Movies like What We Leave Behind (2026)
The best movies like What We Leave Behind (2026) are The Girl in the Book (2015), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Omaha (2025). If What We Leave Behind hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMagnolia (1999)7.7/10 from 4,230 votes
- NewestOmaha (2025)Released 2025
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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOmaha (2025)
A young girl and her brother are awoken by their father and loaded into the car on an early morning in 2008. As they road trip across the American West, she discovers the truth about their seemingly spontaneous journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoad to Paloma (2014)
While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood One (2024)
On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagnolia (1999)
On one random day in the San Fernando Valley, a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an estranged daughter will each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beautiful Country (2004)
After reuniting with his mother in Ho Chi Minh City, a family tragedy causes Binh to flee from Viet Nam to America. Landing in New York, Binh begins a road trip to Texas, where his American father is said to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEye for an Eye (1996)
It's fire and brimstone time as grieving mother Karen McCann takes justice into her own hands when a kangaroo court in Los Angeles fails to convict Robert Doob, the monster who raped and murdered her 17-year-old daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIf Anything Happens I Love You (2020)
Grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child after a tragic school shooting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZabriskie Point (1970)
Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSavage Streets (1984)
Brenda, vivacious leader of the "Satins", a fun-loving group of pretty high school girls, searches for deadly vengeance against the gang members who assaulted her deaf-mute sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTigertail (2020)
A man reflects on the lost love of his youth and his long-ago journey from Taiwan to America as he begins to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReprisal (2021)
A woman hunts down a local drug dealer to find her friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
King of the Lumberjacks (1940)
Outdoor drama about a newly-hired lumberjack discovering that his former girlfriend is now his new boss's wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Out of Focus (2025)
Film students are pushed to their limits by the chaotic nature of a film set. As their film goes from pitch to production, they find out what it means to create something meaningful.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Misfits (1961)
While filing for a divorce, beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli. The two men instantly become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido's half-finished desert home together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland arrives, the unlikely foursome strike up a business capturing wild horses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Hearts (1985)
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrother Mary (2021)
To understand a mysterious man in a Victorian gown who sings praises to God on the streets of contemporary Vancouver, we meet the people who claim to be closest to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Women (1939)
A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConfessional (2025)
A game of hide-n-seek between teenage friends in a small town takes a turn when Skye hides inside a Church confessional booth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
UNFINISHED (2025)
"UNFINISHED" represents a life left on hold. This film depicts a repetition of the days that follow. A mental spiral that seems to have no end and, because of it, everything remains unfinished. A mix of everyday reality with what goes on in the imprisoned mind that, due to its own problems and frustrations, ends up becoming increasingly involved in its thoughts and stuck in a routine at home, while life outside remains "unfinished."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Melvin and Howard (1980)
The story of hard-luck Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes. Inspired by real events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like What We Leave Behind?
The closest matches to What We Leave Behind are The Girl in the Book (2015), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Omaha (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after What We Leave Behind?
Start with The Girl in the Book (2015), the closest match to What We Leave Behind.
What is the highest-rated movie like What We Leave Behind?
Magnolia (1999), rated 7.7/10 by 4,230 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like What We Leave Behind?
Omaha (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like What We Leave Behind?
Yes: The Girl in the Book (2015), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Omaha (2025).
How are movies similar to What We Leave Behind chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside What We Leave Behind, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.