Movies like when we played in the field (2025)
The best movies like when we played in the field (2025) are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Paris, Texas (1984) and The Tree of Life (2011). If when we played in the field hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJoseph (1995)8.3/10 from 238 votes
- NewestThis Didn't Happen (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchSummer Hours (2008)Also in French
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with "Old Dan" and "Little Ann."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis, Texas (1984)
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Tree of Life (2011)
The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Straight Story (1999)
Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a severe stroke. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. He then has the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAround the Bend (2004)
A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Own Private Idaho (1991)
Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike's estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHellion (2014)
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLouder Than Bombs (2015)
Three years after his wife, acclaimed photographer Isabelle Reed, dies in a car crash, Gene keeps everyday life going with his shy teenage son, Conrad. A planned exhibition of Isabelle’s photographs prompts Gene's elder son, Jonah, to return to the house he grew up in — and for the first time in a very long time, the father and the two brothers are living under the same roof.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe the Animals (2018)
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinestkind (2023)
Two brothers from opposite sides of the tracks are reunited as adults. Desperate circumstances force them into a deal with an organized crime syndicate in Boston, and a young woman gets caught in the middle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Etruscan Smile (2018)
Rory MacNeil, a rugged old Scotsman, reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to San Francisco to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son, Rory sees his life transformed through a newly found bond with his baby grandson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer Hours (2008)
After the death of a septuagenarian woman, her three children deliberate over what to do with her estate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoyhood (2014)
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFirstborn (1984)
Because he's the oldest, Jake has been the man of the house, since his parents divorce. When Mom starts seeing Sam, who always seems to be trying some new way to get rich quick, and declares he's the man of the house now, Jake puts up with it. Until he discovers Sam's illegal activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell (2005)
Three sisters who share a connection to a violent childhood incident reunite for the chance to come to terms with their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather Mother Sister Brother (2025)
Estranged siblings reunite after years apart, forced to confront unresolved tensions and reevaluate their strained relationships with their emotionally distant parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVincent & Theo (1990)
The tragic story of Vincent van Gogh broadened by focusing as well on his brother Theodore, who helped support Vincent. Based on the letters written between the two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoseph (1995)
Joseph, favored son of Jacob and great-grandson of Abraham, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Rising to become prime minister of Egypt. Joseph governed the country during a seven year famine, during which his brothers visit Egypt seeking grain, only to encounter their brother, presumed long dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisC'mon C'mon (2021)
Johnny and his young nephew forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they embark on a cross-country trip to see life away from Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack Roads (2019)
A young man cares for his younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Red Balloon (1956)
A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Didn't Happen (2026)
Two people meet at the edge of goodbye. They don’t try to stop it. They just decide to make it evergreen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Land of Green Ginger (1973)
Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her old boyfriend Mike Thurlow. Will she decide to take the job abroad or return to live with Mike in Hull?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Away from Her (2007)
Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sleepwalker (2022)
A recluse painter’s careful routine is shaken up when a mysterious young woman knocks on his door. An encounter that will confront him with his past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
JUDY1964 (2025)
In the 1960s, young Judy is captivated by an advertisement for toy guns. But when she discovers her parents' real firearm, the line between playful fantasy and dangerous reality blurs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Christmas by Your Friends (1978)
Mads' father’s company is too small for a proper Christmas tree party, so Mads decides to arrange his own for himself and his best friend. But arranging such a party is easier said than done. It involves theft, intrigue and deception. Can Mads overcome the difficulties, or will there be no Christmas tree party?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)
Get ready as Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and the rest of the Veggies set sail on a whale of an adventure in Big Idea's first full-length, 3-D animated feature film. This is the story of Jonah and the Whale as you've never seen it before - a story where we learn that one of the best gifts you can give - or get - is a second chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kiln (2009)
At her young age, Juana has two great responsibilities: preventing her older sister from fleeing the house and passing on the secret of making bricks to her younger sister.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Hero-Man (TBA)
Adrift in grief, Colby relentlessly pursues the publication of his childhood story as a way to hold onto the brother he lost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like when we played in the field and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like when we played in the field?
The closest matches to when we played in the field are Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), Paris, Texas (1984) and The Tree of Life (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after when we played in the field?
Start with Where the Red Fern Grows (2003), the closest match to when we played in the field.
What is the highest-rated movie like when we played in the field?
Joseph (1995), rated 8.3/10 by 238 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like when we played in the field?
This Didn't Happen (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like when we played in the field?
Yes: Summer Hours (2008), Hell (2005) and The Red Balloon (1956).
How are movies similar to when we played in the field chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside when we played in the field, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.