Movies like The Orphan (1921)
The best movies like The Orphan (1921) are An Officer and a Spy (2019), The Colors of Fire (2022) and Les Misérables (2026). If The Orphan hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNapoleon (1927)7.9/10 from 235 votes
- NewestLes Misérables (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchAn Officer and a Spy (2019)Also in French
An Officer and a Spy (2019)
In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at the Devil’s Island penal colony.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Colors of Fire (2022)
February 1927. The funeral of Marcel Péricourt, the most powerful banker in Paris. His daughter Madeleine must take the helm of the financial empire of which she is the heiress. But she has a son, Paul, who with an unexpected and tragic gesture will place her on the path to ruin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Misérables (2026)
After enduring 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean emerges a hardened man. He seeks redemption by reinventing himself as a respected dignitary under a new identity. He promises Fantine, a dying factory worker, to rescue and protect her daughter Cosette, who is being exploited and mistreated by the deceitful Thénardier family. As Valjean raises Cosette as his own, he is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert. Admist the social unrest shaking France, the fates of Valjean, Cosette, her lover Marius, and Javert become intertwined in a turbulent, revolutionary Paris. Through struggles, sacrifices, and a deep yearning for justice, Valjean strives to complete his journey of redemption and offer Cosette a future of love and freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeartbeat (1938)
A pompous grocer’s assistant in Marseille annoys a visiting film crew so much that they prank him with a phony acting contract; believing it to be real, the “schpountz” heads to Paris for his new career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVictor/Victoria (1982)
A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis, Athos and Porthos, have fought together with their friend, D'Artagnan. But with the tyrannical King Louis using his power to wreak havoc in the kingdom while his twin brother, Philippe, remains imprisoned, the Musketeers reunite to abduct Louis and replace him with Philippe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Misérables (1978)
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNapoleon (1927)
A biopic of former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant 1797 invasion of Italy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAngels & Demons (2009)
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati – a secret, underground organization – after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL'Argent (1928)
Adapted from the novel L'Argent by Émile Zola, the film portrays the world of banking and the stock market in Paris in the 1920s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Turner (2014)
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLimelight (1952)
A fading music hall comedian tries to help a despondent ballet dancer learn to walk and to again feel confident about life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBird People (2014)
An overstressed American businessman and a French chambermaid make a connection at an airport hotel in Paris.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and has begun gathering followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one capable of putting a stop to him is the wizard he once called his closest friend, Albus Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore will need to seek help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers as the female Christ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
A young priest, Father Chisholm is sent to China to establish a Catholic parish among the non-Christian Chinese. While his boyhood friend, also a priest, flourishes in his calling as a priest in a more Christian area of the world, Father Chisholm struggles. He encounters hostility, isolation, disease, poverty and a variety of set backs which humble him, but make him more determined than ever to succeed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDe Gaulle: Résistance (2026)
June, 1940. France collapses and signs the armistice. In the midst of the chaos, one man refuses to give up. Alone against the odds, this unknown general flees to London to save what remains of freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaurice (1987)
After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Orphan?
The closest matches to The Orphan are An Officer and a Spy (2019), The Colors of Fire (2022) and Les Misérables (2026). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Orphan?
Start with An Officer and a Spy (2019), the closest match to The Orphan.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Orphan?
Napoleon (1927), rated 7.9/10 by 235 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Orphan?
Les Misérables (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Orphan?
Yes: An Officer and a Spy (2019), The Colors of Fire (2022) and Les Misérables (2026).
How are movies similar to The Orphan chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Orphan, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.