Movies like Guardian of the Night (1986)
The best movies like Guardian of the Night (1986) are Macadam Stories (2015), Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) and CQ (2001). If Guardian of the Night hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBad Seeds (2018)7.6/10 from 641 votes
- NewestWhatever It Takes (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchMacadam Stories (2015)Also in French
Macadam Stories (2015)
Improbable encounters bring tenderness, laughter and compassion to a world of urban alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)
Misanthropic novelist François writes gripping crime stories – “Agatha Christie meets The Scarlet Pimpernel” – but outside of the swashbuckling imaginary world of his Marquis la Rose-novels, life is far from thrilling. His partner Colette, a professor at the Sorbonne and world-renowned expert on Alfred Hitchcock, is tired of watching François sit around their apartment in his pyjamas and yearns for the excitement of the classic films she watches with her students. When Colette begins to suspect their flamboyant actor neighbour of murdering his wife, the couple’s mundane lives are turned upside down – and their stale relationship is jolted back to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBig Kids (2023)
Yannick is a caregiver in a retirement home. Between permanent pressure and budget restrictions, he faces the lack of means with a contagious good mood. But when he is forced to share the dining room with a class of children, the situation becomes complicated. Their arrival, as well as that of his hostess, Aude, will shake up the daily life of everyone, especially the residents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFour Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (1987)
Two young girls meet, Reinette from the countryside and Mirabelle from Paris, and decide to take a flat together in Paris where they attend University. Four successive stories about their daily lives illustrate the very different views, characters and relation to the world of these two friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeartstrings (2016)
A talented cellist, Marie, is secretly losing her sight due to a degenerative eye disease. Determined to attend a prestigious music school, she strikes a pact with her struggling classmate Victor: she’ll help him with his homework if he becomes her “eyes,” helping her hide her condition as she prepares for the entrance exam. As the two grow closer, their arrangement begins to change both of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlice and the Mayor (2019)
The mayor of Lyon, Paul Théraneau, is in a delicate position. After 30 years in politics, he is running out of ideas and is faced with a feeling of existential emptiness. To overcome this, Paul hires a young and brilliant philosopher, Alice Heimann. Then follows a dialogue between two diametrically opposed personalities who will turn their certainties upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI’m Going Home (2001)
The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBye Bye Morons (2020)
When 43-year-old hairdresser Suze Trappet finds out that she's seriously ill, she decides to go looking for a child she was forced to abandon when she was only 15. On her madcap bureaucratic quest she crosses paths with JB, a 50-year-old man in the middle of a burnout, and Mr. Blin, a blind archivist prone to overenthusiasm. The unlikely trio set off on a hilarious and poignant helterskelter journey across the city in search of Suze's long-lost child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Decline of the American Empire (1986)
Four very different Montreal university teachers gather at a rambling country house to prepare a dinner. Remy (married), Claude (a homosexual), Pierre (involved with a girlfriend) and Alain (a bachelor) discuss sex, the female body and their affairs with them. Meanwhile, their four female guests, Louise (Remy's wife of 15 years), Dominique (a spinster), Diane (a divorcée) and Danielle (Pierre's girlfriend) are spending the time at a downtown health gym. They also discuss sex, the female body and, naturally, men. Later in the evening, they finally meet at the country house and have dinner. A ninth guest, named Mario, who used to know Diane, drops in on the group for some talk and has a surprise of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Indian Tale (2017)
The life of two men changed unexpectedly when Ajith, an Indian sailor who was robbed and lost everything, appears out of nowhere in front of Pierre, a single and grumpy Frenchman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisArab Blues (2020)
Selma, a psychoanalyst, deals with a cast of colorful new patients after returning home to Tunisia to open a practice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRide Away (2025)
From the Atlantic to the Black Sea, Mathias and Philippe, two old friends, embark on a bicycle journey that Mathias’s son made before his tragic death. The two men ride through the ordeals with tenderness, humor and emotion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Brother’s Love (2019)
Sophia, a brilliant doctoral student, has always maintained a symbiotic relationship with her brother Karim. The arrival of a new lover in Karim’s life significantly alters their dynamic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhatever It Takes (2026)
Rose and Jean have nothing in common. Rose is a force of nature who faces all her problems with a disarming joie de vivre. She lives with her 3 children upstairs in the family hotel that no longer belongs to her. They're not poor, they're broke... but only temporarily. Jean is a solitary, taciturn man who has buried his big heart under layers of modesty and resignation. When he arrives in this unusual family, however, he quickly becomes indispensable. What did they expect before they met? Probably nothing. He soon becomes indispensable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Stars of Paris (2021)
Christine’s life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between free food banks distributions and wandering the streets. On a cold winter night she founds Suli, an 8-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine understands that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bounded by their marginal condition, they embark together on an emotional journey to find Suli’s mother in the underground world of Paris...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Seeds (2018)
Wael, a former street child, makes a living from small scams with his adoptive mother and partner-in-crime Monique. When this unconventional duo swindles the wrong guy, Victor, an old acquaintance of Monique now in charge of a support organization for troubled teens, they have no choice but to become his interim secretary and educator in order to redeem themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew Biz in the Hood (2019)
Fred Bartel is the charismatic boss of a trendy Parisian communication agency, Happy Few. After a heated tax audit, he was forced by the administration to relocate overnight his company in La Courneuve. Fred and his team meet Samy, a young suburb who will quickly propose to teach them the rules and practices to adopt in this new environment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJim's Story (2024)
Aymeric runs into Florence, a former coworker, one evening in Saint-Claude in the Haut-Jura. She is six months pregnant and single. When she gives birth to Jim, Aymeric is there. They spend happy years together until Christophe, Jim's biological father, shows up... It could be the start of a melodrama, it's also the start of an odyssey into fatherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUranus (1990)
After World War II, a small French village struggles to put the war behind as the controlling Communist Party tries to flush out Petain loyalists. The local bar owner, a simple man who likes to write poetry, who only wants to be left alone to do his job, becomes a target for Communist harassment as they try and locate a particular loyalist, and he pushes back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Guardian of the Night?
The closest matches to Guardian of the Night are Macadam Stories (2015), Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) and CQ (2001). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Guardian of the Night?
Start with Macadam Stories (2015), the closest match to Guardian of the Night.
What is the highest-rated movie like Guardian of the Night?
Bad Seeds (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 641 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Guardian of the Night?
Whatever It Takes (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Guardian of the Night?
Yes: Macadam Stories (2015), Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) and Big Kids (2023).
How are movies similar to Guardian of the Night chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Guardian of the Night, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.