Movies like Sphodanam (1981)
The best movies like Sphodanam (1981) are Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Hungry Hearts (2015). If Sphodanam hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Sphodanam
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside I'm Dancing (2004)7.4/10 from 243 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
- In MalayalamAdukkan Entheluppam (1986)Also in Malayalam
Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' plays out by a company of actors. The setting: their run-down theater with an unusable stage and crumbling ceiling. The play is shown act by act with the briefest of breaks to move props or for refreshments. The lack of costumes, real props and scenery is soon forgotten.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Together Now (2020)
An optimistic, talented teen clings to a huge secret: she's homeless and living on a school bus. When tragedy strikes, can she learn to accept a helping hand?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeeds of Yesterday (2015)
The Sheffield family reveal and go through some home truths as their middle child inherits the Foxworth mansion. The family's ghosts looming over, and more tragedies are in store as the curse lives on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMansfield Park (2007)
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLady Driver (2020)
When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the drive in her all along.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisGirl Fight (2011)
Inspired by a true story, Girl Fight recounts the harrowing story of a 16-year-old, stellar high school student whose life spirals downward when her former friends conspire to upload onto the Internet a shocking video of them beating her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonathan (2018)
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoovinu Puthiya Poonthennal (1986)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Carnivel (1989)
Bharathan (Mammootty) and his friends (Mala Aravindan, Siddique and Bobby Kottarakkara) earn money by gambling in the streets. But Bharathan is forced to close down his business when a carnival is organised in the village. Bharathan manages to get a job in the carnival company and soon becomes the most trusted person of its owner Chandrappan, who is fondly called as Bhai. James, another worker at the company is envious about the growth of Bharathan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nair Saab (1989)
Major Nair trains the new batch of trainees at the army training centre. Things take a turn when a dangerous criminal makes two of the trainees import drugs from the neighboring country.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Abkari (1988)
Vasu and Chacko are working as drivers and low ranking workers for the Abkari contractor Sreekandan. Sreekandan is heavily involved in the smuggling of liquor from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu in order to increase the already high profits in his business. For some time the jobless youngsters try illegal brewing of hooch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dhinarathrangal (1988)
Aravindan is shot at by the police for murdering Madhavan, a landlord. Ironically, he is supposed to be treated by Madhavan's daughter, Dr Savithri, who feels compassionate towards Aravindan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sukrutham (1994)
A journalist, Ravishankar is suffering from blood cancer and has lost all hopes. That is when he meets a Vedic doctor. But his death is more awaited than his recovery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Vishnu (1994)
Inspired by Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment', the film follows Vishnu (Mammootty), a man who takes the law into his own hands by killing a criminal to protect his family. Haunted by guilt and pursued by a psychological investigator, he faces a moral struggle that leads to controversial consequences. The film is known for featuring an alternate ending inspired by 'The Last Temptation of Christ'."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sphodanam?
The closest matches to Sphodanam are Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Hungry Hearts (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sphodanam?
Start with Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), the closest match to Sphodanam.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sphodanam?
Inside I'm Dancing (2004), rated 7.4/10 by 243 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sphodanam?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like Sphodanam?
Yes: Adukkan Entheluppam (1986), Aalorungi Arangorungi (1986) and Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal (1986).
How are movies similar to Sphodanam chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sphodanam, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.