Movies like Salinger (2013)
The best movies like Salinger (2013) are Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017), My Mom Jayne (2025) and John Candy: I Like Me (2025). If Salinger hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSTILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)7.8/10 from 267 votes
- NewestOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)Released 2025
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)
Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne.
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 thisJohn Candy: I Like Me (2025)
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOzzy: No Escape from Now (2025)
Ozzy Osbourne faces his identity and mortality after his world stops. Dealing with health issues and Parkinson's, he questions if he can perform again while music remains his life's cornerstone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Symphony (2023)
Musician Jon Batiste attempts to compose a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Performance artist Marina Abramovic prepares for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria by Callas (2017)
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisCameraperson (2016)
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupersonic (2016)
Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSTILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)
A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bloody Hundredth (2024)
Meet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoman Polanski: A Film Memoir (2012)
An interview with film director Roman Polanski conducted during his period of house arrest, discussing his life and work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisWe Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company (2001)
Over a period of two years, Mark Cowen and his crew travelled to thirty U.S. states and ten European cities, to interview the veterans of Easy Company. The stories told by the veterans themselves, create a history of the Second World War from the point of view of this heroic company of men, made famous in the mini-series Band of Brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFinding Vivian Maier (2014)
Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCode Name Lucy: Spies Against Nazis (TBA)
The greatest secret of the Second World War has remained a mystery for the last 80 years: a Jewish Communist, Sandor Rado, led a spy network that proved essential to the victory of Allied Forces. Rado received details of strictly confidential strategies from the highest echelons of the Nazi State through Rudolf Roessler, a dedicated anti-Nazi he'd only known as code name "Lucy." Aided by key German industry leaders, Roessler transmitted timely information from high-ranking collaborators within the German army headquarters. Despite their achievement, Rado, Roessler and their sources remained unacknowledged heroes until today. Thanks to the recent declassification of secret archives, we are now able to step behind the scenes of this incredible story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It (2002)
A documentary focusing on American conscientious objectors during WWII.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Life of Rayful Edmond (2005)
The true king of cocaine. At his peak he sold 2,000 kilos a week, reaped gross profits of $70 million a month, and ran an operation with over 150 soldiers to support him. In his life champagne flowed like water, trips to Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles were the norm, and $150,000 shopping sprees were nothing. At the height of Washington, D.C.'s brutal crack epidemic in 1987, there was a 22 year old man responsible for distributing 90% of Columbian Cocaine onto the city's streets. This man is Rayful Edmond III. In the media's eyes he was guilty until proven innocent, but in the streets eyes he was a hero who made it to the top. This is his story-a story of; Power, Money, Murder, Betrayal and the rise and fall of the Edmond's Empire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
De reparto: retrato de un actor (2009)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Orson Welles y Goya (2008)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Hole In The Head (2017)
A pig farm in Lety, South Bohemia would make an ideal monument to collaboration and indifference, says writer and journalist Markus Pape. Most of those appearing in this documentary filmed in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, Germany and Croatia have personal experience of the indifference to the genocide of the Roma. Many of them experienced the Holocaust as children, and their distorted memories have earned them distrust and ridicule. Continuing racism and anti-Roma sentiment is illustrated among other matters by how contemporary society looks after the locations where the murders occurred. However, this documentary film essay focuses mainly on the survivors, who share with viewers their indelible traumas, their "hole in the head".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Cinema According to Dalí (2010)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Arne Sucksdorff: Uma Vida Documentando a Vida (2004)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Un instante en la vida ajena (2003)
Compilation of images of the amateur recordings of Madronita Andreu, Catalan intellectual of the nineteenth century, daughter of Dr. Andreu, famous for its pills and cough syrup.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Besa: The Promise (2012)
A documentary exploring how Albanians, including many Muslims, helped and sheltered Jewish refugees during WWII at their own risk, and trying to help the son of an Albanian baker that housed a Jewish family for a year return some Hebrew books that the family had to leave behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Salinger?
The closest matches to Salinger are Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017), My Mom Jayne (2025) and John Candy: I Like Me (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Salinger?
Start with Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017), the closest match to Salinger.
What is the highest-rated movie like Salinger?
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023), rated 7.8/10 by 267 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Salinger?
Ozzy: No Escape from Now (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Salinger?
Yes: Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017), My Mom Jayne (2025) and John Candy: I Like Me (2025).
How are movies similar to Salinger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Salinger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.