Movies like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle
The best movies like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle are Powaqqatsi (1988), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Baraka (1992). If Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBaraka (1992)8.2/10 from 734 votes
- NewestDon't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (2025)Released 2025
Powaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaraka (1992)
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
A timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sweet East (2023)
A picaresque journey through contemporary America, undertaken by a young woman granted access to the strange sects and cults that proliferate in this country by a series of gatekeepers eager to win her over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApocalypto (2006)
Set in the Mayan civilization, when a man's idyllic presence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamsara (2011)
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Quick and the Dead (1995)
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Hamlet (2015)
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father's death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Island (2005)
In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapturing Avatar (2010)
Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his new-found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019)
Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDon't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (2025)
In this documentary, wealthy entrepreneur Bryan Johnson puts his body and fortune on the line to defy aging and extend his life beyond all known limits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Mirror (2011)
A nameless drifter navigates a barren landscape punctuated by satellite dishes, radio towers and droning airplanes. Stopping periodically in anonymous hotel rooms, she makes attempts to connect to an unidentified second party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (2012)
Maggie must navigate an eventful first day in daycare. At the Ayn Rand School for Tots, Maggie is diagnosed with average intelligence. Barred from the gifted children, she longs to escape from her glue-guzzling classmates. But when a lonely caterpillar befriends her, she makes it her mission to save it from a ruthless butterfly smashing toddler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan Without a Star (1955)
A wandering cowboy gets caught up in a range war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle?
The closest matches to Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle are Powaqqatsi (1988), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Baraka (1992). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle?
Start with Powaqqatsi (1988), the closest match to Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle?
Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 734 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle?
Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle?
Yes: Powaqqatsi (1988), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Baraka (1992).
How are movies similar to Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ephemeral: A Cicada Chronicle, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.