Movies like Dans l'ombre (2004)
The best movies like Dans l'ombre (2004) are Very Nice, Very Nice (1961), Daguerréotypes (1978) and Reservoir Dogs (1991). If Dans l'ombre hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Dans l'ombre
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFar from the Tree (2021)8.1/10 from 395 votes
- NewestLa Gradiva (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchDaguerréotypes (1978)Also in French
Very Nice, Very Nice (1961)
Arthur Lipsett's first film is an avant-garde blend of photography and sound. It looks behind the business-as-usual face we put on life and shows anxieties we want to forget. It is made of dozens of pictures that seem familiar, with fragments of speech heard in passing and, between times, a voice saying, "Very nice, very nice." The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaguerréotypes (1978)
An intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReservoir Dogs (1991)
Short film made with the help of the Sundance Film Institute and serving as a proof-of-concept for the subsequent feature film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElectronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967)
In an underground city in a dystopian future, the protagonist, whose name is "THX 1138 4EB", is shown running through passageways and enclosed spaces. It is soon discovered that THX is escaping his community. The government uses computers and cameras to track down THX and attempt to stop him; however, they fail. He escapes by breaking through a door and runs off into the sunset. The government sends their condolences to YYO 7117, THX's mate, claiming that THX has destroyed himself. Electronic Labyrinth: THX-1138 4EB is a 1967 science fiction short film written and directed by George Lucas while he attended the University of Southern California's film school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Gradiva (2026)
Amid the ancient ruins of Pompeii, a group of French teenagers on a class trip to Naples grapple with anxiety and exhilaration ahead of their high school graduation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPowder Keg (2001)
The Driver is drafted by the UN to rescue a wounded war photographer named Harvey Jacobs from out of hostile territory. While they are leaving Jacobs tells the Driver about the horrors he saw as a photographer, but he regrets his inability to help war victims. Jacobs answers the driver curiosity about why he is a photographer by saying how his mother taught him to see. He gives the Driver the film needed for a New York Times story and also his dog tags to give to his mother. When they reach the border, they are confronted by a guard who begins to draw arms as Jacobs begins taking pictures, trying to get himself killed. The Driver drives through a hail of gunfire to the border, but finds Jacobs killed by a bullet through the seat. The Driver arrives in America to visit Jacobs' mother and share the news of him winning the Pulitzer prize and hand over the dog tags, only to discover that she is blind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeat (1986)
Reynolds plays an ex-soldier-of-fortunish character in Vegas, taking "Chaperone" jobs, fighting with the mob, and trying to get enough money together to move to Venice, Italy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Day's Pleasure (1919)
A father takes his family for an outing, which turns out to be a ridiculous trial.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther Side of the Box (2018)
A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarvel One-Shot: All Hail the King (2014)
A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Love (2025)
When Jeanne, a meticulous insurance assessor, is suddenly left to care for her estranged sister’s two children after their mother vanishes, her carefully ordered life begins to unravel. Confronted with unexpected responsibilities, she must balance the fragile task of earning the children’s trust while also tending to her own relationship with her girlfriend, who struggles to adjust to Jeanne’s new role. As grief, uncertainty, and shifting loyalties mount, Jeanne finds herself redefining what family and love truly mean.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard Luck (1921)
A down on his luck young man makes several attempts at committing suicide but fails them too. He then finds himself becoming more confident through a series of petty adventures, to such an extent that this becomes his undoing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCairo Conspiracy (2022)
A fisherman's son is offered the ultimate privilege to study at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the epicenter of power of Sunni Islam. Shortly after his arrival, the university’s highest ranking religious leader, the Grand Imam, dies and the young student becomes a pawn in a ruthless power struggle between Egypt's religious and political elite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar from the Tree (2021)
On an idyllic beach in the Pacific Northwest, curiosity gets the better of a young raccoon whose frustrated parent attempts to keep them both safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 (2007)
Experience these masterpieces of storytelling from the creative minds that brought you Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and many more. With revolutionary animation, unforgettable music and characters you love, these dazzling short films have changed the face of animation and entertainment and are sure to delight people of all ages for years to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Corner in Wheat (1909)
On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price of bread, forcing grain producers into charity lines and others further into poverty. The film contrasts the differences between the lives of those who work to grow the wheat and the life of the man who dabbles in its sale for profit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crazy Ray (1925)
A night watchman on the Eiffel Tower wakes up to find the entire population of the city frozen in place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTome of the Unknown (2013)
Wirt and Gregory are brothers who get tired of walking, so, they borrow a car from a romantic songster made of vegetables.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost Command (1966)
After being freed from a Vietnamese war prison, French Lt. Col. Pierre Raspeguy is sent to help quell resistance forces in Algeria. With the help of the Capt. Esclavier, who has grown weary of war, and Capt. Boisfeuras, who lives for it, Raspeguy attempts to convert a rugged band of soldiers into a formidable fighting unit, with the promise of marrying a beautiful countess if he's made a general.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHobo with a Shotgun (2011)
A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Days of Greek Gods (1958)
One of the earliest posing-pouch films to feature sound.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Muscles from Outer Space (1962)
AMG auteur Richard Fontaine started making short, silent posing-pouch snapshot films in the mid-1950s and moved on to sound titles like In the Days of Greek Gods (1958) and Muscles from Outer Space (1962), which featured narratives as well as nudity. Fontaine's films are among the first gay-campaigning documents in American cinema--he often managed to include references to the lowly status of the homosexual. His first feature-length erotic film, In Love Again (1969), is more like propaganda than porn. (from: http://www.glbtq.com/arts/film,3.html)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Now Is the Time (1951)
Early abstract 3D film by animation master Norman McLaren.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Twirligig (1952)
Early abstract 3d stereoscopic animation by Norman McLaren collaborator Gretta Ekman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Spiderelephant (1967)
The short takes place around the Big Bang… probably before. A poor creature called the Spiderelephant spends its life walking in one direction (see why the dimensional aspect is important) and the short recounts what happens when it runs out of a place to walk.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Disc Jockey (1980)
An alarm clock wakes a man who washes his face, has breakfast, drives his car to work, spins records, returns home, and takes his pills. It's a world of circles - often seen from above: an espresso cup, a stairwell, the pills, and the records spinning. At the dance where the music plays, the rhythms evoke images of a butcher slicing head cheese, gears driving other wheels and levers, a combine churning out bales of hay, a butcher cutting chunks of meat for a stew, and boxers punching. The circle of music and life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Assassins... (1992)
Tonight, young Max is learning how to be an assassin...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Breakdowns of 1940 (1940)
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1940.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Legend of the Mighty Soap (2011)
Dirtpeople are living in misery until the Mighty Soap arrives, who washes them clean.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Breakdowns of 1942 (1942)
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1942.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dans l'ombre?
The closest matches to Dans l'ombre are Very Nice, Very Nice (1961), Daguerréotypes (1978) and Reservoir Dogs (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dans l'ombre?
Start with Very Nice, Very Nice (1961), the closest match to Dans l'ombre.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dans l'ombre?
Far from the Tree (2021), rated 8.1/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dans l'ombre?
La Gradiva (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Dans l'ombre?
Yes: Daguerréotypes (1978), La Gradiva (2026) and Out of Love (2025).
How are movies similar to Dans l'ombre chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dans l'ombre, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.