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Movies like Madame Bovary (1968)

The best movies like Madame Bovary (1968) are The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023) and The Nest (2020). If Madame Bovary hooked you with its drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

    Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  2. Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023)

    Set in a warm summer in 1990 in former East Germany, it follows a young woman who begins a relationship with a charismatic farmer who is twice her age.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

  3. The Nest (2020)

    Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  4. Paula (2016)

    Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  5. El 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 · both drama

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  6. Helen (2009)

    On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  7. Sergio (2020)

    A sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Brazilian Sérgio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  8. Hungry 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

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  9. Hardball (2001)

    An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  10. Bastard 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

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  11. Hounddog (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

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  12. The 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

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  13. The 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

  14. A Question of Faith (2017)

    When Tragedy Strikes three Families, their Destiny forces them on a coverging path and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Adopt a Highway (2019)

    Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  16. The German Lesson (2019)

    In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  17. Mindwalk (1991)

    On the French island of Mont Saint-Michel, Jack, a failed presidential candidate, Tom, a poet and Sonia, a physicist, engage in an intellectual conversation about politics, philosophy and life over the course of a single day.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  18. Gracie (2007)

    A teenager faces an uphill battle when she fights to give women the opportunity to play competitive soccer.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  19. The Congress (2013)

    An aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

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  20. What Maisie Knew (2013)

    In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Madame Bovary and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Madame Bovary?

The closest matches to Madame Bovary are The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023) and The Nest (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Madame Bovary?

Start with The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), the closest match to Madame Bovary.

What is the highest-rated movie like Madame Bovary?

What Maisie Knew (2013), rated 7.1/10 by 466 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Madame Bovary?

Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there German movies like Madame Bovary?

Yes: Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (2023), Paula (2016) and The German Lesson (2019).

How are movies similar to Madame Bovary chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Madame Bovary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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