Movies like Sons for the Return Home (1979)
The best movies like Sons for the Return Home (1979) are Time Is Up (2021), Newness (2017) and Petulia (1968). If Sons for the Return Home hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStraight Outta Compton (2015)7.8/10 from 4,363 votes
- NewestLove of Your Life (2026)Released 2026
Time Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPetulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee You Soon (2019)
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLondon (2005)
London is a drug laden adventure that centers on a party in a New York loft where a young man is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFifty Shades Freed (2018)
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)
Reporter Charles Wills, in Paris to cover the end of World War II, falls for the beautiful Helen Ellswirth following a brief flirtation with her sister, Marion. After he and Helen marry, Charles pursues his novelistic ambition while supporting his new bride with a deadening job at a newspaper wire service. But when an old investment suddenly makes the family wealthy, their marriage begins to unravel — until a sudden tragedy changes everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonday (2021)
A spark on a Friday can lead to a sizzling weekend fling, but what happens when you get to the inevitable Monday?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Duke of Burgundy (2015)
Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove of Your Life (2026)
After a chance encounter sparks a sweeping romance, Maya's future is suddenly upended, sending her on an unexpected journey to love and live again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
A 22-year-old factory worker lets loose on the weekends: drinking, brawling, and dating two women, one of whom is older and married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Future (2011)
When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJawbone (2017)
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner Bill corner man Eddie and promoter Joe. Back in training, years after anyone thought he was a contender, he risks his life, as he tries to stand tall and regain his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Patch of Blue (1965)
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelizaire the Cajun (1986)
In 19th-century Louisiana's Cajun country, Belizaire is the informal spokesman for his citizens, who don't see eye to eye with local racists who wish to eradicate all Cajuns. Complicating matters is that Belizaire's former flame is now married to his biggest rival, an affluent landowner's son. Before he knows it, Belizaire is caught up in a web of murder, lies, and prejudice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Sista in the Brotherhood (2015)
A black, female, apprentice carpenter faces discrimination and must choose between taking a stand or keeping her job.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Passion of Remembrance (1986)
Co-directed by Blackwood and Julien, the first full-length feature film by Sankofa Film and Video offers a radical and necessary interrogation into what constitutes 'post-colonial' identity at a time of political and social restlessness in Britain. Set within an isolated desert landscape contrasted with recognizable scenes of the intensity of family life, this vanguard work demonstrates the richness and variety of the black experience; it is a poetic and hard-hitting commentary on the complexities of race, gender and sexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Beacon (TBA)
Joshua Nyaga travels to the countryside from London to spend a summer’s weekend with his girlfriend Cass’ family for the first time. Transplanted as a young boy from the violence of the Ugandan civil war to the concrete jungle of London, Joshua has never experienced the privilege that Cass’ family enjoys. Surrounded by the sea and lush natural landscape, the farm is an oasis, brimming with idealistic notions and lively debate amongst Cass’ father, stepmother and their longtime friend of the family, Michael. But Joshua’s warm welcome is short lived, when a sudden act of violent racism at a local summer concert shatters the peace forcing Joshua and those around him to confront the uncomfortable truth of their differences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Last Shift (2020)
Stanley, an aging fast food worker, prepares to work his final graveyard shift after 38 years. When he's asked to train his replacement, Jevon, Stanley's weekend takes an unexpected turn.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisStraight Outta Compton (2015)
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this1 Berlin-Harlem (1974)
An African-American GI retires from the US Army in West Berlin to live with his white girlfriend, who already has a baby with another black man. After an argument with her family, she deserts him as well. Despite finding a job and a new place to live, he keeps running into racism, which also manifests itself in sexual intimidation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
12 (2007)
A loose remake of “12 Angry Men”, “12” is set in contemporary Moscow where 12 very different men must unanimously decide the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his step-father, a Russian army officer. Consigned to a makeshift jury room in a school gymnasium, one by one each man takes center stage to confront, connect, and confess while the accused awaits a verdict and revisits his heartbreaking journey through war in flashbacks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Violet (2008)
A young single mother of four living in a small Texas town. Arrested during a drug raid and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Dee goes against the wishes of her mother, Alma, and rejects the plea-bargain that would free her from jail, but brand her as a felon for life. As word begins to spread that similar incidents are occurring in poor communities all across the country, Dee realizes that there are more mothers out there like her, and decides to take a stand against powerful district attorney Calvin Beckett. Now, despite being well aware of District Attorney Beckett's fierce reputation, Dee enlists the aid of ACLU attorney David Cohen and former narcotics officer Sam Conroy in overcoming the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that, if not navigated with the greatest of caution, now threaten to destroy her life. With the custody of her children on the line, one brave mother wages a valiant battle to strike at the very heart of the corrupt Texas justice system.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sons for the Return Home?
The closest matches to Sons for the Return Home are Time Is Up (2021), Newness (2017) and Petulia (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sons for the Return Home?
Start with Time Is Up (2021), the closest match to Sons for the Return Home.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sons for the Return Home?
Straight Outta Compton (2015), rated 7.8/10 by 4,363 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sons for the Return Home?
Love of Your Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sons for the Return Home?
Yes: Time Is Up (2021), Newness (2017) and Petulia (1968).
How are movies similar to Sons for the Return Home chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sons for the Return Home, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.