An undocumented Filipina immigrant lands a job as a careworker for a seemingly terminal old man, securing a better life for her and her daughter. But a dark discovery threatens to destroy everything she’s strived for and holds dear.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHasan Minhaj: Homecoming King (2017)
Comic Hasan Minhaj of "The Daily Show" shares personal stories about racism, immigrant parents, prom night horrors and more in this stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Life List (2025)
When her mother sends her on a quest to complete a teenage bucket list, a young woman uncovers family secrets, finds romance — and rediscovers herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Million Miles Away (2023)
The life of engineer and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to go to space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Rising (2013)
Nine filmmakers each profile a young girl from a different part of the world to weave a global tapestry of youth in the 21st century.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSecret of the Incas (1954)
Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) is a tourist guide determined to make his fortune by finding the Sunburst, an Inca treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisGood Day, Ramon (2013)
After five failed attempts to go to the United States, 18-year-old Ramón decides to look for a friend’s aunt in Germany, but never finds her. With no papers or money, and without knowing the language, he barely survives living on the street until he meets Ruth, an old retired nurse who doesn’t speak Spanish. Beyond language barriers and prejudices, they discover that solidarity and humanity make life bearable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBorn in East L.A. (1987)
Rudy, an American of Hispanic descent, whose south-of-the-border looks show him no mercy during an immigration raid in a migrant worker factory. As his luck goes, he is caught with neither money nor his ID and is deported to Mexico - without speaking a word of Spanish!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFinding ʻOhana (2021)
Two Brooklyn siblings' summer in a rural Oahu town takes an exciting turn when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an adventure, leading them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of the Belgians (2016)
The King of the Belgians is on a state visit in Istanbul when his country falls apart. He must return home at once to save his kingdom. But a solar storm causes airspace and communications to shut down. No planes. No phones. With the help of a British filmmaker and a troupe of Bulgarian folk singers, the King and his entourage manage to escape over the border. Incognito. Thus begins an odyssey across the Balkans during which the King discovers the real world - and himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo One Gets Out Alive (2021)
An immigrant in search of the American dream is forced to take a room in a boarding house and soon finds herself in a nightmare from which she can't escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Limits of Control (2009)
A mysterious stranger works outside the law and keeps his objectives hidden, trusting no one. While his demeanor is paradoxically focused and dreamlike all at once, he embarks on a journey that not only takes him across Spain, but also through his own consciousness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
Doctor Gulliver is poor, so nothing - not even his charming fiancée Elisabeth - keeps him in the town he lives. He signs on to a ship to India, but in a storm he's washed off the ship and ends up on an island, which is inhibitated by very tiny people. After he managed to convince them he's harmless and is accepted as one of their citizens, their king wants to use him in war against a people of giants. Compared to them, even Gulliver is a gnome.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perez Family (1995)
In the midst of the Mariel boat lift -- a hurried exodus of refugees from Cuba going to America -- an immigration clerk accidentally presumes that dissident Juan Raul Perez and Dorita Evita Perez are married. United by their last name and a mutual resolve to emigrate, Dorita and Juan agree to play along. But it gets complicated when the two begin falling for each other just as Juan reunites with his wife, Carmela, whom he hasn't seen in decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Abuelita's Puzzle?
The closest matches to Abuelita's Puzzle are God Grew Tired of Us (2006), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Raging Grace (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Abuelita's Puzzle?
Start with God Grew Tired of Us (2006), the closest match to Abuelita's Puzzle.
What is the highest-rated movie like Abuelita's Puzzle?
A Million Miles Away (2023), rated 7.6/10 by 564 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Abuelita's Puzzle?
My Mom Jayne (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Abuelita's Puzzle?
Yes: God Grew Tired of Us (2006), My Mom Jayne (2025) and Raging Grace (2023).
How are movies similar to Abuelita's Puzzle chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Abuelita's Puzzle, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.