Movies like Breathing Under Water (2000)
The best movies like Breathing Under Water (2000) are Holy Lands (2019), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) and Omaha (2025). If Breathing Under Water hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedF.I.S.T. (1978)6.5/10 from 242 votes
- NewestA Few Things Happening by a River (2026)Released 2026
Holy Lands (2019)
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife Monica is trying to manage the lives of their adult children, Annabelle and David, as well as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
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 thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHurry Sundown (1967)
A ruthless Southern opportunist tries to buy his cousin's land, and when thwarted, brings several tragedies to the lives of his loved ones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisF.I.S.T. (1978)
Johnny Kovak joins the Teamsters trade-union in a local chapter in the 1930s and works his way up in the organization. As he climbs higher and higher his methods become more ruthless and finally senator Madison starts a campaign to find the truth about the alleged connections with the Mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dreamseller (2016)
A disillusioned psychologist tries to commit suicide until he strikes up a friendship with an unlikely saviour who teaches him a new way of living.
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 thisA Map of the World (1999)
School nurse Alice Goodwin lives with her husband and two daughters on a dairy farm in a small Wisconsin community. After an accident on her property involving a friend's child, the town turns against her and Alice finds herself fighting charges of child abuse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe River (1984)
Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuturo Beach (2014)
Donato fails in his attempt to save a drowning man, and meets one of the man's friends. He decides to start his life over, but pieces of his past keep coming after him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorse Money (2014)
While the young captains lead the revolution in the streets, the people of Fontainhas search for Ventura, lost in the woods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin (2009)
Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVitalina Varela (2019)
A Cape Verdean woman navigates her way through Lisbon, following the scanty physical traces her deceased husband left behind and discovering his secret, illicit life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThird Star (2010)
James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Harvesters (2018)
South Africa, Free State region, isolated stronghold to the Afrikaans white ethnic minority culture. In this conservative farming territory obsessed with strength and masculinity, Janno is different, secretive, emotionally frail. One day his mother, fiercely religious, brings home Pieter, a hardened street orphan she wants to save, and asks Janno to make this stranger into his brother. The two boys start a fight for power, heritage and parental love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBoca do Inferno (2019)
A shy Portuguese poet and an exuberant English occultist meet up in Lisbon in 1930. When the last one disappears, an English detective begins a thorough investigation: was it a suicide, as reported. Or a homicide? This is the real story of the brief meeting between Fernando Pessoa, Aleister Crowley, and Hanni Larissa Jaeger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Amo-te de Morte (2021)
After starting a secret relationship, Anabela decides to reveal to Carla that she plans to flee Lisbon, keeping her romance away from her father. Opposed to the idea, Carla discourages her, suggesting she should rethink. Anabela, feeling helpless, surrenders to her own thoughts, making decisions without support.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Few Things Happening by a River (2026)
A group of teenagers floats down the river, pretending to be dead for social media. One of them drifts away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lake George (2025)
Four years after a heist gone wrong, two childhood friends, Rio and Psych, are thrust into a high-stakes journey. When Psych discovers his imprisoned father is being held for ransom with only 24 hours to pay $100,000, the pair embarks on a desperate mission to secure the funds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Three Kilometres to the End of the World (2024)
Adi, a gay teenager, is spending the summer in his home village in the Danube Delta. One night he is brutally attacked on the street, the next day his world is turned upside-down. His parents no longer look at him as they did, and the seeming tranquility of the village starts to crack.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Made a Sphere (2025)
Eduardo, an 8-year-old boy who is obsessed with outer space, spends a weekend at his absent grandfather's house. This brief period of time will prove to be eternalized in his memory for the love that has blossomed from it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Last Lights (2019)
A director and his actress go to the Cannes Film Festival, looking for money to finance a movie they wrote. But an unexpected incident will disturb their quest…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Proof (1991)
Martin, a young blind photographer, is divided between his friendship with restaurant worker Andy and the exclusive love that Celia—who is terribly jealous of this new friendship—has for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSideral (2021)
In Natal, on the Brazilian north coast, the country is preparing to launch its first manned space rocket into space. A couple lives with their two children near the space centre, she is a cleaner and he is a mechanic, but she dreams of other horizons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Breathing Under Water and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Breathing Under Water?
The closest matches to Breathing Under Water are Holy Lands (2019), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) and Omaha (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Breathing Under Water?
Start with Holy Lands (2019), the closest match to Breathing Under Water.
What is the highest-rated movie like Breathing Under Water?
F.I.S.T. (1978), rated 6.5/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Breathing Under Water?
A Few Things Happening by a River (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Breathing Under Water chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Breathing Under Water, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.