Movies like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories (1995)
The best movies like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories (1995) are Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016) and All That Breathes (2022). If Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories hooked you with its documentary and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLife in a Day (2011)7.2/10 from 259 votes
- NewestMy Mom Jayne (2025)Released 2025
- In SpanishThe Apocalypse of St John (2024)Also in Spanish
Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010)
A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. Every word spoken by the actors in this film is sourced from the letters that Van Gogh sent to his younger brother Theo, and of those around him. What emerges is a complex portrait of a sophisticated, civilised and yet tormented man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016)
The strange story of John McAfee, who went from millionaire software mogul to yogi, Kurtz-like jungle recluse to potential murderer, and most recently a prospective presidential candidate for the American Libertarian Party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll That Breathes (2022)
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Apocalypse of St John (2024)
Embark on an epic journey through time and faith with 'The Apocalypse of Saint John.' Join the Apostle John in a stunning visual narrative that unravels the visions of the End Times. Experience each vision like never before, with striking visual effects and epic scenes that immerse you in the apocalyptic narrative.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPublic Speaking (2011)
Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
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 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 this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)
A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDe ida y vuelta (2001)
After working for three years in the USA, Filiberto returns to his home town in Mexico. A proud man, he is searching for the recognition that will give him a new position in life. However, he finds that things have changed. His mother is dead, and Luis, his best friend, is married to his ex-girlfriend. Filiberto gets involved in the town’s disputes over a water spring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dama de Noche (1993)
Bruno, a novelist with no luck goes to call for help from his love always sofia, who is in Veracruz desolate without knowing what to do with the corpse of her boyfriend who died because of a heart attack while they made love
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies (2009)
Documentary about a lodging house, owned by Rosa Carbajal, at the corner of Shakespare and Víctor Hugo streets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
News from Afar (2005)
Under the notion that "you can not change the future, but the past," a young woman who has grown up in a poor village in the highlands, embarks on a spiritual journey to Mexico City seeking to break the cycle of family alienation and find hope. Fate will return to the source to destroy and start over.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Spring (2014)
Elba is an introverted and lonely fourteen year old teenager that lives with Fernanda, her older sister. The sisters don't get along and their mother is abset. Fernanda decides to runaway, but before she does Elba reaches out to her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
More Than Anything in the World (2007)
Disoriented after moving to a new apartment and left to herself when her mother starts bringing men home, Alicia takes refuge in dreams that soon become nightmares, especially after she begins to fear that her mom has become possessed by the vampirish man next door.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Watching it Rain (2006)
Two friends in a small town are growing apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Edge of the Earth (1995)
In a small town where nothing ever happens, the inhabitants learn about a place at the edge of the earth where money and women are abundant. When they see the oportunity to go and work illegaly in the United States, they jump at the chance. Meanwhile Andrés and Gregorio go to the town searching for treasures and they only find Matilde, the rest of the women in the town left, tired of waiting for the men to return.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Remembrance (2003)
The documentary film Remembrance is an outline of the past century taking as a motif the life of Luis Frank, a Lithuanian emigrant. It is a journey through a time wich the world was made by war, that of wich we have so many times heard of and by wich we live constantly under menace. Emigration, war, freedom, childhood, the quest for something, a country -Mexico- kept in memories, are some of the subjects dealt within this film. Remembrance is the story of people who have traveled the world in search of a place where to belong, people whose lives were punctuated by ruptures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Tiniest Place (2011)
Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories?
The closest matches to Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories are Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee (2016) and All That Breathes (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories?
Start with Van Gogh: Painted with Words (2010), the closest match to Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories.
What is the highest-rated movie like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories?
Life in a Day (2011), rated 7.2/10 by 259 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories?
My Mom Jayne (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories?
Yes: The Apocalypse of St John (2024), De ida y vuelta (2001) and Dama de Noche (1993).
How are movies similar to Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Grandpa Cheno and Other Stories, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.