Movies like The Universal Language (2011)
The best movies like The Universal Language (2011) are I Know That Voice (2014), Casting By (2012) and This Changes Everything (2019). If The Universal Language hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedObi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)6.8/10 from 1,028 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
I Know That Voice (2014)
Filmmaker Lawrence Shapiro discusses voice-over acting with the talented people behind the characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCasting By (2012)
This essential new documentary pays tribute to the legacy of the late, legendary casting director Marion Dougherty and shines a light on one of the most overlooked and least understood crafts in filmmaking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThis Changes Everything (2019)
An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBehind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Irishman: In Conversation (2019)
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino in conversation about The Irishman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack in Time (2015)
Cast, crew and fans explore the "Back to the Future" time-travel trilogy's resonance throughout our culture, thirty years after Marty McFly went back in time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)
Taking inspiration from Peter M. Bracke's definitive book of the same name, this seven-hour documentary dives into the making of all twelve Friday the 13th films, with all-new interviews from the cast and the crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeduced and Abandoned (2013)
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLive Aid (1985)
Live Aid was held on 13 July 1985, simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, United States. It was one of the largest scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: watched live by an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations. "It's twelve noon in London, seven AM in Philadelphia, and around the world it's time for Live Aid...!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013)
An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
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 · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSpider-Man 2: Making the Amazing (2004)
A comprehensive 12-part documentary on the making of "Spider-Man 2," covering everything from pre-production to premiere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSidney (2022)
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Anti-Vax Conspiracy (2021)
Who are the people behind the international anti-Covid-vaccine movement and why are they doing it? This journey inside the astonishing world of the anti-vaxxers finds out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mom n' Me (2010)
The filmmaker traces the loss of her ancestral language over three generations of her family, and her own desire to recover it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Words From Home (2025)
WORDS FROM HOME is a poetic documentary that explores the kinds of affection and identity in the portuguese language spoken in Brazil. Through migrants' stories and their reflections, the movie reveals how expressions, accents and memories form emotional and cultural bonds, showing how speaking connects us, differentiates us and, above all, brings us closer together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Singapore On Film (2019)
Rare archive footage reveals what Singapore was like dating back to 1900, showing coolies sharing lunch, rickshaw pullers, a grand Peranakan funeral, and more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Modersmålsmord (2022)
Ahmemulić prepares tongue in her mother’s way – skinned, seasoned, boiled, sliced. She can then in turn serve her son her mother’s tongue. The skinned lamb tongue here becomes a brutal metaphor for a doubly impossible language – the acquired Swedish and a Serbo-Croatian that has begun to dissolve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i (2009)
What if you are made to feel ashamed when you speak your "mother tongue" or ridiculed because of your accent? "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i" addresses these questions through its lively examination of Pidgin - the language spoken by over half of Hawai'i's people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Cree Code Talker (2016)
CREE CODE TALKER reveals the role of Canadian Cree code talker Charles 'Checker' Tomkins during the Second World War. Digging deep into the US archives it depicts the true story of Charles' involvement with the US Air Force and the development of the code talkers communication system, which was used to transmit crucial military communications, using the Cree language as a vital secret weapon in combat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Nightingale Sings (2019)
The movie explores the origin of the Ukrainian language and persecution of those who defended its authenticity. Using examples of other countries, creators of the film prove that a nation cannot exist without a language.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Colours of the Alphabet (2016)
It is estimated that 40% of the world’s population lack the opportunity to be educated in their own language. In Colours of the Alphabet we get an insight into the challenges this poses as we follow a group of first graders in Zambia – a country with 72 local languages where education is primarily offered in English.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Keep Talking (2017)
Three Alaska Native women work to save their endangered language, Kodiak Alutiiq, and ensure the future of their culture while confronting their personal demons. With just 41 fluent Native speakers remaining, mostly Elders, some estimate their language could die out within ten years. The small community travels to a remote Island, where a language immersion experiment unfolds with the remaining fluent Elders. Young camper Sadie, an at-risk 13 year old learner and budding Alutiiq dancer, is inspired and gains strength through her work with the teachers. Yet PTSD and politics loom large as the elders, teachers, and students try to continue the difficult task of language revitalization over the next five years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Universal Language?
The closest matches to The Universal Language are I Know That Voice (2014), Casting By (2012) and This Changes Everything (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Universal Language?
Start with I Know That Voice (2014), the closest match to The Universal Language.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Universal Language?
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022), rated 6.8/10 by 1,028 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Universal Language?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Universal Language?
Yes: I Know That Voice (2014), Casting By (2012) and This Changes Everything (2019).
How are movies similar to The Universal Language chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Universal Language, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.