Movies like Sunrise over Spain (1938)
The best movies like Sunrise over Spain (1938) are The Heifer (1985), Afternoons of Solitude (2025) and Land and Freedom (1995). If Sunrise over Spain hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFlamin' Hot (2023)8.0/10 from 888 votes
- NewestThe Last Rodeo (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishThe Heifer (1985)Also in Spanish
The Heifer (1985)
During the Spanish Civil War a platoon of mismatched Republican soldiers cross the front-line to steal the bull that the enemy is going to fight on the local holiday of the nearby village. In addition to ruining the Nationalist faction's celebration they want the animal in order to butcher it and feed their famished troops. They get caught in the process and have to go through a series of funny and pathetic incidents before they can get back to their side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfternoons of Solitude (2025)
The life of the bullfighter Andrés Roca Rey during a day of bullfighting, from the moment he dresses up to the moment he undresses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand and Freedom (1995)
Summer 1936: young unemployed communist David Carr leaves Liverpool to join the fight against fascism in Spain. He joins an international group of Militia-men and women, the POUM (Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista). After being wounded, he goes to Barcelona, where he joins another group of fighters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Silence of Others (2019)
The story of the tortuous struggle against the silence of the victims of the dictatorship imposed by General Franco after the victory of the rebel side in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1975). In a democratic country, but still ideologically divided, the survivors seek justice as they organize the so-called “Argentinian lawsuit” and denounce the legally sanctioned pact of oblivion that intends to hide the crimes they were subjects of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisButterfly (1999)
The film centres on Moncho and his coming-of-age experience in Galicia in 1936. Moncho develops a close relationship with his teacher Don Gregorio who introduces the boy to different things in the world. While the story centres on Moncho's ordinary coming-of-age experiences, tensions related to the looming Spanish Civil War periodically interrupt Moncho's personal growth and daily life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Photographer of Mauthausen (2018)
Spanish photographer Francesc Boix, imprisoned in the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, works in the SS Photographic Service. Between 1943 and 1945, he hides, with the help of other prisoners, thousands of negatives, with the purpose of showing the freed world the atrocities committed by the Nazis, exhaustively documented. He will be a key witness during the Nuremberg Trials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLand Without Bread (1933)
An exploration —manipulated and staged— of life in Las Hurdes, in the province of Cáceres, in Extremadura, Spain, as it was in 1932. Insalubrity, misery and lack of opportunities provoke the emigration of young people and the solitude of those who remain in the desolation of one of the poorest and least developed Spanish regions at that time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
Spain in the 1930s is the place to be for a man of action like Robert Jordan. There is a civil war going on and Jordan—who has joined up on the side that appeals most to idealists of that era—has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains. He awaits the right time to blow up a crucial bridge in order to halt the enemy's progress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battle of Chile: Part I (1975)
The chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 13 Roses (2007)
True story of thirteen totally normal young women that suffered harsh questioning and were put in prison under made up charges of helping the rebellion against Franco back in the 1940s. Despite of their innocence, the thirteen were soon executed without even a trace of evidence of any wrong doing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rodeo (2025)
A retired rodeo legend risks it all to save his grandson. Facing his own painful past and the fears of his family, he enters a high-stakes bullriding competition as the oldest contestant ever. Along the way, he reconciles old wounds with his estranged daughter and proves that true courage is found in the fight for family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhile at War (2019)
Salamanca, Spain, 1936. In the early days of the military rebellion that began the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), writer Miguel de Unamuno supports the uprising in the hope that the prevailing political chaos will end. But when the confrontation becomes bloody, Unamuno must question his initial position.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl of Your Dreams (1998)
During the Spanish Civil War, a troupe of Spanish filmmakers is invited to shoot a film at UFA Studios in Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Backbone (2001)
Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Endless Trench (2019)
A small village in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain, 1936. Higinio and Rosa have been married only for a few months when the Civil War breaks out. Higinio, being afraid of possible reprisals from the rebel faction, decides to use a hole dug in his own house as a temporary hideout.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisForgotten Silver (1997)
The life story of Colin McKenzie, a forgotten pioneer of international cinema who was born in rural New Zealand in 1888.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParallel Mothers (2021)
Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, in her late-thirties, unrepentant and happy; Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlamin' Hot (2023)
The inspiring true story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin' Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sunrise over Spain?
The closest matches to Sunrise over Spain are The Heifer (1985), Afternoons of Solitude (2025) and Land and Freedom (1995). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sunrise over Spain?
Start with The Heifer (1985), the closest match to Sunrise over Spain.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sunrise over Spain?
Flamin' Hot (2023), rated 8.0/10 by 888 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sunrise over Spain?
The Last Rodeo (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Sunrise over Spain?
Yes: The Heifer (1985), Afternoons of Solitude (2025) and The Silence of Others (2019).
How are movies similar to Sunrise over Spain chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sunrise over Spain, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.