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Movies like Totem (2012)

The best movies like Totem (2012) are Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013), The Girl in the Book (2015) and 3 Days in Quiberon (2018). If Totem hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)

    A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. The 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 · both drama

  3. 3 Days in Quiberon (2018)

    1981, Quiberon, a small village on the coast of Brittany, France. Hilde Fritsch arrives to visit her old friend who has retreated to a spa hotel to escape the daily pressures of her life. Her friend is world-famous star Romy Schneider, but together, they appear like two regular women who are just happy to be reunited. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that Hilde is supposed to offer the support the sensitive actress needs to be able to truly face her own demons.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. A Year Ago in Winter (2008)

    A renowned artist must uncover a young dancer's secrets in order to truly capture her likeness for a commissioned work.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  5. Paula (2016)

    Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  6. The Caveman's Valentine (2001)

    Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  7. Sky (2016)

    A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. TalhotBlond (2012)

    Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  9. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

    Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Skin (2009)

    Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  11. The Sound of Silence (2019)

    A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  12. In the Aisles (2018)

    Christian, a reclusive young man from Leipzig, gets a job working the night shift at a big-box store. He's trained to stocks goods and operate a forklift by Bruno, a wistful former truck driver, who introduces Christian to a colorful group of overnight workers, including Marion, with whom Christian develops a troubled infatuation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  13. Normal (2003)

    A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  14. Erin Brockovich (2000)

    A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

    The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. What Maisie Knew (2013)

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. Nothing Personal (2009)

    Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. The River (1984)

    Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. Light of My Life (2019)

    Years after a pandemic wipes out most of the female population, a father struggles to shield his daughter from a dangerous and predatory world.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. Third Star (2010)

    James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. My Life Without Me (2003)

    A fatally ill mother with only two months to live creates a list of things she wants to do before she dies without telling her family of her illness.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  22. Open Hearts (2002)

    Cecilie and Joachim are about to get married when a freak car accident leaves Joachim disabled, throwing their lives into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. The Secret Life of Words (2005)

    A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. Boys Don't Cry (1999)

    A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Fine (2016)

    A short film about the endless fight of two woman. A Mexican and Bosnian co-production set in Sarajevo.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  26. Cargo (2019)

    Aboard a spaceship where souls of the deceased are readied for reincarnation, a lone crew member's rigid existence is disrupted by a spry new assistant.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  27. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)

    The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

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  28. Mississippi One (1992)

    A story about a father who kidnaps his daughter and which the director describes as a love story that ended badly.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  29. Zoo (1988)

    Martina lives in the Rome's zoo, because her father is the guardian. She becomes friend with a young Slavic escaped from a gypsy camp. When the police arrives searching for the kid, they run away riding an elephant!

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

  30. A Long Way Home (2003)

    Family members struggle to heal their emotional wounds after an incident of sexual abuse.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Like Totem and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Totem?

The closest matches to Totem are Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013), The Girl in the Book (2015) and 3 Days in Quiberon (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Totem?

Start with Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013), the closest match to Totem.

What is the highest-rated movie like Totem?

Erin Brockovich (2000), rated 7.4/10 by 3,829 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Totem?

Cargo (2019) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there German movies like Totem?

Yes: 3 Days in Quiberon (2018), A Year Ago in Winter (2008) and Paula (2016).

How are movies similar to Totem chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Totem, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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