Movies like A Dance for Heroes (1989)
The best movies like A Dance for Heroes (1989) are Iron Jawed Angels (2004), The Safety of Objects (2002) and Hounddog (2008). If A Dance for Heroes hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
A Dance for Heroes
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Magdalene Sisters (2002)7.4/10 from 495 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
Iron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSky (2016)
A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.
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 thisCall Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013)
A psychotherapist helps a law student cope with schizophrenia in one of five interconnected tales dealing with mental illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoly 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 thisStrange Weather (2016)
Years after her son's suicide, a woman longs to confront both the past and a friend of his who took his business idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisXiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Them (2013)
More interested in partying and flirting with young musicians than work, veteran rock journalist Ellie Klug has one last chance to prove her value to her magazine’s editor: a no-stone-unturned search to discover what really happened to long lost rock god, Matt Smith, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Teaming up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker, Ellie hits the road in search of answers.
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 thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Matter of Sex (1984)
Dramatization of the true story of the so-called Willmar Eight, a group of Minnesota bank workers who braved freezing conditions whilst picketing their branch in a struggle for union rights.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Girl Like Valerie (2023)
Valerie faces the challenge of leaving an abusive relationship with the help of her two friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mask of a Dream (TBA)
Sofía, a 16-year-old girl affected by the death of her father and the absence of her mother, finds refuge in her frustrated passion for the world of fashion, until one day an opportunity arises to fulfill a dream.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Abigail's Dawning (2020)
Suffering from addiction and homelessness, Abigail wanders the city on a cold winter late afternoon, suffering withdrawal, slipping in and out of hallucinations and dreams as the cold sets in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAssumptions (2020)
According to Emma Pine (direction), Assumptions is a short film focusing on a young female point of view and her emotional behaviour. It aims to showcase the standards set for all women regarding appearance, emotion and attitude in everyday environments which ultimately condition them and the way they express themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
For Women, Chapter 1 (1971)
Saleswomen in a supermarket discover that they are paid less than their male colleagues who do the same work. They decide to take action. The band Ton Steine Scherben sings along that “Everything changes if you change it / But you can't win as long as you're alone!” With a lay cast, the film fulfils the demand for solidarity that it preaches – “this film was made by saleswomen and housewives. They came up with the story and acted themselves. The film students helped them”
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tatami (2024)
Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake, Leila is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or fight on, for the gold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLilly (2025)
Based on the inspiring true story of Lilly Ledbetter, an ordinary Alabama tire factory supervisor who discovers she's being paid less than her male peers. Her fight for fair pay takes her to the Supreme Court and Congress, while powerful forces try to shut her down. Lilly refuses to accept the status quo and has the courage to fight for what is right.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Opa (2023)
A young woman faces an unexpected pregnancy and must inform her father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Dance for Heroes?
The closest matches to A Dance for Heroes are Iron Jawed Angels (2004), The Safety of Objects (2002) and Hounddog (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Dance for Heroes?
Start with Iron Jawed Angels (2004), the closest match to A Dance for Heroes.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Dance for Heroes?
The Magdalene Sisters (2002), rated 7.4/10 by 495 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Dance for Heroes?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to A Dance for Heroes chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Dance for Heroes, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.