Movies like Violins at the Ball (1974)
The best movies like Violins at the Ball (1974) are Waiting for Anya (2020), The One That Got Away (1957) and The Boy in the Woods (2023). If Violins at the Ball hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDe Gaulle: Liberté (2026)7.9/10 from 244 votes
- NewestDe Gaulle: Liberté (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchSarah's Key (2010)Also in French
Waiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy in the Woods (2023)
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSarah's Key (2010)
On the night of 16 July 1942, ten year old Sarah and her parents are being arrested and transported to the Velodrome d'Hiver in Paris where thousands of other jews are being sent to get deported. Sarah however managed to lock her little brother in a closet just before the police entered their apartment. Sixty years later, Julia Jarmond, an American journalist in Paris, gets the assignment to write an article about this raid, a black page in the history of France. She starts digging archives and through Sarah's file discovers a well kept secret about her own in-laws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Patience Stone (2013)
In a war-ridden country, a woman watches over her husband, comatose from a bullet in the neck and abandoned by Jihad companions and brothers. One day, the woman decides to say things to him she could never have done before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 25th Hour (1967)
A Romanian peasant fights to get back to his family after he's imprisoned by the Nazis.The picture is based on real events. It includes Hungary's government in collaboration with the Nazis, the encroachment of Romania by Stalin's troopers, and other happenings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Patriots (2017)
After the French defeat of summer 1940, Addi Ba, a young Senegalese rifleman escapes and hides in the Vosges. Aided by some villagers, he gets false documents that allow him to live openly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisAusterlitz (1960)
A return to the life of the Little Corporal with a dramatisation of the decisive 1805 conflict between French forces and the armies of Austria and Russia. An epic reconstruction of the battle of Austerlitz, where Bonaparte had the greatest victory of his career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009)
Irena Sendler is a Catholic social worker who has sympathized with the Jews since her childhood, when her physician father died of typhus contracted while treating poor Jewish patients. When she initially proposes saving Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto, her idea is met with skepticism by fellow workers, her parish priest, and even her own mother Janina.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome What May (2015)
In may 1940, the German troops enter France. Frightened by the progress of the enemy, the people of a small village of Pas-de-Calais decide on the recommendations of the prefecture, to give up everything to go on the road, fleeing to the coast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather & Soldier (2023)
1917. Bakary Diallo enlists in the French army to join his 17-year-old son, Thierno, who has been forcibly recruited. Sent to the front, they will have to face the war together. While Thierno learns to become a man, Bakary will do everything to bring him back safely.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWooden Crosses (1932)
The young and patriotic student Demachy joins the French army in 1914 to defend his country. But he and his comrades soon experience the terrifying, endless trench war in Champagne, where more and more wooden crosses have to be erected for this cannon fodder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDe Gaulle: Liberté (2026)
While World War II is raging, General De Gaulle seeks to convince the world that the battle for France not lost. Reality seems determined to prove him wrong. Yet, little by little, resistance fighters, rebellious students and determined soldiers rise up. Their faith, audacity and thirst for freedom defy what history seemed to have written in advance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Kill Team (2019)
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJUDY1964 (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
The 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
Jembatan Pensil (2017)
Inal, Nia, Aska, Yanti, Attar, and Ondeng struggled to get education in a free school built by the teacher. Inal, who is blind and Ondeng, who has “backwardness”, have to go through winding journeys to and from school. Ondeng's ability to draw sketches makes him always "record" everything he is passionate about: his father's life as a fisherman and the fragile bridge that his friends always walk on. His goal: to build the bridge. When that fragile bridge collapsed while they were crossing, it didn't discourage them. Ondeng's thoughts that always remember his father and his fear of being abandoned by his father made Ondeng out of control and did not realize the dangers of taking his own boat to the sea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI'm Not From Here (2024)
Elena's excitement for a day at the pool with her mother is shattered when she witnesses an episode of violence between her parents. Elena plays alone while her mother deals with the consequences; however, a tough confrontation leads them to put an end to the situation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Orange Child (2021)
In deep introspection, a Black actor sought for some answer when he found his childhood computer, he explores a video game he started creating when he was 11, when he didn't see himself as being black, but as orange.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Small Change (1976)
The lives of a motherless young man, who's just starting to find interest in women, and his physically abused, poverty stricken friend, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges most their age experience.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Violins at the Ball?
The closest matches to Violins at the Ball are Waiting for Anya (2020), The One That Got Away (1957) and The Boy in the Woods (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Violins at the Ball?
Start with Waiting for Anya (2020), the closest match to Violins at the Ball.
What is the highest-rated movie like Violins at the Ball?
De Gaulle: Liberté (2026), rated 7.9/10 by 244 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Violins at the Ball?
De Gaulle: Liberté (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Violins at the Ball?
Yes: Sarah's Key (2010), The Patience Stone (2013) and The 25th Hour (1967).
How are movies similar to Violins at the Ball chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Violins at the Ball, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.